Operate Checkout

Once your storefront templates are in place, CartThrob is configured and operated primarily from the ExpressionEngine control panel. This section covers backend settings for payments, shipping, taxes, members, notifications, reporting, security, and day-to-day store operations.

Use these pages when you need to configure checkout behavior, troubleshoot live orders, or tune performance and compliance settings.

Core Checkout Configuration

• Payments Payment gateway setup, gateway selection, and checkout payment flow.
• Payment Settings Global payment-related CartThrob settings.
• Stripe Payment Gateway Stripe-specific gateway configuration.
• Extload External gateway field loading for AJAX checkout flows.
• Shipping Shipping plugins, rate calculation, and checkout shipping setup.
• Taxes Tax rates, default location, and template requirements for accurate tax display.

Members, Notifications, and Reporting

• Member Settings Guest checkout, member account behavior, and member-related cart settings.
• Notifications Order, admin, and customer email notification configuration.
• Reports Built-in reporting tools and order data exports.

Security, Compliance, and Performance

• Security Hardening checkout, protecting customer data, and common security practices.
• PCI-DSS Compliance PCI scope considerations when accepting card payments.
• Handling Extreme Traffic Performance tuning for high-traffic checkout scenarios.
• Troubleshooting Common backend and checkout issues.

Global and Advanced Settings

• Backend Configuration Settings Control panel configuration overview.
• Additional Settings Supplemental CartThrob settings and utilities.
• Locales Config Currency, number formatting, and locale-related settings.

Related Documentation

• Getting Started Initial CartThrob setup and template fundamentals.
• Tag reference: Checkout Frontend checkout template tags.
• Order Manager Post-order management in the control panel.