How to Test WooCommerce Checkout and Payments

Last updated - March 31, 2022

If you are a WooCommerce store owner and planning to start receiving payments for your products or services online then this guide will help you test WooCommerce Checkout and payments.

Table of Contents

Why Test WooCommerce Checkout and Payments?

Customers prefer an online store due to the convenience of buying a product while sitting at home and also safely managing online transactions. If your payment process is not running smoothly there is a risk of losing your customers and even facing legal action. Due to the huge popularity of WooCommerce and WordPress, there are a lot of methods on how to test payments. If you have already published your website you can use the following techniques to start your testing process.

A good ranking and trusted online store need a reliable payment system while making online purchases. A slow or broken checkout process will impact your customer experience and this will decrease your sales. You should keep upgrading your payment system and keep a check on any bugs and maintain security throughout the checkout process.

Follow these detailed steps to test WooCommerce checkout and payments. We will broadly discuss how to test cash on delivery, cheque payments, and testing on the WooCommerce Payments plugin.

How To Test WooCommerce Checkout using the Cash on Delivery option?

Access the WooCommerce option in the left sidebar from your WordPress dashboard. Go to Settings > Payments > Cash on Delivery, and enable it.

Now, visit your WooCommerce store and try and order a product. You can see from the above screenshot that a product is already added to the cart. Now click the Proceed to Checkout button. This button will redirect you to a new page like below.

Here customers can fill in all the necessary details required to receive their desired product. For testing purposes, you can fill in any contact and delivery details. In the payment method, the checkout page shows only the Cash on Delivery option because we enabled it on our WooCommerce payment dashboard. When you are done filling in these details you can click the Place Order button.

This will redirect you to an order confirmation page like displayed below.

This page will display all the order details such as order number, date, email, total price, and payment method. You can see that the checkout page and orders are working smoothly. Your customers will be sent an automatic email confirmation and order details.

You can access the order details through your WordPress dashboard. Go to WooCommerce > Orders. Here you can view and click the required order number. This will display all the detailed information about the placed order.

You can access customer contact information, shipping methods, payment methods, and even modify information if required.

How To Test WooCommerce Cheque Payments?

We will use the simplest way to test cheque payments. Go to your WooCommerce Payment Section > Cheque Payments, and enable it. Now, visit your online store and order a product, where you will proceed to the Checkout page, fill in delivery details and select the payment method as ‘cheque payment’. Place the order, this will redirect you to an order confirmation page.

You can now go to your Order page and check if the order has been placed successfully. Open the most recent order and check the payment details in the order dashboard for admin. Hare, you can see that the order was completed using the cheque payment method. Similarly, you can test this for Bank transfers as well.

How to Test WooCommerce Checkout using a Free Plugin?

Visit your WordPress dashboard then go to Plugins > Add New. In the search bar type WC Order Test. This free testing plugin allows you to test the checkout process in a simple and effective way. Install the WC Order Test plugin then click the Activate button.

To fully use this plugin for testing purposes go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments. Here you will see a new option: Order Test, enable this option then click the Manage button.

In the settings panel of this plugin, you only have one option to Enable order test gateway. When you are done click the Save changes button to proceed forward.

Visit your store and order a product. When you proceed to the checkout page you will see the Order Test Gateway option.

Select this option and after filling in the delivery and contact details you can click the Place Order button. This button will direct you to a new order confirmation screen.

This contains all the relevant information related to your product and delivery. Note down the order number and you can access it on the WooCommerce Order page.

How to Test WooCommerce Checkout and Payments Using WooCommerce Payments Plugin?

You can easily set up and use the WooCommerce Payments plugin to integrate credit and debit card payments, it even supports Apple Pay and Google Pay apps. This plugin allows you to manage and view transaction reports using the plugin dashboard. Let’s see how you can test payments when using the WooCommerce Payments plugin.

To test a development website you can create a test account using Dev Mode.

Now install the WooCommerce Payments plugin and set it up by filling in the necessary details. You can read this guide to get better insights in this article: WooCommerce Payments Setup Guide (2022).

When you are done switch to Test Mode. Go to Payments > Settings > (Enable) Test Mode. Save these changes to proceed forward.

To test card payments using this plugin go to your Shop page then add a product to your cart. Now, proceed to the checkout page and fill in the delivery details in the required fields. After filling in the required details it will enable you to enter card details.

Use the following test card numbers for testing purposes.

For expiry date enter any future date and type any 3 digit CVC code except 123.

When you are done place the order. You will see an order confirmation screen as shown in the above methods.

From your WordPress dashboard, you can go to Payments > Transactions to see the charges. The order will be processed forward as if you are using a real credit card.

How to Test Card Payments Using the Stripe Payment Gateway?

Woocommerce Stripe Payment gateway plugin is one of the most used payment tools that allows card payments, digital wallets, and local payments through Stripe gateway. Furthermore, you can use the test feature for Stripe for your WooCommerce store.

To get started go to your WP Dashboard and install the plugin, once it’s done click the Activate button. Now, let’s integrate the Stripe plugin for test mode. You will need to set up your Stripe account for the API keys. Create a new account on the Stripe website then go to Developer > API Keys. Here you can access your Publishable Key and the Secret Key.

Now, go to your WooCommerce settings then access the payments tab. In the payment options enable the Stripe payment method and then click the Set up button.

This button will redirect you to a new window where you can Enable Test Mode and insert the Publishable and Secret Keys. Once you have pasted both the keys you can click the Save Changes button.

stripe test publishable secret key woocommerce orders

Now head over to your front-end of the eCommerce store and purchase a product. Add the product to your cart and proceed to the Checkout page. Add and fill in all the billing and customer details.

To test credit card payment for Stripe, you can use the above test numbers in the previous section. For CVC code and valid date, you can enter any valid numerical values. After it’s done you can click the Place Order button to move forward.

To check if the payment worked correctly you can go to your Stripe dashboard > Payments tab. Here you can view all your placed orders. If your order is displayed in the payment dashboard it means that the payment was successfully executed using the Stripe gateway.

Now, to make this payment method live for your customers. Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments. Click the Manage Stripe payment button and disable the test mode. You can fill the necessary fields as instructed and click the Save Changes button once finished.

Use the above methods on How to Test WooCommerce Checkout and Payments on your online store. Furthermore, you should keep your payment-related plugins regularly updated and also install additional security plugins if required. A smooth payment process will improve your customer experience, enhance trust among users, and increase your online sales. You can write to us if you still have any questions or type your query in the comment section below.