WooPayments: Sandbox Mode

If you want to test WooPayments on a site that won’t need to process real transactions (e.g. a staging site), you can use sandbox mode to try things out.

Sandbox mode creates an “empty” WooPayments account without using any personal information. It operates only in test mode and can’t be used to process real charges.

NOTE: WooPayments must be connected to WordPress.com, even in sandbox mode. This means it’s not possible to run WooPayments locally unless you expose your site to the Internet with ngrok or a similar tool.

Enabling sandbox mode

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To enable sandbox:

  1. Install WooPayments as normal.
  2. Click the Enable sandbox mode button at the bottom.
  1. Connect to WordPress.com.
    • If your site already has Jetpack connected, this step will be skipped.
  2. A test-only WooPayments account will be created for you automatically.
  3. Once that’s done, you’ll be returned to the admin dashboard.

You can verify that the site is in sandbox mode on the Payments > Overview page.

Disabling sandbox mode

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NOTE: Starting a site in sandbox mode and later accepting live payments on it could lead to confusion. For example, transactions from sandbox mode will still be visible under WooCommerce > Orders after going live, but they won’t be shown under Payments > Transactions.

Disabling sandbox mode allows you to set up a live WooPayments account on the sam site, and then start accepting real payments.

To disable sandbox mode:

  1. Go to Payments > Overview.
  2. In the Sandbox mode notice at the top of the page, click the Set up a live WooPayments account link.
  3. Read the information in the popup and click Continue setup.
  4. You’ll be returned to the original setup page.
  5. Click Verify business details to start onboarding.
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