Glossary
What is checkout?
Checkout is the last stretch of a purchase: the buyer reviews what they are getting, gives payment details and confirms. It is where most sales are lost, so small details count. This page covers what is in it, where it can live and what to check.
Updated 6 October 2026
The final step of a purchase, where the buyer reviews the order, enters payment details and confirms. It can sit on your site or in a payment provider’s window.
What happens in a checkout
- The buyer sees what they are buying and the total.
- They give contact details, and an address if something is shipped.
- They pick a payment method and pay.
- They get a confirmation, and for a digital product the delivery starts.
A payment gateway does the secure part. Razorpay’s documentation describes its Web Standard Checkout as managed by Razorpay, with options for payment methods, orders, the company logo and colours. A seller can also choose a custom checkout, which Razorpay says gives more control but needs a development team.
Where the checkout can live
Meta’s Shops ads guide describes a setup in which buyers find products and build their carts on Facebook and Instagram, and the final checkout happens on the seller’s own website. Meta calls it offsite checkout. The seller’s own payment integrations and brand content stay in place.
Other options are a payment link, a hosted store page or a payment window from a provider that opens on top of your page. Each trades control against effort. Whichever you pick, test it on a phone, because many Instagram visitors arrive in an in-app browser.
Why people leave at this step
- A cost they did not expect, such as shipping or tax, appears late.
- The form asks for more than it needs, such as an account or a long address for a download.
- Their usual payment method is missing.
- The page loads slowly or looks different from the one they clicked from.
- They are unsure what happens after paying.
Tip: Buy something from your own store on a phone, on mobile data, and count the taps from the product page to the confirmation. Cut every tap you can.
An example
A buyer taps the Buy button in a DM and lands on a payment page showing a ₹499 workout plan. They pay by UPI in under a minute and are shown a confirmation with the download link.
Questions people ask
What is checkout in online selling?
It is the final step of a purchase, where the buyer reviews the order, gives contact and payment details and confirms. A confirmation page or email follows, and for digital goods the delivery usually begins there.
What is the difference between checkout and a payment gateway?
Checkout is what the buyer sees and does. A payment gateway is the service that processes the payment behind it. Razorpay, for example, provides a ready-made checkout window that connects to its gateway.
What is offsite checkout?
Meta uses the term for a setup where buyers find products and fill a cart on Facebook or Instagram, then pay on the seller’s own website. The seller keeps their own payment tools and branding in the final step.
Why do customers abandon checkout?
Common reasons are surprise costs, forms that ask for too much, a missing payment method, a slow page and doubts about what follows payment. Fix them one at a time and watch what changes.
Do I need my own website for checkout?
Not always. Payment links and hosted store pages let you take payments without building a site. If you use Meta’s Shops ads setup, the guide says the final checkout happens on your own website.
Sources
Related terms
- Payment gatewayA payment gateway is the service that securely passes a customer’s payment details from your checkout to their bank and returns the result, so you know it was paid.
- UPIUPI (Unified Payments Interface) is India’s instant bank-to-bank payment system: you pay from a phone app using a UPI ID or QR code and confirm with your UPI PIN.
- Abandoned cartAn abandoned cart is an order a customer started, by adding a product or reaching checkout, and left before paying. Sellers often follow up by email to bring them back.
- RefundA refund returns some or all of a customer’s payment to the method they paid with. Online it can take days, can be partial, and once issued usually can’t be cancelled.
- Coupon codeA coupon code is a short code a buyer enters at checkout for a discount, such as a percentage or fixed amount off, with limits the seller sets, like an expiry date.
- Instagram ShopA storefront inside Instagram that shows products from a catalog connected to your account. Where buyers pay can differ: in the app or on your own website.
More terms
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