Using WordPress to Collect Payments: The Best Methods
As a robust content management system, WordPress gets preference from bloggers, freelancers, and eCommerce business owners. Apart from being a popular and user-friendly blogging platform, WordPress has many other benefits. It can be used in many unconventional ways. Just by adding some code or using some plugin(s) or both, we can use WordPress to create a membership website, eCommerce website, and more.
However, if we start a membership site or an eCommerce website, we have to collect payment from the user or buyer. Is it possible to collect payment through WordPress sites? The answer is YES. One of the many benefits of WordPress is the ease with which it can be integrated with various payment platforms, enabling the buyer or user to pay on the site. In this article, let me share some of the best ways to collect payment using WordPress sites.
PayPal: The Commonest Option
PayPal is the commonest option. It is one of the oldest online payment providers used by millions of buyers and sellers. You can collect donations and set up a shopping cart with PayPal. All the payments go into your account directly. Some plugins to help with PayPal and WordPress integration are:
1. PayPal Donations: As the name suggests, this plugin can be used to accept donations. It is a simple-to-configure plugin that displays a ‘Donate’ button on the website, either through a widget or a shortcode.
2. WP Simple PayPal Shopping Cart: While the above plugin is a tad complicated, this is a simple one-click-pay kind of plugin. It gives the site an eCommerce facelift with its easily customizable settings.
All the above are the best ways to collect payment on your WordPress site via PayPal.
Google Pay: A Google Service
Google Pay, a Google service, is primarily used by US bank account holders and is acceptable in more than 160 countries. Users can make peer-to-peer transfers via smartphones. Google Wallet can be used by the buyer to pay on WordPress sites. Like PayPal, all one needs is an email id and a Google Pay account. Some plugins to help with Google Wallet and WordPress integration are:
1. WP Simple Pay: If you’re looking for a simple way to accept Google Pay (along with other popular payment options) then this is the plugin for you. This plugin keeps it simple and adds a checkout to your site – no store needed.
Apart from a charge of 2.9% per transaction for sending money using a credit or debit card, there are no additional charges for setting up a Google Wallet account, sending money, processing, and receiving money.
Stripe: Accept Payments Worldwide
WordPress users can use Stripe to accept payments all over the world, but currently, only businesses from the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland are supported. In other words, your business should be located within these four countries to make use of Stripe. Some plugins to help with Stripe and WordPress integration are:
1. Accept Payments Stripe: A plugin coded especially for WordPress sites looking for an easy way to accept credit card payments. Payment buttons are added through a shortcode.
2. Gravity Forms + Stripe: If you already use Gravity Forms, use this plugin instead to receive payments via Stripe.
With Stripe, it is possible to collect both debit and credit card payments via Visa, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Diners Club, and JCB. Every successful transaction costs you 2.9% per transaction plus 30 cents as fees.
Payment Page: The All-in-One Solution
If you have multiple payment gateways available in your country and you want to combine them into one simplified checkout flow, then the Payment Page WordPress plugin could be your way to go. Instead of having credit cards in one checkout form, PayPal in another, or Google Pay somewhere else – Payment Page brings together all your gateways into a beautiful single-page checkout.
The Payment Page plugin supports Stripe and PayPal, with plans for more gateways in the future, like 2Checkout, Braintree, Authorize.net, WorldPay, and more. Payment Page offers some pretty nifty automation features as well, like pre-filling form fields with query strings in the page URL and sending payment details externally via HTTP Request to automate anything you want on other platforms.
Here are some of the main benefits of Payment Page:
1. All gateways combined into one checkout
2. Fully customizable templates available out of the box to match your branding/theme
3. Offers one-time and subscription payments for any product or service
4. Set up in a few clicks by connecting each gateway and setting pricing plans
It is simple and easy to use these plugins and transform your WordPress site into a money-making machine. Try and test a few of them and use the ones that suit your business perfectly. Do you know any WordPress plugin (free or premium) which can be used to collect payment? Please share it with us.
