Payment Button for PayPal WordPress Plugin

Payment Button for PayPal (also known as WP PayPal) plugin connects PayPal to your WordPress site and makes e-commerce available for you.

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.

wp paypal website payments standard wordpress plugin

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 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 Plugin
  • Enter Payment Button for PayPal naa986 in the search box
  • Once you find the plugin hit the install button

The plugin can also be downloaded from here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-paypal/. For a manual installation go to Plugins > Add New Plugin > Upload Plugin and select the zip file that you downloaded.

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”.

settings menu of the WP PayPal plugin

General Settings

In the general settings area, you will need to configure some options related to your PayPal merchant account.

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 and Secret Key you can enter it in the plugin settings.

paypal checkout settings in the wp paypal plugin

You also need to 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.

Checkout Page URL: The URL of the page where PayPal checkout options will appear.

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 SourceDescription
cardCredit or debit cards
creditPayPal Credit (US, UK)
paylaterPay Later (US, UK), Pay in 4 (AU), 4X PayPal (France), Später Bezahlen (Germany)
bancontactBancontact
blikBLIK
epseps
giropaygiropay
idealiDEAL
mercadopagoMercado Pago
mybankMyBank
p24Przelewy24
sepaSEPA-Lastschrift
sofortSofort
venmoVenmo

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 SourceDescription
cardCredit or debit cards
creditPayPal Credit (US, UK)
paylaterPay Later (US, UK), Pay in 4 (AU), 4X PayPal (France), Später Bezahlen (Germany)
bancontactBancontact
blikBLIK
epseps
giropaygiropay
idealiDEAL
mercadopagoMercado Pago
mybankMyBank
p24Przelewy24
sepaSEPA-Lastschrift
sofortSofort
venmoVenmo

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.

email sender options in the WP PayPal plugin

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.

purchase receipt email related options in the WP PayPal plugin

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.

sale notification email related options in the WP PayPal plugin

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.

{product_name} – The name of the product purchased.

{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.

Product

To create a buy button you need to create a product first (WP PayPal > Products). You can then add a shortcode block from your WordPress post/page editor and insert the following shortcode into it.

[wp_paypal_product id="1"]

Replace 1 with the actual product ID.

Publish/update the page and you will see the button on the front end. Clicking this button will take you to the checkout page where payment options will appear.

Checkout

In order for the payment options to appear, your checkout page needs to contain the following shortcode.

[wp_paypal_checkout]

This will show the eligible payment methods the at checkout.

paypal checkout button created with the wp paypal plugin

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.

Order Export

Order Export add-on can be used to export order data to a CSV file.

Manage PayPal Orders

When you receive a new order it will appear in the Orders menu.

screenshot showing how to manage PayPal orders in WordPress

757 thoughts on “Payment Button for PayPal WordPress Plugin”

  1. I have it running now – still in sandbox mode. I am not clear about where the data is. I can click on “All Orders” and see whats been sold but where is that info? I don’t see any mysql db / tables related to this. Is it all in paypal’s realm?
    If so how secure is that? Right now in sandbox mode I don’t see any authentication being used.

    Can the data be exported?

    Reply
    • @Steve, The data that you see in the Orders menu and by editing an order is what the plugin saves after a purchase.

      Reply
      • This data is not stored locally however? PayPal holds it. Correct?

        Reply
        • @Steve, Yes PayPal has the details of all the purchases.

          Reply
  2. Please forgive if already answered. Is there a way to submit a unique id # to PayPal during the transaction and get the ID returned via the IPN in order to match the customer up definitively?

    Thanks
    /sd

    Reply
  3. I am using test mode. No entries are appearing under “All Orders.” Is that because it is test mode or should the test orders show up?

    Reply
    • @Milob, Transactions in test mode should also get recorded. It’s possible that your site is not receiving any notification from PayPal. Do you have the debug option enabled in the plugin?

      Reply
      • Same problem – I don’t think that this a bug in your plugin but rather something has gone sideways with Paypal’s sandbox

        Can you confirm? I have tried it with Debug activated and with it not. Nothing shows up in the Order’s page or Debug.

        I can log into sandbox.paypal as the “business name” and see the transactions. But the plugin is getting zero feedback as near as I can tell

        Reply
        • @Steve, Still there is no content in the log file after you enabled it and made a test purchase? Does it at least show a message if you reset the log?

          Reply
          • Nothing – yet it is reported on PayPal site.

          • @Steve, You don’t see a reset message after resetting the debug log file?

  4. I tagged onto a existing ticket in PayPal – they have confirmed its a failure on their end:

    https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/Sandbox-Environment/IPN-not-working-Sandbox/m-p/2022983#M5671

    Reply
  5. @Norman, You are using a different plugin.

    Reply
  6. I am getting an invalid PayPal account error, where does the client-id 64 byte string go?

    Reply
  7. Hello! I need the customer to be able to fill out some information needed to fill their order. How can I add a form?

    Reply
  8. Doesn’t work. Just get this: “PayPal – Things don’t appear to be working at the moment. Please try again later.”

    Reply
    • @Deej, Are you testing it in sandbox mode?

      Reply
    • I have the same problem.

      Tried it normal and in sandbox mode. Hope someone can help.

      Reply
      • @Erwin, What shortcode are you using? Please provide a link to the page in question so I can take a look.

        Reply
        • Hello Noor,

          this is the link to the page: https://www.457thbombgroupassoc.org/membership/

          I am using this shortcode: [wp_paypal button="subscribe" name="membership" amount="25.00" recurrence="1" period="Y" src="1"]

          Thank you,

          Erwin

          Reply
          • @Erwin, Thank you. Do you have the “Block non-encrypted website payment” option turned on in your PayPal account?

  9. The option was ‘Block non-encrypted website payment’ was ‘off’. So it should have been working right?

    Reply
    • @Erwin, Usually this error occurs when it’s turned on. The problem is PayPal doesn’t say exactly why it happened. Do you see this error in live mode?

      Reply
      • Yes I see it in Live mode. Strange!

        Reply
  10. Hey Noor Alam,

    is it possible to customize the return page? I would like to offer a page to print or save after payment, which is then the ticket for an event. It should contain the buyers name.

    Thanks a lot for your great work!

    Reply
  11. Is there ANY way that the paypal checkout/purchase window can open in a POP-UP on the same page rather than take the buyer to a new page/window?

    Reply
    • @Thomas, It’s not possible at the moment.

      Reply
  12. Is there a way to specify the available number of items of a product that can be purchased within the shortcode?

    In other words, set the available quantity so the item is not oversold?

    Reply
    • @Thomas, You should be able to do this with a plugin that supports stock management.

      Reply
      • IS there an associated plugin that works with yours that supports stock management?

        Or are you talking about finding a different WordPress Paypal Plugin?

        Reply
        • @Thomas, You will need to use a different plugin unfortunately.

          Reply
  13. I have just set this up to accept payments on my website, but it’s showing my name and address instead of my business name at the checkout. Is there any way to change this?

    Reply
    • @Murray, It comes from your PayPal account.

      Reply
      • Yeah, but I don’t see an option on PayPal to change/remove this… Any advice?

        Reply
  14. Is there an option for a View cart button with this plugin?

    If a customer adds something to their shopping cart and clicks continue shopping but then decides not to buy anything else, there doesn’t seem to be a way for them to return to their shopping cart.

    Reply
  15. Help! I have the shortcode to return the customer to a thank you page after checkout, but it is not working. The customer stays on the receipt page and doesn’t return to my website. Do I have something set incorrectly? The thank-you page is live. This is what I’m using:

    [wp_paypal button="cart" name="Simplicity in Action: April 2020" amount="10.00" return="https://modernsimplicity.org/thank-you-sia"]

    Also, the orders are not appearing in the Orders tab. How do I get them to appear there?

    THANKS!

    Reply
    • @Sandy, Do you see a link on the payment page to return to your site? PayPal may not automatically redirect the customer unless you have auto return enabled in your PayPal account.

      Reply
      • I can see the Return the Merchant button now.

        My orders still aren’t showing under the Orders tab. Is there something I can do to fix that or should I just watch for Paypal transactions and leave the Orders box alone?

        THANKS!!!

        Reply
        • @Sandy, Do you have the debug option enabled in the plugin? With debug enabled you will be able to see if the plugin is receiving notification from PayPal.

          Reply
          • I do, and it’s definitely receiving the information, just not showing it on the My Orders page. Could it be because my default email address in Paypal was different than my “seller” email address? I’ve updated my default Paypal address to my seller email address. THANK YOU!

          • @Sandy, The log would show why the plugin failed to update the order.

          • Or does it need to be a business Paypal account? I was using my regular Paypal account.

  16. I implemented the WordPress PayPal Plugin on one of my client’s websites and it’s working correctly. Thank you for developing and supporting this this plugin.

    My question is, does the resulting PayPal integration support Venmo as a payment option?

    Reply
    • @Dave, There is no built-in support for Venmo. I don’t know if you can enable Venmo in your PayPal account so it appears as an option on the payment page.

      Reply
  17. Hello,

    Thanks for this plugin!

    How do I ensure the plugin returns to a particular page after check out has been completed? I searched for this on Paypal and could not find an answer.

    Also, is there a way to test that the plugin works? I only have one Paypal email address (the one I used that is associated with the business). Is there a way I can see what the purchaser will see from start to finish?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • @Alisha, You can create sandbox accounts to test how it works.

      Reply
  18. Thanks for your reply. How do I redirect to a particular page after checkout has been completed?

    Thanks again

    Reply
    • @Alisha, You can use the “return” parameter in the shortcode. In order to automatically redirect the customer upon checkout, you will also need to have the auto return option enabled in your PayPal account.

      Reply
      • Thanks, Noor. Where would I find ‘auto return’ on Paypal’s website? When I search for the option, only help articles associated with the return of goods appear.

        Thanks very much.

        Reply
  19. I am trying to get address details befor they pay, have tried
    Someone already posted:
    Hello! I need the customer to be able to fill out some information needed to fill their order. How can I add a form?

    Have tried.
    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,

    2 – Prompt for a shipping address and require one

    but nothing happens.
    Mick

    Reply
    • @Mick, This is for customizing the PayPal payment page.

      Reply
      • This is where being able to customize your website is critical. I did what you are asking about by using MySQL and PHP on the order form. (Collect and store the data on your site) – once you have confirmation of payment you ship the product.

        Reply
  20. This Short code isn’t working. The error message says that amount cannot be blank. I see you say this plugin has extensions but I am unable to find the extensions. Not sure what to do to make this short code work.

    [wp_paypal button="buynow" name="My product" amount=""]

    Thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • @Tamara, Amount can only be left empty for a donate button. If you want to apply it to a buy button you will need the “Custom Buy Now Amount” extension at the bottom of the page.

      Reply

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