Pay with PayPal
The Pay with PayPal block lets you add a PayPal payment button to any post or page. You can then start collecting payments or donations securely through your site.
If you’re looking for more advanced features, like shipping options or recurring payments, check out our other eCommerce options here.
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To use the Pay with PayPal block, your site needs to have an active WordPress.com Premium, Business, or eCommerce plan.
Add the Pay with PayPal Block
Create the Button
- Go to Site → Pages and edit the page you want to add the Pay with PayPal block to.
- In the Editor, click the + Block Inserter icon where you want to add the Pay with PayPal block.
- Type “Pay” in the search box, and click on the Pay with PayPal icon to add it to your page.
You can also type /pay where you see “Type / to choose a block” and select Pay with PayPal from the options to add one quickly.
For more, visit our detailed instructions on adding blocks.
Add Product Details
When you first add the Pay with PayPal block you’ll have a few fields to fill out.
- Product Image: Upload or select an image from the media gallery.
- Item name: Enter the name of the item you are selling.
- Description: Enter a brief description of the item.
- Price: Select your currency and enter the price, without a currency symbol.
- Allow people to buy more than one item at a time: Select whether to allow people to buy more than one of the item at once.
- Email: Enter your PayPal email address.
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The email address you enter determines where PayPal sends payments. Double check within your PayPal account to make sure the email address you add here is valid.
If you don’t yet have a PayPal account, click here or visit www.paypal.com to get started.
Here’s an example of how the product will be displayed on your live site. You can also click the Preview option in the editor to look at your own Pay with PayPal button before publishing or updating the page. You can learn more about previewing your changes in this guide.
You can add as many Pay with PayPal blocks as you like to your page by repeating the process above.
Read about collecting payments here.
Pay with PayPal Widget (Footer, Sidebar, etc)
Some themes will have Widget areas, like the Footer or Sidebar. Adding a Pay with PayPal block to a Widget area means that the payment button will show on all pages and posts that display that Widget area.
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A Pay with PayPal Widget is a great way to add a donation option across your whole site, with just one button.
Here’s an example from a footer area:
You can learn more about Widgets through this helpful guide.
Add a Pay with PayPal Widget to your Footer or Sidebar
To add the widget to your site:
- In your dashboard, click on Appearance → Customize → Widgets.
- Choose the location where you’d like to place the widget on your site. Common options here include the Footer and Sidebar, but this may be different depending on your theme.
- Click either of the + block inserter buttons (see right) to see a list of all the available blocks and widgets.
- Scroll down to the Widgets section and click on the widget once to add it to your site.
For general information on working with widgets, see this guide.
You can then choose which of your existing buttons to display in the widget. You can press the Save Changes button when you’re done
Collecting Payments
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Please note that your site must be public before you can collect payments. You are able to create and add buttons but you will not be able to collect payments on a private site.
You can check your site visibility settings under Settings → General → Privacy. This guide explains Privacy settings in greater detail.
When a visitor to your site clicks the Pay with PayPal button on any of your Pay with PayPal blocks, a new window will open that will take them through the PayPal checkout.
Your visitor will have the option to pay you from their PayPal account using PayPal funds or a credit card. If they are logged into PayPal and have access to PayPal Credit as a payment method they’ll also see the PayPal Credit button.
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If you have a Business PayPal account, they will have the option to use a credit or debit card to complete the purchase without having a PayPal account.
All payments are credited to the PayPal account linked to the email address you used in the button. For every purchase, PayPal will send a confirmation email with the purchaser’s information to your PayPal email address. The purchaser will also receive an email from PayPal as a receipt for the purchase.
If the email you use is not linked to an existing PayPal account, you will receive an email from PayPal with information about claiming any collected payments. This email is sent after you collect your first payment.
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Be sure to check that PayPal supports collecting online payments in your region. You can determine for your country by following PayPal’s online support.
WordPress.com will also send an email for each purchase. This email will be sent to your WordPress.com account email address. You can also expect a monthly report for all your Pay with PayPal blocks. This email is sent to the owner of your site’s WordPress.com plan.
Shipping Products
If you’re using the Pay with PayPal button to sell physical products, the button does not take into account shipping costs; you’ll want to build that into your price.
The shipping address is collected through PayPal, so once you receive your payment notification from PayPal you’ll also receive the address of the buyer to ship the product to.
If you’re looking for a more advanced option that will allow you to set up shipping based on the buyer’s location, check out our WooCommerce plugin.
Transaction Fees, Tax, and Shipping Costs
WordPress.com does not charge any fee or take any cut of the payments.
PayPal will take a fee. The amount varies depending on the payment method, the country, and other factors. Information on PayPal fees.
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The Pay with PayPal buttons do not take into account tax or shipping costs that may factor into products you sell using the buttons. If you wish to pass the cost of tax and shipping onto your customer, make sure to include the amount in the price you set on the button.
If you want a fully-featured e-commerce solution with a shopping cart, various shipping methods, and more, check out WooCommerce which can be used with the WordPress.com Business and eCommerce plans.
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If you are unsure what taxes you should charge, if any, consult with your local tax professional.
Other Ways To Sell on your Site
For collecting recurring payments, or using Stripe instead of PayPal, check out our Payments block.
If you’re interested in restricting access to Premium Content, we’ve got a great guide here.
If you’d like to collect donations outside of PayPal (using Stripe instead), check out this guide.
For a full store experience, including shipping options and multiple payment methods, as well as inventory and other features, check out our WooCommerce plugin.
Versatile plans and pricing
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Free
Best for students
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Personal
Best for hobbyists
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Premium
Best for freelancers
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Business
Best for small businesses
