Setting up a checkout on your Facebook shop can seem daunting, but it’s actually quite simple once you know the steps. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to get a checkout up and running for your Facebook store.
Why add a checkout to your Facebook shop?
Adding a checkout to your Facebook shop makes the buying process seamless for your customers. Instead of having to leave Facebook and go to an external site to complete their purchase, customers can checkout directly on your Facebook store.
This creates a frictionless buying experience and makes customers more likely to complete their purchases. According to Baymard Institute, nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned, often due to a complicated or confusing checkout process. Allowing customers to checkout on Facebook helps avoid this issue.
A checkout also allows you to capture customer payment information within Facebook for future purchases. And you can utilize Facebook’s automated sales, order management, and fulfillment solutions when you have a checkout, streamlining your operations.
Checkout options for Facebook Shops
There are a few different checkout solutions available for Facebook Shops:
- Facebook Checkout on Facebook Pay – Allows customers to enter payment info and checkout directly on your Facebook shop using their Facebook Pay account. This is the most seamless option.
- Shopify – If you use Shopify to power your Facebook shop, their checkout integrates seamlessly.
- WooCommerce – For WooCommerce stores, their checkout plugin allows customers to easily checkout on your Facebook shop.
- Third-party payment platforms – Solutions like Stripe can be integrated to handle checkout.
- Custom checkout – You can redirect customers to your own website checkout flow.
The best option for most Facebook shops is to use Facebook Checkout powered by Facebook Pay. This allows for the most seamless buying experience right within the Facebook interface.
How to set up Facebook Checkout
Here are the steps to add Facebook Checkout to your Facebook shop:
- Make sure your Facebook Shop is set up and your product catalog is connected.
- Go to the Facebook Checkout settings in Commerce Manager.
- Click “Set up checkout” and connect your Facebook page.
- Choose which products you want available for checkout.
- Set up your payment provider account.
- Enable Facebook Checkout in your settings.
- Test the checkout experience by purchasing a product.
- Publish your checkout to go live.
Let’s go through each of these steps in more detail:
1. Set up your Facebook Shop
To use Facebook Checkout, you first need to have your Facebook Shop set up and your product catalog connected. This allows the checkout to reference your product inventory and details.
If you don’t have a Facebook Shop set up yet, follow these steps:
- Create or convert your Facebook page to a Facebook Shop. You can do this in Page Settings.
- Use Facebook’s Product Catalog Manager to upload your product data.
- Connect your product catalog to your Facebook Shop. Do this in Commerce Manager > Product Settings.
Once your Facebook Shop and catalog are connected, you’re ready to move on to enabling checkout.
2. Access Facebook Checkout settings
The settings for Facebook Checkout are located within Commerce Manager. Go to the Commerce Manager section of your Facebook page and select “Settings” then “Checkout”.
This is where you will connect your checkout provider, choose products to include, and publish your checkout experience.
3. Connect your Facebook page
Within the Facebook Checkout settings, connect the Facebook page you want to use for checkout. This allows Facebook to associate the checkout with your page and Shop.
Use the dropdown to select the correct page. Make sure you select a page that is a Facebook Shop with a catalog connected.
4. Select products for checkout
You can choose which products from your catalog will be available for Facebook Checkout. This lets you control which items customers can purchase directly on Facebook.
By default, all products synced to your Facebook Shop will be enabled. But you can disable specific items by toggling them off if you don’t want them available for checkout.
5. Connect a payment provider
The payment provider handles processing customer payments on Facebook Checkout. You will need to connect an account with one of Facebook’s supported payment partners.
Popular options include Stripe, PayPal, and Square. Follow the on-screen steps to connect an account with the payment provider of your choice.
Make sure you choose a provider that supports your location and business type. Payment partners may require additional verification steps or details from you as well.
6. Enable Facebook Checkout
Once your payment provider is connected, enable Facebook Checkout by toggling on the setting. This makes the checkout experience live on your Facebook Shop.
At this point, you’ll want to thoroughly test the checkout process end-to-end. Make test purchases to ensure the integration with your payment provider is working properly before making the checkout widely available.
7. Test your checkout
Test the Facebook Checkout experience by completing a purchase yourself. This verification is important to catch any issues.
Go through the process from your Facebook Shop to adding an item to your cart and checking out. Provide test payment details from your payment provider account.
Make sure the payment processes successfully and you can view order details in your Commerce Manager and payment provider dashboard afterwards.
Catching any bugs or issues during testing allows you to resolve them before real customers checkout on your page.
8. Publish your checkout
Once everything is working during your tests, publish your checkout to make it available to customers on your Facebook Shop.
Use the “Publish checkout” button to flip the switch and bring your checkout live. You can always return to the settings and unpublish it again if needed.
And that’s it! Your Facebook Checkout is now up and running. Customers can seamlessly add products to their cart and complete purchases entirely on your Facebook store.
Connect order management and fulfillment
In addition to setting up checkout, you can connect order management and fulfillment systems to your Facebook Shop.
This automatically syncs data like orders, inventory levels, and shipping statuses between Facebook, your checkout provider, and tools like ShipStation or Shopify.
Automating fulfillment makes the post-purchase process more efficient. Customers will have their orders tracked and fulfilled faster with less effort on your end.
To set up order management and fulfillment syncing:
- Connect an order management tool like ShipStation or Shopify.
- Authorize share access between the platforms.
- Enable order synchronization in Commerce Manager settings.
- Manage and process orders from directly within Facebook.
Automating this back-end process allows you to focus on serving customers and growing your shop, rather than manual order management.
Advertise products eligible for checkout
Now that your Facebook checkout is live, customers can seamlessly purchase products right from your Facebook Shop.
Create ad campaigns to promote the products available via checkout on your store. This gives customers a frictionless path from discovering your products through ads to checking out.
You can advertise products from your catalog in a few ways:
- Catalog sales ads – Promote multiple products from your catalog in one ad. The checkout CTA is built-in.
- Single product ads – Highlight a specific product and drive traffic directly to its checkout.
- Dynamic ads – Automatically generate ads based on interested shoppers. Optimized for checkout conversion.
- Retargeting – Remarket to past shoppers who added items to cart but didn’t complete checkout.
Focus on products where a seamless checkout experience is most valuable – higher priced items, bundles, and items customers tend to compare before buying.
You can also create ads specifically aimed at past purchasers to encourage repeat orders through your checkout.
Analyze checkout performance
Leverage Facebook Analytics to get data and insights into how your checkout is performing.
Key metrics to track include:
- Initiated checkouts – How often customers begin the checkout flow.
- Completed checkouts – The number and value of completed checkouts.
- Checkout completion rate – The percentage of initiated checkouts that convert.
- Abandoned carts – When customers add items but don’t complete checkout.
- Payment errors – Any failures during the payment process.
Monitor these metrics over time to optimize both your checkout experience and your marketing strategies.
For example, if you notice an increasing abandoned cart rate, you can make UX changes to simplify your checkout flow. Or if payment errors spike, you can work with your payment provider on a fix.
You can also segment checkout analytics by product, audience, ad campaign, and more. This shows you which products and marketing strategies drive the most valuable checkout conversions.
Troubleshoot issues
Keep an eye on Facebook Checkout performance and troubleshoot any issues that arise:
- Slow load times – Check for third-party script conflicts on your Facebook Shop that may delay load times. Minify assets for faster performance.
- Intermittent errors – Try clearing cookies/cache and testing different browsers and devices. Reach out to Facebook support if issues persist.
- Pixel misconfiguration – Double check your Facebook pixel is implemented properly and capturing events.
- Missing data – Confirm your product catalog data is accurate and synced with your checkout catalog. Update any missing info.
- Payment failures – Work with your payment provider on debugging checkout payment issues. Make sure accounts are properly connected.
Proactively monitoring your checkout setup helps minimize disruptions in the buying experience. Always be testing to catch any new bugs as well.
Optimize the checkout process
There are a few key ways to optimize your Facebook checkout process:
- Simplify the design and clearly guide customers through each step.
- Let customers checkout as a guest as well as register an account.
- Set up autofill for faster checkout on mobile devices.
- Offer a guest cart to enable pre-checkout shopping.
- Highlight trust signals like security badges and guarantees.
- Provide multiple payment options like PayPal and Apple/Google Pay.
The easier and more transparent you can make the checkout process, the higher your conversion rate will climb.
A/B test checkout flows to see which UX gives you the lowest abandonment. Offer discounts or free shipping at strategic points to incentivize completing purchases.
Common Facebook Checkout issues
Here are some common trouble areas when setting up Facebook Checkout and how to resolve them:
| Issue | Solution |
| Errors activating checkout | Ensure your Facebook page and Shop are properly connected and you have page admin permissions. |
| Checkout not showing on mobile | You may need to update the Facebook app to trigger checkout functionality on iOS/Android. |
| Issues connecting payment | Double check you’ve entered the proper credentials for your payment provider and validated any required accounts. |
| Limited product inventory | If you have a physical product, make sure you’ve configured inventory management through a tool like ShipStation. |
| Product metadata mismatches | Confirm the product data in your Facebook catalog matches what you’ve configured on your website and checkout platforms. |
| Can’t edit published checkout | You need to unpublish your current checkout before making changes to settings. |
| Test transactions not working | Test payment credentials may not work the same as live credentials. Try a small transaction with real customer payment details. |
Catching configuration issues early allows for a smooth setup process. Thoroughly test each step of your checkout integration before going live.
Create a seamless checkout experience
A customized checkout experience is key for converting sales on your Facebook Shop. Follow these best practices:
- Streamline checkout with minimal steps and fields.
- Pre-fill customer shipping/payment info for faster one-click checkout.
- Offer guest checkout and account creation options.
- Make checkout accessible across all devices – desktop, mobile, tablet, etc.
- Provide multiple payment methods like credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, etc.
- Automatically calculate shipping, taxes, and discounts.
- Show trust badges, security seals, and money-back guarantees.
- Send confirmation emails and order status updates.
- Enable easy returns and exchanges when possible.
Customizing your checkout to your products and customers will directly impact your bottom line revenue through higher conversion rates.
Conclusion
Adding checkout to your Facebook Shop makes purchasing seamless for customers and drives greater sales conversions.
Leverage Facebook Checkout with Facebook Pay for the most integrated experience. Connect your backend order and fulfillment systems.
Optimize your checkout process over time and advertise products eligible for frictionless Facebook buying.
Analyzing checkout performance data gives you insights to further improve your shop’s ecommerce sales funnel. Identify bottlenecks in the process and iterate to increase conversion at each step.
With a customized checkout aligned to your products and audience, customers are more likely to complete purchases and become repeat buyers.