Cedros Pay connects the things you sell with checkout, payment records, and paid access. Start by configuring one payment method, adding something customers can buy, and testing the complete buyer journey before opening it to customers.
Find the payment setup and daily tools
You need Cedros Pay installed and active, plus an account allowed to manage its settings. If the Pay pages are missing, ask your site administrator to check the extension and your access.
The main areas serve different jobs:
- Extension Settings → Pay hub configures payment methods, regional availability, content monetization, and checkout readiness.
- Monetization → Catalog manages products and, when enabled, inventory, subscriptions, and coupons.
- Monetization → Transactions provides payment and order records, with refund, return, and dispute tools where supported and available.
A storefront also needs a customer-facing product page and checkout experience. If your site uses Cedros Shop, check that it is active and that its pages are ready. Installing Pay alone does not establish that visitors can find the right product or complete your chosen purchase flow.
For help finding admin areas, see Finding your way around Cedros.
Choose a payment method
Open Pay hub and choose the tab for the method you intend to offer. Begin with one method you can test, then add others after that flow works.
Stripe handles credit and debit card payments through your Stripe account. Start with Connecting Stripe. Configure the publishable and secret keys for the intended environment, and use the webhook endpoint displayed by Cedros in that same Stripe environment. Check both payment completion and the return of payment status to Cedros. A checkout page opening successfully does not prove that confirmation delivery is working.
Crypto configures supported Solana/x402 payments. Confirm the network, accepted token, payout destination, and the site's blockchain connection. Fee coverage and signing requirements depend on the site's wallet setup. A valid-looking wallet address alone does not prove the method can execute. Verify the actual destination and network before authorizing a payment.
App stores is a separate setup area for Apple App Store and Google Play purchase verification and notifications. A working web checkout does not establish that mobile in-app purchases are configured or verified.
If your site offers a private account balance, the optional Credits feature lets customers spend it; see Using a site account balance. Otherwise, leave Credits off.
Payment methods are not interchangeable across every product, subscription, or content flow. Confirm the choices offered by the actual buyer page rather than assuming every enabled method appears everywhere.
Configure and check the method
- Open the relevant Pay hub tab and review its enabled state. Where the settings are collapsed while off, turn on the method to reveal its setup fields.
- Enter the required configuration for the intended site and environment. Keep secret keys in their designated settings fields.
- Wait for the autosave status to settle. Resolve displayed validation or save errors, then reopen the tab to confirm the saved state.
- Use Check setup where it is available, read both errors and warnings, and correct the reported issues.
Payment settings and Overview workflow switches autosave. Follow the status shown on the page; closing a panel or choosing Done is not proof that a failed save succeeded. Some other screens, including Availability, have their own explicit save action.
Check setup validates the configuration it can inspect. It is not a complete purchase, webhook-delivery test, or guarantee of provider health.
Keep test and live environments separate. For Stripe, use matching test credentials and Stripe's testing values in a sandbox or test environment. Do not enter test card numbers into a live checkout or use real cards to simulate tests. See Stripe's testing documentation.
Changing payment configuration can affect existing customers. Use a separate test site when a working live storefront must stay available, rather than switching that storefront back and forth between test and live credentials.
Add something customers can buy
In Monetization → Catalog → Products, create or review the intended product. Confirm its title, active state, price, currency, and any method-specific setup it needs. Check the exact product on its customer-facing page, including variants and availability when relevant.
An active product is not automatically purchasable. The Overview checklist looks for a product with a checkout price; product availability, inventory, the selected method, and the buyer's circumstances can still prevent a particular purchase.
For recurring access, use Catalog → Subscriptions and verify the intended plan and recurring price. A one-time product checkout does not prove subscription creation, renewal, or access works.
Under Pay hub → Overview → Commerce workflows, choose Edit to review optional workflows such as subscriptions, refunds, returns, inventory, coupons, shipping, and taxes. Turn on only the workflows you intend to configure and operate. Wait for autosave, and use the displayed recovery action if saving fails. An unsupported workflow may remain disabled with an explanation.
Enabling a workflow makes its supported controls available; it does not finish the underlying setup. For example, enabling shipping or taxes does not by itself configure the rules your checkout needs.
Review availability and activate checkout
If you need country-specific methods, open Pay hub → Availability. Review the fallback methods as well as any named country groups, use Preview, and choose Save availability after an intentional change.
An empty method selection can block checkout for the affected group or fallback. The policy uses the shopper country trusted by the site; changing a browser language is not a reliable regional test. A rule can restrict configured methods but cannot make an unconfigured method work.
Return to Overview and follow the setup checklist:
- Confirm that at least one payment method is ready in the checklist.
- Confirm that there is an active product with a checkout price.
- If Activate checkout is offered, open it, read the confirmation, and activate only when you intend to enable checkout for that site.
- Wait for the refreshed result. If activation fails, read the error and use Try again after addressing the cause.
Activation completes a one-time setup that stays enabled. It is not a temporary preview switch. On an already activated site, that step may no longer be shown.
Checkout is enabled confirms site configuration. It does not mean Stripe is using live credentials, that the Solana network is the intended one, or that a payment has succeeded. Check those settings and complete the buyer tests below.
Test the complete buyer journey
Use a controlled test environment and a buyer account appropriate to the payment method. Do not rely only on what an administrator can see.
- Open the exact public product, subscription, or paid-content page. Confirm the displayed item, price, currency, and payment choices.
- Complete a successful test purchase using the provider's supported test setup.
- In Monetization → Transactions, inspect the resulting payment and, where applicable, order. Match the item, amount, currency, and status to the test.
- Return as the same buyer and verify the promised result: an order, subscription state, unlocked article, download, or another configured benefit.
- Test cancellation and a supported failure case. Confirm that an abandoned or failed payment does not appear as a completed purchase or grant paid access.
Test each method and each distinct flow you plan to offer. A successful Stripe product purchase does not cover other payment methods, subscriptions, or mobile purchases. For physical goods, include the shipping, inventory, and fulfillment behavior you have enabled.
A return page or success message is only part of the evidence. Check the saved payment state and the buyer's access. If the provider shows payment success but Cedros is pending, investigate confirmation delivery before paying again.
Set up paid content separately
Pay hub → Content contains separate controls for tipping, article paywalls, and gated media. Configure the relevant product or entitlement and test the actual reader experience after saving and publishing the affected content.
Tipping uses the Crypto payout and token settings. Article and media access also depend on the selected content rules and the buyer's entitlement. Turning on a payment method alone does not make every article paid or lock every download.
For paid appointments, configure the booking type and test that specific booking checkout. See Creating a booking type. Payment completion and a confirmed booking must agree before you treat the appointment as fully booked.
Resolve gaps before opening to customers
If a method is missing, check its saved configuration, the exact purchase flow, regional rules, and buyer sign-in or balance requirements. If a Catalog or Transactions tab is missing, check whether the corresponding workflow is enabled and your account can access it.
If checkout succeeds but access does not, compare the purchased product or plan with the article, media, or subscription requirement. Preserve the existing purchase while investigating; another payment is not a repair for missing access.
Before launch, confirm the intended provider environment, saved configuration, public pages, successful and failed test results, and the operational process for orders and supported refunds. Keep unsupported or untested flows out of the customer journey until they are ready.
For unresolved problems, collect the public page URL, payment method, time of the attempt, visible error, and relevant order or payment reference. Omit secret keys, full payment details, and private webhook URLs. See Getting help and reporting a problem.