The checkout process

The checkout process is the process that a customer must go through when checking out the items in the cart. This is what the user sees at the frontend. You can change how the process looks like by configuring the Checkout widget widget and its widget template.

The following flowchart describes the checkout process from your customer’s perspective:

NOTE: Customers can go back to previous steps, if required.

When a customer wants to check out the items in the shopping cart, the following process must be completed:

1. The checkout process starts when the customer clicks Checkout button in the Shopping Cart or the Shopping Cart Summary, or the Buy Now button.
2. If you do not allow anonymous shopping, a user who is not logged in will be taken to the specified login page.
   For more information about configuring anonymous shopping and login page, see Checkout widget.
3. The Shipping address fields appear.
   If the user is a returning customer the shipping address will appear prefilled with the information that was last specified by the user.
   

   NOTE: The country selected by default is the country that you configure in the Administration: Store settings.

4. If the billing address differs from the shipping one, the user must deselect the Billing address is the same as the shipping address checkbox.
   The Billing address fields appear.
5. Clicking Continue takes the user to the next step of choosing a shipping method.
   All Overview: Shipping methods that you have defined for the customer’s location appear in a radio button group.

   The widget also displays the Order summary.
   Displays the current order, the Overview: Taxes and tax classes and the Overview: Discounts and Coupons that apply to the subtotal.

6. Clicking Continue takes the user to the next step of choosing how to pay for the items.
   All Overview: Payments methods that you have defined appear in a radio button group.<

   If the user chooses to pay with a credit card, the following fields must be completed:

   • The card type
   • Card number
     The system automatically validated the card number
   • The Cardholder name
   • The Expiration date
   • The Security code
   • NOTE: Payment options are not displayed when the order’s total is zero. In this case, the Payment step only notifies the user that the order is Free.
7. If a coupon code for a discount has not been applied through the shopping cart, Have a coupon code? field appears after the payment details. The user can use the field to apply a Overview: Discounts and Coupons to the subtotal.
8. Clicking Continue takes the user to the next step of previewing the order details, the shipping and payment methods.
9. The user must confirm by clicking Place this order button.
   The order is confirmed, the confirmation page is displayed to the user, and an email is send by the store to the customer.