Learning objective: After this lesson you can fully test an order in test mode, follow and explain the order statuses, track down problems with webhooks and emails, and then tidy up properly.

Key concepts: test mode, test payment, test card, order statuses (Pending payment, Processing, On hold, Completed, Cancelled, Failed, Refunded, Draft), webhook log, order notes, order emails, hold stock, test checklist, cleaning up

Why a full test

A shop can look perfect and still not sell. The cart works, checkout works, the customer pays, and then the order stays on "Pending payment" because the webhook never arrives (lesson 4.4). Or the confirmation email lands in spam. Or the VAT on shipping is missing. You only notice when the first customer calls. A full test order runs through the whole chain, from product page to refund, before a real customer does. Repeat it after every major change: a different payment plugin, a new theme, a WooCommerce update, a cache setting.

Test mode at your payment provider

Every serious payment provider has a test mode: your shop talks to the provider's test environment, no real money changes hands, and you can choose whether a payment succeeds or fails. For card payments you use the test cards listed in the provider's documentation, never your own card. For iDEAL | Wero and similar methods, the test environment usually shows a choice screen: paid, failed, cancelled, expired.

Turn on test mode in the settings of the payment plugin. If your shop is already live, test in a staging environment (lesson 7.3 and WordPress course lesson 8.3), so real customers don't accidentally pay in test mode. And turn off emails to customers in staging, except to your own test address.

The order statuses

WooCommerce has these statuses. What they mean in practice:

Status	Meaning	What you do
Draft	The customer is checking out with the checkout blocks; not ordered yet	Nothing; WooCommerce cleans up old drafts
Pending payment	Order created, payment not yet confirmed	Wait; if it stays that way, check the webhook
Failed	Payment failed or was declined	Don't ship anything; sometimes the customer tries again
Processing	Paid, stock reduced, not yet shipped	Pack and ship
On hold	Waiting for something, such as a bank transfer	Check whether the money has arrived
Completed	Shipped and done	Nothing more, except for a return
Cancelled	Cancelled by you, the customer or automatically	Stock goes back
Refunded	Fully refunded	Update your records (lesson 6.5)

A few things happen automatically. With Pending payment, WooCommerce holds the stock; after the number of minutes set under Hold stock (lesson 3.4), an unpaid order is cancelled. With Processing, WooCommerce sends the customer the "Processing order" email and you the "New order" email. With Completed, the customer receives the "Completed order" email. For products that are both virtual and downloadable, WooCommerce sets a paid order straight to Completed, because there is nothing to ship.

The test, step by step

This is how Theehuis Example tests, in a private window, as a guest:

Product page: is the price including VAT correct, with the suffix (lesson 4.1)?
Cart: a teapot (class "Fragile") and a packet of tea (reduced rate). Are the subtotal, shipping costs and VAT correct?
Checkout with a Dutch address, then with a Belgian address: do the right shipping methods (lesson 4.3) and the right VAT (lesson 4.2) appear?
Order button: does it show text that mentions the obligation to pay, plus a link to the terms and the withdrawal information (lesson 5.4)?
Payment succeeded in test mode. Look in WooCommerce > Orders: which status, and how quickly did it change? Open the order and read the order notes on the right: the payment plugin writes down what the provider reported.
Payment failed or cancelled: a second order, this time with a failed test payment. Which status? Was the stock restored?
Emails: did the email to the customer and the email to you arrive? Read them as a customer would: do they include your details, the withdrawal information and the button (lessons 5.3 and 6.1)?
Refund: refund the successful test order from WooCommerce (the Refund button in the order, lesson 6.5). Do you also see the refund in the provider's dashboard?
Clean up: delete test orders and test customers, or give them a clear note, so they don't end up in your turnover and your OSS counter.

When things go wrong

Status stays on "Pending payment": check the payment plugin's log (often WooCommerce > Status > Logs) to see whether the webhook came in. It didn't? Check that your shop can be reached from outside (no password on staging for the webhook, no firewall or security rule blocking it, no maintenance mode).
No email: check the sender and whether the email is in spam (lesson 6.1). If the email to you arrives but the one to the customer doesn't, check whether the "Processing order" email is enabled under WooCommerce > Settings > Emails.
VAT is wrong: compare the product's tax class, the rate table and the address (lesson 4.1).
No shipping methods: which zone does this address fall into (lesson 4.3)?

Summary

Test the whole chain in test mode, also after every major change, preferably in staging.
Know the statuses: Pending payment, Processing, On hold, Completed, Cancelled, Failed, Refunded and Draft.
An order that stays on "Pending payment" after a successful payment almost always points to the webhook.
Read the order notes and the payment plugin's log; read the emails as a customer would.
Clean up test orders so they don't end up in your turnover and VAT counts.

Quiz

Exercise

Exercise D4.5: A test order from start to finish. Follow the nine steps from this lesson in your own shop or test shop.

Checklist:

[ ] payment provider in test mode;
[ ] test order placed as a guest;
[ ] payment succeeded;
[ ] payment failed or cancelled;
[ ] statuses seen in WooCommerce > Orders;
[ ] email to customer and to administrator received;
[ ] order refunded in test mode;
[ ] test orders cleaned up or marked as test.

Questions:

Which statuses did the successful and the failed order get, and in which order?
How long did it take for the status to change (the webhook)?
What was in the confirmation email, and what was missing?

After "done" you'll see a sample answer: the successful order went from Pending payment to Processing; the failed one from Pending payment to Failed or Cancelled; one specific item missing from the email, for example the withdrawal information (lesson 5.4).

Exercise D4.5: A test order from start to finish

You do this exercise yourself; no one checks it. Tick off what you've done and mark the exercise as done.

Payment provider in test mode
Placed a test order as a guest
Payment succeeded
Payment failed (test card or cancelling)
Statuses seen
Email to customer and to admin received
Order refunded in test mode
Test orders cleaned up or marked as test

Which statuses did the successful and the failed order get, and in what order?

How long did it take for the status to change (webhook)?

What was in the confirmation email, and what was missing?

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A test order from start to finish