Shopify Checkout Issues: Fixes & Troubleshooting

Struggling with Shopify checkout problems? Here’s what you need to know:

Common issues: Payment gateway glitches, shipping cost errors, and validation problems
Business impact: Lost sales, damaged trust, and wasted marketing efforts
Key fixes:
1. Check payment gateway details
2. Review shipping cost calculations
3. Test discount codes
4. Update inventory regularly
5. Use address validation tools

Quick tips to boost checkout performance:

Speed up pages by compressing images and reducing app load
Optimize for mobile with autocomplete and express payment options
Test regularly and keep your Shopify store updated

Issue	Fix
Payment failures	Verify gateway setup
Wrong shipping costs	Check weight-based tiers
Discount code errors	Double-check rules and links
Stock mismatches	Update inventory counts often
Address input errors	Enable Google Autocomplete

Remember: A smooth checkout can significantly increase your conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

Shopify Checkout Issues Explained

Checkout problems can kill sales. Let’s look at the main issues and how they hurt your business.

Common Checkout Hurdles

Shopify stores often face these issues:

Payment gateway glitches: Customers can’t pay.
Shipping cost errors: Wrong charges or missing options.
Validation errors: Customer info doesn’t match expected formats.

Here’s a real example: One store had 779 visitors but ZERO purchases. Why? A required apartment field that many couldn’t fill out.

The Business Impact

Checkout problems don’t just annoy customers. They hit your bottom line:

Lost sales: People abandon carts.
Damaged trust: Bugs make your store look unreliable.
Wasted marketing: All that effort to attract customers? Gone.

Let’s look at some numbers:

Why People Abandon Carts	Percentage
Just browsing	48%
Must create account	26%
Payment security worries	25%
Checkout too complex	20%

These stats show why a smooth checkout matters. Even small issues can cost you big.

"A broken Shopify checkout can wreck your sales and reputation." – Shay, Shopify Support

You need to fix these issues fast. Next, we’ll cover how to solve common Shopify checkout problems.

Common Problems and Fixes

Let’s look at the main Shopify checkout issues and how to fix them.

Payment Gateway Problems

Payment gateway issues can kill sales. Watch out for:

Repeated payment failures
Error messages at checkout
Customers can’t finish buying

How to fix:

Check your payment gateway details
Make sure Shopify Payments is set up right
Test payments in your store’s checkout

Using IntaSend? Make sure email collection is a must at checkout. This is key for both card and M-Pesa payments to work.

Shipping Cost Errors

Wrong shipping costs confuse customers and hurt sales. For example, a 0.575 Kg product showed RM11.50 shipping instead of RM9.

To fix shipping cost errors:

Look over your weight-based shipping tiers
Check for shipping profile conflicts
Think about ditching weight-based tiers if problems keep happening

Remember: Shopify figures out shipping based on cart total, not profile total. This can lead to overcharging if products from different profiles are in one cart.

Discount Code Issues

Broken discount codes annoy customers. Common causes:

Expired codes
Codes linked to wrong products
Minimum purchase not met

To fix:

Double-check code details and rules
Make sure codes are linked to the right products or collections
Test codes before you promote them

Stock Level Mismatches

When inventory counts are off, customers might try to buy stuff you don’t have. To avoid this:

Update your inventory counts often
Use Shopify’s inventory tools
Set up alerts for low stock to avoid overselling

Address Input Errors

Address problems can delay shipping or cause failed deliveries. To reduce these issues:

Turn on Google Autocomplete in your Shopify admin
Use clear labels for address fields
Add address validation to catch common mistakes

Technical Fixes

When checkout issues stick around, it’s time to get technical. Let’s look at how to fix browser problems, theme clashes, and app conflicts.

Browser Issues

Browser problems are common, but often easy to solve:

Clear cache and cookies
Use incognito mode
Try different browsers
Update browsers

Guide your customers through these steps if they report issues. One store owner found that 15% of their customers couldn’t check out because of old browsers.

Theme and Code Clashes

Custom themes and code tweaks can break checkout:

Look for modified files in the theme editor
Compare your theme with the original
Undo recent changes if you suspect they caused problems

Case in point: A store using the Brooklyn theme added a bundling app. Checkout broke. Turns out, there was a JavaScript clash that needed the theme creator’s help to fix.

To avoid these headaches:

Only make necessary theme changes
Always backup before editing
Test after each change

App Conflicts

Third-party apps can mess with Shopify’s checkout:

Check if issues started after adding new apps
Turn off suspicious apps temporarily
Remove apps completely, including leftover code

Step	Action	Why It Helps
1	List new apps	Spots potential troublemakers
2	Disable apps one at a time	Finds the problem app
3	Check for leftover code	Ensures clean app removal

Real-world example: In March 2023, Shopify warned about a Google Tag Manager conflict. The quick fix? Disable the tag. It solved checkout issues for affected stores.

Making Checkout Faster and Better

Let’s look at ways to speed up your Shopify checkout and improve its mobile performance.

Speeding Up Checkout Pages

Slow checkouts can kill sales. Here’s how to rev up yours:

Shrink images: Use smaller file sizes for logos and backgrounds.
App caution: Too many third-party apps? That’s a speed trap.
Trim form fields: Stick to the essentials.

Portent’s 2019 research found: "Each extra second of load time drops conversion by 4.42%."

Check out these real-world results:

What We Did	Before	After	Result
Compressed images	3s load	1.5s load	50% faster
Axed 3 apps	5s load	2s load	60% faster
Cut form fields (10 to 5)	69% quit	45% quit	35% fewer quits

Better Mobile Checkout

Phone shopping is huge. Make your mobile checkout smooth:

Address autocomplete: Speed up form filling.
Express payments: Add Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay.
Big buttons: Make CTAs easy to tap.

Shopify says: "Shop Pay can boost conversion rates by 72% compared to regular checkout."

Did you know 84% of users struggle with mobile transactions? Don’t let your store add to that number.

Preventing Future Problems

Here’s how to stop checkout issues before they start:

Regular Testing

Check your checkout often:

Run test purchases weekly
Use Shopify Payments test mode
Do real transaction tests monthly (cancel and refund right away)

"Test orders help find issues with taxes, inventory, and post-purchase emails from the customer’s view."

Keeping Shopify Up to Date

Stay current:

Set auto-updates for minor releases
Schedule major updates when traffic is low
Test after each update

Update Type	How Often	What to Do
Minor	Weekly	Auto-update
Major	Every 3 months	Manual + Test

Talking to Customers

Help shoppers buy:

Add live chat to checkout pages
Watch for common issues in feedback
Ask customers about their experience after purchase

"Fix potential checkout problems fast. Make sure payment settings are right and review shipping setups."

Wrap-up

Fixing Shopify checkout issues boosts sales and keeps customers happy. Here’s what to do:

Test often, fix fast. Run weekly test purchases using Shopify Payments test mode. Do real transaction tests monthly.

Keep your store current. Set auto-updates for small changes, plan big ones during quiet times. Always test after updates.

Listen to customers. Add chat to checkout pages, watch for common issues in feedback, and ask about their experience post-purchase.

Smooth out checkout:

Allow guest checkout
Offer free shipping when possible
Provide multiple payment options

Improvement	Impact
Guest checkout	34% fewer abandonments
Free shipping	Influences 75% of global shoppers
Multiple payments	7% fewer abandonments

Build trust and speed:

Display security badges
Use Google Autocomplete for addresses
Ensure mobile-friendly checkout

A good checkout makes a big difference. Daniel Bari from Dreamland Jewelry found:

"The single biggest impact was free shipping on all orders, which resulted in a 37% uplift in conversions."

FAQs

How to simplify Shopify checkout?

Want to boost conversions? Here’s how to make your Shopify checkout smoother:

Add a progress bar
Enable guest checkout
Offer multiple payment options
Show shipping info upfront
Add real-time support
Optimize for mobile
Display security badges
Use address autocomplete

Check out these stats:

Improvement	Impact
Guest checkout	34% fewer cart abandonments
Multiple payment options	7% fewer abandonments
Security badges	92% customer satisfaction rate

Here’s a kicker: 90% of customers say a good checkout experience makes them more likely to shop again. That’s huge!

Got Shopify Plus? You can edit the checkout.liquid file. But heads up – it’s tricky. Consider getting a Shopify Expert for the complex stuff.

Shopify Checkout Issues: Fixes & Troubleshooting