Description: Understanding why products in your WooCommerce cart disappear shortly after being added and how to fix this issue by securing your website with HTTPS.
If the items in your cart keep disappearing shortly after you add them, it’s likely because your website is not using a secure URL (HTTPS). When your website doesn’t have a secure connection, the cart session data may not be saved correctly, leading to the issue where your cart appears to empty itself.
To fix this problem, you need to ensure your website uses a secure HTTPS connection. HTTPS encrypts the data exchanged between your browser and the server, protecting it from being intercepted. Without HTTPS, the session data that holds your cart information might not be handled properly, causing the items to vanish.
Here’s how you can redirect all traffic to HTTPS, which will help solve the problem of the cart resetting.
Fixing the Issue: Enabling HTTPS on Your Website
Example 1: For Websites Running on Apache
If your website uses Apache as the web server (a popular server software), you can force all visitors to access the secure version of your site by adding some code to the .htaccess
file, which is a configuration file used by Apache. This will automatically redirect anyone trying to visit the non-secure version (HTTP) to the secure version (HTTPS).
- Locate your
.htaccess
file: This file is typically found in the root directory of your website. You can access it via FTP or through your hosting control panel. - Add this code to the
.htaccess
file:apacheCopy codeRewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
- What this does: This code checks whether a visitor is accessing your site through an unsecured connection (HTTP). If they are, it redirects them to the secure version (HTTPS). The
R=301
means this is a permanent redirect, telling search engines and browsers to always use HTTPS.
- What this does: This code checks whether a visitor is accessing your site through an unsecured connection (HTTP). If they are, it redirects them to the secure version (HTTPS). The
Example 2: For Websites Running on Nginx
If your website runs on Nginx (another popular web server), you can also set up a redirect to HTTPS by modifying the server configuration file.
- Access your Nginx configuration: The configuration file for Nginx is usually located at
/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
or/etc/nginx/sites-available/default
. - Add the following code to the Nginx config file:nginxCopy code
server { listen 80; server_name domain.com www.domain.com; return 301 https://domain.com$request_uri; }
- What this does: This tells Nginx to listen for requests coming through the non-secure port (port 80, which is for HTTP) and then redirect them to the secure HTTPS version using a 301 redirect, ensuring that all traffic uses HTTPS.
Why This Works
- HTTP vs HTTPS: HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the standard protocol for sending data between your web browser and the website. However, HTTP is not encrypted, meaning sensitive data, such as your cart session, can be intercepted. HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) adds a layer of security by encrypting this data.
- SSL/TLS: To enable HTTPS, your website must have an SSL certificate installed. This certificate ensures that the data passed between the user’s browser and your server is encrypted. Most hosting providers offer SSL certificates, and many offer them for free via services like Let’s Encrypt.
Long-term Benefits of Using HTTPS
- Security: Protects your website and your users’ data.
- Trust: Users feel more confident shopping on a secure site.
- SEO Boost: Search engines like Google prioritize secure websites in search results.
Conclusion
If your WooCommerce cart is emptying shortly after adding items, make sure your website is using HTTPS. Redirecting all traffic from HTTP to HTTPS ensures that sensitive information like cart data is securely transmitted, preventing session issues that cause the cart to empty.