Exploring the World of Online Business with Stripe and WordPress

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the world of business to new heights, forcing many companies to shift their focus to online ventures. Payment processing is an essential aspect of online business, and Stripe has emerged as a key player in the game, offering businesses access to an easy-to-use payment gateway.

For a business owner running a WordPress site, setting up Stripe on their platform can appear to be a daunting task. However, with the right information and necessary steps, the process of setting up Stripe for WordPress can be straightforward.

Understanding Stripe

Stripe is a modern payment gateway that allows merchants to receive credit card payments from customers. Unlike traditional gateways, Stripe offers businesses customizable payment forms that cater to their customer’s preferences. Stripe accepts all major credit card brands, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. By setting up Stripe, WordPress site owners can receive online payments directly from their website, providing a fast, secure, and flexible payment gateway.

Step 1: Install and Activate a Stripe Plugin in WordPress

Various Stripe plugins are available in the WordPress directory, such as WPForms, Stripe Payments, and WP Simple Pay. Setting up Stripe on WordPress starts with installing and activating a Stripe plugin. WPForms is a page builder plugin with an integrated Stripe payment feature, while Stripe Payments is an easy-to-use plugin that adds a “Pay with Stripe” button to your website. WP Simple Pay is another payment plugin that allows you to create payment forms quickly.

Step 2: Connect Your Stripe Account to Your WordPress Plugin

After installing and activating your preferred Stripe plugin, the next step is to connect it to your Stripe account. This process involves getting your secret API and publishable keys from the Stripe Dashboard, then copying them to your WordPress site’s plugin dashboard.

Step 3: Add Payment Form to Your WordPress Site

Customizing payment forms is an essential aspect of the payment process, and different Stripe plugins offer various methods for creating payment forms. In WPForms, payment forms are created by selecting “Billing/Order Form” and dragging the payment content field onto your form. In WP Simple Pay, payment forms are created by inputting the amount you want to charge and selecting your product name and quantity. Stripe Payments offers a simple payment form builder that allows you to enter your product name, quantity, and the amount you want to charge.

Step 4: Test Stripe Payment

After customizing your payment forms, it’s essential to test whether the payment gateway processes transactions correctly. Stripe offers test APIs that simulate payment processes without utilizing real credit cards. Testing payment forms involves clicking the submit button, which should direct you to the “Thank You” page, signaling payment confirmation. Stripe Payments offers a “Test Payment” button that finalizes payment simulations.

Step 5: Go Live

After testing and gaining confidence in the payment gateway’s functionality, the final step is switching from test mode to live mode. Switching requires changing your secret key in your Stripe plugin dashboard to your live API’s secret key.

Conclusion

Setting up Stripe on WordPress can be confusing at first, but with the necessary information, it’s a straightforward process. To ensure reliability and security to your payment process, select a reputable payment gateway that caters to your business’s needs. By following the steps highlighted in this guide, you’ll be on your way to accepting online payments through your WordPress site effortlessly.