WooCommerce Checkout Not Working

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Exclude checkout pages from all caches

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   1. Open your caching plugin settings (WP Rocket, WP Super Cache, etc.)
   2. Make sure Cart, Checkout and My Account are excluded from page cache
   3. Also exclude them in your CDN or host-level cache and let WooCommerce AJAX and /wp-json/wc/store/ requests pass
   4. Purge every cache layer and test in a private window
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Check what the checkout request returns

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   1. Open browser DevTools > Network
   2. Reload checkout and look for wc-ajax=update_order_review (classic) or /wp-json/wc/store/ (block checkout)
   3. If the response is HTML or a login page rather than JSON, a cache, firewall or proxy is altering it
   4. A response of just -1 points to a failed nonce check, usually from a cached page
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Turn off JavaScript minification

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   1. In your optimization plugin, disable JS minify/combine/delay for checkout pages
   2. Clear cache and retest
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Rule out conflicts

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   1. Back up the site
   2. Deactivate all plugins except WooCommerce and switch to Storefront
   3. Place a test order
   4. Re-enable plugins one at a time until it breaks
   5. Check WooCommerce > Status > Logs for fatal errors
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Place order button does nothing, the checkout page spins forever, or the page reloads without placing the order.

Why it happens

• Cart, Checkout or My Account pages cached by a plugin, CDN or proxy
• wc-ajax or Store API requests returning HTML instead of JSON
• Plugin or theme conflict (often JS minification or checkout add-ons)
• Server 500 errors or timeouts

This guide also covers

• woocommerce checkout not working
• woocommerce checkout page spinning
• woocommerce place order button not working

Other WooCommerce errors

• WooCommerce Checkout Page Loading Forever
• WooCommerce Cart Empty After Adding Product
• WooCommerce No Shipping Options Available
• WooCommerce Orders Stuck on Pending Payment
• WooCommerce Payment Gateway Not Working
• WooCommerce Emails Not Sending
• WooCommerce Critical Error After Update
• Why Is WooCommerce So Slow