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Last updated: July 21, 2020 by Keith Lock





There are plenty of free and simple ways to add PayPal to WordPress.

Today I will provide a quick intro to 5 possible ways to accept payments from PayPal on your web site.

In this tutorial, you will see:

  • How to install and use the PayPal WP Express Checkout plugin.
  • How to install and use the PayPal for Digital Goods plugin.
  • How to install and use the PayPal Donations plugin.
  • How to install and use the WP Easy Paypal Payment Accept plugin.
  • How to install and use the WordPress Simple Paypal Shopping Cart plugin.

Before you move on:

  • Please be sure that you have a PayPal account.

Video Tutorial on How to Add PayPal to Your Site

Resources mentioned in the tutorial:

How to install and use the WP Express Checkout Plugin

  1. From within your WordPress Dashboard, click Plugins, then Add New.
  2. Do a search for: WP Express Checkout
  3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
  4. Go to the “WP Express Checkout” menu in the left hand side of your dashboard
  5. Click on the settings link
  6. Enter the desired currency and currency symbol for the Buy Now buttons.
  7. Enter in the PayPal Credentials which include: Live Client ID, Sandbox Client ID.
  8. You can test in Sandbox Mode, but be sure to click the Live Mode box when ready.
  9. Click the Save Changes button after making any changes.
  10. Go to the “Products” menu and create a product for your buy now button.
  11. Use the shortcode to embed the paypal button on any page.

Shortcode Example for WP Express Checkout:



[wp_express_checkout product_id="1234"]

How to install and use the PayPal for Digital Goods plugin

  1. From within your WordPress Dashboard, click Plugins, then Add New.
  2. Do a search for: PayPal for Digital Goods
  3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
  4. Click Settings, then PayPal for Digital Goods.
  5. Enter the desired Currency and default text for the Buy Now buttons.
  6. Enter in the PayPal Credentials which include: PayPal API Username, PayPal API Password and PayPal API Signature.
  7. You can test in Sandbox Mode, but be sure to click the Live Mode box when ready.
  8. Click the Save Changes button after making any changes.
  9. Edit a WordPress page where you have a digital file for sale, and use the following Shortcode: paypal_for_digital_goods with the parameters: name, price, url and button_text
  10. Customize the shortcode for your needs.
  11. Update the page, then view it on the site for testing.

Shortcode Example:

[paypal_for_digital_goods name="My eBook" price="25" url="http://your-domain.com/my-ebook-file.zip" button_text="Buy Now"]

How to install and use the PayPal Donations plugin

  1. From within your WordPress Dashboard, click Plugins, then Add New.
  2. Do a search for: PayPal Donations
  3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
  4. Click Settings, then PayPal Donations.
  5. Add your PayPal email address in the PayPal Account box.
  6. Add in any Optional and Default settings.
  7. Click Save Changes.
  8. Go to Appearance, then Customize.
  9. Click Widgets.
  10. Choose a Widget Location such as Sidebar.
  11. Click Add a Widget.
  12. Scroll down and find PayPal Donations, and click it.
  13. Fill out your preferences for the different options, otherwise the defaults from the previous steps will be used.
  14. Optionally, click the Visibility button to customize where the Widget gets displayed on the site.
  15. Preview the Widget in the Live Preview screen on the right.

How to install and use the WP Easy Paypal Payment Accept plugin

  1. From within your WordPress Dashboard, click Plugins, then Add New.
  2. Do a search for: WP Easy Paypal Payment Accept
  3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
  4. Click Settings, then WP PayPal Payment.
  5. Add your PayPal Email Address.
  6. Edit any of the optional and required settings to suit your needs.
  7. Click Update Options.
  8. Edit a WordPress page where you want to display this payment form, and use the following Shortcode: wp_paypal_payment
  9. Update the page, then view it on the site for testing.

How to install and use the WordPress Simple Paypal Shopping Cart plugin

  1. From within your WordPress Dashboard, click Plugins, then Add New.
  2. Do a search for: WordPress Simple Paypal Shopping Cart
  3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
  4. Click Settings, then WP Shopping Cart.
  5. Add your PayPal Email Address.
  6. Add in any Optional and Default settings.
  7. Click Update Options.
  8. Edit a WordPress page where you have a product for sale, and use the following Shortcode: wp_cart_button with the parameters: name and price
  9. You can use the following shortcode on the same page to show the shopping cart if desired: show_wp_shopping_cart

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Reader Interactions

Comments (11 responses)

  1. Jon v says:
    April 30, 2023 at 4:03 pm

    This worked like a charm!

  2. admin says:
    July 21, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    @Vincent, Are you using a WordPress plugin to create the BUY NOW button? If you are using any of the following plugins for example, they have the option to edit the prices or create new buttons with new prices:

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-express-checkout/

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-easy-paypal-payment-or-donation-accept-plugin/

  3. Vincent says:
    July 21, 2020 at 11:19 am

    If you already have a PayPal BUY NOW button installed on your WordPress website but want to change the prices of the items for sale and the shipping…. how do you do that?

  4. admin says:
    August 22, 2019 at 10:01 pm

    @Jacob, Are you referring to WordPress.com or WordPress.org? WordPress.org is always free and our plugin is also free. I don’t know what plans WordPress.com has at the moment.

  5. Jacob Mueller says:
    August 22, 2019 at 9:53 pm

    You have to pay for a business plan at 300 a year in order to use plugins, so this is not a FREE way.

  6. admin says:
    May 7, 2019 at 12:48 am

    @Dk, Yes that is one way you can do this. The following plugins will allow you to add PayPal to your site. You can have a look at them and see which one works best for your needs:

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/
    https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-easy-paypal-payment-or-donation-accept-plugin/
    https://wordpress.org/plugins/paypal-for-digital-goods/

  7. Dk Hurni says:
    May 7, 2019 at 12:44 am

    Do I have to install the shopping cart (so folks can choose a product ) AND also install a way to pay. Sorry brand new at this? Thanks

  8. admin says:
    September 26, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    @Laura, Use the shortcode option where you specify the options in the shortcode. That will allow you to add as many options as you like. The “Usage with Shortcode” section in the following page has explanation on how to use that shortcode:
    https://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/wordpress-easy-paypal-payment-or-donation-accept-plugin-120

  9. Laura Larimer says:
    September 26, 2017 at 7:41 pm

    Hi, I’ve been using the WP Easy Payment plugin for a few months now. I’m adding more options to my services though and I’m seeing only 6 different drop down price options. Is there any way to add another drop down for a couple more price options?
    Thanks for the great plug in.

  10. Shubham Chaubey says:
    September 4, 2017 at 12:11 am

    Hey man. Thank you so much for this article. I have also added the PayPal portal on my WordPress site. I love this

  11. Collins Agbonghama says:
    August 31, 2017 at 12:49 am

    As always, Google and your post to the rescue. I was about adding PayPal button by copying the button code to WordPress TinyMCE editor but decided to search if there was an alternative way of doing it.

    Thanks for sharing.

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