Payment Button for PayPal (also known as WP PayPal) plugin connects PayPal to your WordPress site and makes e-commerce available for you. With the WordPress PayPal plugin, you can create various types of buttons such as Add to Cart, Buy Now, Donation or Subscription with a simple shortcode to accept PayPal payments from your users. This plugin allows both one-time and recurring subscription payments so you can run your online store with great ease.
Payment Button for PayPal plugin uses the PayPal API to create a checkout process for your customer that is fast, easy, and intuitive. With one simple shortcode, you can add a secure payment button to your website that lets you accept credit card, debit card, and PayPal payments from any mobile device, tablet, or PC.
Note: This is NOT an official PayPal product.
Features
- Accept PayPal and PayPal Credit payments
- No monthly fee
- Accept credit cards and debit cards
- Optimized mobile checkout experience
- Accept one-time or recurring payments
- Simplified PCI compliance
- Accept donations
- OneTouchTM enables checkout with a click of a button
- Accept 25 currencies from over 200+ countries and markets
- Accept PayPal Pay Later (Pay in 4) payments
- Accept payments with PayPal smart payment buttons
- Accept PayPal Checkout payments (previously known as Express Checkout)
How to Install Payment Button for PayPal in WordPress
- Login to your WordPress admin dashboard
- Go to Plugins->Add New
- Enter Payment Button for PayPal in the search box
- Once you find the plugin hit the install button
Option 2
- Download the zip version of the plugin
- Go to Plugins->Add New and switch to the Upload tab
- Select the zip file on your computer
- Upload and install it
Option 3
- Download the zip file and extract it
- Connect to your website via FTP (you can use a software like Filezilla to transfer files to your server) and browse to the “/wp-content/plugins” folder
- Select the folder containing the plugin files on your computer and upload it
- Once all the files have been uploaded to your web server you can activate the plugin from the Plugins menu (WordPress admin dashboard)
How to Configure Payment Button for PayPal in WordPress
Once you have installed the plugin you will be able to access the settings by navigating to “WP PayPal -> Settings”.
General Settings
In the general settings area, you will need to configure some options related to your PayPal merchant account.
The settings area shows options for both PayPal Checkout and PayPal Payments Standard payment methods.
PayPal Checkout Settings
These settings apply to the “[wp_paypal_checkout]” shortcode. It uses PayPal Checkout payment method to add smart payment buttons to your website. To use PayPal Checkout, REST API credentials are required. To Generate REST API credentials for the sandbox and live environments:
- Log in to the Developer Dashboard with your PayPal account credentials.
- On My Apps & Credentials, use the toggle to switch between live and sandbox testing apps (If you are creating a Sandbox app, you will also need to select a test business account that will act as the API caller).
- Navigate to the REST API apps section and click Create App.
- Type a name for your app and click Create App. The app details page opens and displays your credentials.
- Copy and save the client ID and secret for your app.
- Review your app details and save your app.
Once you have the Client ID you can enter it in the plugin settings.
You can also configure the following options.
Currency Code: The default currency of the payment
Return URL: The URL to which customers will be redirected after payments.
Cancel URL: The URL to which customers will be redirected when payments are cancelled.
Enabled Funding Sources: Funding sources that you wish to display as buttons at checkout. This is not required as the eligibility is determined automatically. However, this field can be used to ensure a funding source is always rendered, if eligible.
You can enter one or more sources in comma-separated format. Here are the supported values:
| Funding Source | Description |
|---|---|
| card | Credit or debit cards |
| credit | PayPal Credit (US, UK) |
| paylater | Pay Later (US, UK), Pay in 4 (AU), 4X PayPal (France), Später Bezahlen (Germany) |
| bancontact | Bancontact |
| blik | BLIK |
| eps | eps |
| giropay | giropay |
| ideal | iDEAL |
| mercadopago | Mercado Pago |
| mybank | MyBank |
| p24 | Przelewy24 |
| sepa | SEPA-Lastschrift |
| sofort | Sofort |
| venmo | Venmo |
Disabled Funding Sources: Funding sources that you do not wish to display as buttons at checkout. You can enter one or more sources in comma-separated format. Here are the supported values:
| Funding Source | Description |
|---|---|
| card | Credit or debit cards |
| credit | PayPal Credit (US, UK) |
| paylater | Pay Later (US, UK), Pay in 4 (AU), 4X PayPal (France), Später Bezahlen (Germany) |
| bancontact | Bancontact |
| blik | BLIK |
| eps | eps |
| giropay | giropay |
| ideal | iDEAL |
| mercadopago | Mercado Pago |
| mybank | MyBank |
| p24 | Przelewy24 |
| sepa | SEPA-Lastschrift |
| sofort | Sofort |
| venmo | Venmo |
PayPal Payments Standard Settings
These settings apply to the “[wp_paypal]” shortcode. It uses PayPal Payments Standard payment method to create different types of buttons such as buy now, add to cart, donate, subscribe etc.
Click on the “Save Changes” button when you are done.
Email Settings
In the email settings area, you can choose to configure some email related settings.
Email Sender Options
In this section, you can specify a From Name and From Email Address that will be used by the WP PayPal plugin when sending an email. You can leave them empty to use the default.
Purchase Receipt Email
WP PayPal plugin allows you to send a purchase receipt email to the customer after completion of a successful purchase. By default, this feature is disabled. In order to use this feature, you need to enable it in the settings.
You can customize the following options in the purchase receipt email,
- Purchase Receipt Email Subject: The subject line for the purchase receipt email. You can use various tags in the email subject to dynamically change its content when it is sent.
- Purchase Receipt Email Type: The content type of the purchase receipt email (Plain Text/HTML).
- Purchase Receipt Email Body: The main content of the purchase receipt email. You can use various tags in the email body to dynamically change its content when it is sent.
Sale Notification Email
WP PayPal plugin can send a sale notification email to your chosen recipient after completion of a successful purchase. By default, this feature is disabled. In order to use this feature, you need to enable it in the settings.
You can customize the following options in the sale notification email,
- Sale Notification Email Recipient: The email address that should receive a notification anytime a sale is made.
- Sale Notification Email Subject: The subject line for the sale notification email. You can use various tags in the email subject to dynamically change its content when it is sent.
- Sale Notification Email Type: The content type of the sale notification email (Plain Text/HTML).
- Sale Notification Email Body: The main content of the sale notification email. You can use various tags in the email body to dynamically change its content when it is sent.
Email Tags
The following email tags can be used in the email subject/body to dynamically change its content when an email is sent,
{first_name} – The customer’s first name.
{last_name} – The customer’s last name.
{txn_id} – The unique transaction ID for this purchase.
{item_names} – The name(s) of the product purchased.
{mc_currency} – The currency code used to make the payment.
{mc_gross} – The full amount of the customer’s payment.
{payer_email} – The customer’s email address.
{custom} – A pass-through custom variable for your own tracking purposes.
{shipping_address} – The customer’s shipping address.
{variation} – The variation of the product purchased.
{threedigitdiffrandnum} – A random 3 digit number. The generated numbers will be unique if the tag occurs multiple times in a single email message.
PayPal Checkout
With the PayPal Checkout payment method (previously known as PayPal Express Checkout), you can create smart payment buttons to accept one-time payments with our plugin.
To create a button, add a shortcode block from your WordPress post/page editor and insert the following shortcode into it.
[wp_paypal_checkout description="test checkout product" amount="3.99"]
Publish/update the page and you will see the button on the front end.
PayPal Checkout Shortcode Parameters
The “wp_paypal_checkout” shortcode currently supports the following parameters.
description
A description of the purchase.
amount
The price of the product.
return_url
The URL to which the customer is redirected after a successful payment.
[wp_paypal_checkout description="test checkout product" amount="3.99" return_url="https://example.com/thank-you/"]
cancel_url
The URL to which the customer is redirected after a payment is canceled.
[wp_paypal_checkout description="test checkout product" amount="3.99" cancel_url="https://example.com/payment-canceled/"]
layout
The layout of the buttons. Supported values: horizontal.
[wp_paypal_checkout description="test checkout product" amount="3.99" layout="horizontal"]
By default, buttons are stacked vertically.
color
The color of the PayPal button. Supported values: blue, silver, white, black.
[wp_paypal_checkout description="test checkout product" amount="3.99" color="blue"]
The default color is gold.
shape
The shape of the PayPal button. Supported values: pill.
[wp_paypal_checkout description="test checkout product" amount="3.99" shape="pill"]
The default is rectangular.
label
Additional label for the PayPal button. Supported values: checkout, buynow, pay.
[wp_paypal_checkout description="test checkout product" amount="3.99" label="checkout"]
The default is paypal.
PayPal Checkout Add-ons
PayPal Checkout payment method comes with various add-ons that you can use to enhance its functionality on your website.
Variable Price
Variable Price add-on shows a price input field with your PayPal Checkout button. This lets buyers set the amount they wish to pay.
Mailchimp Integration
Mailchimp Integration add-on can automatically add the buyer’s email address to your chosen Mailchimp audience/list after a PayPal Checkout payment.
Custom Input
Custom Input add-on shows a text box with your PayPal Checkout buttons. The text box can be used to collect custom data from buyers at checkout. This is really useful if a buyer would like to include a custom note or special instructions.
Contact Form 7 Integration
Contact Form 7 Integration add-on can show a pre-configured PayPal Checkout button after a form submission. This allows buyers to make payments after a Contact Form 7 type form is submitted.
Product Variations
Product variations add-on can be used to set up variations for your PayPal Checkout buttons.
PayPal Payments Standard
With the PayPal Payments Standard payment method, you can create wide range of buttons to accept both one-time and recurring subscription payments with our plugin.
In order to create a button, you need to insert a shortcode and specify the type in the button parameter.
Buy Now
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="1.00"]
Add to Cart
[wp_paypal button="cart" name="My product" amount="1.00"]
View Cart
[wp_paypal button="viewcart"]
Donation
[wp_paypal button="donate" name="My product"]
Subscription
[wp_paypal button="subscribe" name="My product" a3="1.00" p3="1" t3="M" src="1"]
For subscription setup see how to create a subscription button in WordPress.
PayPal Payments Standard Button Demo
PayPal Payments Standard Shortcode Parameters
Button Image
“button_image” parameter can be added to the shortcode to show your own button image instead of the default PayPal button. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" button_image="https://example.com/images/buy.png"]
Button Text
“button_text” parameter can be added to the shortcode to show a plain PayPal button. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" button_text="Pay Now"]
Shipping
“shipping” parameter can be added to the shortcode to charge shipping for an item. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" shipping="1.75"]
Shipping2
“shipping2” parameter can be added to the shortcode to charge shipping for each additional unit of an item. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" shipping="1.75" shipping2="0.75"]
This means, If a user orders:
My Product (Quantity 1), total shipping would be $1.75.
when the order becomes:
My Product (Quantity 2), total shipping would be $1.75 + $0.75.
When it contains:
My Product (Quantity 3), total shipping would be $1.75 + $0.75 + $0.75.
And so on.
This feature is also very useful if you want to offer shipping at a discounted rate for each additional item.
Tax
“tax” parameter can be added to the shortcode to specify a flat tax amount for an item. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" tax="2.15"]
Tax Rate
“tax_rate” parameter can be added to the shortcode to specify a tax rate for an item. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" tax_rate="2.9"]
Handling Fees
“handling” parameter can be added to the shortcode to charge handling fees for an item. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" handling="2.50"]
This parameter is not quantity-specific. That means the same handling cost applies, regardless of the number of items on the order.
Success Page
“return” parameter can be added to the shortcode to redirect the user to a specific page on your site after the payment. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" return="https://example.com/thank-you"]
Cancellation Page
“cancel_return” parameter can be added to the shortcode to redirect the user to a specific page on your site if they cancel checkout before completing the payment. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" cancel_return="https://example.com/payment-canceled"]
Currency
To use a different currency code than the one you specified in the settings, you can add the “currency” parameter to the shortcode. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" currency="SGD"]
Show/Hide Shipping Address
“no_shipping” parameter can be added to the shortcode to control whether or not to prompt buyers for a shipping address. Allowable values are,
- 0 – Prompt for a shipping address but do not require one (This option is set by default)
- 1 – Do not prompt for a shipping address
- 2 – Prompt for a shipping address and require one
For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" no_shipping="1"]
Shopping URL
“shopping_url” parameter can be added to the shortcode to redirect buyers to a page when they click the Continue Shopping button on the PayPal Shopping Cart page. This parameter can only be used with an Add to Cart/View Cart button. For example:
[wp_paypal button="cart" name="My product" amount="4.99" shopping_url="https://example.com/shop"]
Allow Buyers to Specify the Quantity
“undefined_quantity” parameter can be added to the shortcode to allow buyers to specify the quantity of the item on the Paypal payment page. This parameter is only used with a Buy Now button. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" undefined_quantity="1"]
Open PayPal Button in a New Window/Tab
“target” parameter can be added to the shortcode to open a PayPal button in a new window or tab. For example:
[wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount="4.99" target="_blank"]
Change a PayPal Button Dynamically
If you have a page containing a single “[wp_paypal]” shortcode button, you can dynamically change the product name and price of the button with query strings in the URL.
https://example.com/button/?wppp_name=product&wppp_amount=2.99To represent a space you can use “%20”.
https://example.com/button/?wppp_name=My%20Product&wppp_amount=2.99This can be useful when you have a separate checkout page with one button and users from other pages of your site are sent to this page to make payments for different products. If you have a form that sends users to different product pages based on the selection, you can just send them to one page by changing the parameters.
This feature is only available for Buy Now type buttons.
PayPal Payments Standard Add-ons
PayPal Payments Standard payment method comes with various add-ons that you can use to enhance its functionality on your website.
Buy Now Custom Amount
Buy Now Custom Amount add-on lets buyers set the amount they will pay for your PayPal Buy Now buttons. It can also be used to give buyers a choice of pre-defined prices.
Buy Now Discount
Buy Now Discount add-on lets you offer various automatic discount options with your PayPal Buy Now buttons.
Custom Input
Custom Input add-on shows a text box with your PayPal Payments Standard buttons. The text box can be used to collect custom data from buyers at checkout. This is really useful if a buyer would like to include a custom note or special instructions.
Product Variations
Product variations add-on can be used to set up variations for your PayPal Payments Standard buttons.
Variable Quantity
Variable Quantity add-on lets buyers enter a quantity for your PayPal Buy Now buttons.
Variable Subscription
Variable Subscription add-on lets buyers set the amount they will pay for your PayPal Subscribe buttons. It can also be used for accepting recurring donation payments.
Mailchimp Integration
Mailchimp Integration add-on can automatically add the buyer’s email address to your chosen Mailchimp audience/list after a PayPal payment.
Contact Form 7 Integration
Contact Form 7 Integration add-on can show a pre-configured PayPal Payments Standard button after a form submission. This allows buyers to make payments after a Contact Form 7 type form is submitted.
Custom Donations
Custom Donations add-on allows visitors to set a donation amount for your WP PayPal donate buttons.
Manage PayPal Orders
When you receive a new order it will appear in the Orders menu. You can then do the following to finalize it:
1) Send a purchase confirmation email to the customer (include download links if applicable)
2) Ship the goods
Technical Support
Note:
* We will try our best to resolve the issue. But there is no refund/cancellation whether or not the issue is resolved.
Additional Resources
Subscription Button
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my PayPal payment pending?
If you have sent a PayPal payment that is pending, it’s possible the recipient hasn’t accepted it yet. This may happen if the recipient’s account is configured to review each payment that they receive. It can also happen if the payment is made in a currency that is different from the recipient’s primary currency. In that case the recipient will need to manually review the payment by either converting it to the primary currency or create a new balance in the payment currency. If recipient approves the payment once they will be able to receive payments in that currency in the future automatically.
I am saving money to donate to Programs like the one that saved my Nephew a few months ago. I want to thank you for this plugin that allows me to do this and thank you on the behalf of Little Trenton Jocob as well whos life they saved.
Thank you so much for this awesome plugin. Is it possible to add a trial period to my PayPal subscription button?
@John, It’s possible. Please check the Creating a subscription payment button link for details.
hi, sorry total noob here. where do i put the donate button code?
thanks!
@nona, It’s just an additional feature like the download button. You copy and paste the shortcode into a post/page to create a PayPal donate button.
I recently uploaded WPpaypal and it failed to load the settings, and I cannot set the parameters of Paypal. WHat do I do?
@Bruce, This issue doesn’t occur on my development site. So I’m not sure what is actually causing it. If you are interested I can login to your site and investigate it.
I would like to put a PayPal “donate” button on our homepage, and I’ve installed/configured the plug-in. But like Nona (above), I can’t figure out where to put the “donate” shortcode to generate a button, and then tell it how to go to a specific module on the homepage. Is any other documentation available? The instructions on this page assume a level of knowledge that I don’t (yet) have. Thanks in advance!
@Eric, By homepage do you mean your theme template file? You can embed it anywhere in the content area of a post/page. But if it’s a PHP file you will need to tell WordPress to filter the shortcode:
https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/do_shortcode/
Can you add variations to a product ?
@Michael, Unfortunately It’s not possible at the moment.
Hi. Nice plugin, but how do customers access product(s) added to the cart?
@Jamal, What do you mean by accessing products in the cart?
i meant when you click on “add to cart button” how do you access the cart to see products added to cart… Never mind, i just did a test and found out how it work…
Does it use session to add and keep your products in paypal cart? Thanks.
@Jamal, It’s controlled by PayPal. The plugin doesn’t do anything with the cart.
Regarding paying with credit card, You do get this option on the payment page. PayPal just minimises it and shows the PayPal option by default.
Another thing is: some paypal plugins allow people to pay with their card and not just with paypal, but this doesn’t have that function, does it?
Great plugin! Is there a way to select an amount for someone to pay for, ie, if the price is £5, I would like to give them the option of paying for 1, 2, 3 or 4 of them. And can I set it to open the Paypal page in a new window, rather than the same one?
@Jason, Unfortunately price variation option is still not available in the plugin.
Hello. I am trying to upload WP Paypal buttons to my WP site, but the directions do not match what I am seeing on the WP page. There is no Upload button for Plugins. There is nothing on the Admin screen that seems to correspond to these directions.
Please advise.
@Rexx, Do you have admin capability? I believe only an account with admin role can upload plugins/themes.
Hi
Is there any way to change the currency unit from $ to £?
Thanks
@Daniel, You can specify the currency code in the settings. You can also override it in a particular shortcode.
@admin,
How to override the currency using the shortcode? Do you have a sample?
Thanks in advance.
@miong, What type of button are you using?
I am using the “buynow” button. Current code is [wp_paypal button=”buynow” name=”Session” amount=”70.00″ undefined_quantity=”1″ ]
The settings is set to a currency of GBP, but the currency remains as USD inPaypal. Therefore how I can override it in the shortcode?
@Jermine, Please provide a link to your Buy Now button page so I can check the code.
Hi, your plugin is very nice!
I only don’t uderstand how is possible to use the function “Manage PayPal Orders” for check the people that pay your product 🙁 Can you give me more specifications?
Thank you!
@Robert, Are you referring to a function in the plugin code or the orders menu in the settings? You just use shorcode to create button. When someone pays for a product, PayPal sends notification to your site and it appears in the Orders menu.
So how does this work, I create a page on the site, and paste the buy nnow button, add to cart, and cancel and return code on the page? So for product variations, I’d need to create each indevidual page?
@Mellissa, That’s how it works. You don’t have to create a new page for each shortcode. You can have multiple shortcodes on the same page.
Is this simply a button creation plugin or can you transact on your website page.
I would like to have a subscription checkout on my own website without sending them to the Paypal website, does this plugin do that?
@Mike, that’s not possible unfortunately. It uses the PayPal standard API which sends the user to the PayPal site for the payment.
Hi
I have bought a site with this plugin to run paypal
www.premiumlogoshop.comhowever when you click on the buy it now button, I am taken to the wrong paypal account and displaying the wrong price. How would i edit this to correct the problem?Thanks
@Daniel, Have you updated your email address in the settings (WP PayPal > Settings)?
The readme shows how you can give parameters to a shortcode. I have several (almost identical) pages that will have 4 buttons each, but the only difference (page to page) will be price on the buttons. Is there a way to populate the price on those buttons from POST parameters from a form?
Thanks.
@Daniel, Unfortunately that’s not possible at the moment.
Is there a way to code the button to open the payment window in a new tab? Thanks!
@Brianna, I have just released an update to support this feature. You can now add
target="_blank"in the shortcode to open a PayPal button in a new tab.Hi im testing this out with sandbox but the orders arent showing up. Why is this?
@Stephen, Do you have the debug option enabled in the plugin settings? It would provide more information as to whether or not the plugin received a payment notification from PayPal.
sandbox test not working. error mg: “Please check your email address and password and try again”
Do i need to set up anything to work/test in sandbox?
PS: I am using an existing paypal account to test as a site user
@ISS, Which shortcode are you using? There is a good chance it’s broken. You need to copy and paste it as plain text to make sure there is no formatted character in it. Please provide a link to the page in question so I can take a closer look.
i am using the subscription code – something like this
[wp_paypal button="subscribe" name="test product" amount="3.50" recurrence="3" period="M" src="1"]do you have an email i can send the page link too
@ISS, You can use the contact form to get in touch.
Thanks i work it out.
2) My new question is that i dont see the order in the “order page” how long before the completed order appears in the wordpress order page?
2) Also it appears the “return” and “cancel” attributes cannot be used with the button=”subscribe” – i get the following error “The link you have used to enter the PayPal system is invalid. Please review the link and try again.” when i used the return attribute
@ISS, Do you have the debug option enabled? It will tell you whether or not the plugin received a payment notification from PayPal.
Yes i do sent it to your contact email
Thx
Awaiting you response. In the mean time here is some error mgs in the debug log that stands out:
– FAILURE :Received invalid response from PayPal
– FAILURE :Error response: cURL error 35: error:14077410:SSL routines:SSL23_GET_SERVER_HELLO:sslv3 alert handshake failure
Pls help. the full log has been send to your contact email
@ISS, I already replied to your email. As of June 30, PayPal has updated its services to require TLS 1.2 for all HTTPS connections. PayPal also requires HTTP/1.1 for all connections. Please make sure that your web server supports it so the plugin can connect to the PayPal server and verify the IPN.
Oh something most have gone wrong …. i did not get your email.
Anyway thanks for the latest info, i will speak to my server ppl about the tls issue