"selected order is corrupt"

[KeithS]

A couple of months back we started sporadically getting "selected order is corrupt" orders coming down with no products in them and no payment along with complaints that carts were emptying for no reason. We tried a number of different browsers but although it seemed more likely with some browsers (Mozilla was almost always fine) it did not seem to be specificaly browser related nor payment service related. We cleaned out the cgi bin and refreshed the site. Then it ran fine. Now it has started happening again with a corrupt order this morning. With Christmas coming up I'm naturally keen to resolve this problem once and for all. Anyone any idea what is going on here?

[KeithS]

The customer was using ipadpro - is there any possible problem because of that?

[KeithS]

So 27 peope have looked at this so far with nobody commenting :-(

[Mike Hughes]

A search of the forum forum for "Selected order is corrupt" suggests that these are probably 'ghost' orders created by customers using the back and forwards buttons on their browser between the cart, etc rather than using the links on the page. This can cause problems with 'form' submissions etc. The good news is that they aren't real orders so you're not missing anything and the best solution would be to make your cart and checkout buttons larger and easier to use.

The lost cart issues are usually down to mixing URLs with and without www. which is what you are doing. These are different web addresses and cause cookie problems. I can see that this could also be causing the first problem as your use of redirects to stop people ending up on the www. address makes the use of backwards buttons even more complicated for the software to cope with.

These two issues combined make some kind of sense with ipad and other touch screen users.

If I were in your situation I would:

1. Stop using hardcoded links with www. if you're not serving the pages from www. (I found 81 references to www. on the page I looked at)
2. Make your all your page, cart and checkout buttons more obvious and easier to use. Especially on mobile devices
3. Not worry too much about 'ghost' orders as the chances are they aren't real.

[KeithS]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I know for certain they are not ghost orders. I also know that it has nothing to do with the device or browser used and that the issues are various and not down to one single problem. My latest customer who had to phone us could not get to the payment page and he was using a desktop computer with Firefox. I'll take on board the comments you made a nd look at that although I am concerned at the design and format problems that Sellerdeck might have if I make the buttons much larger, let alone the pain of having to create them and install them. The problem is that these issues are occurring sporadically every now and again. i can go weeks without a problem and then its back again. With Christmas coming up I'd really like to sort this out but I'm unsure what will do the trick.

[Mike Hughes]

With Christmas coming up I'd really like to sort this out but I'm unsure what will do the trick.

You have multiple issues leading to multiple problems. The way I see it you really only have two options if you want to get from where you are now to where you want to be.

1. Fix the issues you have - some work needed but not that much
2. Upgrade to the latest version of sellerdeck - A lot of work in reality

Because the issues are are sporadic and unspecific there's no guarantee that the suggestions I'm making will work. But they are the most likely culprits so the only option that makes any sense at all is to fix them first and see what happens.

[KeithS]

Last time I tried to upgrade I got a new version tah ti was locked out of and Sellerdeck seemed uninterested in the issues. Now my contact form isn't working either (Recaptcha fails all the time) so i think i just have a pile of crap as a website and I'm getting really fed up with it.