Add Simple Cart Fees in WooCommerce with Custom Code (2024 version)

In the ever-evolving landscape of e-commerce, WooCommerce stands out as a versatile platform that offers a plethora of customization options to store owners. One such powerful feature is the ability to modify the shopping cart by adding custom fees based on specific conditions, using WooCommerce hooks. This blog post delves into the practical application of the woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees hook to add a surcharge under certain conditions, providing a step-by-step commentary on the code snippet and its implications for your online store.

Understanding WooCommerce Hooks

WooCommerce hooks are integral to customizing and extending the functionality of your online store without altering the core plugin files. They come in two forms: actions and filters. Actions allow you to insert custom code at specific points within the WooCommerce process, while filters enable you to modify data.

The woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees Hook

The woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees action hook is particularly useful for adding fees or discounts to the cart dynamically. It triggers during the cart totals calculation phase, allowing you to assess the cart contents and apply additional charges as needed.

Implementing a Custom Surcharge

The provided code snippet showcases a practical implementation of the woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees hook to add a surcharge based on specific cart conditions.

Let’s break down the code to understand how it achieves this:

see the code first

• Hook into WooCommerce Fee Calculation: The first line of the code registers a custom function to the woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees action hook, which is triggered during the cart’s fee calculation phase.
• Exclude Admin Area: The initial check ensures that the custom fee logic only runs on the front end of the site, avoiding unnecessary interference with administrative tasks.
• Free Shipping Condition: The script then checks if free shipping is applicable, a condition that might be determined by cart total, customer location, or other factors defined in a custom can_offer_free_shipping function.
• Special Items Check: By iterating over the items in the cart, the code identifies whether any product belongs to the “specials” category, setting a flag to true if such an item is found.
• Applying the Surcharge: When both conditions are satisfied—free shipping is available and a special item is in the cart—a surcharge is added, labeled “Flavor Pack Shipping Cost”, ensuring that any additional expenses associated with these special items are accounted for.

This approach not only adds flexibility to shipping cost management but also enhances the customer experience by transparently communicating any additional fees. It’s an elegant solution for managing exceptions in your shipping policies without needing to adjust your overall pricing structure or manually monitor orders for special items.

For those interested in implementing or customizing this functionality, here’s the complete code snippet:

add_action('woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees', 'wc_add_surcharge');

function wc_add_surcharge() {
    if (is_admin() && !defined('DOING_AJAX')) return;

    $check_free_shipping = can_offer_free_shipping();
    if ($check_free_shipping['is_available']) {
        $has_jack_special = false;
        foreach (WC()->cart->get_cart() as $cart_item_key => $cart_item) {
            if (has_term('specials', 'product_cat', $cart_item['product_id'])) {
                $has_jack_special = true;
            }
        }
        if ($has_jack_special) {
            $fee = 10.00;
            global $woocommerce;
            $woocommerce->cart->add_fee("Flavor Pack Shipping Cost", $fee, true, 'standard');
        }
    }
}

This approach provides a seamless way to manage additional charges, ensuring transparency and fairness for both the store owner and the customers.

FAQs

1. What are WooCommerce hooks? Hooks in WooCommerce allow for the addition of custom functionality or the modification of existing processes without altering core plugin files, ensuring safe updates and customizations.
2. How can I add a custom fee to the WooCommerce cart? By using the woocommerce_cart_calculate_fees action hook, you can insert custom code to dynamically add fees based on specific cart conditions or customer criteria.
3. Can these custom fees be conditional? Absolutely. The code can be tailored to apply fees only under certain conditions, such as specific items in the cart, customer roles, or cart totals, offering flexibility in how charges are applied.
4. Will customers see these fees? Yes, any fees added through this method will be clearly itemized in the cart and checkout pages, ensuring transparency for customers.
5. Is custom coding the only way to add fees in WooCommerce? While custom coding offers the most flexibility, there are also plugins available that can introduce similar functionalities without the need for writing code.
6. Can I use this method to apply discounts? Yes, by specifying a negative amount for the fee, you can effectively apply a discount to the cart total.
7. Where can I learn more about customizing WooCommerce? The official WooCommerce documentation, developer resources, and various online communities are great places to start for anyone looking to dive deeper into WooCommerce customization.

Read more about the hook on WooCommerce here

Read another article about WooCommerce