Common Issues
payments
Customers Can't Pay on My Website
Customers are trying to buy something on your website and the payment isn't going through. Maybe they see an error, the page spins forever, or the payment button does nothing when clicked. Every minute this is broken, you're losing real money.
Payment problems are especially frustrating because there are so many possible causes — your payment provider (Stripe, PayPal, Square), your website code, your hosting, or even the customer's bank could all be the problem. And unlike other bugs, you often won't know about this one until customers complain or you notice sales have dropped to zero.
The good news is that most payment issues have straightforward fixes once you identify which part of the chain is broken.
Error Messages You Might See
Payment failed
Your card was declined
Unable to process payment
Payment method not supported
Checkout session expired
Stripe is not defined
Common Causes
- Using test API keys in production — Your app is still using Stripe or PayPal test/sandbox keys instead of live keys, so real payments silently fail
- API keys expired or revoked — Your payment provider credentials stopped working and need to be updated
- SSL certificate missing — Payment providers require HTTPS. If your SSL expired, payments will be blocked
- Payment form not loading — The payment widget (Stripe Elements, PayPal button) fails to load due to a JavaScript error
- Currency or region mismatch — Your Stripe account is set to one currency but your website is trying to charge in another
- 3D Secure failing — European customers need extra bank verification (3DS) and your app doesn't handle it
How to Fix It
- Test a payment yourself — Try to make a purchase on your own site to see exactly what error appears
- Check your payment provider dashboard — Log into Stripe, PayPal, or your payment provider to see if there are failed charges or error logs
- Verify you're using live API keys — Make sure your production site uses live/production keys, not test/sandbox keys
- Check the browser console for errors — Press F12 and look for red error messages when the payment fails
- Verify SSL is active — Make sure your URL shows the padlock icon (HTTPS). Payment forms won't work on HTTP
- Contact your payment provider's support — They can see exactly why payments are being declined on their end
Real developers can help you.
Caio Rodrigues
I'm a full-stack developer focused on building practical and scalable web applications. My main experience is with **React, TypeScript, and modern frontend architectures**, where I prioritize clean code, component reusability, and maintainable project structures.
I have strong experience working with **dynamic forms, state management (Redux / React Hook Form), and complex data-driven interfaces**. I enjoy solving real-world problems by turning ideas into reliable software that companies can actually use in their daily operations.
Beyond coding, I care about **software quality and architecture**, following best practices for componentization, code organization, and performance optimization.
I'm also comfortable working across the stack when needed, integrating APIs, handling business logic, and helping transform prototypes into production-ready systems.
My goal is always to deliver solutions that are **simple, efficient, and genuinely useful for the people using them.**
ISHANTDEEP SINGH
Senior Software Engineer with 7+ years of experience in React, JavaScript, TypeScript, Next.js, and Node.js. I’ve also worked as a tech lead for startups, owning end-to-end technical execution including architecture, development, scaling, and delivery. I bring a strong mix of hands-on coding, product thinking, and technical leadership, and I’m comfortable building products from scratch as well as improving and scaling existing systems.
David Olverson
Solo dev shipping production apps with AI-assisted development. I specialize in rescuing broken Lovable/Bolt/Cursor builds and taking them to production. 10+ apps shipped including SaaS CRMs, gaming platforms, real estate tools, and Discord bots. Stack: Next.js 16, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Prisma. I use Claude Code with 50+ custom skills for rapid delivery. Average turnaround: 2-4 weeks from broken prototype to production.
Mehdi Ben Haddou
- Founder of Chessigma (1M+ users) & many small projects
- ex Founding Engineer @Uplane (YC F25)
- ex Software Engineer @Amazon and @Booking.com
Luca Liberati
I work on monoliths and microservices, backends and frontends, manage K8s clusters and love to design apps architecture
Matthew Jordan
I've been working at a large software company named Kainos for 2 years, and mainly specialise in Platform Engineering. I regularly enjoy working on software products outside of work, and I'm a huge fan of game development using Unity. I personally enjoy Python & C# in my spare time, but I also specialise in multiple different platform-related technologies from my day job.
Jacek Rozanski
Senior PHP/Symfony developer and DevOps engineer with 20+ years of professional experience, running opcode.pl (web development agency, est. 2004).
Day job: I'm the sole backend developer at merketing company where I own and maintain 11 PHP/Symfony microservices on AWS (ECS Fargate, RDS, S3, CloudFront), handle the full CI/CD pipeline (Bitbucket Pipelines, Docker), and manage monitoring with Sentry and CloudWatch. These services handle high request volumes in production every month.
What I bring to AI-built apps:
- I audit and fix security issues (OWASP methodology), performance bottlenecks, and architectural problems in codebases generated by Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable, Bolt, and v0
- I refactor AI-generated prototypes into production-grade applications with proper error handling, testing, and clean architecture (SOLID, DDD, hexagonal architecture)
- I set up the infrastructure AI tools don't touch: AWS hosting, CI/CD pipelines, automated deployments, database optimization, monitoring, and alerting
- I integrate external services: payment providers, email systems, partner APIs, SSO/auth
Tech stack: PHP 8.x, Symfony, React, Next.js, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Docker, AWS (ECS, RDS, S3, SQS/SNS, CloudFront), Terraform, Supabase. I also use AI tools daily (Claude Code, Cursor) in my own workflow, so I understand both the strengths and the gaps in AI-generated code.
Based in Poland (CET timezone). Available for async work and calls during EU/US business hours.
Costea Adrian
Embedded Engineer specilizing in perception systems. Latest project was a adas camera calibration system.
Stanislav Prigodich
15+ years building iOS and web apps at startups and enterprise companies. I want to use that experience to help builders ship real products - when something breaks, I'm here to fix it.
AUXLE
I am a Full Stack Developer experienced in building Websites, Web apps and Cross Platform Mobile Apps for Startups and Companies.
Describe what's wrong in plain English. No technical knowledge needed.
Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I'm using test keys vs live keys?
Stripe test keys start with 'sk_test_' and live keys start with 'sk_live_'. Check your website's settings or environment variables. If you see 'test' in the key, that's your problem — payments will appear to work but no real money is charged.
A customer says they were charged but I don't see the order. What happened?
The payment went through on Stripe's side but your website failed to record the order. Check your Stripe dashboard for the charge. This usually means there's an error in the code that runs after the payment succeeds.