If WooCommerce checkout has stopped working, first identify the step that fails. A card decline, a missing shipping option and a checkout page that keeps spinning point to different checks. Write down what happens before changing plugins, clearing settings or rolling back the site.

1. Reproduce the failure as a customer

Open checkout in a private browser window while logged out. Use the same type of product, destination and payment method involved in the report. Record the last step that works, the exact error, and when it happened, including the time zone. If possible, check whether it affects all customers or only a particular device, location, product or payment method.

Check when the last successful order came through. Recent orders from other customers can narrow the investigation, though they may have used a different shipping or payment method.

2. If payment fails or a method is missing

If WooCommerce created an order, open its order notes and check your payment provider’s dashboard for the corresponding attempt. If a payment was authorised or captured while WooCommerce still shows the order as unpaid, reconcile the payment before asking the customer to retry. A second attempt could create a duplicate charge.

For a missing payment option, check that the gateway is enabled and supports the checkout type, currency and transaction involved. If you sell subscriptions, check whether the method supports the renewal behaviour you need. Note any recent changes to payment credentials or configuration, but keep keys and card details out of screenshots or support messages.

3. If no shipping method is available

Test a representative delivery address and cart. Check which shipping zone matches the address and whether it has an enabled method for that order. Look for postcode restrictions, free-shipping thresholds and product shipping classes. If you use live carrier rates, check whether the products have the required weights and dimensions and review the extension’s logs for a rejected rate request.

4. If checkout spins or breaks after an update

Confirm whether the assigned checkout page uses the Checkout block or the classic checkout shortcode. The two can use different requests and have different extension compatibility requirements. For a spinner or a blank error, check WooCommerce → Status → Logs around the failure time. If you’re comfortable using browser developer tools, note the failing request’s status code and any console error without copying customer or payment data.

Check the timing against recent plugin, theme, caching or hosting changes. Verify that your caching setup handles cart and checkout as dynamic pages. Reproduce extension conflicts on staging where possible. Use sandbox credentials there and keep test emails and fulfilment integrations isolated from real customers.

Checkout failing for multiple customers? Tell WPFixit what fails at checkout so we can help scope the issue. Include the store URL, the failing step and whether any recent payments went through.

5. Preserve orders before restoring anything

A database restore can overwrite orders and subscription activity recorded after the backup. If the failure began after a deployment, have the person handling the fix check whether the specific change can be reversed without restoring the database. After the fix, verify the affected customer path from cart to confirmation, including the resulting order and payment status where applicable.

What to send to your WooCommerce support team

  • The store URL, exact error and steps to reproduce it.
  • The time of the failure, payment method and affected shipping region, if relevant.
  • Whether WooCommerce created an order and whether the payment provider recorded an attempt.
  • Recent changes and a redacted log excerpt, if available.

Get help with a WooCommerce checkout issue. Tell us whether all customers are affected or only a specific payment method, product or destination. That gives us a place to start investigating.