Adding A PayPal Button To A Website or Blog

PayPal is one of the most well known e-commerce services worldwide. It provides a simple and secure way to allow customers to pay you online, which helps to facilitate business. Not only is it easy to add a PayPal button to your website but it also is very low cost, based on the actual transactions that you process through their account. A small amount of the total percentage of the transaction is kept by PayPal, but the rest is deposited directly into your account.

The other major benefit to using PayPal is that it allows you to automatically set up currency conversion. International customers can buy your product without having to calculate exchange rates or go through the bank. This is an instant process that saves both time and money and results in a smooth, problem free transaction for both the buyer and the seller. All that is required is that the currency required by the seller is set up when the PayPal button is created. It can also be modified later if you need to make changes.

Money from sales that go into your PayPal account can be accessed in several different ways. You can use your PayPal account for your own online purchases, making it a safe way to buy online without having to give your credit card numbers or personal banking information. You can also link your PayPal account with your personal bank and transfer money electronically. You can choose to have more than one bank account linked to your PayPal account. By controlling how often you transfer money from your PayPal to banking accounts you can reduce your bank service charges, particularly if you have to pay for each cheque that you deposit.

Signing up for a PayPal account is free and very simple. All you will need to do is follow the prompts and then log into your account with your own unique and secure user name and password. Once in the account you will see a variety of tabs across the top, each of which has a variety of tools to make your online transactions and money management very easy.

The My Account button is first, and this is your overview or statement of your current transactions. Money coming in or sent to your bank or other PayPal users will all be listed in the lower part of the page with your current account balance on the top.

The Send Money tab allows you to buy products and pay for goods and services. Request Money is for invoicing and can be used for both PayPal account holders and those without a PayPal account. If you have your own website then you will also want to use the Merchant Services tab, it is here were you create your own PayPal button for your website.

PayPal Buttons

There are several different styles of PayPal buttons, all which are more or less appropriate for your needs. A single button is ideal for smaller websites while a multiple button option may be more important for a website offering a wider range of items. You can also set up buttons that allow users to take a subscription to newsletters or information you provide or to make donations through your PayPal account. Gift vouchers can also be purchased when PayPal buttons are added to your website.

The great news is that the PayPal website is very user friendly. The right hand side of the page provides tips and ideas on what type of button works best with different website types. Once you select one, you will then create a name for your button. The name should be related to the product or service and will also have a price and currency area for your to complete.

There are different ways to customize or add to the basic button. Following the prompts and drop down bars will give you a good idea of what options will be important to consider. For some websites you may wish to change the labeling on the buttons or even remove credit card logos, this depends on your needs and allows for a good range of custom options.

At the next step there is an option to add inventory tracking and profit and loss tracking. This can be a bit complex and typically is not necessary when you first get started. You can always come back and add it later should you feel it would be helpful.

Check your final button appearance and make any changes you think will be necessary. Once that is done, be sure to check your spelling and pricing, simply hit the create button box and you have your PayPal butto
HTML code.

Copy this code and then paste it where you want it on your web page. Remember you can add different buttons for different types of purchases and products, there is no limit to how many you can add. The buttons can also be customized or edited as you add to your website.

Using PayPal is a good option for most smaller to mid sized websites and businesses. You may also want to look into other options to see which is the most cost effective way to do business online for you.

Written by Caroline Nettle.

Please retweet this article.