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Troubleshooting Payment Gateway Display and Ordering Issues in WooCommerce

40 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Woocommerce

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One of the most common points of confusion for WooCommerce store owners is managing how payment gateways appear to customers. Issues can range from gateways displaying in the wrong order, not showing up at all, or even unexpected new gateways appearing. This guide will help you diagnose and resolve these common payment display problems.

Why Payment Gateway Order and Display Issues Happen

These problems typically stem from a few key areas:

  • Gateway Priority Settings: WooCommerce allows you to drag-and-drop reorder payment methods, but this can sometimes be overridden by other settings or plugins.
  • Plugin or Theme Conflicts: A recently updated or newly installed plugin can interfere with how WooCommerce renders payment options.
  • Caching Issues: Aggressive caching at the server or browser level can serve outdated versions of your checkout page, hiding recent changes.
  • Express Checkout Logic: By design, express checkout options (like Google Pay or Apple Pay) often appear on product and cart pages, while traditional gateways (like credit cards) are reserved for the main checkout page.
  • Third-Party Gateway Behavior: Some payment gateway plugins add their own options or buttons independently of the core WooCommerce settings.

How to Fix Payment Gateway Display Problems

1. Check and Reorder Your Payment Methods

The first step is always to verify your settings in the WordPress admin dashboard. Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments. Here, you will see a list of all available payment methods. You can simply drag and drop them into your desired order. The gateway at the top of the list will appear as the first option for customers at checkout. Save your changes and clear your site's cache to see if the new order takes effect.

2. Perform a Conflict Test

If reordering doesn't work or a gateway is missing, a plugin or theme conflict is likely. To test for this:

  1. Temporarily switch your theme to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four or the WooCommerce-friendly Storefront theme.
  2. Deactivate all plugins except for WooCommerce and the specific payment gateway plugin you are troubleshooting.
  3. Check if the issue is resolved. If it is, reactivate your plugins one-by-one, checking the payment settings after each activation, to identify the conflicting software.

3. Clear All Caches

Caching is a frequent culprit. Ensure you clear:

  • Your browser cache and cookies.
  • Any caching plugins you have installed (e.g., WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache).
  • Your server-level or hosting cache (consult your hosting provider's documentation for how to do this).

4. Understand Express Checkout Behavior

It is normal for express payment buttons (Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal) to appear on product and cart pages while other methods are only visible on the checkout page. This is the intended design of these gateways to facilitate quicker purchases. Displaying all payment methods on every page is not a standard feature and would require custom code or a specialized extension.

5. Investigate Third-Party Gateway Settings

Some issues are specific to a payment gateway plugin. For example, the Stripe plugin may add Apple Pay buttons, or a gateway might have its own enable/disable toggle within its specific settings panel. Always check the documentation for your specific payment gateway plugin for any unique display rules or settings.

6. Check for JavaScript Errors

If payment options fail to load entirely (a page may appear greyed out or stuck loading), a JavaScript error is often to blame. To check for errors:

  1. Open your browser's developer tools (usually by pressing F12).
  2. Navigate to the "Console" tab.
  3. Reproduce the issue on your checkout page.
  4. Look for any red error messages in the console. These errors can often point to a conflicting script.

When to Seek Further Help

If you have tried all the steps above and the issue persists, gathering more information will be crucial for getting help from community forums or a developer.

  • System Status Report: Provide your site's System Status Report, found under WooCommerce > Status > Get system report.
  • Error Logs: Check for any relevant error logs under WooCommerce > Status > Logs.
  • Screenshots/Video: A screenshot or screen recording can be incredibly helpful for others to understand the visual problem you are encountering.

By methodically working through these steps, you can usually identify and resolve the most common issues that affect how payment options are displayed on your WooCommerce store.

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