A broken checkout is the most urgent kind of website problem. Visitors fill their carts, try to pay and hit an error. Or worse, they pay, and your store doesn't record the order. Every hour it stays broken costs you sales and trust.
I'm Aldrian, an independent developer. I fix checkout and payment problems on WooCommerce, Shopify and custom stores.
On my Artic Flex work, a live WooCommerce store had to keep checkout, subscriptions and affiliate forms working through a design revamp, plugin replacements and an upgrade from PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.4. Everything was proven on staging first, then tested again on the live site. Checkout is the one thing a store can never afford to break.
Checkout problems I fix
Checkout page errors
The checkout page won't load, spins forever, shows an error or the Place Order button does nothing.
Payments not going through
Cards declined unexpectedly, e-wallet payments failing, the gateway showing an error or customers stuck on the payment page.
Paid, but marked unpaid
Customers paid, the money arrived, but the order still says "pending payment." Usually a webhook problem.
Orders not created
Payment captured at the gateway, but no order in your store.
Duplicate orders or charges
The same order created twice, or customers charged twice.
Cart problems
Cart not updating, items disappearing, coupons not applying or wrong shipping totals.
Missing confirmation emails
Orders go through, but customers or your team never get the email. See form and email fixes.
Subscription renewals failing
Recurring payments not renewing, renewing twice or cancellations not taking effect.
Common causes
- Webhooks not set up, pointing to an old URL or failing verification
- Plugin or theme updates that conflict with the checkout
- Outdated child theme templates for checkout or cart
- Caching checkout, cart or account pages, which should never be cached
- Security plugins or firewalls blocking the gateway's callbacks
- Expired or wrong API keys, or test keys left on a live site
- PHP version incompatibilities in payment plugins
- JavaScript errors from other plugins stopping checkout scripts
- Currency, rounding or tax settings that the gateway rejects
- Gateway account issues, like verification holds or disabled payment methods
How I fix checkout problems
1. Reproduce it
I try to check out the way your customers do, on phones and desktops, with the payment methods they use.
2. Gather evidence
Browser console errors, WooCommerce and gateway logs, server error logs and the gateway dashboard's webhook history. Together they usually point straight to the cause.
3. Fix the cause
Depending on what I find: reconfigure webhooks, update or patch plugins, fix template overrides, exclude checkout from caching, adjust firewall rules, correct keys or fix conflicting scripts.
4. Reconcile affected orders
If orders were paid but marked unpaid, or payments were captured without orders, I help match gateway records to your store so customers get what they paid for.
5. Test with real orders
Test mode first, then real small payments with each payment method, checking order status, emails, stock and webhook delivery.
6. Prevent it next time
Recommendations like staging tests before updates, webhook monitoring and order alerts.
Local payment methods
Many Philippine stores use gateways such as PayMongo, Xendit or Dragonpay for GCash, Maya, cards and online banking. E-wallet payments involve redirects to the customer's app and back, which makes correct webhook handling even more important. More on GCash and Maya integration.
Shopify and custom checkouts
On Shopify, the checkout itself is managed by Shopify, so problems usually involve apps, theme code, scripts or payment provider settings. On custom stores and web apps, I review the payment integration code, webhook handling and order logic. More on payment gateway integration.
While it's broken
If checkout is down right now, a few temporary steps can save sales:
- Add a visible notice and a way to order by message or phone
- Enable a working alternative payment method if you have one
- Pause ads that send traffic to the store
Then let's fix the real problem.
Common mistakes
Caching checkout pages. A common cause of cart and checkout chaos.
Testing only with one payment method. Each method can fail differently.
Updating payment plugins on the live site first. Test on staging.
Trusting the thank-you page. Only a verified webhook should mark orders paid.
Ignoring gateway emails. Gateways often warn about failing webhooks before customers notice.
Watching checkout after the fix
The best time to find a checkout problem is before customers do. After fixing your store, I can set up simple safeguards: alerts when orders stay on pending for too long, notifications when the gateway reports failed webhooks, regular test orders on a schedule and a quick checklist to run after every plugin update. These take little time and can save a weekend of lost sales.
How it works
- Message me with your store address and what's happening.
- Share access to the store, hosting and gateway dashboard.
- I diagnose and send a fixed quote.
- I fix and test with real orders.
- You get a summary and prevention steps.
Let's get your checkout working
Tell me what customers are seeing. I'll reply as soon as possible with next steps.
