What does a WooCommerce Buy Now button actually do?

It adds a single button next to Add to Cart that takes the shopper straight to checkout with the chosen product, skipping the cart page. The aim is fewer steps between deciding to buy and paying, which leaves fewer chances to abandon a simple purchase.

Why does skipping the cart matter?

Stock WooCommerce sends a shopper from the product to the cart and only then to checkout. Every extra stop is another chance to drop off. A Buy Now button removes the cart stop for single-product purchases, which is where impulse and digital buys lose people.

Can the cart be cleared before a Buy Now purchase?

Yes, when the tool supports it. Swift has an optional setting to clear the cart before the purchase, so the shopper checks out with only the chosen product rather than whatever was already in the cart. It is a setting, not the default, so you choose the behaviour.

Does a Buy Now button work with variable products?

It depends on the edition. The free Swift plugin covers simple products. Buy Now on variable product pages, where the shopper picks a variation first, ships in Swift Pro, along with a sticky bar and variable Buy Now in shop loops.

Does a Buy Now button need its own database tables?

It should not. Swift is stateless: it creates no tables or stored data of its own and runs on WooCommerce hooks. That keeps the front end light and means uninstalling leaves nothing behind in the database.

Can I change the button label and where it appears?

Yes. Swift lets you set your own button text and choose the placement: the product page, shop listings, or both. You can also choose whether the button leads to checkout or to the cart, depending on what suits the store.

Guides

WooCommerce Buy Now button: send shoppers straight to checkout, skipping the cart

By Mariusz Szatkowski · Updated: 2026-06-22

A shopper ready to buy a single product still has to add it to the cart, open the cart, then go to checkout. Each step is another chance to abandon. A Buy Now button removes that detour: one click sends the shopper straight to checkout with the chosen product. This guide explains what a Buy Now button is, why it helps, and what to look for in a clean implementation.

What a Buy Now Button Is and Why It Matters

A Buy Now button is a second action on the product, placed beside the usual Add to Cart. Instead of dropping the product into the cart and waiting, it sends the shopper directly to checkout with that product. The cart page, a needless stop for a single-product purchase, is skipped entirely.

This matters because the path to checkout is where stores lose buyers. Stock WooCommerce has no quick Buy Now route: product, then cart, then checkout. For impulse buys and digital goods, where the decision is already made, every extra step invites a drop-off. Shortening the path to a single click is the point.

What to Look For

A good Buy Now button is small in scope and careful about side effects. A few properties matter:

It skips the cart. The shopper should land at checkout with the chosen product, not on the cart page.
It is configurable. You should be able to set the button text and choose where it appears: product page, shop listings, or both.
It controls the redirect target. Some stores want Buy Now to go to checkout, others to the cart. The choice should be yours.
It is stateless. A button like this needs no database tables of its own. It should run on WooCommerce hooks and leave nothing behind.

How Swift Does It

Swift for WooCommerce is a free, open source plugin that adds exactly this. It places a Buy Now button on the product page and optionally on shop listings, and the button leads straight to checkout, skipping the cart.

A few real features make it practical:

Cart skipping. The shopper lands directly at checkout with the chosen product, with no stop at the cart page.
Cart clearing. An optional setting clears the cart before the purchase, so the shopper buys only the chosen product.
Configurable label and placement. Set your own button text and choose the product page, shop listings, or both.
Redirect target. Choose whether Buy Now goes to checkout or the cart, depending on the store’s needs.
No database state. Swift creates no tables or stored data; it runs statelessly on WooCommerce hooks.

The free edition covers simple products. Variable-product Buy Now on the single page (where the shopper selects a variation first), a sticky Buy Now bar, per-product rules, express checkout shortcuts, variable Buy Now in shop loops, and buy-now analytics ship in Swift Pro.

Swift Versus Default WooCommerce

Stock WooCommerce has no Buy Now path. Here is the difference for the single-click checkout specifically:

Capability	Default WooCommerce	Swift
Buy Now button	None built in	On the product page and optionally shop listings
Path to checkout	Product, then cart, then checkout	Straight to checkout, skipping the cart
Clear the cart for a single buy	Manual	Optional setting
Button label and placement	Fixed	Configurable text and placement
Redirect target	n/a	Checkout or cart, your choice
Database tables	n/a	None, stateless on WooCommerce hooks
Variable products	n/a	Simple in free; variations in Swift Pro
Cost	Free (no Buy Now exists)	Free; PRO adds variations, sticky bar, rules

The Short Version

A Buy Now button shortens the path to purchase by sending shoppers straight to checkout and skipping the cart, which is where single-product and impulse buys are lost. Prefer a tool that is configurable, lets you control the redirect target, and stays stateless. Swift does this for free on simple products, with variations and extras in Swift Pro.

Swift for WooCommerce