How to Integrate Square Payments in WordPress (Step by Step)

Do you want to easily accept online payments on your WordPress site?

Integrating Square only takes a few simple steps and provides a secure, affordable solution for processing credit cards.

In this detailed guide, I‘ll show you how to connect Square as a payment gateway in WordPress using plugins. I‘ve been building websites for over 15 years, so I‘ll share my experience and tips along the way.

Why Square is a Great Choice for Accepting Payments

Square has quickly become one of the most popular ways for small businesses to accept credit card payments both online and in-person.

Here are a few reasons why it‘s a great choice for WordPress sites:

• Fast, easy setup – It takes less than 15 minutes to create a Square account and integrate it with WordPress. No need to mess around with complex code.

• Transparent pricing – Square charges a simple flat rate of 2.6% + 10¢ for in-person payments and 3.4% + 15¢ for online payments in the US. No surprise fees.

• Omnichannel payments – Square allows you to accept payments across all channels like online, mobile, invoices, and in-store from one unified dashboard.

• Faster payouts – Square deposits funds as fast as next business day instead of the typical 2-3 days.

• Recurring billing – Easily charge recurring payments for memberships, subscriptions, invoices etc.

• Powerful analytics – Detailed reports provide insights into your sales, customers, and business performance.

Square now powers payments for over 2 million businesses across the world. According to Datanyze, it has a 12.4% market share among payment gateways, ahead of PayPal (10.9%) and Stripe (4.9%).

So if you run a small shop, sell digital downloads, offer consulting services, run an ecommerce store, or accept donations, Square has you covered!

Next, let‘s go through how to add Square to your WordPress site.

Step 1 – Set Up a Square Account

Signing up for a Square account only takes a couple of minutes. Just head over to squareup.com and provide some basic business information to get started.

The signup process will ask for your:

• Business name
• Business type
• Contact details
• Social security number (for identity verification)

Make sure the business name you enter matches your official legal name.

Once Square verifies your identity, you‘ll gain access to your account dashboard. This is where you can view analytics, issue refunds, manage employees, and more.

Square will also mail you a free Square Reader to swipe credit cards in-person. This reader easily connects to your smartphone or tablet‘s headphone jack.

To enable online payments, simply go to Settings > Payments in your Square Dashboard. Scroll down and toggle on the option for "Online Payments".

This will allow you to generate API credentials that can be used to connect your Square account with WordPress.

I also recommend toggling on the option for Allow Customers to Complete Purchase on Browser. This lets customers enter their card details directly on your website for a smoother checkout experience.

At this point, you have a fully functional Square account ready to process online and offline credit card transactions!

Step 2 – Install a Square Payment Plugin

To integrate Square with WordPress, you need to install a payment gateway plugin. This will handle sending transaction information to Square and confirming payments.

There are a few good options available including:

• WooCommerce Square – For WooCommerce stores
• WP Simple Pay – Add payment forms/buttons to any site
• WPForms Square Addon – Accept payments in WPForms

I recommend using the free WooCommerce Square plugin for most users. It offers the easiest integration and smoothest experience in my opinion.

Here is how to install and activate WooCommerce Square:

1. Login to your WordPress dashboard

2. Go to Plugins > Add New

3. Search for "WooCommerce Square"

4. Install and Activate the plugin

5. Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments

6. Click on Square Commerce to configure

Next, you need to connect your Square account so that transactions sync between both platforms.

Click on "Connect to Square" and enter your Square login credentials when prompted. This will authorize the plugin to communicate with your Square account.

It is also important to enable "Sandbox Mode" while testing payments on your site. This allows you to process dummy transactions without actually charging cards.

Once you go live, disable test mode. Contact Square support if you need help moving the account out of sandbox.

With the plugin installed and connected, you can now start accepting real credit card payments powered by Square!

Step 3 – Creating Custom Payment Forms

If you want to build payment forms beyond the default WooCommerce checkout page, then the WPForms + Square Addon is a great option.

WPForms allows you to create any type of form, from contact forms to surveys and more. With the Square Addon, you can easily accept payments within these custom forms.

To get started:

1. Install and activate WPForms

2. Install the WPForms Square Addon (requires a paid license)

3. Go to Settings > Payments and connect your Square account

4. Build forms using the drag-and-drop Form Builder

5. Add the Square payment field to collect card details

For example, you can create:

• A donation form with custom amounts
• A booking form for appointments
• A service order form with invoice generation

The possibilities are endless!

The Square payment field will handle collecting card information securely. Then you can embed these forms anywhere on your site via shortcodes or page builder widgets.

Step 4 – Additional Tips for Success

Here are some additional tips to ensure your Square integration goes smoothly:

• Enable SSL on your site to securely collect payments. You can get a free SSL certificate from Let‘s Encrypt.

• Use an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP to improve email deliverability of notifications and receipts.

• Install plugins like Subscriptions and Memberships to work with Square‘s recurring billing capabilities.

• Use services like Mailchimp to manage email lists and customer data in one place.

• Add Trust Badges and security seals to boost buyer confidence during checkout.

• Monitor the Square Dashboard regularly for import business insights from your data.

• Check Webhooks to automate order management between systems.

• Test payment flows thoroughly before launching live transactions.

• Enable support for multiple currencies to expand your customer base.

• Contact Square customer support promptly for any issues via live chat or email.

Integrating Square payments into your WordPress site is one of the best decisions you can make. It helps you accept credit cards quickly while saving on processing fees.

I hope this detailed guide helps you get Square working flawlessly on your WordPress site. Let me know if you have any other questions!