Caddy is a WooCommerce floating cart plugin that displays a persistent, slide-out cart drawer on your store. Customers can view, edit, and manage their cart from any page without navigating away. It includes a free shipping progress bar, product recommendations, Save for Later, and a coupon field, all built on the WordPress Interactivity API for instant, reactive updates.
What Is a WooCommerce Floating Cart?
A floating cart (also called a side cart, cart drawer, or sliding cart) is a cart interface that slides in from the edge of the screen when a customer adds a product. Unlike the default WooCommerce cart page, a floating cart doesn’t require a page reload or navigation. It “floats” over the current page, letting customers review their items and continue shopping simultaneously.
The floating cart replaces the traditional cart page workflow:
Traditional cart: Browse > Add to Cart > Navigate to Cart Page (page reload) > Review items > Navigate to Checkout
Floating cart: Browse > Add to Cart > Side panel slides open (no reload) > Review items > Continue shopping or checkout directly
The difference matters because every page reload is an exit opportunity. When customers leave the product page to visit a separate cart page, they lose their browsing context. They see a bare list of items and a total. Nothing encourages them to add more products or complete the purchase.
A floating cart keeps them in the shopping flow. They see their items, see recommendations for related products, and see how close they are to free shipping, all without losing the product page they were viewing.
Why Use a Floating Cart for WooCommerce?
Reduce Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment rates for WooCommerce stores average around 70%. A significant portion of that abandonment happens during the transition between browsing and the cart page. Customers click “View Cart,” see the standalone page, and decide to “come back later.” A floating cart eliminates that transition entirely.
Increase Average Order Value
Floating carts that include product recommendations and free shipping meters consistently increase AOV. Customers see suggestions for complementary products at the moment they’re making purchase decisions. They see how much more they need to spend for free shipping. Both of these work because the cart is visible alongside the shopping experience, not isolated on its own page.
Better Mobile Experience
Over 60% of WooCommerce traffic is mobile. A floating cart designed for touch interactions (large buttons, swipe-to-close, responsive layout) provides a dramatically better mobile cart experience than the default WooCommerce cart page, which was designed for desktop and adapted for mobile as an afterthought.
Faster Shopping Flow
No page reloads. No waiting for the cart page to load. No navigating back to products after checking the cart. A floating cart makes the entire shopping-to-checkout path faster, which is especially important for mobile users and stores with performance-sensitive setups.
Caddy: A WooCommerce Floating Cart Built for Revenue
Caddy goes beyond a basic floating cart drawer. It’s designed to increase your revenue, not just display your cart.
Free Version Features
- Sticky AJAX floating cart with instant reactive updates (no page reloads, no jQuery)
- Free shipping progress meter showing customers exactly how much more to spend
- In-cart product recommendations (manual, cross-sells, or upsells)
- Save for Later so customers can bookmark products without leaving
- Coupon/promo code field directly inside the cart
- Cart bubble with live item count on every page
- Menu widgets for cart and saved items in your navigation
Pro Features ($99/year)
- Multi-tier Rewards Meter (free shipping at $50, free gift at $75, 10% off at $100)
- Workflow automation (conditional offers, popups, auto-applied coupons based on cart contents)
- Analytics dashboard (conversion rate, abandoned cart revenue, top products)
- Abandoned cart tracking (see exactly which carts are abandoned and their contents)
- Announcement bar with personalization (“Hey {first_name}, you’re {free_shipping_remaining} from free shipping!”)
- Offers tab displaying available coupon codes for one-click application
Technical Foundation
Caddy 3.0 is built on the WordPress Interactivity API and WooCommerce Store API. This means:
- No jQuery dependency (lighter, faster)
- Reactive state management (cart updates instantly without full-page AJAX calls)
- Future-proof architecture aligned with WordPress core development direction
- Compatible with block themes, classic themes, HPOS, and WooCommerce Subscriptions
How to Add a Floating Cart to WooCommerce
- Install Caddy from WordPress.org (free) or download Caddy Pro from usecaddy.com
- Activate the plugin. The floating cart is active immediately on all pages.
- Configure your preferences in Caddy > Settings (free shipping threshold, recommendation type, Save for Later toggle)
- The cart bubble appears on your store. Customers click it or add a product to open the floating cart.
Setup takes under 5 minutes for the basic floating cart. Configuring recommendations and the free shipping meter takes an additional 10-15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a floating cart and a side cart?
They’re the same thing. “Floating cart” and “side cart” both describe a cart interface that slides in from the edge of the screen rather than loading on a separate page. Other terms include “cart drawer,” “sliding cart,” “slide-out cart,” and “mini cart.” Caddy functions as all of these.
Will a floating cart slow down my WooCommerce store?
Caddy is built on the WordPress Interactivity API, which uses modern JavaScript (ESM) with no jQuery dependency. It loads only when needed and uses reactive state management for instant updates. It’s lighter than most floating cart alternatives and compatible with caching plugins like WP Rocket (cache exclusions are applied automatically).
Does a floating cart work on mobile?
Yes. Caddy’s floating cart is fully responsive and designed for touch interactions. Large tap targets, swipe-friendly navigation, and a layout that adapts to any screen size. Over 60% of WooCommerce traffic is mobile, so mobile performance is a core design priority.
Can I customize the floating cart’s appearance?
In the free version, you can add custom CSS. Caddy Pro adds WordPress Customizer integration for visual styling (colors, fonts, borders, shadows) and cart bubble positioning options.
Does the floating cart replace the default WooCommerce cart page?
The floating cart provides an alternative cart experience, but it doesn’t remove the default cart page. Customers can still visit the standard cart page if they prefer. Most stores find that 80-90% of cart interactions happen through the floating cart once it’s active.
Is a floating cart compatible with WooCommerce Subscriptions?
Yes. Caddy supports WooCommerce Subscriptions, Product Bundles, and the All Products for Subscriptions extension.
Try Caddy Free
Install Caddy from WordPress.org and add a floating cart to your WooCommerce store in under 5 minutes. The free version includes the shipping meter, product recommendations, Save for Later, and coupon field. No credit card required.
Upgrade to Caddy Pro for analytics, workflow automation, rewards tiers, and abandoned cart tracking.