Since Contact Form 7 is so popular, developers have created a lot of 3rd party add-ons to try to fly on the coattails of its’ success so you’ll find an CF7 add-on for pretty much anything a contact form can do. Including a popular contact form 7 PayPal integration. This tutorial shows you how to integrate the two and accept payments.
You can either watch the detailed video tutorial below or scroll below that to read the image/text version of the tutorial.
- Contact Form 7 Multiple File Upload Functionality Quick and Easy
- Contact Form 7 Redirect Multiple Forms To Different Pages After Submission Without A Plugin
- Create A 2-Column Responsive Contact Form with Contact Form 7
- Get Value From URL Parameter To Pre-fill Contact Form 7
- Contact Form 7 PayPal integration To Accept Payments
Install PayPal Add-on For CF7
First thing we need to do is install contact form 7 PayPal add-on. Hover over Plugins and click on Add New.
In the search box, type in CF7 PayPal.
There are multiple options, but I use the one with the best stats, developed by Scott Paterson.
All of the plugins work in similar ways so pick the one with the best stats and click on install now and then on activate.
Once you’ve activated the plugin, a new item will appear under Contact, called PayPal Settings.
First, you’ll need to modify the settings on this page and after that, you’ll need to modify the CF7 form settings. Let’s do the PayPal settings first.
Contact Form 7 PayPal Extension Settings
The first thing to do is choose a language and currency.
After that, you’ll need to add your merchant ID or your PayPal email address.
You can find the Merchant ID inside your PayPal account by logging into PayPal and then going to Profile > Profile and Settings.
Under the My Business Info menu, at the very bottom of the page, you’ll find your Merchant ID number (screenshot below). Copy the number and paste it into the plugin settings>
The next option we’re going to consider is a sandbox account. If you have one, you can add it here.
A Sandbox account is a non-functional PayPal account used for testing and non-live transactions. I recommend you test your account with a real PayPal account just to see if live transactions will be approved. After all, you want to accept real payments, not sandbox payments!
Next, you get the option of setting a cancel URL.
What happens after a payment
Usually, when people make a payment, they end up at PayPal’s website. However, if they don’t complete the payment, you can set a URL where the people who haven’t made the payment will get redirected.
As mentioned in the video (at the top of this page), on this special “cancel page” you can try to save the sale by overcoming objections or offering them a discount, or making them a special offer to convince them to change their minds.
If the purchase goes through, you can set a return URL which should be a thank-you page. There are two methods of redirecting. If method 1 doesn’t work, you should try switching to method 2.
Once you’re done with the PayPal add-on settings, head over to your CF7 contact forms.
Go to Contacts > Contact Forms.
Since the PayPal plugin is installed on the site, every one of your Contact Form 7 forms now has a PayPal tab inside it.
When you click on that tab, you get to modify some really simple settings.
Check the box Enable PayPal on this form to have it enabled.
Optional Settings Fields
The other three fields in the settings are sort of optional:
- Item description – This describes the product or service. If you leave it blank the customer will be able to enter their own description at the time of checkout.
- Item price – This is the price of the product or service. The currency will be the one we set in the PayPal settings earlier. If you leave this blank the custom will be able to enter their own price.
- Item SKU – This is a unique number that helps you keep your inventory organized. This one is truly optional since not everyone has inventory.
Testing the Contact Form 7 PayPal Integration
When you’re ready, click on save and copy the form shortcode to see how this form looks on a live page. Form more detailed instructions on implementing a Contact Form 7 form check out this tutorial on YouTube.
Paste the shortcode inside a page or post, click update, and open the page.
After you fill out the form you will be taken to a PayPal checkout page that will look something like this:
If it doesn’t work please leave a comment below so we can try to solve your problem. To warn customers that they’ll be redirected to PayPal and asked to pay, you’ll have to add that piece of information on the same page as your form.
That’s all you need to know about PayPal integration to CF7. For customizing your WordPress site further, make sure you subscribe to my WordPress Tutorials – WPLearningLab channel and click on the bell notification not to miss any of the useful WordPress tutorials.
More Contact Form 7 Tutorials you may want to check out after this one:
- Contact Form 7 Multiple File Upload Functionality Quick and Easy
- Contact Form 7 Redirect Multiple Forms To Different Pages After Submission Without A Plugin
- Create A 2-Column Responsive Contact Form with Contact Form 7
- Get Value From URL Parameter To Pre-fill Contact Form 7
- Contact Form 7 PayPal integration To Accept Payments