Shopify Checkout Not Working? How to Fix Payment, COD, Shipping Rate and Cart Errors

On this page

1. Shopify checkout not working: the quick fix
2. Why Shopify checkout fails: the main causes
3. Payment problems: gateway, UPI and failed payments
4. Cash on delivery not showing at checkout
5. Shipping errors: no shipping rates and pincode problems
6. Theme and app conflicts in the cart
7. Discounts, inventory and other settings that block orders
8. Checkout works but customers still do not finish
9. How to test checkout properly before and after a fix
10. Quick check: after the fix
11. When to get help
12. FAQs

If your Shopify checkout is not working, start by placing a test order yourself in a private browser window. In most Indian stores the cause is one of five things: the payment provider is not fully activated, a shipping zone does not cover the customer's address, an app or theme script is breaking the cart, a discount or inventory setting is blocking the order, or the store is still behind its password page.

This guide gives the checks in the order that finds the fault fastest, then covers the less obvious causes: COD rules, UPI payments that fail, pincodes with no shipping rate and apps that change the cart.

Shopify checkout not working: the quick fix

1. Reproduce it. Open the store in an incognito window on your phone, add a product, and go as far as you can. Note the exact step where it fails and the exact message on screen. Take a screenshot.
2. Check Settings, then Payments. Your payment provider (Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, CCAvenue or another gateway) must show as active, not pending verification or in test mode. If you see a banner asking for documents or bank details, finish that first.
3. Check Settings, then Shipping and delivery. Make sure India, and every state you sell to, sits inside a shipping zone that has at least one rate. A missing rate is one of the most common reasons a checkout says it cannot ship to an address.
4. Check the store is open. Confirm the password page is off and that your plan is a paid plan that allows sales.
5. Turn off recent changes. If the problem started after installing an app, editing the theme or adding a cart drawer, switch back to the previous theme or disable that app and test again.
6. Test a simple order. One physical product, no discount code, a common metro pincode, and COD or UPI. If that works, add the other conditions back one at a time.

Most broken checkouts are found by step five. The sections below explain each cause in more detail.

Why Shopify checkout fails: the main causes

Shopify hosts the checkout itself, so a completely broken checkout page is rare. What usually fails is something around it: the cart before checkout, the payment step, the shipping step, or a rule you set without realising its effect.

Symptom	Likely cause	Where to look
Checkout button does nothing	Theme or app script error in the cart	Theme code, cart drawer apps
No shipping rates available	Address outside every shipping zone, or weight outside rate limits	Settings, Shipping and delivery
Payment fails or loops back	Gateway not activated, wrong keys, UPI timeout	Settings, Payments and the gateway dashboard
Cash on delivery missing	Manual payment method removed, or hidden by an app rule	Settings, Payments, manual methods
Wrong currency or prices	Markets settings	Settings, Markets
Some products cannot be bought	Out of stock, not published to the Online Store channel, or not available in that market	Product page in admin

Payment problems: gateway, UPI and failed payments

Payment issues are the most common checkout complaint from Indian store owners. Check these in order.

The gateway is not fully live

Gateways such as Razorpay, PayU and Cashfree verify your business before they allow live payments. Until that is complete, the account can stay in test mode, and real customers see errors or no payment option at all. Log in to the gateway's own dashboard, not just Shopify, and confirm the account is activated for live payments and that the website you registered matches your Shopify domain. If you recently changed domain, update it with the gateway too.

UPI payments failing or timing out

UPI payments depend on the customer approving the request in their UPI app. If they take too long, switch apps or lose network, the payment can fail or remain pending even though money left their account. These payments usually settle or reverse automatically according to the gateway's rules. Check the payment status in the gateway dashboard before telling the customer anything, and never mark an order paid in Shopify unless the gateway shows it captured.

For a full explanation of how each gateway connects and how refunds work, read payment gateways on Shopify in India.

Orders stuck as abandoned after payment

If a customer says they paid but you only see an abandoned checkout, the gateway may not have sent its confirmation back to Shopify. Find the transaction in the gateway dashboard using the customer's phone number or email, and contact the gateway's support with the transaction ID. Do not ask the customer to pay again until you know what happened to the first payment.

Cash on delivery not showing at checkout

COD on Shopify is a manual payment method. If it has vanished, check:

• That Cash on Delivery is still added under Settings, then Payments, in the manual payment methods section.
• Whether an app that controls COD (pincode rules, order value limits, COD fees) is hiding it for that cart. Many stores set COD to disappear above a cart value or for certain pincodes and later forget the rule.
• Whether a payment customisation is hiding payment methods. These are set under Settings, then Payments or Checkout, depending on your plan and apps.

Our guide to Shopify cash on delivery in India explains COD fees, confirmation and limits in detail.

Shipping errors: no shipping rates and pincode problems

When checkout says shipping is not available, Shopify could not match the address to any shipping rate. Common reasons:

• The zone is too narrow. You created a zone for a few states while testing and never added the rest of India.
• Weight-based rates have gaps. If your rates cover 0 to 2 kg and 2 to 5 kg, a 6 kg order has no rate. Add an upper band.
• Product weights are wrong. A product with a large default weight can push the cart over every limit, while a missing weight can make rates look odd.
• A shipping app returns no rates. Carrier-calculated rates from a shipping aggregator need a working connection. If the app fails, checkout can show no options. Keep one flat backup rate so a failed connection never blocks sales.
• A pincode checker blocks the order. If you use a pincode serviceability app, check whether its list is out of date.

For zone and rate setup, see Shopify shipping in India.

Theme and app conflicts in the cart

If the checkout button does nothing, or the cart page shows an empty cart after adding a product, the fault is almost always in the theme or an app, not in Shopify's checkout.

1. In Online Store, then Themes, preview the store with a fresh copy of a free Shopify theme. If checkout works there, the problem is in your theme or an app embed.
2. In the theme editor, open App embeds and switch embeds off one by one. Cart drawers, upsell popups, sticky add to cart bars and currency converters are the usual suspects.
3. If you or a developer edited theme code, compare the cart template and cart scripts with an earlier copy of the theme.
4. Open the browser console on your computer while clicking checkout. A red JavaScript error often names the app or file responsible.

Heavy apps also slow the cart, which shoppers experience as a broken button. If your store is generally slow, read how to fix a slow Shopify store. Theme edits that touch the cart are covered in Shopify theme customisation.

Discounts, inventory and other settings that block orders

• Discount codes that error. A code can fail because it has expired, reached its usage limit, needs a minimum order, or does not combine with another discount. Check the discount's conditions and its combination settings.
• Markets. If you sell in India only, keep India as the primary market. Extra markets with different currencies or duties can change what the checkout shows.
• Products not on the Online Store channel. A product visible through a direct link may still be unavailable for sale if it is not published to that sales channel.
• Inventory. If quantity tracking is on and selling when out of stock is off, a product with zero stock cannot be checked out.
• Customer accounts. If accounts are required, some shoppers give up at the login step. Make them optional unless you have a strong reason.

Checkout works but customers still do not finish

Sometimes the checkout is technically fine and the real issue is drop-off. Look at abandoned checkouts in the Orders section. If many stop at shipping, your delivery charges may be a surprise; show them on the product or cart page. If many stop at payment, check that UPI, cards and COD are all offered and that the gateway is reliable. Make sure the order confirmation email actually reaches customers, too: Shopify emails going to spam covers that fix.

How to test checkout properly before and after a fix

• Use a phone and a computer, on mobile data and Wi-Fi.
• Test each payment method: UPI, a card, netbanking if offered, and COD.
• Test a metro pincode and a smaller town pincode.
• Test with and without a discount code.
• Check that the order appears in Shopify, the gateway shows the payment, and the confirmation email arrives.
• Cancel and refund real test orders straight away, so your reports stay clean.

Many gateways offer a test mode with test card numbers. Use it for card flows, but always run at least one small real UPI payment after going live, because test mode does not prove that your live keys work.

Quick check: after the fix

1. Place a test order with the Bogus Gateway or your gateway's test mode.
2. Check Settings > Payments for gateway alerts.
3. Check apps that change checkout are up to date.

When to get help

Get help when you cannot reproduce the error yourself, when payments are leaving customers' accounts without orders being created, or when the fault sits inside custom theme code. Every hour of a broken checkout costs orders. A Shopify developer can check the theme, apps, gateway and shipping set-up together and fix the cause rather than the symptom. If you are deciding who to bring in, our guide on how to hire a Shopify developer in India lists what to ask, and you can work with a Shopify developer anywhere in India remotely. You can also send the details through the contact form.

FAQs

Why is my Shopify checkout not working?

Usually because the payment gateway is not fully activated, the address has no shipping rate, an app or theme script is breaking the cart, or a setting such as the password page or inventory tracking is blocking the sale. Test an order yourself to find the exact step that fails.

Why does Shopify say no shipping rates are available?

The customer's address or cart weight does not match any rate in your shipping zones. Add every state you sell to into a zone, close gaps in weight bands, and keep a flat backup rate in case a shipping app fails.

Why is cash on delivery not showing on my Shopify checkout?

COD has been removed from manual payment methods, or an app or payment customisation is hiding it for that cart, for example above a set order value or for certain pincodes.

A customer paid by UPI but there is no order. What should I do?

Find the payment in your gateway dashboard first. If it is captured, contact the gateway with the transaction ID and create the order manually. If it is pending or failed, it usually reverses to the customer automatically under the gateway's rules.

Why does the checkout button do nothing on my Shopify store?

A JavaScript error from the theme or an app is stopping the cart. Preview a fresh theme and switch off app embeds one by one to find the conflict.

Can I test Shopify checkout without paying?

Yes. Use your gateway's test mode or Shopify's test gateway for card flows, and use COD for a full order test. After going live, place one small real payment to confirm the live keys work, then refund it.