SonicWebTech - paypal tag

What is the difference between Website Payments Standard and Website Payments Pro?

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:12:00 GMT

We are frequently ask for assistance in moving from Website Payments Standard (WPS) to Websites Payment Pro (WPP). Generally the cost of doing this can be quite expensive and there is understandable "sticker shock".

How do I change the name on a donation response?

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:42:00 GMT

People who donate get a message:

This transaction will appear on your bill as "XXXXXXXX".

The XXXXXXX is what to change, because it's showing up as your personal name.

Generally this is because you have a personal or premier account. You need to upgrade to a business account so that your business name will appear instead.

How do I setup custom shipping options or calculatons? (WPS)

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 02:45:00 GMT

You PayPal shopping cart can be configured for domestic or international shipping methods with these options:

Total order amount (flat rate or percent rate)
Total order weight (lbs or kg)
Total item quantity (flat rate)

Custom shipping calculations can also be configured for your website. Here's how:

Go to the PayPal website and log in to your account.
Click the "Profile" link at the top of the page.
Click the "Set Up Shipping Calculations" link.
Select either "Domestic" or "International Shipping Methods," and then click "Start."
Follow the instructions on each page to set up shipping charges.

If you need additional shipping calculations, again go to your profile, click the Shipping Calculations link, click "Add Another Shipping Method," and follow the instructions.

My customers only see the 'Login to PayPal'. How do I make payment by Credit Card available? (WPS)

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:11:00 GMT

There are a number if settings that affect the Credit Card Option:

(Note: Your generated Button Code does not require no special coding. It's related to how your Account is setup.)

Account must be either Premier or Business.
PayPal Account Optional is turned on - this enables non PP Members to pay by Credit Card
The email address you use to log into your PayPal Account must be verified.
The same email address should be used in your HTML Button Code.
Bank account registered and verified/tested - so you can transfer funds
Credit card registered - (optional)

To turn on the PayPal Account Optional feature, do the following:

Login to your PayPal Account,
Select "Edit Profile", under "Selling Preferences"
Select "Website Payment Preferences"
Scroll down to "PayPal Account Optional".

There are also other reasons the Credit Card Option may not be available.

You are using Express Checkout. Express Checkout requires a PayPal Account
The country you reside in. Not all countries have all the PayPal features available.
The country your customers reside in. Not all countries have all PayPal features available.
The IP address of your hosted site is on a blocked list.

If you have checked all of the above: You have your PayPal Account setup properly and non of the other possibilties seem to apply, but, you still don't see the Credit Card Option or only see a small link to the Credit Card Option.

The PayPal payment screens are designed to be displayed in a specific way based on the cookies and/or your PayPal Account configuration.

Cookies are used to track where your customer is in the sales process, and whether that customer is new or returning. The PayPal cart will retain certain info about your customer and therefore the screen that is displayed may not be the screen you expect them to see. If they are a new customer visiting PayPal for the first time, the Credit Card Option will be clearly displayed.

If this is their second or third visit to PayPal and their previous cookie has not expired, Paypal now views you as a returning customer. They will get a screen with a small link to the Credid Card Option. Although this is not as obvious to the customer as you might like, the Credit Card Option is still available. Generally the cookie that holds the cart info will retain that info for 21 days. The only way it will change is if they remove the items selected from the cart or delete the cookie.

You may be seeing this problem because your are testing your web pages, creating new code or making changes, etc... To fix this, simply delete your web browser's cookies, then close your web browser, reopen it and try the web pages again. When you view the PayPal Screens, you will now get the screen with the Credit Card Option because PayPal views you as a new visitor.

What do the button types: hosted, clear text, and encrypted mean? (WPS)

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:37:00 GMT

There are three 3 options when using the PayPal Online Button Creator.

Hosted (Save on PayPal Servers)
Encrypted (Protected code)
Clear text (Unprotected code)

Each options has its purpose and use, so understanding the difference will help you make that decision.

PayPal button not working on IE6 browser. (WPS)

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:17:00 GMT

This problem is related to the security setting. In most cases it has been set to "HIGH". Go to your Internet Options/Security and lower your setting.

How do I insure that my email address is not available in the HTML code? (WPS)

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:17:00 GMT

There are two options:

Option #1

Assumptions: Non-Hosted and Non-encrypted button, PayPal Business Account

Use your PayPal Business ID or Merchant Referral ID instead of your verified email address.

Login to your PayPal account.

Merchant Referral ID:

Scroll down toward the bottom to "Referrals".
Click on "Referrals" in the bottom list of menu choices.
Next page is displays the Merchant Referral Bonus Program.
You will see a link something like this:
https://www.paypal.com/uss/mrb/pal=QERQ34QER56435T.
Copy the QERQ34QER56435T.part of this URL

PayPal Business ID

Edit your Profile.
On the Profile Summary page your will see:
Secure Merchant Account ID: 3452QWER6DGSD78
Copy this number

Replace the value of "business" variable with this ID code in your button code as shown in this example:

Before:
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your.paypal.email">

After:
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="QERQ34QER56435T.">

Option #2

This option is to use an email address encoder.

It transforms your ascii email address into its equivalent decimal entity. The encoded e-mail address can be read and translated back into its original ascii text by almost any web browser without any further action on your part. You just replace your e-mail address with the code, and you won't have to worry a whole lot about spam lists. This technique is not by any means a foolproof - high end software such as that used by Google's™ search engine can still detect your email address.

How do I display my company name in the PayPal shopping cart? (WPS)

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:10:00 GMT

If you are seeing your email address, then you very likely have a personal or premier account. You need to upgrade that account to a Business account.

How do I get a test Credit Card number for use in the Sandbox? (WPS)

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:59:00 GMT

When testing your PayPal buttons in the Sandbox you will need to generate a test Credit Card number.

Log in to your Sandbox Account
Select a text account and login to that test account (create one if you do not have one)
Click 'Profile'
Click on 'Credit/Debit Cards' under Financial Information
Click the ''Add a Card' button, as if you are adding a credit card to this account
Use the credit card number that is automatically generated here as a test credit card number
Click "Cancel"

Note: Do not click on the 'Add Card' button as this will add the credit card to your Sandbox account. If it is added to your Sandbox account, it cannot be used to make a non-PayPal account payment.

For the CVV2 or CSC code, use any three digits like '123' and the expiration date would be any date that is in the future.

How do I replace the image button with a text button?

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:58:00 GMT

The PayPal button generator creates a button with an image downloaded from the PayPal system. There may be times you do not want this image button. If so locate the code that is similar to the following:

<input type="image"
 src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_cart_LG.gif"
 border="0" name="submit"
 alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!">

And replace it with this line. You can use your own text in place of the YourTextHere.

<input type="submit" value="YourTextHere">