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Adding a PayPal or Stripe button to your website

SiteSmith · · 5 min read

The simplest way to add a PayPal or Stripe button to your website is not to paste in their button code at all. Create a payment link in your PayPal or Stripe account, then make an ordinary button on your site and point it at that link. It works on every website builder, looks like the rest of your site, and cannot break your page. This guide walks through both providers, the receipt and thank-you settings people forget, and how to test it properly before a customer does.

Before you start

You need three things:

  1. A business account with PayPal or Stripe, in your business's name, connected to your business bank account. With PayPal, a personal account is not the right tool; upgrade it or open a Business account.
  2. A clear idea of what the button is for: one product, a deposit, a gift card, a class seat, or an amount the customer types in.
  3. Access to edit your website, to add a button and its link.

Set up two-step login codes on the payment account before anything else. It is the account that holds your money.

In Stripe, sign in to the Dashboard and look for Payment Links (you can also search for it at the top).

  1. Press the button to create a new link.
  2. Add a product: a name customers will recognize ("Deposit for custom cake order"), a price and, if you like, a photo and a short description.
  3. Choose options as needed: let customers adjust the quantity, let them enter their own amount (for donations or paying an invoice), collect their phone number, or collect a shipping address if you post items.
  4. Open the After payment settings. You can show Stripe's confirmation page with your own message, or send customers to a page on your website. A short custom message is enough: "Thank you. We have your deposit and will call you within one business day."
  5. Create the link and copy it.

In Stripe's settings, check two more things once:

  • Customer emails: make sure receipts for successful payments are switched on, so every buyer gets one automatically.
  • Public details: set the business name and the statement descriptor, the short name that appears on the customer's card statement. A name customers do not recognize leads to disputed charges.

In your PayPal Business account, look for Pay Links and Buttons (PayPal moves menus around from time to time; it usually sits under the payments or "Get paid" menu, and the account's search box finds it).

  1. Choose to create a payment link or button.
  2. Enter the item name, price and, optionally, a photo, quantity and tax or shipping settings.
  3. Copy the link rather than the button code if your website editor is not comfortable with code.

PayPal sends a receipt to the buyer automatically, and a notification to you by email and in the PayPal app. Make sure your business name and customer service email are filled in under your account's business information, because they appear on the receipt.

Putting the button on your site

How you add a button depends on your editor, but the idea is the same everywhere:

  • Wix, Squarespace and most builders: add a Button element or block, type the button's words, and set its link to the payment address you copied.
  • WordPress: add a Button block, type the label, and paste the link in the link box.
  • A site managed by someone else: send them the link and the exact words you want on the button.

Words around the button

The words near the button do as much work as the button itself. Say:

  • What they are paying for: "Deposit to hold your event date".
  • How much: the amount, plainly, before they tap.
  • What happens next: "We will confirm by phone within one business day."
  • Your terms: for deposits, whether they are refundable and until when.

Use specific button words like "Pay the deposit" or "Buy a gift card". A plain "Buy now" or "Pay" leaves people unsure.

Usually not. On phones, new tabs confuse people. If you send customers back to a thank-you page on your website after paying, they return naturally.

Test it properly

Do not let your first customer be your test.

  1. Make a real payment yourself, using your own card, for the lowest amount you can set or for the real price.
  2. Check every step on your phone: the button, the payment page, the confirmation message, the receipt email.
  3. Check what you receive: the notification, the payment in your dashboard, the name it shows.
  4. Refund the payment from the dashboard. Note that processing fees may not be returned on a refund.

Stripe also has a "test mode" switch in the Dashboard that lets you try a link with test card numbers instead of real money, which is useful if you are setting up several.

After it goes live

  • Answer payments quickly. A customer who paid a deposit and hears nothing for two days starts to worry. A short email or call the same day feels professional.
  • Watch for disputes. Customers can dispute charges with their bank. Clear descriptions, a recognizable statement name and prompt confirmation make that rare. Keep notes of what was agreed.
  • Know your payout timing. Both providers pay out to your bank on a schedule; check it in the settings so you are not surprised.
  • Keep links current. When a price changes, update the link or create a new one and replace it on the site. An old link still takes old prices.

Payment links suit a few products, deposits and gift cards. If you find yourself making dozens of them, read Square Online, Shopify or a simple website to see whether a store fits better, and taking payments on a website without an online store for the other ways to get paid online.

Your button checklist

  • Business account in place, two-step codes on.
  • Payment link created with a clear name and price.
  • Receipts on, business name and statement name set.
  • Button added with specific words and a line about what happens next.
  • Refund terms written beside it.
  • Tested on your phone with a real payment, then refunded.

If your current site makes it hard to add even a button, you can see your site rebuilt first with Buy and Pay buttons that point at your own PayPal or Stripe links.

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