How to Accept Payments with Stripe in WordPress (2023)

Accepting payments is essential for monetizing any WordPress site. And Stripe makes the process incredibly smooth, with only a few clicks.

In fact, Stripe now powers payments for over 50% of all ecommerce stores – more than any other provider.

So should you use Stripe for collecting payments on your WordPress site?

As an ecommerce consultant since 2015, I strongly recommend Stripe for several reasons:

Benefits of Stripe for WordPress Payments:

• Seamless integration with WordPress ecommerce plugins
• Higher conversion rates – up to 2-4% over other gateways
• PCI compliant so all data is fully secured
• Fraud protection stops ~$1.13B in risky payments
• Great customization for subscriptions and global payments

In this 2023 guide, we’ll explore:

1. Stripe Integration Options for WordPress
2. How to Set Up and Configure Stripe Payments
3. Additional Tips Before Going Live
4. Why Stripe is Ideal for WordPress Payments

Let‘s start with the WordPress plugins and use cases available…

WordPress Integration Options for Stripe Payments

There are a few ways to integrate Stripe within your WordPress site to accept payments:

1. Custom Payment Forms with WPForms

WPForms allow you to create ANY kind of payment form easily with drag and drop:

For example, you can have:

• Donation forms
• Event booking widgets
• Service order forms
• Custom cartless checkout

…and more without needing a shopping cart.

I‘ve used WPForms on client sites to create highly customized Stripe payment flows WITHOUT needing to code.

And you can embed these payment forms on any:

• Page
• Post
• Sidebar
• Popups
• Headers
• Footers

With Stripe Pro integrated in WPForms, you can perfectly tailor the entire payment process to your business needs.

Some examples of what I‘ve built for clients include:

• Multi-item order form for a local bakery selling custom cakes
• Donation collection widget for an Animal Shelter non-profit
• Event registration with tiered pricing for a Conference Company

WPForms have simplified payments for thousands of WordPress sites by streamlining customer data collection combined with Stripe for accepting payments.

2. Stripe Buy Now Buttons with WP Simple Pay

WP Simple Pay is a light-weight plugin for quickly adding Stripe purchase buttons anywhere on your site.

It gives you beautiful payment forms like this:

And also easier buttons for quick purchases like:

With WP Simple Pay‘s drag and drop form builder, you can:

• Show coupons and special offers
• Offer tiered pricing and subscriptions
• Customize the entire checkout appearance

It‘s perfect if you want to sell:

✅ Memberships
✅ Online courses
✅ Simple products or services

…without needing a full shopping cart.

I‘ve set up WP Simple Pay for selling digital products like ebooks/video courses, memberships, and email newsletters.

It has all the payment flexibility most small businesses need.

3. Add Stripe to Your WooCommerce Store

For larger stores with 100s (or 1000s) of products, WooCommerce is the best WordPress ecommerce solution.

And it offers a seamless Stripe Payment Gateway integration.

Once you install the Stripe for WooCommerce plugin, connecting Stripe takes just 1-click:

With Stripe added to WooCommerce, you unlock powerful features like:

• One-click checkout with Apple Pay
• Saved cards and automated payment methods
• Localized payment options (iDEAL for EU, ACH for USA etc.)
• Dynamic shipping rates and transaction fees

From small to large enterprises, Stripe is the #1 choice of payment gateway for WooCommerce stores across the board:

Plus, their WooCommerce plugin seamlessly keeps the checkout user experience optimized for higher conversion.

4. Selling Digital Products with Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

EDD is the best WordPress plugin for selling digital products like:

✅ eBooks
✅ Online courses
✅ Software
✅ Music files
✅ Video files

It lets you quickly create a downloads store with:

• Drag and drop product management
• Coupon codes
• Detailed purchase reports

…and more.

EDD offers seamless Stripe integration allowing fast and secure payments for your digital goods.


Payment data is automatically synced between EDD and Stripe for Smooth order fulfillment and delivery.

Now that you know the integration options, let‘s see…

Step-by-Step: How to Set Up Stripe in WordPress

The exact steps to connect Stripe can differ depending on your WordPress plugin.

But here is an overview of the core process:

Let‘s explore what‘s involved to get Stripe working with the various plugins…

Connecting Stripe with WPForms

1. Install and activate WPForms
   • Go to Plugins > Add New and search for ‘WPForms’
   • Click Install Now and then Activate the plugin
2. Get your WPForms license
   • Navigate to WPForms > Settings
   • Enter your license key and activate Pro
3. Connect your Stripe account
   • Go to WPForms > Settings > Payments
   • Click the Connect with Stripe button
   • Log into your Stripe account
4. Create a payment form
   • Add Stripe Credit Card payment field
   • Customize form with items, pricing etc.
   • Enable Stripe payments in the form payment settings
5. Embed payment form using WPForms block
   • Add WPForms block to any page
   • Select your payment form
   • Embed form in page and publish

That’s the basics to create a custom Stripe payment form in WordPress using WPForms.

Let’s check out…

Connecting Stripe with WP Simple Pay

Equally easy steps to setup payments with WP Simple Pay:

1. Install and activate WP Simple Pay
   • Get license key after purchase
2. Launch setup wizard
   • Appears immediately after plugin activation
3. Link your Stripe account
   • Enter Stripe account credentials
   • Approve and connect
4. Create a payment form
   • Drag and drop form builder
   • Collect customer information
   • Set prices and enable payments
5. Embed payment form in pages
   • Use Gutenberg block
   • Select your created form
   • Payments form will appear in page

Only takes a few minutes to create beautiful Stripe payment forms or buttons with WP Simple Pay.

Moving on to Stripe with WooCommerce stores…

Connecting Stripe to Your WooCommerce Store

1. Install Stripe Payment Gateway for WooCommerce plugin
   • Free from WordPress.org plugins
2. Launch automated onboarding
   • Appears after plugin activation
   • Just click Get Started!
3. Link your Stripe account
   • Follow prompts to log into your Stripe account
   • Approve access to connect accounts
4. Configure Stripe settings
   • Enable payment methods
   • Set webhooks
   • Select test or live mode
5. Activate Stripe gateway
   • Navigate to WooCommerce Settings > Payments
   • Choose Stripe to collect payments

It takes less than 5 minutes to add Stripe to start collecting payments on your live WooCommerce store.

Finally, let‘s examine EDD + Stripe…

Connecting Stripe with Easy Digital Downloads

Just a few quick steps to activate Stripe for your digital downloads:

1. Install and activate Easy Digital Downloads
   • The best WordPress ecommerce plugin for digital goods
2. Navigate to Downloads > Settings > Payments
   • Locate the Stripe payment gateway
3. Click Connect with Stripe
   • Follow prompts to login to your Stripe account
   • Approve the connection request
4. Configure Stripe settings
   • Enter api keys
   • Payment confirmation page
5. Enable Stripe payment gateway
   • Your customers will now see Stripe at checkout

And you‘re all set start selling digital products using Stripe and Easy Digital Downloads together.

Phew…quite a few details there.

Now that your Stripe + WordPress integration is set up, two final things…

Additional Tips Before Going Live

📍Set up Stripe webhooks to enable order management workflows and payment notifications.

📍Test real payments by making some test purchases yourself before launch.

Here are some essential checks:

📍Go LIVE by flipping mode to Live when testing is complete!

Rigorously testing and setting up webhooks ensures your Stripe integration is bulletproof when real payments start rolling in.

Why Stripe is the First Choice Payment Processor

To wrap up this guide, I want to reiterate why Stripe is my #1 recommendation for accepting payments on WordPress sites.

Some of the key advantages of Stripe include:

✅ Higher conversions – Advanced features like saved cards make completing purchases frictionless for customers. Conversion rates have been measured at 2-4% higher compared to other payment gateways after integrating Stripe.

✅ Better security – Stripe is fully PCI compliant meaning all sensitive customer data remains protected. Their fraud algorithms use AI to block risky payments while allowing legit ones.

✅ Global payments – Stripe lets you accept payments from over 135 currencies using 100+ local payment methods preferred across the globe.

✅ Codeless customization – Whether you want a drag and drop form builder or customized single page checkout, Stripe offers complete payments flexibility without coding skills needed.

✅ Improve analytics – Detailed reports on transactions, fees, sources of payment failures, disputes and more to optimize conversions.

✅ Level up branding – Elements like Apple Pay and Google Pay lend a modern, trustworthy image that builds customer confidence in your business.

While there are small tradeoffs, Stripe provides the complete payments package to expertly monetize any WordPress site or online store.

I hope this comprehensive walkthrough gives you absolute clarity on integrating Stripe for collecting payments from customers worldwide.

Let me know in comments if you have any other questions!