Shopping Cart - Main Page?

[schoolboy]

I don't see any logic to your request. As Kobra says, upon first entry, the shopping cart would be emply, requiring ADDITIONAL steps (clicks) by the visitor to get to where they want to be.

The successful sites pepper their welcome page with PRODUCT DATA, such as special offers, must-have items, topical and useful products, etc. When these have "buy now" buttons, the action required to get the cart "active" is a single click. Your proposal will require at least THREE clicks before a product can be added. Your site will be 66% LESS EFFICIENT.

You can embed shopping cart stats into the header, of have a sidebox for it. But to have it as the welcome page is not a good idea.

When I go to the supermarket, I KNOW my trolley will be empty before I walk into the store. How wonderful it would be if it were otherwise... Imagine arriving at the supermarket and having a FULL trolley waiting for you, filled with all the stuff you have on your list...

[newmember]

Very good discussion.
I can see your points and verified the comments with testing.

So backing up a bit.

The intent is to have a page with 6 items for sale.
The customer logs into their account.
Sees all 6 items
Quickly adds quantity amounts to all six items
Submits the purchase, one click.
Maybe there is no need for the shopping cart?
Print their Packing slip (not the waybill)

I do not require a payment process, all payments are on account.
I do not require the customer to see the inventory
I do not need the customer to see the total purchase price. (its better if they didn't)

This is so that I can automate many of the repeat orders that happen every day.
This should make our life easier for us and and the customers.

[schoolboy]

Look in the free addons for QUICK ORDER by dwno

[schoolboy]

You would still need the FUNCTIONALITY of the shopping cart if you want ZC to manage the process, and (if desired) provide the customer with things like order confirmation, order status, order history, etc - as well as MANY admin functions that I think are vital.

You can HIDE certain elements using simple CSS declarations, sich as {display:none} and {visibility:hidden}, so that;s simple if you don't want/need prices to show anywhere.

You can use my ACCOUNT HOLDERS module to effect the checkout and then use FAST AND EASY CHECKOUT to streamline the order steps for the customer.

Setting this all up should take no more than an hour or two. easy...