Effortless Ways to Accept Credit Card Payments on Your WordPress Site

Are you looking for a simple way to accept credit card payments on your WordPress site?

WordPress does not include credit card payment options by default, but there are many plugins and tools available to help you add this functionality.

In this article, we will explore two straightforward methods to enable credit card payments on your WordPress site.

Why Should You Accept Credit Card Payments on WordPress?

Credit and debit cards are the most widely used payment methods for online transactions globally.

If you’re offering products or services through your WordPress website, it’s essential to provide credit card payment options.

Accepting credit card payments can enhance your conversion rates and minimize cart abandonment.

Many users prefer not to set up a complete online store with a shopping cart just to accept credit card payments. This is especially true if you’re only selling a single product or providing services.

In such cases, all you need is a straightforward online order form that includes a credit card payment option.

Now, let’s explore how you can easily accept credit card payments on your website. Use the links below to navigate to your preferred method.

• Method 1: Accept Credit Card Payments on WordPress Using WP Simple Pay (The Easiest Option)
• Method 2: Accept Credit Card Payments on WordPress Using WPForms (Highly Customizable)
• Additional Methods to Accept Credit Card Payments on WordPress

Method1. Accept Credit Card Payments on WordPress Using WP Simple Pay

In this method, we will utilize WP Simple Pay, the top Stripe payment plugin available. With WP Simple Pay, you can accept payments without needing to set up a complex eCommerce plugin.

WP Simple Pay works seamlessly with the Stripe credit card processing platform. Like all payment processors, Stripe charges a small fee for each transaction, but signing up for Stripe is free.

In this method, we will create a payment button that can be added to any page or post on your site.

We will be using WP Simple Pay Lite, which is completely free. If you require more advanced features, you can opt for WP Simple Pay Pro, which includes additional customization options, a drag-and-drop form builder, and personalized payment receipt emails.

Begin by installing and activating the WP Simple Pay plugin. For assistance, refer to our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once activated, the plugin will automatically open the WP Simple Pay setup wizard. To begin accepting credit card payments, click the ‘Let’s Get Started’ button.

The initial step is to connect WP Simple Pay with your Stripe account.

If you don’t have a Stripe account yet, no problem. The setup wizard will guide you through creating a new account step by step.

Start by clicking the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button.

On the following screen, WP Simple Pay will request your email address.

If you are already registered with Stripe, ensure you enter the email address associated with your Stripe account.

Don’t have a Stripe account? Enter the email address you wish to use for your new Stripe account.

Next, simply click the Continue button.

WP Simple Pay will now verify if there is a Stripe account linked to your email address. If it finds one, it will prompt you for your Stripe password.

If an account is not found, WP Simple Pay will assist you in registering for a Stripe account. Just follow the on-screen instructions to set up your account and link it to WP Simple Pay.

Once you have connected WP Simple Pay with Stripe, you can proceed to create your payment button.

Simply click on ‘Create a Payment Form.’

Alternatively, you can create a payment button by navigating to WP Simple Pay » Add New.

Next, hover your mouse over the ‘Payment Button’ template.

Then, click on ‘Create Payment Button.’

Enter a name for your payment button in the ‘Title’ field.

This name is for your reference only and will not be visible to your site visitors.

You can also provide additional information in the Description field. This will not be displayed to your visitors, but it can help you keep track of your buttons.

Now click on the Payment tab.

Here, you can specify the amount to charge with your payment button.

Type the desired amount into the ‘One-Time Amount’ field.

By default, WP Simple Pay uses US dollars as the currency.

If you wish to accept payments in a different currency, go to WP Simple Pay » SettingsYou can then choose the General » Currency tab, where you’ll find all the options to update the default currency.

Next, navigate to the Button Text section.

This is the label that WordPress will display on your payment button. By default, WP Simple Pay uses ‘Pay Now’ as the button text.

To customize this, simply enter your desired text in the Button Text field.

In this section, you can also modify the Button Processing Text.

This text will be displayed by WP Simple Pay to visitors while their payment information is being processed.

WP Simple Pay adopts your WordPress theme’s button styling for the ‘Default’ button style.

Alternatively, you can select the ‘Stripe blue’ style, which features a gradient and rounded corners.

As you make these adjustments, you might want to see how your payment button will appear to your visitors.

To view the final result, click on the Preview button.

Once you’re satisfied with the preview, it’s time to integrate the button into your WordPress site.

To proceed, click on the Publish button.

Easily integrate a payment button on any page or post of your WordPress site to accept credit card payments, including product and landing pages. You can also place the button in any widget-ready area.

All you need is a shortcode that WP Simple Pay generates automatically for you.

To obtain this code, locate the ‘Form Shortcode’ field and click the ‘Copy’ button.

You can paste this shortcode into any page, post, or widget area. For detailed instructions on how to insert the shortcode, refer to our guide on adding shortcodes in WordPress.

Once you paste the shortcode, your payment button will be displayed on your WordPress website.

Before you start processing payments, it’s advisable to test your button.

By default, WP Simple Pay sets your new payment button to test mode, meaning your website won’t process any actual credit card payments during this phase.

To check if WP Simple Pay is in test mode, look at the toolbar at the top of your WordPress dashboard. You should see ‘Test Mode’ displayed there.

If you visit the page or post where you added the button, you will also see ‘Test Mode’ directly below the button.

There is one issue to consider when testing your button.

By default, Stripe does not display test payments, but there’s a simple solution.

To view your test data, log into your Stripe dashboard in a new tab and click on the Payments tab.

Next, click on the ‘Developers’ toggle located in the upper right corner.

The Stripe dashboard will refresh to display a ‘Test Data’ banner, and any test payments will now appear in your dashboard.

You are now ready to test your payment button.

The simplest way to do this is to return to your WordPress site and navigate to the page where you added your credit card payment button.

Click the button and follow the on-screen instructions to complete a test payment. After submitting, switch back to your Stripe dashboard to see your test payment listed.

Now that you’ve confirmed everything is functioning properly, it’s time to take your button out of test mode.

Just go toWP Simple Pay » Payment Forms. Hover over your payment button and click the Edit link.

Locate the Payment tab in the left-hand menu and click on it.

Finally, check the ‘Live Mode’ box in the ‘Payment Mode’ section.

Remember to click the ‘Update’ button at the top of your screen to ensure your changes are saved.

Now, you can visit your website to see the payment button in action.

Method2. Accept Credit Card Payments in WordPress with WPForms

If you’re looking to create a simple payment button, the WP Simple Pay method mentioned earlier is an excellent option.

However, if you need to gather additional information from your visitors, you’ll want to create a payment form.

This requires a versatile and robust form builder plugin.

WPForms is the top WordPress contact form plugin, allowing you to easily add any type of form, including payment forms, to your WordPress site.

WPForms also offers a variety of payment and credit card templates to help you get started quickly.

For this tutorial, we will be using the WPForms Pro version, which provides access to the Stripe Pro addon. This powerful addon enables you to accept credit card payments in WordPress through the widely-used Stripe payment gateway, without incurring extra transaction fees.

You can also utilize WPForms to accept credit card payments via Square, Authorize.net, and PayPal. We recommend Stripe as our preferred payment processor.

Note:WPForms offers a free version that enables payment acceptance through Stripe, but please note that a 3% fee applies to transactions processed via your forms.

Begin by installing and activating WPForms Pro. For assistance, refer to our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once WPForms is activated, navigate to WPForms » Settings in your WordPress dashboard.

Enter your license key in the ‘License Key’ field, which you can find in your WPForms Account.

After activating the core plugin, proceed to install the Stripe addon.

In your WordPress dashboard, go to WPForms » Addons.

Scroll down to locate the Stripe Addon.

Click the ‘Install Addon’ button.

Next, go to WPForms » Settings.

Then, select the Payments tab.

By default, WPForms processes payments in US dollars.

If you wish to accept payments in another currency, simply open the Currency dropdown menu and select your preferred option.

The next step is to connect WP Simple Pay with your Stripe account.

To establish this connection, navigate to the Connection Status section and click on the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button.

A new tab will open where you can follow the on-screen instructions to either create a new Stripe account or link WPForms to your existing Stripe account.

After successfully connecting to Stripe, it’s time to create your payment form. To begin, go to WPForms » Add New.

Enter a name for your form in the ‘Name Your Form’ field.

This name will not be visible to your site visitors; it’s solely for your reference.

WPForms offers various templates, allowing you to quickly start building different types of forms. Since we’re creating a payment form, consider entering ‘payment’ or ‘credit card’ in the ‘Search Templates’ field.

This will show all templates containing the words ‘payment’ or ‘credit card’ in their titles.

To preview a template, simply hover your mouse over it.

Then click on the View Demo button.

WPForms will display this template in a new tab.

When you find a design you’d like to use, click on the Use Template button. For this tutorial, we will be using the Credit Card Payment Form template.

The WPForms template you selected will now open in a new tab, ready for your customization.

The Credit Card Payment Form includes fields for customers to enter their name and email address, along with a section labeled ‘Select Your Item’ for visitors to choose what they wish to purchase.

Use this section to present visitors with a selection of products or services.

Alternatively, you can allow visitors to personalize a single product. For instance, you could offer the same T-shirt in various sizes or colors.

To modify this section, simply click on it. The WPForms sidebar will update to display all the relevant settings.

To edit any text, just remove the default text and type in your desired word or phrase. For example, you could replace ‘Choose your item’ with ‘Select Your T-shirt Size.’

You can also adjust the price for each item.

To do this, erase the placeholder number for that item and enter the new price in the field provided.

You can also modify the placeholder text that WordPress uses for its items by following the same steps mentioned above.

By default, this template allows visitors to choose from three items. To add more options, simply click on the + icon.

This creates a new item that you can customize to fit your needs.

To remove an item from this section, click the minus icon next to it.

This option will no longer appear on your credit card payment form.

This template provides visitors with the choice between ‘Ground’ and ‘Express’ shipping options.

To modify this section, simply click on it. The WPForms sidebar will refresh to display all available settings for this section.

You can update the placeholder text and add or remove shipping options by following the steps outlined above.

You can also adjust the price for each shipping method. To offer free shipping, simply set the price to $0.

Alternatively, you can completely remove this section.

To delete any section from your template, hover your mouse over that section and click the trash icon.

Next, you need to add the Stripe Credit Card field to your form, which will gather the customer’s payment details.

To add this field, click on the ‘Add Fields’ tab.

Then, scroll down to the Payment Field section.

You can now drag the Stripe Credit Card field into position on your payment form.

Consider adding additional fields to your form template to gather more information from your visitors, such as their shipping address or phone number. You can easily add new fields by repeating the process outlined above.

You can rearrange the order of these fields by using a simple drag-and-drop feature.

With your form configured, it’s time to activate payment processing. Click on the ‘Payments’ tab in the left-hand menu and select ‘Stripe’ to get started.

Next, check the box next to the ‘Enable Stripe payments’ option to activate this feature.

You can enter a description in the Payment Description field, which will appear on your customers’ credit card statements.

Additionally, you can send email receipts to your customers. To set this up, open the Stripe Payment Receipt dropdown and select ‘Email.’

WPForms also offers the ability to implement smart conditional logic for your forms, allowing you to show or hide payment fields based on customer selections.

On this screen, you can enable recurring subscription payments and specify the billing cycle. This feature is beneficial for managing subscriptions and selling memberships.

First, enable AJAX form submissions to utilize the Stripe Credit Card field. This feature allows customers to submit forms without refreshing the page, enhancing their overall experience.

To enable AJAX submissions, navigate to Settings » General.

Next, expand the Advanced section.

Finally, check the box labeled ‘Enable AJAX form submission’.

Once you are satisfied with the appearance of your credit card payment form, it’s time to save your changes.

Simply click the Save button located at the top of the screen.

The next step involves setting up notifications for your form.

By default, WPForms will send an email to your WordPress admin whenever a customer completes the payment form.

If needed, you can direct these emails to a different address or even notify multiple recipients.

Customizing your email notifications is straightforward with WPForms. Click on the Settings tab, then select Notifications.

On this page, locate the ‘Send To Email Address’ field. By default, this is set to {admin_email}, which dynamically uses the WordPress admin email.

You can remove this placeholder text and enter a different email address. Just type the new address in the ‘Send To Email Address’ field.

To send emails to multiple recipients, simply separate each email address with a comma.

You can also modify the email content. For instance, you may want to update the message body and the subject line.

Once you create these emails, ensure they reach the recipient’s inbox instead of being filtered into the spam folder.

The most effective way to achieve this is by utilizing an SMTP service provider to enhance email deliverability. For further information, refer to our guide on resolving WordPress email sending issues.

You might also consider sending a separate notification to your customers, such as confirming their purchase or sending a ‘Thank You’ message. WPForms will automatically send this email whenever a customer completes the payment form.

To send emails to your customers, click the ‘Add New Notification’ button.

WPForms will prompt you to name this notification. You can name it ‘Customer Notification.’

Afterward, WPForms will display all the notification fields available for customization.

To ensure that WPForms sends notifications to the correct email address, click on the ‘Show Smart Tags’ link next to the ‘Send To Email Address’ option.

Next, select the ‘Email’ field. This enables WPForms to utilize the email address provided by the customer during the payment submission.

You can now personalize the notification email further. For instance, you may want to modify the subject line or include additional text in the email message.

Additionally, you can customize the email using smart tags. For example, you could include the customer’s name or details about the product they just purchased.

After that, navigate to the ‘Confirmations’ tab.

WPForms defaults to displaying a ‘Message’ option. This means your site will show a thank you message each time a customer submits the payment form.

If you prefer not to display a message, you can opt to redirect customers to a specific page or another URL.

To make this adjustment, simply open the ‘Confirmation Type’ dropdown menu. You can then select from the available options.

The last step is to add this form to your WordPress website.

To include it in a post, open the blog post you wish to edit.

Then, click on the plus (+) icon.

In the popup that appears, enter ‘WPForms’ to locate the appropriate block.

After selecting the WPForms block, it will be added to your page.

In your new block, click to access the dropdown menu.

You will now see a list of all the forms you’ve created with WPForms. Simply click to choose your payment form.

If you’re satisfied with the appearance of the form, you can publish or update the page.

Now you can visit your website to see your form live. You’re all set to start accepting credit card payments on your WordPress site.

Additional Methods to Accept Credit Card Payments in WordPress

While WP Simple Pay and WPForms are the easiest options for accepting credit card payments in WordPress, some users may have unique requirements.

For instance, you might want to launch an online store to sell physical products, ebooks, online courses, or even to collect donations.

In such cases, you may require a comprehensive solution tailored to your specific needs:

• MemberPress – This is an excellent option for selling online courses or memberships. It supports credit card payments through Stripe and Authorize.net.
• Easy Digital Downloads – Ideal for selling digital products such as eBooks, music, software, and more. EDD allows you to accept credit card payments and offers multiple payment options during checkout.
• WooCommerce – A widely-used WordPress eCommerce plugin that enables you to sell physical products online. WooCommerce supports credit card payments by default and offers a free Stripe Payment Gateway plugin for added features.

We hope this article has helped you understand how to easily accept credit card payments on your WordPress site. You might also want to explore our list of essential WordPress plugins for business websites or check out our guide on creating an effective email newsletter.

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