Steps to Implement a PayPal Donation Button to Your WordPress Site

You might have seen people online asking for donations, whether it’s a relief fund or helping your favorite artist on social media. Many of us have donated our money online via PayPal or other services. But seeing what goes on the other side of the screen as we decide to add a donation button on our charity or personal website can be a little difficult. In reality, it is an easy task that requires just a few steps.

After making your non-profit website, adding a donation button is the most important task. Placing your donation option will unconsciously affect many viewers as they decide where their charity funds go.  

Many non-profit organizations have moved their work online to help their cause and reach a larger audience.

The Need for Donations on Your Site 

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Being a charity and a non-profit organization manager, you will be focused on gathering funds from many people to support your cause. The cause can range from money for medical treatment to flood relief for an affected village. The importance of cause is minimal, and the important thing is your adherence to the cause.  

Moving your fundraising to an online website, such as WordPress, is the fastest way to collect the amount you need. Having online fundraising can increase your reach and gain more donations. With proper optimization, you can target selected people who can help you in your cause.

Why Use PayPal for Donations? 

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PayPal is the most popular online transaction platform that provides special services for non-profits registered as a 591(c)(3) public charity or similar organization. More than 1 million non-profits, schools, campaigns, and crowd funders around the world trust PayPal to help fundraise billions of dollars every year.  

PayPal provides you with automatic fraud screening and PCI compliance at discounted rates. This helps create a safe environment for you and your donors. PayPal also provides downloadable logs and transaction searches for your employees. The donations pop up in your account and can be easily transferred to your organization’s bank without any additional charges. 

Charity Accounts for PayPal 

PayPal offers you a custom donation button and a personalized donation process for your website. It allows you to connect to your donors 24/7. This option supports major credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal. Moreover, PayPal gives you options for limiting donation amounts for your donors. 

After signing up on PayPal as an online fundraiser, you get to read PayPal’s tips that can help with your optimized fund-raising program. It gives you an overview of how to boost online fundraising via an innovative method tested by experts. PayPal also partners with leading online fundraising platforms that can help you integrate PayPal into your website. 

The customer service provided by PayPal and its hotline is a helping tool for donors and fundraisers to learn more about each other. This develops trust-building and improves the relationship between the donor and you. Having a trustworthy organization is an essential step for a fund-raising program.  

Option 1: Adding a PayPal Donate Button via PayPal Site

You will need a PayPal business account and access to your website’s HTML code to add the PayPal button. It takes about 10 minutes, and it’s a simple process. 

Step 1

Open PayPal’s Fundraising Page, where you can find a list of all the latest features and prices. If you don’t have a PayPal account, sign up first. If you have already signed up. Move to the next step. 

Step 2

Click here to open the “Make your Donate Button” page. Once on this page, select your country, language, and button size. The preview of the button will appear on the right window. Press “Continue.”

Step 2

Step 3

Now, enter your registered PayPal email address where you want to receive your payment. You can also type in the purpose of your donate button in the below text box. Press “Continue.”

Step 3

Step 4

In this step, select the currency you want to receive your donations in. if you want your donors to donate you any amount, then select the option “Any amount,” and if you want an exact amount from them, then select the option “An exact amount.” Press “Finish and Get Code.”

Step 4

Step 5

After following all the steps mentioned above, you will get a code that you have to paste into the HTML code of your WordPress site. 

HTML code of your WordPress site

That’s it! Your new Donate Button has been implemented on your WordPress site.

Option 2: Using the PayPal Donate Plugin for WordPress 

Using the PayPal Donate Plugin for WordPress

WordPress allows you to add plugins and themes to your websites. One of these plugins is PayPal Donations. You can place the “PayPal Donate” button anywhere on your page where it can easily be seen by the donors or visitors. 

The plugin is very easy to use and implement, even for newbies. With just a few clicks, you can implement a Donate Button on your webpage. 

The features of this plugin include viewing donations, button manager, donation widget, built-in support for 18 languages with individual button designs, and set up a drop-down menu to make the donor choose between different amounts. The pro version of this plugin allows recurring donations, up to 20 drop-down options, and periodic donations that can be set up by day, week, month, or year.  

To download the plugin, click here.

Step 1

Open your WordPress dashboard, go to the Plugins page and search for PayPal Donations plugin. Once you find it, click the “Install Now” button. 

PayPal Donations

After installing it, click on the “Activate” button. 

After installing it, click on the “Activate” button.

Step 2

Once installed and activated, it is time to customize it. Click “Settings” on the WordPress dashboard, select “PayPal Donations.”

Settings” on the WordPress dashboard, select

Step 3

In the “General” tab, write your registered PayPal account and select the desired currency. 

General

Step 4

After customizing the donate button, it is time to add it to your website. The PayPal donate button can be added as a Shortcode or widget through this plugin. First, the easiest way is to add the donate button as a widget. 

Go to “Settings” and select “Widgets.”

Settings” and select “Widgets

Step 5

Locate the PayPal Donations plugin and drag it to the desired location. 

Locate the PayPal Donations plugin and drag it to the desired location

Step 6

The other way to add the PayPal donate button is through a Shortcode. It is a small code that you can place anywhere within your webpage. 

The best thing is that you don’t even have to open the Text editor to add the button. Simply paste the code in the visual editor, like this:

the PayPal donate button is through a Shortcode

Step 7

After pasting the shortcode in the desired area within your webpage, click on the “Preview” or “Publish” button, and the page will look like this: 

“Preview” or “Publish” button

Enrolling as a Charity on PayPal 

Having known that PayPal allows special features for non-profits, you might want to make your business account recognized by PayPal as a non-profit. You can verify your charity status by giving your EIN number or providing official documentation. You will also need a bank statement from each bank linked to your PayPal account. Verified accounts will automatically enroll as PayPal Giving Fund. 

Conclusion

If you have a non-profit organization or want to collect funds for a personal fundraiser, adding a PayPal button would be the best option for your WordPress website. It makes it convenient for your supporters and fans to donate to you if they love your content. 

You have two top options to implement a PayPal donations button on your WordPress site. The first is to download the PayPal donations plugin from the WordPress plugin store, or if you are a bit techy, you can add the shortcode of the PayPal button from their official website to your WordPress site. Moreover, you can also customize your Donate button according to your website.