"Generic error" is a general error message and can have many causes.

I noticed that there is no SSL certificate.

The website can be accessed with and without www, with both variants the popup "Generic error" appears when purchasing, sometimes after a short time and sometimes it takes a very long time, so it makes a difference here.

Also provide information about the PHP version and the web hosting provider.

Normally a website, especially a shop, should have an SSL certificate, which is also good for Google.

Then there should also be a redirect from http to https and to “with www” or “without www.”.

I can't say where the error lies, perhaps the other users, the moderators or the Incomedia staff can list possible sources of error.

Hello Ian,
inspecting the page during checkout I was not unfortunately able to gather many additional details on the error.
When th generic error appears, in the browser's console an error 500 is displayed, which is an unspecified server error.
I would recommend following Daniel's suggestion about requesting an SSL certificate, as it is important to have an https website especially for stores,
and I recommend investigating about the PHP version currently in use on your hosting space (you should use 8.2) and whether the PHP parameter called display_errors is active, as it should be disabled.

Eric

Hey.

Thank you both for your time in replying to me, it is greatly appreciated.

I have seen this advice mentioned in other posts with the same issue and can only wonder why something now needs to change which was working well before.

For example the old X10 generated website allowed my customers to place an order and pay via PayPal for example all ok and I would get the payment email notification, I just wouldn’t get the order form sent to me. So had to make contact to find out what was ordered.

Now with the X5 2024 I am getting the order form sent to me with what has been ordered, but the process of moving on to the PayPal website to make a payment is broken and returns this error.

In one post I found the 2023 version worked all ok, but the topic starter stated that the 2024 generated site didn’t work. Which I find odd as the gap between these software releases is much shorter than my X10 to 2024 jump.

The hosting is with Fasthosts and as above has worked well until recently, so I have just sent an email to my contact there to ask the above questions about the PHP version and the potential for an SSL certificate. However the latter seems unnecessary to me as I am not personally taking bank details, just looking to point buyers towards PayPal to make payments which is secure and safe, or they send a direct bank transfer whereby I send them my bank details.

I will activate the included web space I got with the X5 PRO and upload it there to try also, that might help.

In the meantime, is there a way for me to get a copy of the 2023 software to try also?

Ian Contessa

Uploading the old site allows me to generate an order, I don't get sent what has been ordered still it seems, but the Pay Now PayPal button appears and if I click it another tab opens up to login to PayPal and pay the required amount applicable to the order.

So it can/does work, there is just something in the newer software not allowing it to which is annoying.

Ian

Hello Ian,
unfortunately your licence does not include version 2023, so it is unavailable for you to test the situation.
The old version of the software has different requirements for the PHP version, so the fact that the previous version works while the current one does not may also be related to that.
Regarding the SSL certificate, even though you do not handle the data directly, it is still recommended for all websites nowadays to be in https for safety reasons: some browsers or devices block access to non-https websites, for example.

Eric