Allow adding multiple products to the cart via the add-to-cart query string

[jtsternberg]

I have written a tutorial for doing this (in a bit of hacky way, due to WC_Form_Handler's private methods), but this seems like prime territory for WC core. If this is considered blessed, I can start on a PR for it along the lines of the code in the tutorial.

https://dsgnwrks.pro/snippets/woocommerce-allow-adding-multiple-products-to-the-cart-via-the-add-to-cart-query-string/

[mikejolley]

Related #16742

[jtsternberg]

Well looky there... it's my tutorial. We can close this issue if you want to keep the thread in one place? -- I see that one is closed, so will continue the discussion here.

[jtsternberg]

A summary from #16742:

What I'd rather see is either:

• handling for multiple products in core
  OR
• splitting/refactoring the methods for easier reuse.

A new query param is one option.

[claudiulodro]

Feel free to submit a pull request for this! A new query param is probably the easiest solution, since it's a bonus feature not directly used in core.

[yangkennyk]

3.2 seems to have broken ability to add multiple variable products with this snippet as well.

[wloske]

Ok, I'll add a use case for this: We have rewritten the looks of a variable product in the store so that two attributes ("Side" with left and right and "Color" with a list of colors as choices) are not displayed as a "Side" pulldown and a "Color" pulldown but as a fixed row "Left" and fixed row "Right" with a color pulldown for each. As it is currently implemented we have to add an order button to both lines and purchase two single items of the same product on one screen but the product is intended as a pair so only a single button would be nice - the basket still could and should have to single products. We call this a "matrix" product.

Perhaps we are thinking too complicated here for this use case. If anyone has a suggestion for this, it would be very welcomed.

[jtsternberg]

@mikejolley How do you feel about the curie notation for defining the product ids/quantities? e.g.

?items-to-cart=<product1-id>:<product1-qty>,<product2-id>:<product2-qty>

Background: https://dsgnwrks.pro/snippets/woocommerce-allow-adding-multiple-products-to-the-cart-via-the-add-to-cart-query-string/#comment-12236

(I'm envisioning doing a simple version of the same thing for varations: <variation1-id>:<variation1-qty>)

I think the alternative would possibly be multiple params, e.g.

?items-to-cart=<product1-id>,<product2-id>&quantities=<product1-qty>,<product2-qty>

[mikejolley]

I guess thats an option :) Did you see how grouped products do it?

[jtsternberg]

Yah, was working through that now actually. Appears to be an array with $item => $quantity, where I presume $item is the product id. Is that preferred then? The main reason I'm not a fan of that is the URL can get quite long as you have to do something like:

?items-to-cart[<product1-id>]=<product1-qty>&items-to-cart[<product2-id>]=<product2-qty>

But if we use a custom query var, I guess I we can make it a smaller query var for the ids/quantities, e.g.

?items-to-cart=1&add[<product1-id>]=<product1-qty>&add[<product2-id>]=<product2-qty>

[jtsternberg]

(oops)

[mikejolley]

Is the main goal to have a short url, or to just support it across product types? And query string only, or support post/forms too?

[jtsternberg]

@mikejolley ideally all of the above, I guess. #17855 ready for review.

[mikejolley]

Let's continue discussion in #17855

Thanks