How to accept Bitcoin on WordPress

Although Bitcoin is unpredictable, its value and mainstream usage has steadily risen, much to the satisfaction of those owning the coins. Not only that, but many consumers, businesses, and even payment processors have begun to recognize Bitcoin as a viable payment method, and that is why more and more online businesses want to learn how to accept Bitcoin on WordPress.

In this guide, we’ll first dive a little deeper into why you should consider accepting Bitcoin on your WordPress site, then we’ll get into how to actually do it. Finally, we’ll wrap it up by answering a few frequently asked questions related to accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Let’s get started!

What is the main reason to accept Bitcoin on WordPress? 💰

As many of us know, WordPress lets users build ecommerce sites with a plugin like WooCommerce. WooCommerce connects to many payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and Payoneer. 🔌

The only problem is that some customers in other countries aren’t able to use those payment gateways, whereas Bitcoin is available to anyone. Furthermore, some consumers would rather pay with Bitcoin (as opposed to a credit card), so that’s yet another way to ensure sales.

From the business side of it, there are all sorts of use cases for accepting Bitcoin on your WordPress site. For example, content marketers can sell premium subscriptions and accept Bitcoin as an alternative payment. Online stores can place a Bitcoin button next to the credit card field. Even bloggers and charities could ask for a Bitcoin donation, with the possibility of cashing it out immediately or waiting to see the value of that payment increase over time.

The bottom line is that by accepting Bitcoin on WordPress, you provide an additional payment option that is accessible to everyone with an internet connection.

What are some other reasons to accept Bitcoin on WordPress?

Along with the ability to accept payments from more customers, and its potential for enhanced international transactions, Bitcoin offers some other interesting advantages:

  • Bitcoin is digital and decentralized. Therefore, you don’t have to rely on a third-party bank, yet the transactions are secure and somewhat anonymous by using a ledger called a blockchain.
  • Bitcoin payments are irreversible, and every transaction comes with an extremely difficult hexadecimal code. So, there are fewer chances of hacks and fraud.
  • Bitcoin transactions often have lower fees than when working with banks.
  • If someone makes a Bitcoin payment on your site, all funds are immediately available to you.
  • Your customers (and databases) are more secure since Bitcoin transactions store no personal or financial information. All transactions get recorded on a public ledger, but there’s not much more information shared.

How to accept Bitcoin on WordPress 💸

After deciding to accept Bitcoin on WordPress (whether it be for ecommerce sales, client invoicing, or donations/subscriptions for your blog) you need to get a Bitcoin payment system. 💳

Here’s how it works:

  1. The payment system (called Blockonomics) allows you to accept Bitcoin as payment, whether that’s with an embedded Bitcoin button or a Bitcoin checkout methodin WooCommerce.
  2. The customer sends you the amount of Bitcoin you requested for your product or service.
  3. The order gets logged in Blockonomics and WordPress for you to fulfill.
  4. The Bitcoin goes to your own wallet.

Initial setup: Sign up for a Blockonomics account (and install the plugin) to accept Bitcoin on WordPress

Blockonomics is a tool that helps website owners accept Bitcoin payments online. It has:

  • Embeddable Bitcoin payment buttons
  • An online store integration for offering Bitcoin as a payment method
  • A WordPress plugin to make those two features more seamless

So, the first step is to install the WordPress Bitcoin Payment – Blockonomics plugin on your WordPress site. Read our guide on installing WordPress plugins if you have questions.

After you install and activate the plugin, go to Settings > Blockonomics.

Blockonomics settings.

Here, the plugin shows a field for the API Key. You can also auto-generate a Callback URL. The API key simply links your WordPress site with Blockonomics; you don’t need to know anything about the API, just that you need to find the API Key in Blockonomics.

You must make a Blockonomics account in order to generate an API Key, create Bitcoin Buy buttons, and insert Bitcoin as a payment method in WooCommerce. Click on this link or use the link in WordPress to go to the Blockonomics Merchant page.

the plugin is now installed.

Click the Get Started For Free button to continue.

get started button on Blockonomics.

Create an account with your email address and a strong password. Click Register to continue.

register module.

Once the account is active, click on Stores, then copy the API Key you see on the page.

stores and api key.

Navigate back to the WordPress Blockonomics page and paste that code into the API Key field. Click Save. Your WordPress site is now ready to use the Blockonomics payment processing tools.

api key to accept Bitcoin on WordPress.

Initial setup part 2: Get a Bitcoin wallet with xPub capabilities

For every method in this article, you need a Bitcoin wallet to store any Bitcoin paid to you for transactions. Blockonomics uses two components to transfer money to your account: an xPub address and a sample Bitcoin wallet address. Since Bitcoin transactions always generate a new receiving wallet address, it’s essential to have the xPub address for transactions to work from multiple customers in a row.

Therefore, it’s required to have a Bitcoin wallet that grants access to an xPub address, otherwise it’s rather difficult to accept Bitcoin payments online. To get a compatible Bitcoin wallet, we recommend using one of the following methods:

  1. Look at any current Bitcoin wallets you have, like Exodus, Trezor, Ledger, or Blockchain.com. If you already own one of these, there’s no need to create a new wallet; you can already get the xPub address from those. Here’s an article on supported wallets and how to get the xPub addresses. (Many wallets you receive from exchanges like Binance and Coinbase don’t provide xPub addresses, so they’re unable to work with Blockonomics).
  2. Or…open a Blockchain.com account if you don’t already have a wallet mentioned above; Blockchain.com is a secure, reputable wallet provider with xPub support.

Method 1: Accept Bitcoin on WordPress with embeddable payment buttons

Some site owners don’t need a full online store, but they’d like to sell one or two products. In that case, there’s no need to install something like WooCommerce. Instead, you just embed a Bitcoin Buy button anywhere on your website, like at the beginning of a landing page, the end of a blog post, or right on your homepage. You can use this method for donations and quick product/service sales.

After logging into your account, go to the Blockonomics dashboard. The welcome page offers two options for payment acceptance. Pick the one to Create Payment Button/Link. You can also go straight to the Payment Buttons/Links menu item on the left; they both bring you to the same place.

create payment button to accept Bitcoin on WordPress.

The Payment Buttons/Links page asks for you to fill in three fields:

  • Destination Wallet xPub
  • Sample Receiving Address (this field appears after you type in a valid xPub)
  • Tag
sample address.

To find the xPub address, go to your Bitcoin wallet (we recommended Blockchain.com earlier, but wallets like Trezor and Ledger work well, too).

All wallets vary on how to find the xPub address, so we recommend referencing this article depending on the wallet in use.

For Blockchain.com, you click on the user settings icon in the top right corner. Then, go to Wallets & Addresses > Manage (next to the private key wallet) > Manage (this is a new drop-down link) > Show xPub.

Copy the xPub code, then paste it into the xPub field inside Blockonomics.

manage button.

To get the Sample Receiving Address, you must get a standard Bitcoin receiving address like you would for accepting any Bitcoin payment. Most wallets have a Receive button to generate a sample receiving address.

For example, on Blockchain.com, you can click on Receive.

receive button.

Then, search for Bitcoin and click on a Private Key Wallet. Copy the receiving address from the resulting page.

private key wallet to accept Bitcoin on WordPress.

Go back to Blockonomics, and paste in the Sample Receiving Address. Fill in the Tag field with whatever name you want; this is for your own reference. Click Save Changes.

xpub and sample receiving address.

You’re now ready to create a Bitcoin payment button. Click on the Products tab within Blockonomics. Fill in whatever content/fields you’d like to display with your product:

  • Product Name
  • Product Description
  • Required Customer Fields for Checkout
  • Product Code
  • Price (you can display this as USD but the payment comes in as Bitcoin)
  • Donation Mode
  • Order Completion Email

When you’ve configured your product, click the Generate Button option. There are also buttons to make URLs and widgets.

fill in details and generate button to accept Bitcoin on WordPress.

Copy the first block of code provided, then paste it wherever you want on your WordPress site.

copy the first code.

For instance, you could use the HTML block in WordPress on a page or post.

custom html modules.

You also need to add the Step 2 code from Blockonomics near the bottom of your WordPress page. Again, you can add this in a Custom HTML block (it’s hidden code that renders nothing on the frontend).

copy these codes.

After saving the changes in WordPress, a Pay With Bitcoin button now appears on the frontend of your WordPress page.

accept Bitcoin on WordPress button.

When clicked, a pop-up shows to collect whatever customer detail fields you specified. The customer clicks to pay for the product.

payment module.

Finally, they see a QR code to pay from their own mobile Bitcoin wallet. Or they have the option to use the provided Bitcoin address. One nice thing about Blockonomics is that it provides pricing in USD and Bitcoin.

the store now shows a bitcoin address and QR code.

Method 2: Accept Bitcoin on a WordPress site running WooCommerce

The second way to accept Bitcoin on WordPress is as a payment method in WooCommerce. This means you’re running an online store, where the customer adds items to their cart, checks out, and sees payment methods like credit card, PayPal, and Bitcoin.

What’s helpful about adding Blockonomics to WooCommerce is that all Bitcoin orders get logged, so you can fulfill them like you would any other order.

To start, go to Blockonomics and click on the Stores menu item. Choose the Add New Store option.

add a new store button to accept Bitcoin on WordPress.

You can add multiple stores, but just know that you need at least one active store in Blockonomics for it to work with WooCommerce.

To add a store, fill in these fields:

  • Destination Wallet xPub
  • Sample Receiving Address
  • Tag
  • HTTP Callback URL
fill in xpub and wallets.

You can find the xPub address on Blockchain.com by clicking on the user settings icon in the top right corner. Then, go to Wallets & Addresses > Manage (next to the private key wallet) > Manage (this is a new drop-down link) > Show xPub.

You can also find the xPub address for other wallets you may use (like Ledger or Trezor) by reading this guide.

Copy your xPub code from the wallet and paste it into Blockonomics.

To find a Sample Receiving Address, you can usually go to a Receive button in your wallet account to generate a new Bitcoin address (much like you would for a standard Bitcoin transfer). Blockchain.com is a great option for this as well.

Finally, you can find the Callback URL inside WordPress. Go to Settings > Blockonomics. Copy the Callback URL, then return to Blockonomics and paste it in the right field.

get callback url to accept Bitcoin on WordPress.

With all that, you should have each field filled in. Click on the Save Changes button.

fill in api key and wallets.

You’ll now see your new store displayed inside Blockonomics.

your store is now shown.

There’s even a Test Setup button inside the WordPress Blockonomics page to see if you typed in valid Bitcoin addresses.

test the setup.

Another way to verify the connection is by going to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments, where WooCommerce now displays a Bitcoin payment method (make sure it’s turned on).

the Bitcoin tab is marked in WooCommerce.

With Bitcoin Payments active, customers add products to their shopping carts and eventually see a Bitcoin payment method option next to other methods like Credit Card and PayPal.

accept Bitcoin on WordPress payment method.

They can then click the Pay With Bitcoin button.

bitcoin button.

Finally, your store displays the exact transaction price (in USD and BTC) along with a QR code for instant payment and a Bitcoin address to make the transfer from their own wallet.

pay in bitcoin.

The last step for both methods: check and fulfill orders ✅

The great part about Blockonomics is that it records all orders paid with Bitcoin. For payment buttons, you can click the Orders tab in Blockonomics to view orders as they appear.

check orders after you accept Bitcoin on WordPress.

Bitcoin orders that go through your WooCommerce store get logged in both Blockonomics and your WooCommerce Orders page. This way, you get notified and can fulfill each order right away!

Frequently asked questions 🙋‍♂️

Hopefully after reading through this tutorial you now understand how to accept Bitcoin on WordPress. However, we realize that you might still have some lingering questions, so we put together this quick FAQ section for you to help.

As you are reading through the questions and answers, keep in mind that the method we shared with you for accepting Bitcoins is not the only method possible. Some of the responses you’ll see in the questions below will mention alternate solutions and we invite you to explore them as well if you’d like.

Are there any fees associated with accepting Bitcoin payments on WordPress?

The fees related to accepting Bitcoin payments on WordPress vary depending on the payment processing service or plugin utilized.

Certain plugins, such as BTCPay, do not impose additional fees for accepting Bitcoin payments directly to your wallet.

In contrast, some premium plugins like Cryptoniq do have a license fee. As far as payment processing services like NOWPayments go, they do have transaction fees, but the actual plugin is free to use.

Prior to selecting a Bitcoin payment processing service or plugin for your WordPress site, it is crucial to conduct thorough research on the associated fees.

How do you handle price volatility when accepting Bitcoin payments on WordPress?

One approach is to use a payment gateway that settles payments in major fiat currencies such as EUR, USD, or GBP. For example, if you’re running an ecommerce store using WooCommerce, you can do this with the SpectroCoin plugin.

Another great option for WooCommerce is to use a plugin like Cryptocurrency Payment Gateway, which offers price locking. This means that the price of your product is locked in at the time of purchase, regardless of any price fluctuations that may occur. It’s a solid solution. Check it out.

In summary, in order to effectively manage price volatility when accepting Bitcoin payments on WordPress, it’s important to choose a trustworthy payment gateway that offers key features such as fiat settlement and price locking.

Can you accept other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin on WordPress?

It is possible to accept cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin on WordPress. Numerous WordPress plugins enable accepting payments in various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, TRON, and more.

Examples of plugins that support multiple cryptocurrencies are CryptoWoo and Cryptoniq. Furthermore, payment processing services like NOWPayments can be utilized to accept crypto payments on your WordPress site.

Now it’s your turn! 💡

In this tutorial, we covered the process of accepting Bitcoin on your WordPress site. We explored the reasons for accepting Bitcoin, such as expanding your customer base and providing an alternative payment option.

Additionally, we discussed the advantages of Bitcoin, including its decentralized nature, security, lower transaction fees, and immediate availability of funds.

To recap, the methods to accept Bitcoin on your WordPress site are:

  1. Method 1: Accept Bitcoin with embeddable payment buttons:
  • Install the Blockonomics plugin and create a Blockonomics account.
  • Generate a Bitcoin payment button in the Blockonomics dashboard.
  • Copy the provided code and paste it into your WordPress site to display the button.
  1. Method 2: Accept Bitcoin on a WordPress site running WooCommerce:
  • Install the Blockonomics plugin and create a Blockonomics account.
  • Add a new store in Blockonomics, providing the required information like the destination wallet xPub and sample receiving address.
  • Copy the Callback URL from the WordPress Blockonomics page and paste it in the Blockonomics settings.
  • Activate the Bitcoin payment method in WooCommerce settings.

Regardless of the method chosen, all Bitcoin orders are logged in Blockonomics and can be viewed in the Blockonomics dashboard or WooCommerce Orders page for easy order fulfillment.

In conclusion, accepting Bitcoin on your WordPress site offers numerous benefits, including increased accessibility, enhanced security, and potential sales opportunities. By leveraging the methods outlined in this tutorial, you can integrate Bitcoin payments seamlessly into your WordPress site, providing a convenient and secure payment option for your customers.

If you have any questions about adding a Bitcoin button to your WordPress site, share in the comments below.

Yay! 🎉 You made it to the end of the article!

2 Comments
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Доминика
August 17, 2018 4:30 pm

bitpay block accounts and stole user’s money, see trustpilot rating…

Iboro William
January 27, 2018 9:51 am

My default woocommerce currency is the Nigerian Naira, but it keeps sending out dollars to the BitPay plugin, which automatically bars me from receiving payments, since 1000 Naira(about 4 dollars) is read as 1000 Dollars. Is there a way to deal with this?

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