How to Set Up Credit Card Payments in WordPress
Are you looking to accept online payments? No problem. It’s pretty easy to do. All you need to set up credit card payments in WordPress is a good plugin!
In this article we’ll share the best ways to accept credit and debit card payments on your WordPress site. We’ll share top free and paid options.
Let’s get right to it and make some money! Feel free to skip around:
- Choosing the Right Payment Plugin
- Set Up Credit Card Payments with EDD
- Credit Card Payment Alternatives
- FAQs and Technical Info
Choosing the Right Payment Plugin
Why are you needing to accept credit cards? What type of item/s are you selling? Are you selling a service? Use this chart to decide which plugin to use.
| Use Type | Suggested Solution |
|---|---|
| 💻 🎮 📱 🧑🏽🔧 Selling Digital Products or Services | Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) • Great for selling downloads like eBooks, graphics, document templates, software, themes, or plugins. • Also good for selling service ‘packages’ like logo design or other creative/digital services delivered over the internet. • Has flexible checkout options (shopping cart or buy-now buttons) ➡️ Get Started with EDD |
| 🧾 ⛪️ 💒 🕌 Accepting Payments or Donations | WP Simple Pay or WPForms • These plugins are good for simple payment forms when you don’t need a full online store or shopping cart. Great for donations or professional services with online billing. ➡️ Learn More about WP Simple Pay or WPForms |
| 👕 ☕️ 💄 🛍 Selling Physical Products | WooCommerce • Woo is great if you are selling physical products like apparel, food, health, or beauty products. • Offers flexible checkout options (shopping cart or buy-now buttons, may require extensions) ➡️ Learn More |
Set Up Credit Card Payments with Easy Digital Downloads
If you’re selling digital files/products or services, the best way to accept credit cards is with Easy Digital Downloads (EDD).
EDD turns your WordPress website into a full-featured e-Commerce website store with just a few clicks. You don’t need to know how to code or hire a developer to use our advanced payment processing functionality.
Unlike other eCommerce platforms, EDD is laser-focused on being the best way to sell digital products. You can sell an unlimited number of items, manage customers, and use payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, or choose from many others.
We’ll show you how to easily set up credit cart payments with Stripe. Stripe is our recommended payment gateway. You’ll love the powerful features and easy setup.
With EDD, Stripe isn’t an after-thought addon, it’s fully integrated.
Step 1: Install Easy Digital Downloads
First, install and activate Easy Digital Downloads. This will get you access to all or our payment gateways as well as features like email integration and subscription payments.
When EDD is installed on your site you’ll have a new menu item called Downloads. Look for it on the left side of your WordPress dashboard.
Step 2: Connect Easy Digital Downloads and Stripe
Before we start, be sure to make sure Stripe is available in your country. If its not, we suggest PayPal payments as another great option. Click here to learn about PayPal setup.
Next, integrating EDD with Stripe is easy. Especially if you already have a Stripe account. You won’t have to manage or copy/paste API keys.
- Step 2.1 – Set Up with a Preexisting Stripe Account
- Step 2.2 – Set Up without Preexisting Stripe Account
- Step 2.3 – Configure Webhooks
- Step 2.4 – Set Stripe as Default Payment Gateway
Step 2.1 – Set Up with a Preexisting Stripe Account
If you have a Stripe account you basically just have to hit one button.
On your WordPress dashboard go to: Downloads » Settings » Payments » Stripe.
Click on the blue button that says Connect with Stripe.
- You’ll log in with your Stripe email address and password
- You probably have two factor authentication enabled, so you’ll have to enter a code from a device
- Then you’ll be able to choose your account and click Connect → to link it to EDD.
You’re pretty much done. You’ll see a green notification box that confirms your connection status.
Step 2.2 – Set Up without a Preexisting Stripe Account
Its no problem if you don’t have a Stripe account. Stripe makes it easy to create a new one (for free) and connect it to EDD. You won’t need to log in anywhere else right now.
The process looks different depending on which country you’re in. We’ll walk through a setup from the United States. These screenshots may change slightly over time, as Stripe tweaks their interface.
- On your WordPress dashboard go to: Downloads » Settings » Payments » Stripe.
- Click on the blue button that says Connect with Stripe.
- You’ll be taken to the Stripe Connect screen.
Be sure you see our logo and ‘Easy Digital Downloads’ on the left side.
You’ll be taken through a multi-page form. Stripe will ask for your contact information and business information. The questions will vary depending on your region.
Questions will likely include:
- Name, address, phone number
- Personal information, like government ID numbers
- Business information (type of business, business address)
- The last step in most regions will be connecting a bank account for Stripe to deposit your money into when you make sales!
Some banks have guided presets. If yours doesn’t, don’t worry you can enter account numbers manually.
After completing this multi-page form you’ll have a new Stripe account. You didn’t even have to go to another website!
Step 2.3 – Configure Webhooks
Next, you need configure a webhook. This makes sure refunds are communicated between your EDD store and Stripe.
On your new Stripe Dashboard, go to Developers » Webhooks. Or use the direct link below (you must be logged in):
https://dashboard.stripe.com/webhooks
Click on the Add Endpoint button.
Add your domain name with ‘/?edd-listener=stripe’ at the end of it. It should look like this:
https://yourwebsite.com/?edd-listener=stripe
Replace ‘yourwebsite.com’ with your own website’s domain name. Another option is to copy and paste it from the screen located at Downloads » Settings » Payments » Stripe in the Webhooks section.
On the Stripe Dashboard select these settings:
- Make sure the box “Listen to events on Connected accounts” is unchecked
- The API version should be “Latest version”
- Select the following events:
- charge.succeeded
- charge.refunded
- customer.subscription.deleted
- customer.subscription.updated
- customer.subscription.created
- invoice.payment_failed
- invoice.payment_succeeded
- review.opened
- review.closed
In the animation below you see the Review events being selected:
Once completed, your webhooks page should look like this.
Hit the Add Endpoint button to save these settings. Your integration with EDD will complete.
🔍 Click here for more details on Stripe setup
Step 2.4 – Set Stripe as Default Payment Gateway
Last, go to Downloads » Settings. Click on the Payments tab on Gateways.
- Under Payment Gateways check the Stripe box
- Set as your Default Gateway via the dropdown
- Choose which credit card brands to accept under Accepted Payment Method Icons.
- Not sure which ones to choose? Go with Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover unless you have a reason not to use these popular brands. Availability may vary by country/region.
- Be sure to hit the Save Changes button
🥳 Stripe and EDD are ready to go. You can now accept credit card payments! Now, what are you going to accept payments for? What are you selling? Let’s set up a ‘Download’.
Step 3: Set up Your Download
Good work so far. Next, you need to set up your digital product or service. These are called ‘Downloads’ in EDD.
On your WordPress dashboard click on Downloads and then the Add New button.
Give your Download a:
- Name and description
- Price
- Download image (the image the potential customer sees while shopping or browsing your site)
- Specify the file that the customer gets upon purchase (it could be instructions or a link for services)
➡️ Click here for a detailed step-by-step guide for creating a Download.
Once your Download is published, website visitors can see it on the front end of your website. In our example below we are using the Astra theme. Your site’s appearance will vary. Click here EDD optimized themes.
When a visitor clicks the Purchase button and completes the checkout process, they will be taken to the purchase confirmation (thank you) page. It looks like this (below). Your customers can click to download their file/s.
New customers will also get a purchase receipt with their information and download link.
We have many other payment options than just Stripe.
🤷 Don’t have a WordPress site yet? You just need WordPress hosting. Get EDD and WordPress preinstalled and perfectly configured with SiteGround EDD Managed Web Hosting. You can leave all the techie stuff to the experts and have not a care in the world.
Credit Card Payment Alternatives
Here are our top suggestions for Easy Digital Downloads alternatives if you are not primarily selling digital products or services delivered over the internet.
WP Simple Pay
If you want to accept donations, or even sell a small number or products or services, WP Simple Pay is a great option. It’s the best WordPress Stripe payments plugin.
- Add payment buttons or payment forms with a drag-and-drop interface.
- Insert buttons or forms as shortcodes or blocks in the block editor
- Offer subscriptions, installment plans, or even free trials
- Add other payment options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH debit and Buy Now, Pay Later with Klarna and Afterpay/Clearpay
- The plugin works with 135+ currencies, as well as payment methods including iDeal, SEPA, Alipay, giropay, Bancontact, Przelewy24, and FPX
Get started for free or learn more about the pro plans. Some of features require a Pro or Elite license.
WPForms
WPForms is the best WordPress form builder plugin. You can use it to collect payments or donations with payment forms. WPForms is trusted by more than 5 million websites (small businesses and large ones too).
There are three main reasons you might want to use WPForms instead of WP Simple Pay:
- If you also need a form builder for other uses like contact forms, email registration forms, or surveys. You may be able to do everything with one form plugin!
- If you have a unique customization needed, WPForms allow more custom field and other options.
- WP Simple Pay uses Stripe. If need more credit card payment options, you can use the PayPal or Square add-ons with a Pro license. You can use the Authorize.net add-on with an Elite license.
WPForms has a free/lite version, but for payments you’ll need to get a Pro or Elite License.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a great solution if you’re selling physical products. If you’re selling digital goods (sometimes called ‘virtual goods’ by WooCommerce users) we suggest EDD.
WooCommerce is trusted by more than a million websites. It’s free! There are thousands of extensions that allow you to customize Woo to your exact needs.
We recommend having WooCommerce pre-installed on a managed server. This way you’ll be ready for spikes in traffic and won’t have to worry about any of the behind-the-scenes techie stuff. Everything will be taken care of for you.
- Check out BlueHost Premium Managed WooCommerce Hosting
- Read this ultimate guide to using WooCommerce
FAQs and Technical Info
Here are some key terms and definitions to know about eCommerce for accepting credit cards.
| SSL / SSL Certificate | Secure Sockets Layer – A protocol that encrypts data as it’s being sent between your computer (or your customer’s computer) and a web server. It prevents anyone from stealing personal information. It’s required for credit card transactions. Don’t worry, most web hosts include this for free or as a low-cost add-on. |
| Payment gateway / processor | A company that authorizes and facilitates credit card other electronic payments. Examples include; PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. |
| KYC | Know Your Customer – The guidelines or procedures a payment processor requires to verify online customers. |
| SCA | Strong Customer Authentication – A European requirement for credit card transactions. Customers must also verify their identity with another method such as password, pin, secret fact, device, or fingerprint scan. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to set up credit card payments online with WordPress?
- A web host
- WordPress site
- SSL
- A plugin like Easy Digital Downloads that processes the credit card payment
- An account with the payment gateway, linked to your credit card or debit card so you can get revenue sent to you
How do I choose a web host?
Read this guide on choosing a web host, it has discount codes. Or you can select our top pick based on what you are doing with your website:
- For Easy Digital Downloads check out SiteGround Managed EDD WordPress Hosting
- For WPForms or WP Simple Pay consider Blue Host.
- For WooCommerce we suggest Blue Host Premium Managed Hosting
Conclusion
Nicely done. You’ve learned how to set up credit card payments with WordPress. You’re set up to build a profitable online business or side hustle.
If you haven’t yet, get started with EDD today!
We have plenty more resources for digital creators like you. What else do you want to learn about today?
- 📈 The Most Popular Digital Products You Can Sell Online
- 😲 The Astonishing Benefits of Selling Digital Products
- Selling Guides:
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