By default, the WooCommerce Checkout page redirects you back to the (empty) Cart page in case there are no products in the Cart.
Now, there are times when you still need users to see the Checkout page and avoid this redirect. And thankfully, WooCommerce provides us with two filters that we can use to immediately disable this default behavior. Enjoy!
Checkout page by default redirects to the empty WooCommerce Cart page when no products are in the Cart
PHP Snippet: Avoid Checkout Redirect to Empty Cart
You can place PHP snippets at the bottom of your child theme functions.php file (delete "?>" if you have it there). CSS, on the other hand, goes in your child theme style.css file. Make sure you know what you are doing when editing such files - if you need more guidance, please take a look at my free video tutorial "Where to Place WooCommerce Customization?"
Does this snippet (still) work?
Please let me know in the comments if everything worked as expected. I would be happy to revise the snippet if you report otherwise (please provide screenshots). I have tested this code with Storefront theme, the WooCommerce version listed above and a WordPress-friendly hosting on PHP 7.3.
If you think this code saved you time & money, feel free to join 14,000+ WooCommerce Weekly subscribers for blog post updates or 250+ Business Bloomer supporters for 365 days of WooCommerce benefits. Thank you in advance :)
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Rodolfo Melogli
Business Bloomer Founder
Author, WooCommerce expert and WordCamp speaker, Rodolfo has worked as an independent WooCommerce freelancer since 2011. His goal is to help entrepreneurs and developers overcome their WooCommerce nightmares. Rodolfo loves travelling, chasing tennis & soccer balls and, of course, wood fired oven pizza.
Works on WP 5.3, Woocommerce 3.8.
On Empty Cart, Checkout goes to empty Check Out / Place Order page. Then when Place Order is clicked, message appears, “Your session has timed out.”
View Cart goes to “Your Cart is Empty” message with “Return to Shop” button.
I’d be interested in learning how to hide View Cart and Checkout in an empty cart, if anyone has suggestions.
Hi John, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, this is definitely possible, but I’m afraid it’s custom work. If you’d like to get a quote, feel free to contact me here. Thanks a lot for your understanding!
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Of course this website itself uses the WooCommerce plugin, the Storefront theme and runs on a WooCommerce-friendly hosting.
Would be great to redirect to a specific URL. Unfortunately my checkout page is a blank white page when nothing is in the cart.
See Step 4 here: https://www.businessbloomer.com/woocommerce-cart-checkout-same-page/
Hi,
Thanks for this trick. Working for me with WP 5.3 + Woocommerce 3.8 + Adorn theme.
Best regards
Awesome!
Works on WP 5.3, Woocommerce 3.8.
On Empty Cart, Checkout goes to empty Check Out / Place Order page. Then when Place Order is clicked, message appears, “Your session has timed out.”
View Cart goes to “Your Cart is Empty” message with “Return to Shop” button.
I’d be interested in learning how to hide View Cart and Checkout in an empty cart, if anyone has suggestions.
Hi John, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, this is definitely possible, but I’m afraid it’s custom work. If you’d like to get a quote, feel free to contact me here. Thanks a lot for your understanding!