Overview
Before accepting real payments, run a test payment.
A test payment confirms that PayPress, Stripe Checkout, webhooks, orders, receipts, and the success page are working together correctly.
Testing is especially important before launching subscriptions, donations, fundraising campaigns, Payment Forms, shipping address collection, promotion codes, or automatic tax.
Requirements
Before running a test payment, make sure:
- PayPress is installed and active.
- PayPress is in Test Mode.
- Stripe test API keys are saved.
- The test-mode webhook is configured.
- At least one active plan exists.
- The plan shortcode is placed on a WordPress page.
- You can access the page as a visitor.
Steps
- Open the page that contains your PayPress shortcode.
- Review the payment card, subscription offer, donation form, or fundraising display.
- Click the payment button.
- Confirm that Stripe Checkout opens.
- Use a Stripe test card.
- Complete checkout.
- Return to your success page.
- Open WordPress admin.
- Go to the PayPress Orders page.
- Confirm that a new order appears.
- Open the Order Details page.
- Confirm that the status, amount, customer information, Stripe references, receipt/invoice links, customer notes, shipping details, or form responses appear as expected.
- Check Diagnostics or Event Timeline if you want to confirm webhook processing.
Expected Result
The test payment should complete through Stripe Checkout.
In WordPress, you should see:
- A new order.
- Correct payment status.
- Correct amount and currency.
- Customer email/name when available.
- Receipt or invoice link when Stripe provides one.
- Subscription information for subscription purchases.
- Donation/fundraising details for donation purchases.
- Payment Form responses if the plan has a form.
Important Notes
Stripe test payments do not charge real cards.
Use Stripe’s official test cards when testing different payment scenarios.
Some receipt or invoice links may appear a few seconds after checkout as Stripe sends additional webhook events. If the order appears but a document link is not visible immediately, refresh the Order Details page after a short wait.
For subscriptions, test both the initial subscription checkout and renewal behavior if you plan to rely on recurring billing.
For fundraising, confirm that the campaign metrics update after a successful donation.
Troubleshooting
If Stripe Checkout does not open, confirm that the plan is active and Stripe test keys are saved.
If the payment succeeds in Stripe but no order appears in WordPress, check webhook setup and Diagnostics.
If the success page says the order is still being finalized, wait a few seconds and refresh. If it never updates, check the Event Timeline.
If a Payment Form field is missing from Order Details, confirm that the field was enabled and submitted before checkout.
If fundraising metrics do not update, confirm that the public REST endpoint is not blocked by caching, security, or firewall rules.