The shopping cart page shows the items currently in the shopping basket. It allows visitors to select a shipping zone and class which will determine tax and shipping costs (viewable once they proceed to the Order Form). From the shopping cart they can proceed to the Order Form, and finally confirm the order and goto the Confirmation Form.
By default every time a visitor clicks a Buy Now button they are taken to the shopping cart. However you may decide to just refresh the page when a visitor clicks on the Buy Now button. This will make it quicker for visitors to add multiple items to their order without having to keep going to and fro between the shopping cart and the product pages. If you wish your site to work in this way go to Layout -> Site Set Up -> Site Buttons. When you select the Add to Order button this option will appear. You also have the option to place shopping cart status information (plus a link to the shopping cart) anywhere on the page at all times so visitors can see the number of items in the cart and the cost so far.
You can choose to have a link to the shopping cart in the side bar - see Layout -> Side Bar -> Side Bar Set Up. Alternatively you can place a link to the shopping cart from anywhere on your site using the following link: <a href="viewcart.asp">.