Integrate WooCommerce with Stripe

With its transparent transaction fees, multiple security products, and an easy integration with most eCommerce platforms, it makes sense to consider Stripe as your payment processor for WooCommerce. A WooCommerce Stripe portal ensures you’re able to accept secure payments through your online store while also offering your customers unique options like recurring billing, subscriptions, and alternative payment methods, including Apple Pay and Google Pay.

In this article, we walk you through the steps you need to take to properly integrate WooCommerce and Stripe. We’ll also cover some basic settings to configure, along with things to remember which may sway your decision to use Stripe or not.

Check out the guide below!

How to set up a WooCommerce Stripe payment gateway

Besides hosting and a standard WordPress installation, you must have the following free elements to integrate Stripe and WooCommerce:

  • The WooCommerce plugin
  • A Stripe for WooCommerce plugin
  • A Stripe account

Install WooCommerce and configure the right settings

To get started, you must own a self-hosted WordPress site and have WooCommerce installed on that website.

It’s possible you already have a WooCommerce site ready to go! If so, skip this section.

If not, your next step is to turn your basic WordPress site into an online store with WooCommerce.

For the most effective WooCommerce installation, follow these guides:

It’s not a prerequisite to have a launch-ready WooCommerce store, but you at least need to create some product pages, work on your site’s design, and set up features for shipping and tax calculations. This way, you’re able to quickly get Stripe installed for running accurate test payments.

Create a Stripe account

Installing a Stripe plugin is useless if you don’t create an actual Stripe account. A Stripe account provides a unique merchant number, along with statistics, reports, balances, and powerful payment processing tools meant to improve the way you do business with customers. You can even send invoices from a Stripe account.

Right now, we’re interested in creating an account to obtain its API keys, which are necessary for linking the WooCommerce plugin with Stripe. In addition, it’s wise to add your banking details to the Stripe account to receive any payments that end up going through.

To start, go to the Stripe website and click on the Start Now button.

start now with WooCommerce Stripe

This sends you to the account creation page, where you type in an email address, your full name, and your country of business. Then, you need to create a strong password so no one else gains access to your finances.

After that, click on the Create Account button.

make a Stripe account

The Stripe account setup wizard guides you through the rest of the process, where you type in business details like your address, banking account information, and more.

Be sure to fill in that information accurately to ensure payments go through to your bank account.

After all of that, you should end up in the Stripe dashboard.

This is a hub used to manage all payments, check on gross sales volume, and handle everything from payments to balances and customers to reports.

the stripe dashboard

Congratulations, you now own a Stripe account; let’s use that account to ensure a smooth integration with WooCommerce!

Install and activate the “Stripe for WooCommerce” plugin

Quite a few methods exist for integrating Stripe with WooCommerce. You could pass the API to a developer and have them handle it with custom coding. Yet, it’s much easier to install a WordPress plugin since there’s no coding necessary; just about anyone can understand how to install and activate a WordPress plugin.

However, you also need to choose the best Stripe plugin for the job. Later in this article, I explain some of the best plugins to consider. I personally feel that the weirdly named “Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce” plugin makes the most sense.

The “Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce” plugin allows for an immediate connection with an automated API connection (it’s also possible to copy and paste the required keys manually). Furthermore, it offers solutions for alternative payments options, local payment subscriptions, and pre-orders.

So, get started by installing the “Payment Plugin for Stripe WooCommerce” plugin on your WordPress site. You can complete this by going to Plugins → Add New from your WordPress dashboard and then searching for the plugin by name. Use our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin if you need any assistance.

When you find the right plugin in WordPress, click on Install Now.

Be sure to click the Activate button to complete the process.

activate the WooCommerce Stripe plugin

The “Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce” plugin is now installed and ready to go on your dashboard.

Link your Stripe account to the website

With a Stripe account and the plugin ready, it’s time to link them together. This gets handled by automatically creating a connection by logging into your account or by transferring over the API credentials from that account.

You should now see a Stripe Gateway button in the WordPress menu. This is for the plugin you just installed.

Click on that button and select the Settings option.

settings for WooCommerce Stripe

The Settings menu item sends you directly to the API settings for WooCommerce. If you’d rather take the long route, the page is located under WooCommerce → Settings → Payments → API Settings.

api settings for WooCommerce Stripe

There are two modes to consider when running a WooCommerce Stripe gateway: Test Mode and Live Mode.

As you may have assumed, Test Mode allows you to run test transactions without a real credit card being processed. Live Mode is what you turn on when you’re ready to accept real payments from customers.

For now, leave it on Test Mode.

To make the integration between WooCommerce and Stripe, locate the Connect Stripe Account field.

Press the Click To Connect button.

click to connect for WooCommerce Stripe

This should open a new page that brings you to your current Stripe account or potentially asks you to log in, depending on whether or not you stayed logged in from before.

If you have multiple Stripe accounts, select the one you want for this eCommerce store. Then, hit the Connect button.

connect now

You’re then rerouted back to the WordPress dashboard, within the API Settings that you saw before.

Yet, instead of empty fields, you should see a filled out Account ID, Publishable Key, and Secret Key.

These are the required elements for WooCommerce and Stripe to communicate with each other.

Note: You will have to run this process again when you switch to Live Mode, seeing as how these API credentials are only for the Test Mode.

publishable keys for WooCommerce Stripe

Although it appears everything worked properly, you may wonder whether or not payments will actually go through.

That’s why they have the Connection Test button.

Feel free to click on that to run a connection test and receive a verification message that Stripe is, in fact, linked to WooCommerce.

When you’re all done with that, click on the Save Changes button.

save changes button

During my tests, the Stripe credit card payment method usually got checked by default after installing the “Payment Gateways for Stripe WooCommerce” plugin. But if you have trouble with the Stripe module showing up, it’s possible you need to turn it on by going to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments.

Activate the Enabled switch for the Stripe Credit Cards payment method.

WooCommerce Stripe check box

You should also click on the Stripe Credit Cards option to view its detailed settings. Make sure the box is checked for the Enabled field.

enable WooCommerce Stripe

This section is also important for configuring other settings. For instance, you can decide to remove or add some of the Accepted Payment Methods, or even change the credit card form layout.

Just make sure you click the Save Changes button when finished.

save changes for WooCommerce Stripe

To run a real-life test (besides the connection test button inside the dashboard), go to the front-end of your website, add some products to the cart, and type a test card number into the payment portal. Stripe has a whole resource with test card numbers on their site.

WooCommerce Stripe credit card field

A successful test should reveal whatever order confirmation you have set up for WooCommerce, with information like the order number, date, total price, email address, and the payment method used.

order confirmation for WooCommerce Stripe

That’s all there is to it! Just don’t forget to switch to Live Mode when you’re ready to sell for real.

Handy WooCommerce Stripe settings to consider

Keep in mind that you might already have a credit card processor installed on WooCommerce. In fact, many WooCommerce installations already come with the default WooCommerce Payments credit card processor ready to go.

Unfortunately, having two active processors could cause issues with your site or show two credit card fields for customers, both of which are not ideal situations.

Therefore, make sure you go to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments to see which processors are active within the plugin.

The WooCommerce Payments method, for example, was also active when I was completing this tutorial, resulting in multiple credit card fields on the front-end.

Uncheck WooCommerce Payments and potentially any other ones that aren’t the Stripe Credit Cards method.

turn off woocommerce payments

But what if you want to accept alternative payment methods outside of the usual credit cards? Both online and retail consumers are using mobile wallets more often, so it makes sense to consider those as viable payment methods.

If you choose to activate something like Apple Pay or Google Pay, these get listed as their own separate buttons, usually above or below the credit card field for people to select if they’d like.

Luckily, the Stripe plugin we just installed already offers features to turn on and accept these alternative payment methods.

Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments → Stripe Credit Cards.

You must configure each one individually. For instance, you can select the Apple Pay tab then mark the Enabled checkbox. The same must be done for Google Pay. You’ll also need some unique credentials for each one, like a merchant ID for Google Pay.

apple pay and google pay

You should also go through the main Payments menu to ensure your desired payment methods are all switched to Enabled, making them active on your website. We obviously want the Stripe Credit Cards method enabled, but this is also where you’ll turn on other options, like PayPal.

It’s wise to experiment with each of these payment methods on the front-end with a test transaction.

turn on other payment methods - WooCommerce Stripe

Other ways to integrate WooCommerce and Stripe in 2021

Sometimes the default Stripe plugin isn’t enough for your online store. Maybe your business requires more advanced payment controls, or maybe you need something made just for digital payments. Regardless of your situation, we recommend reading our guide on the best Stripe WordPress plugins to understand that you have multiple options.

For example, you could consider the WP Simple Pay plugin if you need unique checkout customization tools or an integration with AffiliateWP. Or you could look into the Easy Digital Downloads Stripe Pro Payment Gateway if you’re only selling digital items.

It’s also worth checking out the standard Stripe plugin developed by WooCommerce. Although its ratings aren’t as high as the “Payment Plugins” option we highlighted in the tutorial, it’s still a simple, intuitive plugin that many people find easier to use.

Takeaways about using WooCommerce and Stripe

Stripe and WooCommerce work rather well in terms of the initial configuration, their integration with WordPress, and the fluidity of their payment processing. Overall, your customers shouldn’t notice any problems along the way, and you should receive reasonably quick payments into your merchant account.

However, there are some basic things about Stripe to remember:

  • The standard transaction fee for an integrated WooCommerce Stripe portal is 2.9% + $0.30. High-volume businesses can negotiate and try for custom discounts.
  • Although there are no monthly, setup, or hidden fees, you should keep an eye on additional fees for things like international cards (+1%), currency conversions (+1%), ACH debits and transfers (0.8% with a $5 cap), and charge-backs ($15 per dispute).
  • Most other Stripe products, such as the POS terminal, card readers, identity verification, and fraud detection, have their own additional costs.
  • Although Stripe makes it seem like you get automatically accepted, that’s not really the case. Initial payouts are held for several days, sometimes ranging from 7 to 30 days after you receive your first payment. This is essentially because Stripe is still testing to see if you’re a qualified merchant (with enough of a payment history and good credit).
  • Stripe accepts all major credit/debit cards and alternative methods like Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Microsoft Pay, all of which require you to configure additional settings.
  • Fees and payment methods vary based on the business location. For instance, European customers gain support for iDEAL, SOFORT, and Klarna, while Asia Pacific customers can use Alipay, GrabPay, and China UnionPay.
  • Although it depends on your country, all deposits into your bank account take around 2-7 calendar days. The time frame is two days in the US, but you may see delays if there’s a holiday.

In conclusion

Setting up a WooCommerce Stripe payment gateway only takes a few free tools and some configuration in the settings area. After that, Stripe sends you notifications about payments and deposits the money into your desired bank account within a few days.

Overall, I like Stripe for its ease of use, transparent transaction fees, and its acceptance of multiple payment methods, including less standard ones, like Google Pay and Apple Pay.

Let us know in the comments section if you have any questions about this article or how to integrate WooCommerce and Stripe in general!

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