This guide explains how shopping works for your customers and what you can configure as the store owner. You do not need to understand payment APIs to follow it, for connecting Stripe or PayPal, see Set Up Stripe and Set Up Paypal.
How The Cart Works
Customers interact with the cart in a few ways:
- The side cart drawer, which can open when they add a product
- The full Cart page on your site
- A summary of items on the Checkout page
In the cart they can remove items and apply a discount code (those updates happen without a full page reload). When a product has purchase options, Change options takes them back to the product page to switch license sites or billing period, then updates the cart line.
The cart is stored using a browser cookie, so customers need cookies enabled. Carts are remembered for a limited time if someone leaves and comes back later (about two days of inactivity).
Rules The Cart Enforces
These behaviors are automatic:
- Each product appears once in the cart. There is no purchase quantity, digital products are sold as a single line. Adding a product that is already in the cart is blocked; customers use Change options on the product page to switch license sites or billing period instead.
- Free catalog downloads never go in the cart. They download from the product page (see Free Downloads).
- Subscription products require the customer to choose monthly or yearly on the product page before adding to cart.
- The total reflects the selected pricing tier and billing period. For subscriptions with a trial or setup fee, the cart and checkout show what is due today separately from recurring charges period.
- Tax settings under Settings → General apply to cart and checkout totals (see Tax below).
Tax
Under Settings → General → Tax you choose how tax works for the whole store (a single rate, not by country):
No tax
Default. No tax line.
Prices include tax
Catalog prices already include tax. Cart and checkout show a “Prices include tax.” note; nothing extra is added to the total.
Add tax at checkout
Set Tax rate (%) (for example 20). Tax is calculated on the amount after any discount and added to the total. Customers see a Tax (X%) line on cart and checkout. The same amount is stored on the completed order and charged through Stripe or PayPal.
Exclusive tax also applies to subscription amounts shown in the billing schedule (due today, after trial, recurring, and setup fee) so gateway charges match what customers see.
Subscription trials and setup fees at checkout
When a subscription product has a free trial, setup fee, or both, checkout shows a billing schedule in addition to the usual total:
Due today
$0 when the cart only has a free trial. Includes the setup fee plus the first recurring payment when there is no trial.
Due when trial ends
Shown when a trial is active. Lists the setup fee (if any) and the first recurring payment that will be charged when the trial ends. If a discount code is applied, these amounts (and the billing schedule lines) reflect the discount. Codes set to All renewals also reduce the ongoing renewal amount shown in the schedule.
Recurring
The ongoing monthly or yearly amount after the first charge.
Customers still complete payment at Stripe or PayPal even when due today is $0, so the gateway can charge them when the trial ends. See Subscriptions and Product Pricing for how you configure trials and setup fees on the product.
Skip Cart
Under Settings → General → Core Pages you can enable Skip cart. When it is on, adding a product sends the customer straight to the checkout page. The side cart drawer is hidden. The cart page still works if someone visits it directly, but the main path bypasses it.
This is useful if you mostly sell one product at a time or want the shortest possible purchase path. It requires a valid Checkout Page in settings.
What Checkout Collects
On the Checkout page, customers enter:
- Name
- Email address
- Email confirmation (when they are not already logged in, the two addresses must match)
- Payment method (Stripe and/or PayPal, depending on what you enabled)
Logged-in customers usually see name and email filled in already.
When they place the order:
- If Test Mode is on (Settings → Payment), the order completes immediately on your site with no real charge. Use this while you are learning the plugin.
- If Test Mode is off, they are sent to Stripe or PayPal to pay, then return to your site.
After a successful payment, the plugin marks the order complete, grants downloads (and licenses or subscriptions when those apply), sends emails, and may create an account depending on your settings.
Thank-you Page
Under Settings → General → Core Pages you can choose a Thank You Page. After a successful purchase, customers are redirected there with order details. If you do not select a page, they return to the homepage with an inline thank-you notice.
Only the customer who just paid can see that order’s thank-you details. The link includes a secure token so random visitors cannot open other people’s receipts.
Guest Checkout Or Automatic Accounts
Under Settings → General → Account Creation you choose how accounts work.
Auto-Create Account After Purchase (default)
After a successful order, the plugin creates a WordPress user for the customer’s email if one does not already exist, and sends the Account Confirmation email with a link to set a password. They can then log in on your Login page and use My Account to re-download files, view license keys, and manage subscriptions. This is the best default for most stores.
Guest Checkout
No WordPress account is created. The customer only receives emails (order confirmation, download links, and license keys if applicable). They cannot use My Account unless they register another way.
See Customer Accounts for what buyers see after they have an account.
Discount Codes At Checkout
If a customer applied a discount code in the cart or side cart, it carries through to checkout and is stored on the order. See Discount Codes for creating coupons.
Common Problems
Cart looks empty
Cookies may be blocked, or the customer is using a different browser or private window than before.
Cannot add a subscription
Monthly or yearly must be selected on the product page first.
Checkout button does nothing
Confirm the Checkout page still contains the checkout shortcode, and that either Test Mode is on or at least one payment method is enabled with credentials.
Payment succeeded but order stays pending
Often a webhook issue. See Set Up Stripe, Set Up Paypal, and System Status.
More cases are covered in Troubleshooting.