# Broken discount codes on Shopify | Crank OS Source: https://wearecrank.com/insights/crank-os/broken-discount-codes-shopify A discount code that fails at checkout sends paid traffic to a dead end. Why Shopify codes stop working, how to test them, and how to catch it before shoppers do. --- [![Crank - Providing your levers for growth](/images/crank-logo-full.png)![](/images/crank-icon.png)](/) [Book a live demo](/contact?enquiry=live-demo)[Chat now](https://wa.me/447457416922?text=Help%20my%20business) Guide · Checkout # Broken discount codes on Shopify **Crank** Updated 28 October 2026 · 3 minute read The short answer A broken discount code costs you twice: you pay for the click, and the shopper leaves at the last step. Shopify codes usually fail for ordinary reasons: the dates, a usage limit, a minimum spend, who or what the code covers, or a clash with another discount. The fix is to test each code the way a shopper would, and to test again whenever a code, an ad or an email changes. ## Why codes stop working ### The dates A code can start later or have an end date. Shopify works out start and end times in your store's time zone, so a code can end earlier or later than a shopper's own clock suggests. ### A usage limit A code can be limited to a set number of uses, or to one use per customer. A limit reached on a busy day ends the code for everyone who comes after. ### A minimum spend, or a narrow cover A code can need a minimum order, or apply only to chosen products or customers. A shopper who does not fit gets an error. ### A clash with another discount Shopify applies several discounts to one order only when each discount allows it. Otherwise checkout says, 'Discount couldn't be used with your existing discounts.' ### A slip in the code itself Shopify advises avoiding special characters in a code's name. A typing slip or a stray space in an ad or email will fail too. ### The code is off but the ad is live Shopify does not know what your ads and emails say. Switching a code off does not change them. Your ad platform cannot see this. It reports the click and the visit. It does not know the code failed. ## How to test a code Copy the code exactly as it appears in the live ad or email. Open the ad's link in a private window on a phone. Add a product the ad promotes, and enter the code at checkout. Try a basket below and above any minimum spend. If the code is for new or returning customers only, test as each. In Shopify's Discounts, check the dates, the usage limits and what the code covers. Check every live ad and email that mentions the code. Test again after any change to the code, an ad or an email. ## Stopping it happening again * Name codes by purpose and date, so old ones are easy to spot. * Keep one list of where each code appears: ads, emails, pages. * When a code is switched off, pause or edit the ads and emails that carry it. * Test every code again after each launch, and after any change. * Do not hard-code a code into a video or picture you cannot edit. ## Checking every day Crank OS checks the discount codes in your live ads every day. If one fails at checkout, the [daily digest](/crank-os/daily-alerts) says which code, which ads carry it, and what to do: fix the code, or pause the ads until it works. The [free scan](/crank-os/free-scan) is a one-off version. It tests checkout steps and discount codes the way a shopper would meet them, and also checks ad claims and the pages your ads open. It only reads, and the findings are yours either way. ## Questions ### How will I know a code is broken? Shoppers rarely tell you. Test the code yourself, and check again whenever something changes. A daily check does this for you. ### Do automatic discounts avoid the problem? They apply without a code, so there is nothing to mistype. They follow the same combination rules as codes, so a clash is still possible. ### Does the free scan test my codes? Yes. It tests checkout steps and discount codes the way a shopper would meet them, and reports any that show an error. ### Do you change anything in my shop? No. The scan only reads. Nothing in your shop or ad accounts is changed. ## Read next [Free scanFree scan for shops](/crank-os/free-scan) [PageDaily alerts](/crank-os/daily-alerts) [PageCrank OS for online shops](/crank-os/ecommerce) ## Are your ads sending people to a checkout that works? Ask for the free scan, or book a live demo with the Crank team. [Book a live demo](/contact?enquiry=live-demo)[Message us on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/447457416922?text=I%27d%20like%20a%20live%20demo%20of%20Crank%20OS)