Having the payment methods that your customers prefer is essential to increasing sales and allowing your eCommerce business to truly excel. From constructing your WooCommerce store to setting up popular payment gateways like Stripe and Authorize.Net, this guide will cover step-by-step how to implement payment methods in your WooCommerce store. Let’s get started on optimizing your online store.
Step 1: Install and Activate WooCommerce
If you have not already done so, install and activate the WooCommerce payments plugin from the ‘Plugins’ tab on the WordPress Admin Dashboard.
You may also find some popular payment gateways while doing this. You can install and activate them now, or do so later on.
After installing the WooCommerce plugin, your WordPress dashboard will now have a ‘WooCommerce’ tab. Click it to begin creating your online store.
Step 2: Add Products
Begin building your online store’s catalog by navigating to ‘WooCommerce’ > ‘Home’ > ‘Add products to sell’ > ‘Add products.’
Clicking ‘Add products’ will prompt you with a product data window. Here, you will need to input all the necessary information for each of your products, including a title, description, price, images, and more.
If you ever need to make any edits to your products, WooCommerce allows you to return to any product and update it at any time.
Step 3: Select a Theme
Now that you have created your store’s item catalog, it’s time to personalize your online store by choosing a theme that matches your business’s aesthetic from the numerous WooCommerce themes available.
To change your store’s theme or find a new one, navigate to ‘Appearance’ > ‘Themes.’ This will take you to the themes page on your dashboard. Here, you can search for themes in the theme store or choose from your currently installed themes in the ‘My Themes’ section.
Use the search bar to search for a theme that best represents your business’s brand and overall aesthetic. This theme will embody the personality of your online store and will tell customers who you are as a business, so make sure to choose a theme you are confident with.
Once settled on a theme, click on it, and click ‘Activate this design.’ Now, your desired theme will be applied to your online store. The theme will also be added to your ‘My Themes’ section for ease of access.
Step 4: Integrate Payment Gateways
When integrating your store’s payment gateways, WooCommerce will likely recommend its own, WooPayments, first. While there are alternatives, WooPayments or Woopay is pre-integrated with many popular payment options, including most credit/debit cards and digital wallets. WooPayments is also built in partnership with Stripe, so WooPayments transactions are processed through Stripe.
Whether you choose to install WooPayments or use another payment processor, you will be prompted to select any other gateways you may wish to use afterward, such as PayPal Payments, Amazon Pay, or Klarna. Carefully consider which gateways are best for your business, as they each have different requirements and pricing structures. You can also choose to enable or disable any of these gateways later on.
Step 5: Provide Additional Business Details
After establishing a payment gateway, the last step in setting up payments is to provide some additional information about your business.
Click the ‘Connect’ button under ‘Configure your WooPayments account’ to begin. You will be presented with a merchant account setup form you will need to fill out. You will need to input some personal information, including your bank account number, to begin receiving payments. When finished, submit the form for your payment gateway to review.
Once your account is approved, your WooCommerce store will be able to successfully receive payments.
Implementing Stripe
Stripe is a popular payment method to implement due to its excellent usability and low transaction fees. Here’s how to implement Stripe into your WooCommerce store.
Step 1: Acquire Stripe API Keys
Before beginning the setup process, ensure you have set up SSL on your WooCommerce store. SSL protects sensitive customer information by serving as a secure encrypted tunnel for data transfers.
To begin, navigate from your Stripe dashboard to ‘Home’ > ‘Get your API keys.’
Copy and save your account’s Publishable and Secret keys to be used later on.
Step 2: Install and Activate Stripe
On your WordPress dashboard, navigate to ‘Plugins’ > ‘Add New’ and search for “WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway.”
Install and activate the plugin. After it is activated, navigate to ‘Plugins’ > ‘Installed Plugins’ > ‘WooCommerce Stripe Gateway’ > ‘Settings.’ This will redirect you to the ‘Payments’ section of the WooCommerce ‘Settings’ tab.
Step 3: Configure Stripe
In the ‘Payments’ section of the WooCommerce ‘Settings’ tab, first ensure that the ‘Enable Test Mode’ checkbox is selected. Next, input the Publishable and Secret keys you copied in Step 1.
Then, generate your Webhook Secret Key by attaching the webhook endpoint to your Stripe dashboard. Copy the Webhook Signing Secret and paste it into the WooCommerce Stripe plugin settings.
On this page, you may also customize the text and color of your payment button, toggle accepting payments from woocommerce Apple Pay, and toggle bug logging.
Once finished, click ‘Save Changes’ to activate the payment gateway in test mode.
Step 4: Test Stripe
To ensure your Stripe payment gateway is ready to use, purchase a product from your store using Stripe while in test mode. Test mode allows you to test purchasing products from your store at no charge by giving you a test card to use during the payment process.
To begin, add a product from your online store to your cart and proceed to checkout. Pay for your product using the test card information given just above the card information dialog boxes.
If after completing the payment process you receive a receipt on your screen, then you have successfully placed your order with the Stripe payment gateway. Navigating to ‘WooCommerce’ > ‘Orders’ on your dashboard allows you to view the transaction ID and payment details of your test purchase.
After ensuring your Stripe payment gateway is ready for customer use, make sure to switch from test mode to live mode by un-checking the ‘Enable Test Mode’ checkbox in your WooCommerce Stripe plugin settings, and update the test and secret keys with live keys.
Implementing Authorize.Net
Authorize.Net is another excellent payment method to implement because of its wide variety of payment options and comprehensive fraud protection. Here’s how to add it to your online store.
Step 1: Acquire Authorize.Net API Credentials and Keys
To begin the setup process, log into your Authorize.Net account and navigate to ‘Accounts’ > ‘Settings’ > ‘API Credentials & Keys.’
Copy your API Login ID for later. In the ‘Create New Keys’ section, use the radio buttons labeled ‘New Transaction Key’ and ‘New Signature Key’ to generate new transaction and signature keys. Copy each of these as well.
Step 2: Install and Activate Authorize.Net
On your WordPress dashboard, navigate to ‘Plugins’ > ‘Add New’ and search for “Authorize.Net Payment Gateway for WooCommerce.” Install and activate the plugin.
Step 3: Configure Authorize.Net
Navigate to ‘WooCommerce’ > ‘Settings’ > ‘Payments.’ Make sure the ‘Enabled’ slider for Authorize.Net is on.
Click “Set Up” in the Authorize.Net row and ensure the ‘Enable Sandbox Mode’ checkbox is selected. Input the API Login ID, API Transaction Key, and API Signature Key you copied in Step 1. Once finished, click ‘Save Changes.’
Step 4: Test Authorize.Net
To confirm that your Authorize.Net payment gateway works properly, make a purchase from your online store while in sandbox/test mode.
Add a product from your online store to your cart and proceed to checkout. When purchasing your product, make sure to pay using Authorize.Net and to use the test card information provided just above the credit card information dialog boxes.
If you are shown a receipt after completing your purchase then you have successfully placed an order through your Authorize.Net payment gateway. Navigating to ‘WooCommerce’ > ‘Orders’ on your dashboard allows you to view the transaction ID and payment details of your test purchase.
Once you have confirmed your Authorize.Net payment gateway is ready to use, be sure to switch from test mode to live mode. Deselect the ‘Enable Sandbox Mode’ checkbox in your WooCommerce Authorize.Net plugin settings and move the ‘Test Mode’ slider to ‘Live’ in your Authorize.Net account settings.
Next Steps to Take
After implementing your desired payment gateways into your WooCommerce online store, you may wonder what to do next to optimize your eCommerce platform. Here are some tips on what you could do next:
- Ensure Regulatory Compliance: While there are many available payment gateways on WooCommerce, not all of them are completely safe. Because of this, it is important to ensure the payment gateways you implement are PCI-compliant, meaning they comply with the payment card industry’s standards to protect customer data.
Stripe and Authorize.Net are both PCI-DSS certified and are compliant with other industry standards as well.
- Streamline the Checkout Process: To help prevent your customers from becoming confused or hassled and abandoning their carts, do your best to remove any unnecessary steps in the checkout process. Creating a quick, streamlined checkout experience will please your customers and lead to more sales.
- Clearly State Your Refund Policies: To avoid any customer confusion or misunderstandings, make sure to clarify your store’s refund policies and make them easily accessible for your customers when they are making their purchases. Contemplate dedicating a page on your store to your refund policies and providing a link to it on your store’s checkout page.
Excel with Assistance from eCommerce Experts
Implementing the payment methods that best suit your online store and the needs of your customers is essential to increasing sales and allowing your eCommerce platform to excel. If you’re looking to ensure your online store has the payment methods your customers need, consider working with Oyova.
Oyova’s user experience services and web design services are designed to ensure your eCommerce platform is ready not only to accept payments but also to excel in serving and catering to your customers throughout the shopping experience.
Contact Oyova today to discover how our team of professionals can transform your online store into an eCommerce powerhouse.