Shopify Store Not Working
Quick answer: Start with what customers can't do. If nobody can load the store, check Shopify Status, your Shopify bill, the password page and your domain. If the store loads but people can't pay, check Settings > Payments and place a test order. If only some pages look broken, the cause is almost always the latest theme edit or app install. Try your .myshopify.com address too. If it loads but your own domain doesn't, the problem is DNS.
1. Is it Shopify or your store?
Shopify Status reports Storefront, Checkout, Admin, API & Mobile, Point of Sale and Third party services separately, and you can subscribe to updates (per Shopify Status, Sept 2026). If Storefront or Checkout shows an incident, don't change settings. Wait for the all-clear, then test again.
2. The store won't load at all
- Frozen store. If a Shopify bill goes unpaid, the store is frozen until you settle it. Customers can't view the store and you can't access your admin. To unfreeze it, pay the outstanding charges (per Shopify Help Center, Sept 2026).
- Paused plan. On the Pause and Build plan, checkout is turned off and customers can't complete purchases. To start selling again, you have to pick a new plan (per Shopify Help Center).
- Password page. If visitors see a password prompt, go to Online Store > Preferences and turn off Private mode in the Store access section. You can't remove it while the store is on a trial plan or has no business address (per Shopify Help Center, Sept 2026).
- Domain. In Settings > Domains, a third-party domain needs an A record set to
23.227.38.65and a www CNAME set toshops.myshopify.com.Keep only one A record and one AAAA record pointing to Shopify. DNS changes and a new TLS certificate can each take up to 48 hours. If you use CAA records, they must allow letsencrypt.org, pki.goog and ssl.com (per Shopify Help Center, Sept 2026).
3. Checkout or payments not working
- Check that a payment provider is active. The message "This store is currently unable to accept payments" usually means there's no active primary payment provider. Set one up in Settings > Payments (per Shopify Help Center, Sept 2026).
- Check third-party gateway credentials. Wrong account IDs or keys are a common cause. Most gateway settings live in the provider's own account, not in Shopify. Confirm that test mode is off on their side too. To reach the provider, go to Settings > Payments, select the provider, then More actions > Contact provider.
- Place a test order. Use Shopify's test payment gateway or Shopify Payments test mode. You need a paid plan to test, and customers can't place live orders while your provider is in test mode, so turn it off when you're done (per Shopify Help Center).
- Test like a customer. Run through checkout on a phone and on a desktop in a private window.
4. Theme errors and broken pages
- Rule out the browser first. Clear cache, try incognito mode and a second device (per Shopify Help Center).
- Preview a free Shopify theme without publishing it. If the problem is gone there, the cause is your theme. If it shows up on every theme, look at admin settings instead.
- Temporarily uninstall apps you added or updated recently that affect the storefront. If that fixes it, contact that app's developer.
- If a code edit broke something, use the code editor's Timeline to restore an earlier version of the file. Copy the current contents first if you want to keep them.
5. When to contact Shopify Support, and when to contact someone else
- Shopify Support: incidents that don't clear, billing and frozen stores, the "unable to accept payments" message, Shopify Payments, or no access to your admin. Click Chat with a human at help.shopify.com. Chat is open 24/7 on all plans, and you must be logged in. If you can't log in, use the "Can't log in" form (per Shopify Help Center, Sept 2026).
- Your payment provider: declines and credential errors with a third-party gateway.
- The app or theme developer: anything that goes away when you uninstall their app or switch themes.
Store loads, but an app, sales channel, POS reader or domain keeps dropping? See Shopify store keeps disconnecting. For the full triage order, see the Shopify store troubleshooting guide.
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Related Problems
Best Next Pages
How do I know if Shopify is down or just my store? +
Check shopifystatus.com, which lists Storefront, Checkout, Admin and other services separately. If everything shows as operational, try your .myshopify.com address. If that loads but your own domain doesn't, the problem is your domain's DNS.
Why is my Shopify store showing a password page? +
Private mode is on. Turn it off under Online Store > Preferences in the Store access section. You can't remove the password while the store is on a trial plan or has no business address (per Shopify Help Center, Sept 2026).
Why can't customers check out on my Shopify store? +
The usual causes are: no active payment provider (the message says the store is "unable to accept payments"), wrong gateway credentials, a provider still in test mode, or a recent app or theme change. Check Settings > Payments and place a test order.
My domain stopped working but the myshopify.com URL works. What do I fix? +
Fix the DNS at your domain provider. The A record should be 23.227.38.65 and the www CNAME should be shops.myshopify.com. Remove extra A and AAAA records, and allow up to 48 hours for changes (per Shopify Help Center, Sept 2026).
Why can't I get into my Shopify admin or store? +
If a Shopify bill wasn't paid, the store is frozen. Customers can't view it and you can't access the admin until you pay the outstanding charges. If it's a login problem, use Shopify's "Can't log in" form.
