How to test payments before going live

A TeleportHQ store has no separate "test mode" switch. Whether payments are real depends on the keys you paste: test or sandbox keys from your payment provider let you run the whole checkout without real money. Connect the test keys, publish, and place an order on your published site. When everything works, replace them with live keys and connect the live webhook.

Before you start#

• E-commerce is on, and you have at least one product with the Active status. See How to add a product.
• Checkout and payments only work on your published site, not on the editor canvas.

Test keys for each provider#

Steps#

1. Connect test keys#

1. In the editor's left icon column, click E-commerce (the credit-card icon).
2. In Payment Providers, click your provider's card, or click + to add it.
3. Paste the test keys into the fields under API keys.
4. Click Test Connection, then Save Configuration.

2. Publish and connect the webhook#

1. At the top right, click Publish, then Publish to Production.
2. For Stripe and PayPal, the webhook connects itself when the publish ends. For the other providers, follow How to set up the payment webhook.

3. Place a test order#

1. Open your published site and go to a product.
2. Click Add to Cart, open the cart and click Go to checkout.
3. Fill in Billing Details.
4. Under Select Payment Method, pick your provider and accept the terms.
5. Click Pay Now (Subscribe now when the cart holds a subscription). You're sent to the provider's checkout page.
6. Pay with test details:
   • Stripe: card number 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future expiry date and any 3-digit CVC. This is Stripe's standard test card.
   • PayPal: sign in with a sandbox personal (buyer) account from your PayPal Developer Dashboard.
   • Other providers: use the test methods your provider's test or sandbox mode offers.
7. You return to the order page on your site.

Check that it worked#

In the editor's left sidebar, click Growth, then Orders under E-Commerce. Your test order is first in the orders table, with the status Confirmed and the payment status Paid. Click it to open its details on the right. The payment also appears in your provider's test or sandbox dashboard. If Invoices is on, the order has a PDF invoice.

Go live#

1. Copy your live keys: for example the Stripe secret key starting with sk_live_, or the Client ID and Secret of your PayPal Live app.
2. In E-commerce → Payment Providers, click the provider's card and replace the test values.
3. Click Save Configuration.
4. In the Webhook section, click Connect automatically, so your live account gets its own webhook. For Razorpay, add a live-mode webhook by hand. Mollie and CoinGate need nothing.
5. Publish your site again.

Troubleshooting#

The test order stays Pending The webhook is missing, or it belongs to the other mode. A test key needs a test-mode webhook and a live key a live one. See How to set up the payment webhook.

"No payment providers configured." on the checkout page Your live site was published before you saved the provider. Publish again.

The checkout shows Place Order instead of Pay Now The published checkout has no online payment provider yet, so it only takes orders paid on delivery or at pickup. Save your provider, then publish again.

The checkout does nothing in the editor Checkout, payments and webhooks run only on the published site. Test on your published address.

Good to know#

• One set of keys per provider. Each project uses the same keys for every publish, staging included. You can't keep test keys on a staging site and live keys on production.
• Test orders stay in your Orders list. If Stock Management is on, they take stock like real orders. Cancel them when you're done testing. See How to cancel an order.
• Refunds. You can test refunds with Refund on the order, or from your provider's dashboard: both update the order. See How to refund an order.
• Cash on delivery needs no keys. Turn on Cash on Delivery in E-Commerce Settings to test orders that are paid later; the checkout then shows Finalize Order for them.