Every product you sell has its own checkout page. This article shows what buyers see there and what happens after they pay.
Where the checkout lives
Open a product under Payments > Catalog > Products and switch to the Checkout & URLs tab. The Checkout link there opens the checkout for that product. The Test mode link opens the same page in Stripe test mode. You have to save a new product once before the links appear.
If Payments is off in your workspace, switch it on under Settings > Features first.
When the checkout does not open
Buyers see a notice instead of a payment form in these cases:
- Checkout not available yet: the product has no active price.
- Checkout unavailable: you have not connected Stripe, or Stripe does not accept payments on your account yet, and no other payment method is switched on. While Stripe is not ready, card payment is hidden from the checkout.
- Test mode not available: someone opened the test link, but no Stripe test account and no PayPal sandbox account is connected.
- This shop is taking a break: your workspace is restricted, so new orders are paused.
The checkout link of an unpublished product does not open.
What the buyer fills in
The checkout does not ask buyers to log in or create a password. Under Your details they enter their Email, which is required, and their Full name. If you have set up terms or a privacy policy as legal pages, the buyer also has to tick the box that accepts them before paying. An order without that tick is refused. The consent is stored with the order, together with the version of the documents, the time and the IP address.
Depending on the product and your tax setup, the checkout also asks for a billing address, a company name or a shipping address and shipping method. With the Steps layout these fields are split into Account, Billing address and Payment, and the buyer moves on with Continue.
The Coupon code field takes coupon codes and gift card codes. When a code does not work, the buyer sees why, for example that it has expired or does not apply to this product.
How the buyer pays
The buyer picks a Payment method if you offer more than one:
- Card & online payment runs through Stripe right on the page.
- PayPal sends the buyer to PayPal to approve the payment and back again.
- Bank transfer (prepayment), Purchase on invoice and Cash finish without an online payment. The buyer lands on a confirmation page. For bank transfer and invoice it shows your bank details, the Due date and the Reference to use. With bank transfer and cash, access starts once the order is marked as paid. With purchase on invoice, access starts right away.
Offline methods only work for one-time purchases. Subscriptions and installment plans need an online method, and event tickets are paid by card only.
A price countdown, if you switch it on, is a visual cue only. It starts again each time the page loads and does not end the offer.
After the payment
Once the payment goes through, the buyer moves through these steps in order, skipping any that do not apply:
- An upsell offer, if you set one up for the product.
- The thank-you page, which is on by default.
- Your own redirect URL, if you entered one. The chain ends there.
- A short step to add a missing name, only for a buyer who was logged in.
- The login page of your workspace.
You set steps 2 and 3 per product, on the Thank-you page tab of the product. Under Thank-you page, switch the page off or give it your own Title (optional) and Message (optional). Without them, the buyer reads "Thank you. Payment received." and a short confirmation. Under Custom redirect, enter a Redirect URL. The buyer goes there after clicking Continue on the thank-you page, or right away when the page is switched off. A purchase made inside the member area ignores the redirect and returns to the member area. In a cart, the first product decides.
At the same time the buyer gets an account under the email they entered. If an account with that email already exists, the purchase is added to it. The confirmation email lists the order number and total and links to the login. You can turn it off as Order Confirmation under Settings > Notifications.
When a payment fails
If the bank declines the card, the error appears right in the payment form. No charge has been made, and the buyer can try again or pick another method. If Payment Failed is switched on under Settings > Notifications, the buyer also gets an email with a link back to the checkout, once per payment attempt. Only after a redirect, such as a bank verification that fails or is cancelled, does the checkout show Payment not completed with a Back to checkout button.
The link in the email opens a checkout with the buyer's details filled in, also once the order has expired or failed in the meantime. A cart order with several items is reopened. For an order that is already paid the link opens the confirmation page instead.
Abandoned checkouts
The checkout writes a pending order before the payment is confirmed. A buyer who closes the tab leaves that order behind. Once an hour, pending orders older than 60 minutes are checked against Stripe or PayPal. If the payment went through after all, the order is completed. A payment that is still on its way, such as a SEPA debit or a pending bank verification, keeps the order open. An abandoned payment marks the order as expired. A declined payment marks it as failed right away, without waiting for this check. An order that never reached the payment step, for example a checkout link that was only opened, stays pending for 24 hours first. Without a Stripe connection such orders expire after 24 hours as well. Bank transfer, invoice and cash orders are not expired this way: they stay pending until you confirm the money arrived, or until Cancel unpaid orders after (days) under Payment methods cancels them.