Enter your search term

Search by title or post keyword

How To Implement a WordPress PayPal Donation Button

Our website is supported by our users. We sometimes earn affiliate links when you click through the affiliate links on our website

Contact us for Questions

Isn’t it wonderful to donate on PayPal directly from a WordPress site?

Creating a WordPress PayPal donation button can make it straightforward for people to donate to your business or social causes.

In this tutorial, I share my experience setting up a PayPal donation button on my WordPress website.

Following the instructions will help you do the same.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the PayPal Donate Button Free?

Setting up a PayPal donation button on your WordPress site is completely free.

It allows many customizations, including adding your business logo.

Every donation will incur a transaction fee.

The processing fee for a non-profit is 2.89% + $0.49 per transaction at the time of writing.

What Is the Best PayPal Plugin for WordPress?

Donations via PayPal is the best WordPress plugin to accept donations on your site.

However, WP Forms users may find its PayPal add-on feature more beneficial as it facilitates donations and transactions.

Different PayPal plugins work best for particular tasks, but ensure to select the ones compatible with your WordPress theme.

What You’ll Need To Create a WordPress PayPal Donation Button

If you are reading this tutorial on a computer, you have the basics to create a PayPal donate button. Other things you’ll need are:

  • WordPress username and password for an admin account.
  • A WordPress plug-in with the PayPal button feature.
  • A PayPal account to receive donations.

How To Create a WordPress PayPal Donation Button: Step-by-Step Instructions

You can create a PayPal donate button with a simple plugin and place it anywhere on your WordPress site.

Donors can use their PayPal account, credit, or debit card to make seamless donations without visiting the PayPal website.

Setting up a recurring donation is also possible.

There are multiple methods with several PayPal donation plugins.

You can also create a donate button by adding HTML codes.

Method 1: Implementing a PayPal Donate Button on WordPress With a Plugin

Using a donation plugin is the simplest way to place a PayPal donate button on your WordPress website.

In this method, I use the Donation via PayPal plugin.

Although the features are limited, it is the best free tool to collect PayPal donations.

To use it on your WordPress site:

Go to Dashboard > Plugins > Add New. Then search for Donation via Paypal.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 11.45.48 AM

Install the plugin and activate it.

Navigate back to the Dashboard > Settings. You will find a new option called PayPal Donations; click on that.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 1.19.50 PM

Provide the necessary details on the PayPal donations page, then click “Save Changes.” 

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 1.34.00 PM

You will get different options to set up your account on this page.

Under the “General” tab, you can:

Enter your PayPal Email.

Change the default currency from US Dollars to Euros or others.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 1.21.37 PM

Set a thank you page for your donors to be redirected upon donations.

Select a button style with an optional default amount and donation purpose. You can enter an URL for a custom PayPal donate button, too.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 1.34.22 PM

Change the country and language for the transaction process.

Adding the PayPal Donate Button to Your WordPress Website

Let’s place your PayPal donation button with the following steps:

Head to Posts or Pages, then open the designated post to add the donation button.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 1.45.55 PM

Add a Shortcode block to the post by clicking on the + button.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 1.50.16 PM

Write or enter the shortcode: [paypal-donation] with the brackets.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 4.37.41 PM

Click “Preview” to see the button, then click “Update” to save it.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 4.38.04 PM

Once a donor clicks on the button, it will take them to the PayPal page to make a donation.

Method 2: Implementing a PayPal Donate Button on WordPress With HTML Codes

You can manually create a PayPal donation button on the PayPal website.

Head to the PayPal Donate Button page and log in using your PayPal id and password.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 4.40.00 PM

Click on the “Customize a Button” to set it up as you wish.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 3.38.24 PM

Explore the optional settings to collect donors’ information, allow donors to leave a note, or route them back to your site, etc.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 3.41.33 PM

Hit on the “Finish” tab. The new page will give you a shareable link; save it for later.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 3.41.48 PM

Adding the Manually Created PayPal Donate Button to Your Site

Head to your WordPress Dashboard and open a page or post to add your PayPal donation button. Once there:

Add a Custom HTML block to the post by clicking on the + button.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 4.47.16 PM

Copy the HTML codes below and paste them into your Custom HTML block. Replace “Your PayPal Donation Button Link” with the link you created above.

<a href="Your PayPal Donation Button Link" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-but21.gif" alt="Click to Donate" /></a>

Tap “Preview” to see the button in action before clicking “Update” or “Publish.”

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 3.46.16 PM

Now you can collect online donations with your manual PayPal donations button.

Screenshot 2022 11 24 at 3.47.12 PM

Similar Tutorials To Check Out

Want to refresh your WordPress knowledge or give your website a new look?

Check out the following WordPress tutorials:

Wrapping Up

See how simple creating and implementing a WordPress PayPal donation button is!

Your visitors will surely appreciate the gesture, hopefully with more donations coming your way.

PayPal plugins make it easy to create payment buttons for all sorts of things – payments, donations, events, digital goods, etc.

Follow my guide with an appropriate WordPress plugin, and you’ll be set.

I hope you enjoyed reading the post.

Do let me know your questions or suggestions in the comments below.

Leave a Comment