how to collect stripe payments wordpress site

How to Collect Stripe Payments With Your WordPress Site

Carl Taylor | September 26, 2017

As a business owner, you know the importance of implementing a payment processor to your website that is trusted and works smoothly. There are a number of options for payment systems, but most business websites use PayPal, alongside the usual credit card options.

Stripe is very similar to PayPal in that it’s easy to set up, but it is also gaining a reputation for being much more user-friendly and cost-effective. It may not be as well known (yet) outside of tech startups and internet marketing circles, but it is already being used by some big names, such as Facebook, HubSpot, and Shopify, and by ourselves, here at Automation Agency.

What are the Benefits of Stripe?

One of Stripe’s main benefits is the lower transaction fees it offers. Much like PayPal, it charges 2.9%, plus 30 cents for each transaction, but there are no additional charges such as authorization fees for cards, set-up costs, monthly charges, or fraud protection fees.

The system is straightforward and very secure, with the user’s payment information never being sent to your server. Instead, it goes straight to Stripe. That way, if there is ever a breach on your site, you don’t need to worry about your customer’s sensitive information being compromised.

It’s important to note that, in order to use Stripe, your site will need to have an SSL certificate in place, unless you use a plugin such as Super Stripe that handles the PCI compliance for you. However, this third-party service will result in an additional charge on your transactions of 1.5% plus 15 cents.

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How to Get Stripe

It’s easy enough to sign up for a Stripe account by visiting their website. Signing up will immediately take you to your dashboard, where you can learn more about how Stripe works, track metrics, and manage payments. However, you’ll need to verify your account by confirming your email address before you can go any further.

stripe-signupJust your email and password are needed to get started with Stripe.

The next step is to activate your account by entering the details of your business. You’ll need to confirm the country you’re in, your business type and tax number, a company representative and, of course, all your banking details.

stripe-dashboard

Your dashboard gives you access to transactions, payouts, API keys, and analytics for your Stripe account.

Your dashboard is also where you can find the API keys that you’ll need for setting up the Stripe WordPress plugins on your website. Whichever plugin you use, you’ll need to input those keys before any transactions can be completed.

Stripe WordPress Plugins

Stripe doesn’t offer an official plugin yet, but there are a number of third-party plugins that have been created specifically for WordPress. If you’re using WooCommerce on your site, for example, they have their own plugin for a Stripe payment gateway.

Another plugin that is popular and easy to use is Stripe Payment for WordPress from WP Simple Pay. This plugin allows you to add individual, stand-alone payment buttons to your products or services so you can forego complicated shopping carts.

However our personal favorite is to use Gravity Forms with either the official Stripe add-on or a 3rd party Stripe add-on, as it allows a lot of flexibility to create your own order forms and process the payment via Stripe.

Installing a Stripe Plugin

Whichever plugin you go with, the simplest way to install it is to go to your WordPress dashboard and search for it under the plugins tab. Once you have found the plugin you’d like, simply click on “Install Now” to go through the installation process.

stripe-plugins

Be sure to search under the WordPress Plugin Directory and not just your installed plugins.

Once the plugin has been installed, you’ll see it has been added to your sidebar menu. Here you will be able to change the settings for the plugin, including the API key, which you will find on your Stripe dashboard.

stripe-api-keys

You’ll need to activate test mode on your Stripe dashboard to complete the necessary testing.

You’ll also see a toggle button for making your payment system go live. It’s best to leave this OFF until you have everything properly configured. It’s also important to test the system with a small transaction to ensure that everything works as it should.

Other settings that you need to configure, include the checkout page, transaction currency, what the button needs to say (“buy now” is the default), and any additional information you’d like the transaction to include, such as billing or shipping address.

stripe-settings

Changes to the shortcode will take precedence over these settings.

The payment button for Stripe is added to any page of your website using a simple shortcode. The shortcode can be edited to include all the information you’d like the transaction to include, such as adding a logo, item description, currency, language, and even the button style.

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Let Us Help

Stripe is a relatively simple payment gateway to use, but if you’d like to be sure that you’re getting the most out of it, why not let Automation Agency assist you with setting it up on your WordPress site?

We deal with WordPress websites on a daily basis and understand the importance of having a simple and user-friendly payment system. Get in touch today to discuss your options.

About the author 

Carl Taylor

Carl Taylor is the Founder & CEO of Automation Agency. For the past 10 years Carl has been building businesses and marketing them online through the use of Sales Funnels, Email Marketing Automation, Landing Pages, and Wordpress Websites. Carl is also a #1 author and highly sought after speaker and consultant whose work has impacted thousands of businesses across various industries worldwide.

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