This tutorial will walk you through how to use Developer Tools to inspect elements and make CSS modifications effectively.

Step 1: Open Developer Tools in Your Browser

Each browser has built-in developer tools that let you inspect elements and test CSS changes live. Below are the shortcuts to open Developer Tools:

• Google Chrome & Edge: Press F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I (Cmd + Option + I on Mac)
• Firefox: Press F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I (Cmd + Option + I on Mac)
• Safari: Enable Developer Menu first (Safari > Preferences > Advanced > Show Develop menu in menu bar), then press Cmd + Option + I

Alternatively, you can right-click on any element on your webpage and select “Inspect” (or “Inspect Element” in Firefox).

Step 2: Inspecting an HTML Element

1. Once Developer Tools is open, you’ll see the Elements (or Inspector) tab.
2. Move your cursor over the HTML structure and hover over different elements to highlight them on your page.
3. When you click on an element, you will see its CSS styles displayed in the Styles pane.

Example:
If you want to modify a button, right-click on it, select Inspect, and you will see its HTML structure along with the associated CSS styles.

Step 3: Modifying CSS in Developer Tools

You can test CSS changes live before applying them to your website.

1. Locate the Styles tab inside Developer Tools.
2. Find the CSS rules associated with the selected element.
3. Modify the CSS values directly and see the changes in real-time.

Example:
Let’s say you want to change the button’s background color. If you find this CSS:

.button {
    background-color: #0088cc;
    color: #ffffff;
}

You can edit it directly in Developer Tools and change the color to red:

.button {
    background-color: red;
}

Note: These changes are temporary and will be lost once you refresh the page.

Step 4: Applying CSS Changes to Your Site

After testing the changes in Developer Tools, you need to apply them permanently.

1. Copy the modified CSS from Developer Tools.
2. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
3. Navigate to Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS.
4. Paste the CSS code and click Publish.

Alternatively, if you are using a custom style.css file, you can add the CSS there.

Bonus: Finding CSS Selectors Easily

If you’re unsure which CSS selector to use, follow these steps:

• Look for class or id attributes in the Elements tab.
• Class selectors start with a dot (.), e.g., .button
• ID selectors start with a hash (#), e.g., #submit-button
• You can combine selectors for more specific targeting, e.g.:

#shopping-cart-form .button {
    background-color: green;
}

Final Thoughts

Using Developer Tools is a quick and efficient way to identify and modify the appearance of elements on your WordPress site. This method allows you to test changes before making them permanent, ensuring you get the desired results without unnecessary trial and error

The post How to Use Browser Developer Tools to Inspect Elements and Modify CSS appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of adding a PayPal donation button to your WordPress website, and even those without developer knowledge will succeed in doing so! We will use the free WP Express Checkout Plugin to create our donation-style product. This plugin uses the PayPal payment gateway to accept payments meaning your customers will check out in not only a simple but also a secure popup window.

If you want to accept donations via Stripe, then check out our accept Stripe donations tutorial.

Why Should I Add a Donation Button to my Website?

If you are a freelance artist in the music industry or you produce digital graphics for free, you may like to have a donation button so that your followers can help fund your future projects. Perhaps you are the leader of a charitable organization doing good in a community and you need extra funds to help purchase food, bedding, or furniture. Or maybe you have a vision and are looking for like-minded people to donate to help you lift it off the ground.

There are many reasons people seek out donations from others, and in this tutorial, we will show how simple it is to add a donation button to your website where the funds are transacted through the well-trusted PayPal payment gateway. Adding a donation button allows you to start monetizing your website if you are yet to do so already.

Adding a PayPal Donation Button to Your WordPress Website

Before we walk you through the steps of how to add your donation button to your website, you will need a PayPal account. This will allow you to accept the donations your customers gift to you or your company. If you are yet to become a PayPal account holder, the good news is it is free and simple to sign up for. You will need to jump onto PayPal.com and Sign Up prior to continuing.

Video Tutorial: Adding a PayPal Donation Button To Your Website

Written Tutorial: Adding a PayPal Donation Button To Your Website

Step 1) Install and Activate the WP Express Checkout Plugin

In this tutorial, we will be using the free WP Express Checkout Plugin by Tips and Tricks HQ. This plugin gives us the functionality on our WordPress website to create products and then add our product shortcodes anywhere on our WordPress website. The WP Express Checkout Plugin runs payments through the PayPal payment gateway and records transactions in one neat orders menu that administrators can view from their WordPress dashboard.

Before we continue, you will need to install and activate the WP Express Checkout Plugin on your WordPress website. If you are unsure how to do so follow the steps below:

1. Head to your WordPress dashboard and click on the ‘Plugins‘ menu.
2. Click the ‘Add New‘ button and then you can simply search for this WordPress plugin by typing ‘WP Express Checkout‘ and clicking enter.
3. Make sure you install and activate the plugin that is ‘By Tips and Tricks HQ‘.
4. Once you have activated the plugin, you will notice a new menu in your WordPress dashboard titled, ‘WP Express Checkout‘. If you can see this menu you are ready to move onto the next step!

Step 2) Complete the Basic Set Up of the WP Express Checkout Plugin

Before we create our first donation-style product, you will need to complete the required setup of the plugin. This should take you no more than 15 minutes and we have a step by step documentation to help you along the way.

1. Complete the basic setup and add your PayPal credentials. You can complete this step entirely from the WP Express Checkout ‘Settings‘ menu within the ‘General Settings‘ tab. If you need further assistance with this step please see our detailed documentation.
2. If you are having trouble getting your PayPal credentials, please see this documentation for further instructions on how to do so. Obtaining your PayPal credentials is important as it allows your customers to pay through PayPal the funds from their account or bank, into your PayPal account.

Step 3) Create Your Donation Style Product

When we say ‘Product’ that is only the format that we will use to be able to add a button to our WordPress website that allows us to collect donations from our customers. While we will be using the product template, you can simply use this to add details about the donations, rather than actually adding a product that the customer would receive. Every donation is different. Some donations allow the customer to receive a physical or digital product/service in return for their donations, while other donations are simply out of goodwill where nothing other than gratification is received in return.

Depending on what kind of donation you are setting up will determine how you complete this step.

1. Click on the ‘Add New Product‘ button found under the ‘WP Express Checkout‘ menu.
2. From the Add New Product Page, you will be able to give your donation a title. In the description field, add information about the donation. This is also a good oppurtunity to state whether something will or will not be received in return for a donation.
3. In the ‘Price‘ section, you will need to choose the ‘Donation‘ option. A ‘Minimum Donation Amount‘ field will appear where you can add the minimum amount that a customers donation can be. Only add numerals in this field, the currency is set within the ‘Settings‘ menu. For example, if you want all donations to be atleast $10.00, simply add ’10’ into this field.
4. Complete the other product creation options. You can read the following documentation if you need further help completing the other product creation fields.
5. In the ‘Appearance Related‘ section you will be able to edit the appearance of the payment buttons. In the field titled ‘PopUp/Modal Trigger Button Text‘, you may like to change the button text to ‘Donate‘ or something similar to let your customers know that this is a donation style payment button. Selecting the button type ‘Pay‘ or ‘Checkout‘ are better choices for a donation product as using the ‘Buy Now‘ button could mislead potential customers as they may think they are buying an item rather than donating funds.
6. Once you have completed the fields to best represent your donation cause, click the ‘Publish‘ button. Your product will now have a shortcode that can be added to pages, posts or widgets so that you can start receiving donations.

Step 4) Add Your Donation Button to Your WordPress Website

Each product you create using the WP Express Checkout Plugin has a shortcode that can be added anywhere to your WordPress website to display a payment button for that product. You can add the simple payment button of your product, or you can use a template option to include an aesthetically pleasing product box that includes the product thumbnail and description. Using the simple button works well when you wish to list multiple buttons on one page, whereas using a template is a suitable choice when you are advertising one or two products (donations) per page.

1. Click on the ‘Products‘ menu found under ‘WP Express Checkout‘.
2. Within the ‘Shortcode‘ column is where you will find the shortcode for your product. You will need to ‘copy‘ this.
3. You can now choose to add this to a page, post or widget. In this example, we will add it to a page.
4. Click on ‘Pages‘ and then on ‘Add New‘. Give your page a ‘Title‘ and then add a ‘Shortcode Block‘ to the page.
5. Paste your shortcode into the ‘Shortcode Block‘. You may choose to add the template=”1″ parameter if you are hoping to show the product details and button within a neat block. If you only want to show the payment button, leave the shortcode as is.
6. ‘Publish‘ out your page. Now from the front end of your website view the page and see how your donation button looks. You may also like to complete a test transaction.

How Can a Customer Checkout Easily with a PayPal Donation Button?

The WP Express Checkout handles payments through a popup PayPal window. This ensures that the customer never has the need to leave your website during the transaction process. Once you have completed our four simple steps above to create and add a donation button to your WordPress website your customers should now be able to simply click on your donation button, make a payment that will land in your PayPal account which you can put towards the cause that you are collecting donations for.

Step 1) The Customer Lands on Your Website and Notices That You are Collecting Donations

Step 2) The Customer Donates to Your Cause

The customer reads the description about your cause and believes it is worthy of their donation. They click on the payment button (Donate Today) and the PayPal Popup window appears. The minimum amount in this example is $10.00 USD. The customer can override this with any amount higher than the minimum if they wish. This customer decides to donate the minimum amount stated and so they click the ‘Pay with PayPal‘ button to continue.

Step 3) The Customer Checks Out With PayPal

The customer chooses to use their PayPal balance to make the $10.00 USD donation to your cause. They click the ‘Pay‘ button to complete the transaction.

Step 4) The Transaction is Successful. The Customer is Directed to Your Thank You Page.

The customer sees the thank you page and feels good about donating to the cause on your website. The money will soon reach your PayPal merchant account (if it hasn’t already!).

How Can I View Donations on My WordPress Website?

Once a customer has completed a successful transaction on your website of a donation-style product you have created, the money will be sent to your PayPal account (to the account that you entered the PayPal credentials for in the settings menu). You can also view the transactions that have been processed through the WP Express Checkout Plugin by clicking on ‘WP Express Checkout‘ and then on ‘Orders‘. You will see the donation transaction details there. If the customer will receive a gift for making a donation, you can obtain their shipping details by clicking on their transaction as long as you have set up your product as a physical product (marked this checkbox on the product creation page).

Adding Multiple Donation Buttons to a Page

If you have multiple donation options on your website, you can simply create a different product for each option. Each product has its own unique shortcode ID which then allows you to add multiple product shortcodes to a single page. In the following example, three different shortcodes have been added to a page where each product has a different minimum donation amount of $10.00 USD, $20.00 USD, and $30.00 USD. This makes sure there is a donation amount suitable for a range of different customer’s budgets.

The post Accept Donations via PayPal from Your WordPress Site Easily appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

Want some Subscription button or Add to Cart button images? Then check the following also:

• Subscription Button Images
• Add to Cart Button Images

Once you select a ‘Buy Now’ button from below that you wish to use on your website, simply right-click and save the image to your computer. You will then be able to upload the image to your own website and use it as the ‘Buy Now’ button for your products/services.

Buy Now Button Images for Product Landing Pages

Below are a number of basic Buy-Now button images that are suitable for a range of eCommerce websites.

Order Here Button Images for Shopping Cart or Product Landing Page

In the table beneath, there are multiple ‘Order Here’ buttons for websites where a customer will be ordering an item rather than purchasing it on the spot.

Shop Now/Pay Now Button Images for Shopping Cart or Product Landing Pages

In this section, you can find many ‘Shop Now’ or ‘Pay Now’ buttons that you can use as the payment button on your website’s shop page or for the shopping cart.

Add to Cart Images for Shopping Cart or Product Landing Page

If your website is designed so that the product is added to a cart, you may like to choose one of the better suited ‘Add to Cart’ or ‘Add to Basket’ button graphics from below.

If you are selling products or services from your WordPress site and you are yet to install an e-commerce plugin, then one of our following free plugins may be suitable for you:

• WP Express Checkout
• Stripe Payments Plugin
• Simple PayPal Shopping Cart

The post Buy Now Button Graphics for eCommerce Websites appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

Want some Buy Now button or Add to Cart button images for your site? Then check the following resources also:

• Buy Now Button Images
• Add to Cart Button Images

Below you will find some basic Subscribe buttons as well as subscription buttons suitable for memberships and Youtube/Video channels.

Simply right-click and save the subscription button image of your choice to your computer. Later you can upload it to your own website.

Subscribe Buttons for eCommerce Website:

Below you can find a number of different Subscribe buttons that you could use on your website as the Call-to-action button for your free or paid subscriptions. They range in size and color to suit different website styles.

Join Now/Membership Subscribe Now Buttons for eCommerce Website:

A collection of subscription buttons that are suitable for a join us page, or a membership style product. They range in size and color to suit different membership websites.

Youtube Subscribe Now Buttons for eCommerce Website:

In the table below are a number of different buttons you can copy and use on your website where you are selling digital-based content subscriptions. Some of these are ideal for Youtube subscriptions while others work just fine for video subscription services you may offer.

If you are selling products or services from your WordPress site and you are yet to install an e-commerce plugin, then one of our following free plugins may be suitable for you:

• WP Express Checkout
• Stripe Payments Plugin
• Simple PayPal Shopping Cart

The post Subscription Button Graphics for eCommerce Websites appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

In this tutorial, we will look at how you can set up a product, create a PayPal Buy Now button, and add it to your website’s sidebar easily using the WP Express Checkout Plugin.

What is the WP Express Checkout Plugin?

The WP Express Checkout Plugin, developed by Tips and Tricks HQ is a free software solution that can be used on a WordPress website to sell goods and services where all transactions are processed with the well-known and trusted payment gateway; PayPal. Using this plugin to create your payment buttons for your website’s sidebar will ensure your customers have the trust to submit their sensitive payment details (PayPal is well known and trusted) as well as provides them with a simple and straightforward transaction process. The way this plugin works is with a payment popup window rather than a checkout page which means that the customer will remain on your website. Your customers can continue to read your content after their transaction is complete which is important if you rely on money from ads.

In this tutorial, we will look at how this plugin can be used to create a product and add a purchase button on the sidebar of your WordPress website. This is a simple plugin that even those without developer knowledge will be able to set up and use to start selling goods or services from their website, particularly in this tutorial, their website sidebar.

The WP Express Checkout Plugin allows you to:

Create ‘Buy Now’ purchase buttons for goods/services both digital and physical
Copy product shortcodes and display them anywhere on your WordPress website, including the sidebar
Collect money for donations with a simple payment button
Receive emails after successful transactions take place
View transaction details to ship out physical items to the purchaser’s address

Why Should I Try and Sell Products/Services from my Website Sidebar?

Before recent times, many websites purely existed to provide users with information or to sell simple products. Now with advances in web development, the opportunity for bloggers to add eCommerce solutions to their websites and for eCommerce websites to add a blog became a possibility. While dedicated product pages work well when you have a number of items for sale, when you are selling a handful of simple items, sometimes advertising them from the sidebar of your website can be more effective and lead to greater conversion. If someone lands on your website purely to read your content, they may not even realize that you’ve created a product page, so adding even your best selling product to your sidebar can catch a readers attention and may even see you gaining a sale of an item that they didn’t even know they needed!
In other cases, you may run a charitable website and rely on donations from your followers. Adding a donation button on your sidebar is often a much simpler way to collect money from your readers without them even having the need to leave the page they are on.

• Selling from your website’s sidebar provides your customers with a seamless and simple shopping experience
• Selling from a blog sidebar allows you to directly promote products that relate to the written information that the reader may have originally landed on the page for
• Your website’s sidebar can be static meaning that no matter which page the reader lands on, they will always see your product purchase button
• Allows customers to easily locate a popular product you have for sale on your website

How Can I Add a PayPal Button to my WordPress Sidebar to Sell Products or Services?

Video Tutorial: Creating a PayPal Purchase Button and Selling from my Website Sidebar

Written Tutorial: Creating a PayPal Purchase Button and Selling from my Website Sidebar

To Complete This Tutorial You Will Need:
– A PayPal Business Account
– A WordPress Website
– A WordPress Theme that Allows for a Sidebar
– The Free WP Express Checkout Plugin

While there is a number of steps to get set up to sell from your WordPress website’s sidebar, let me tell you, if you follow along it is simple and easy, and the best part is, the software we will be using is free (you’ll only be charged the low transaction fee for each sale set out by PayPal) and does not require developer knowledge to setup.

Once you follow along and complete this TTHQ tutorial, you’ll have a sidebar that looks somewhat similar to our example below. The call to action buttons below are ‘Buy Now’ buttons, but for your website, you may be collecting donations so your buttons may be donation buttons or if you collect subscriptions, perhaps you’ve used the subscriptions addon to create subscription-style buttons.

Complete our four easy steps below to turn your website’s sidebar into a potentially lucrative sales column.

Step 1) Install, Activate and Set Up the WP Express Checkout Plugin

In the case of this tutorial, we will be using the free WP Express Checkout Plugin to create our product purchase buttons which we will add to our website’s sidebar. This is a WordPress plugin, so ensure you have your WordPress website ready to go.

1. Install and activate the WP Express Checkout Plugin on your WordPress website.
2. Complete the simple settings configuration of the plugin (you’ll need access to your PayPal account for this step).

Before you move on you’ll also need to ensure you are using a WordPress theme that allows for a sidebar. Some of the simpler themes do not come with a sidebar as standard and without developer knowledge it may be tricky for you to include one. Free WordPress themes such as ‘Twenty Sixteen‘ (which I will be using in this tutorial) come with website sidebar functionality.

Step 2) Create Your Physical or Digital Product

You can create both physical and digital products using the WP Express Checkout Plugin. To create your product that you will then add to your website’s sidebar complete the following:

1. Click on the ‘Add New Product‘ menu underneath ‘WP Express Checkout‘.
2. Add a title, description, price, and thumbnail image for your product. It is here that you will also add the download URL for a digital product. You can read further information on creating your product here.
3. Ensure you ‘Publish‘ out your product. Once the product is published, in the top right-hand corner of the add new product page, you will notice a shortcode. This shortcode is how we will add our product to our sidebar widget. Copy the shortcode (ensure you copy it accurately).
4. Now that you have your shortcode copied, perhaps you’d like to paste it into a notepad so that you do not lose it when moving onto the next step. If you do loose your product shortcode, no need to stress as you can copy it again from the ‘Products‘ menu found underneath ‘WP Express Checkout‘. Each product you create will have a unique product ID in the shortcode, this means that you can create multiple products to add to your website’s sidebar if you like.

If you wish to add a donation button instead that you will use to collect money from your customers/readers you can also achieve this with the free WP Express Checkout Plugin. Simply follow this documentation to create your donation-style product. Then continue with ‘Step 3)‘ below to add it to your website’s sidebar.

Step 3) Add Your Product Shortcode to a Sidebar Widget

Now that you have created your product, whether that be a physical or digital product, it is time to add it to the sidebar widget of your website. As I mentioned earlier, to be able to do this step, you’ll need to ensure your theme allows for a website sidebar.

You will have copied your shortcode, simply add the parameter: template “1” into the shortcode so that instead of it just displaying your purchase button, it also displays a nice product box with your product title, description and thumbnail image. You shortcode should look similar to the following example shortcode:

[wp_express_checkout product_id="PRODUCTID" template="1"]

If you do wish to just simply have a purchase button and you intend on typing up different details in your sidebar widget, feel free to leave out the template parameter.

Once you have your shortcode copied that looks like that complete the following:

1. Click on the ‘Appearance‘ menu in your WordPress dashboard and then click on ‘Widgets‘.
2. Drag the ‘Custom HTML‘ widget option beneath your ‘Sidebar‘ section.
3. Now in the ‘Content‘ section paste in your product’s shortcode followed by clicking the ‘Save‘ button to implement the changes on the front end of your website.
4. Your product details and purchase button should now be visible on the front end of your website within the ‘sidebar area‘. Depending on your website, the sidebar could be on the left or right-hand side.

Step 4) View Your Website’s Sidebar and Complete a Test Transaction

If you go to your website homepage, you should now see your product, or in my case products that you have created with their corresponding purchase buttons. If a customer was to land on your website and click on your ‘Buy Now’ style payment buttons, they would see a payment popup window where they can then choose to use their PayPal account or debit/credit card to make a payment to complete a successful transaction. You can test this process as if you were a customer yourself by using a PayPal sandbox account. You can find out more information on using PayPal sandbox to complete testing on your website here.

In the example below, I have created a simple physical product that has one variation (color). I have allowed the customers to specify quantity also. It took me no longer than 5 minutes to create this product from start to finish with the WP Express Checkout Plugin.

Once a customer checks out successfully on your website, you will receive the funds into your nominated PayPal account that you set up using your credentials in the WP Express Checkout Settings menu. To view the orders on your website and locate your customer’s shipping information click on the ‘Orders‘ menu under ‘WP Express Checkout‘ in your WordPress dashboard. Click on the order you wish to view more information about and it is here you will see the customer’s shipping details (if you are selling physical products).

Customizing the Look and Feel of Your Website’s Sidebar

While the theme does have a part to play in the overall feel of a website’s sidebar, there are a number of changes you can make to alter the appearance so that it flows better with the rest of your website. In terms of changes you can make to the payment boxes you can:

Give your payment button a custom text, by default it will read ‘Buy Now‘ but you can change this on a per-product basis from the product creation page. Simply write the text that you would like your button to read in the ‘Popup/Modal Trigger Button Text‘ field.
You can also alter the type of PayPal button display in the popup window. Simply select the button of your choosing from the ‘Button Type‘ drop-down menu on the product creation page.

You can also choose to show the checkout form on your sidebar rather than this in a PayPal pop-up window. This works well if you do not have a lot of variations, while if you do have many variations showing it in a popup window will work better otherwise the sidebar will be filled with product variations. You can achieve variations on the sidebar by unchecking the ‘Show in Popup/Modal Window‘ option in the WP Express Checkout ‘Settings‘ menu. From within the settings menu of the plugin, you also have the option to change the color and look of the PayPal payment buttons.

For further customization of your website’s sidebar, you will need to have some developer knowledge to delve into CSS or potentially hire a developer to achieve the customization for you.

The post Adding PayPal Payment Buttons to Your WordPress Sidebar Easily appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

A PayPal QR is a printable code that customers can use to directly send money to a business. This is a ‘touch-free payment option that is becoming increasingly popular in today’s society where social distancing is important. PayPal QR codes can be displayed on technology such as websites or iPads but can also be printed and displayed on signage and business cards. It is a simple, cost-effective (low merchant fees are currently associated with PayPal QR codes) and quick way for customers to pay for goods and services via their PayPal app. A QR code works in a similar way that a barcode works, it can be thought of as a picture.

QR stands for Quick Response which is exactly what these codes allow your customers to do, respond quickly to make a payment for goods or services that you may be offering.

Video Tutorial: How Do I Create a QR Code for my Business?

Written Tutorial: How Do I Create a QR Code for my Business?

If you have a business, whether it is an online business or a physical business you may wish to create a QR code that your customer’s can scan and pay you directly into your PayPal account.

Businesses can receive their unique QR codes from their PayPal account or from the PayPal application. To generate your business QR code, complete the following:

1. Log in to your PayPal business account.
2. Click the QR code button which may be in your PayPal ‘Quick Links’ section, alternatively click here to be taken to the QR code download page.
3. Click the ‘Get Your QR Code’ button.
4. Now click the ‘Download Your QR Code’ button.
5. Your QR Code will then download to your computer and you can find it in the Downloads folder.
6. You may like to print your QR code to be displayed in your business or alternatively display it on your website.

What will my PayPal QR Code Look Like?

Each QR code is slightly different. The PayPal application is able to read the QR code which then lets the application know who you wish to send money to. The photo below shows an example QR code so that new users can get a grasp of what a QR code may look like if they are new to this concept.

How Much will it Cost my Business to Set Up a PayPal QR Code?

Setting up a PayPal business QR code is entirely free. Like all PayPal transactions, there is a fee for processing funds which in this case is charged to the seller who runs the business account. This fee is currently much lower than online transactions as the QR PayPal system is new to PayPal (2021). If you are a US business and your customer is based in the US, you can expect the following to be deducted from the total amount the seller receives:

• Transactions above $10.01 USD- 1.9% + 0.10 USD
• Transactions below $10.00 USD- 2.4% + 0.10 USD

The low rates associated with QR codes are due to change to the basic online transaction fees in 2022 once more businesses have opted in to offering this new face of digital payments.

For every buyer and seller transaction, the fee will differ depending on if the parties are both in the same country and whether the same currencies are being transacted. The purchaser does not pay the fee, the fee is deducted and apparent once the money reaches the seller’s PayPal account.

How Can my Customer’s Pay Using a QR Code?

You will need to have a PayPal business account to be able to create a QR code that your customers can use to send money directly to you. Once you create a QR code, whether you display it digitally or physically, your customers will be able to open their PayPal application on their smartphone, scan the code, enter the amount they wish to send, and proceed with the payment. The QR code that you generate for your account does not have an expiry meaning that your customers can indefinitely pay you using this code each time they access your goods or services.

What Will my Customers Need to Pay With the QR Code?

For your customers to be able to pay you with your PayPal QR code they will need a smartphone, a PayPal account, and the latest version of the PayPal application on their phone.

What is the Downside to Using PayPal QR Codes?

While there is no significant downside to allowing customers to pay with PayPal QR codes, merchants need to understand the fee associated with it like any PayPal transaction. Furthermore, the QR code simply links the purchaser to the seller. It does not stipulate how much the purchaser needs to transfer. The purchaser must enter this manually. This is why it is important for the seller to view the “Successful Payment” page to ensure that the payment has gone through prior to passing on any goods or services. Both the buyer and the seller will also receive a notification if the transaction has successfully gone through.

Many businesses during 2021 will begin to offer QR Codes as a simpler way to process payments.

The post PayPal QR Codes appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

When a buyer uses the ‘Goods and Services‘ option to send money to a seller, the fee will be incurred at the seller’s end. The seller is forced to ‘eat’ the fee. This is why it is important for established businesses to factor this into their pricing structure. If you are purchasing from an individual seller, perhaps you are buying a second-hand dress on the Facebook marketplace, you as the buyer need to consider how much the seller is asking and consider if you need to add an additional amount to cover the ‘Goods and Services’ fee. If a marketplace seller is asking for $20.00 for a second-hand dress and you use the ‘Goods and Services’ PayPal option, unfortunately, the sell will receive less than the $20.00 purchase price as PayPal will minus the fee meaning they will get short-changed. It is important if you are purchasing from a marketplace that you calculate the fee and add that to the amount you are sending to ensure the seller receives the total amount they are asking for.

In this article, we will take a look at how you can calculate the PayPal goods and services fee the seller will incur depending on your geographic location.

What is PayPal Goods and Services?

If you are new to PayPal, perhaps this is the first time you are purchasing from a marketplace you may not have used or even heard of the PayPal ‘Goods and Services’ option. The ‘Goods and Services’ option is one of two options that PayPal offers when sending money from your account. The other option available is ‘Friends and Family. It is important to understand the difference between the two options which will allow you to select the right option depending on who you wish to send money to.

As it sounds, the ‘Friends and Family’ option really should only be used when sending money to someone you know, your friends or family. This option does not come with PayPal buyer protection. When sending money via ‘Friends and Family’ it should be as a gift, without expecting anything in return.

If you are purchasing goods or services from an unknown seller, or anyone, as a matter of fact, it is always important to send the money using the ‘Goods and Services’ option. This option charges the seller a small percentage although comes with valuable buyer protection. This means that as a buyer, if the seller does not produce what they have promised, you have a chance of having your money returned.

If an online merchant asks you to use the ‘Friends and Family’ option this is a warning sign. Sometimes untrustworthy online sellers may ask purchasers to use this option so that it is harder for them to gain their funds back as the PayPal Buyer Protection is non-existent once this option is used. Be mindful that if you are purchasing goods and services, choose the ‘Goods and Services’ option which may or may not be autoselected.

What are the Terms and Conditions When Using the PayPal Goods and Services Option?

While the ‘Goods and Services’ option does come with the PayPal Buyer’s Protection, there are a number of terms and conditions that touch on how compensation can be achieved if the item or service is different than what was described at the time of purchase.

To ensure you get the most out of the PayPal Buyer Protection when using the ‘Goods and Services’ option, ensure you:

• File a dispute within your PayPal account within 180 days of making the purchase if it differs from what you expected
• Keep in mind that only purchases up to $20,000 per item are protected entirely
• Only dispute legitimate misconduct
• Are knowledgeable about what items are not included under the buyer’s protection
• Send the item back to the seller if asked to do so by PayPal

There are two types of areas that the PayPal Buyers Protection can apply to. These are:

• When you as a purchaser did not receive the item at all from the seller

or

• You received the item as a purchaser but the item was different from what you ordered

What Items and Transactions are Not Covered with Pay Buyer’s Protection

There is a list of items and transactions that PayPal’s Buyers Protection does not cover. These are clearly outlined in their terms and conditions page and if you have any doubts on whether an item or service you wish to purchase online is covered or not you should do your due diligence to ensure it is not on the ineligible list prior to transacting money with your PayPal account. The list below covers many of items/transactions that are not covered by PayPal Buyer’s Protection:

• Real estate
• Investments
• Vehicles
• Machinery (industrial)
• Gift Cards
• Gold exchange
• Services/products of the gambling nature
• Donations
• Items collected in person (some exclusions)
• Items intended for resale

Video Tutorial: Considering the PayPal Fee When Sending Money via the Goods and Services Option

How Much Does PayPal Charge When Sending Money via Goods and Services?

As a buyer, you do not usually need to worry about the amount that PayPal will charge a business when you purchase an item online. This somewhat differs when you are a buyer purchasing from a marketplace seller. If a marketplace seller is asking for $10.00, they are expecting to be sent that full amount, not $10.00 less the PayPal ‘Goods and Services’ fee. This is why in this section we will delve deeper into how much PayPal actually charges when you select to send money for ‘Goods and Services’ from your personal PayPal account.

If you send money within your own country and you use the ‘Friends and Family’ option, no PayPal charge is incurred as long as you are using a bank account from within your country and no currency conversion is involved. While this sounds great, if you choose to use this option you do not have the safety net of your money meaning that PayPal will not refund your money if the seller never delivers what is expected.

When speaking about the ‘Goods and Services’ fee charged to those on the receiving end, it differs from country to country. In Australia, this fee is 2.6% + 30 cents (AUD) as long as it is Australian dollars being sent within Australia. In the United States, if the buyer selects to send money via the ‘Goods and Services’ platform, the seller will incur a fee of 2.9% and 30 cents (USD) as long as it is United States Dollars being sent within the United States. The fees incurred to use the ‘Goods and Services’ options change depending on which country you reside in and whether you are sending to a domestic or international seller. For this reason, you should consult the PayPal Fees page to learn more about the exact fee connected to your transaction.

If you intend on sending money via PayPal to a marketplace seller who will ship the item to you, although you wish to send enough money to cover what the seller is asking for along with the PayPal fee start by including the fixed fee amount. You will also need to consider that depending on the country you reside in, a 2-3% fee is also deducted from the total amount. Adding 3% on top of the amount the seller is asking for plus the fixed fee will ensure you do not cut the seller short.

Note that the percentage fee is calculated on the total amount.

How Can I Send Money with PayPal for Goods and Services?

If you are a new PayPal user you may be wondering how you can use your account to send money for ‘Goods and Services’. Perhaps you haven’t even created a free personal PayPal account, so you’ll need to run through setting up that first. Once you have completed the general PayPal settings, sending money for items or services is simple:

1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click on the menu option: ‘Pay & get paid‘.
3. Click on ‘Send Money‘.
4. Enter the PayPal email address of the seller, or their phone number.
5. Enter the amount you wish to send (include the fee if you wish to pay for the fee on your end) and choose the currency you wish to send the money in.
6. You can add a note if you wish to followed by clicking ‘Continue‘.
7. Ensure you select the ‘Paying for an item or service‘ option. Click the ‘Change‘ button if ‘Sending to a friend‘ has been automatically selected.
8. Click ‘Send Money Now‘.

Buyers Protection for Goods and Services Does Not Cover Goods that You Pick Up in Person. Ensure Marketplace Purchases are Sent via Registered Post.

The post Factoring In PayPal Fees When Sending Money Using the Goods and Services Option appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

‘Pay in 4’ allows the customer to pay off an item interest-free, while the merchant still receives the total cost of the item or service upfront. It’s a win, win payment solution!

In this article, we will delve deeper into what ‘Pay in 4’ is, why it may benefit your eCommerce business, how the consumer completes a buy now pay later transaction and we will see how it adds up against other leading BNPL platforms.

Pay in 4 –
The Simple Way to Purchase What You Want When You Want, Followed By Making Four Equal Payments Over 6 Weeks.

What is a ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ Transaction?

PayPal is not the first platform to offer customers the option to ‘Buy Now and Pay Later’ and they are more than likely not going to be the last. Pay later providers supply their customers an interest-free solution to pay off the total for goods or services over a set period of time. When speaking about PayPal’s ‘Pay in 4’, as the name suggests, customers will need to make four payments to conclude the amount owing. These are four equal payments although the benefit of ‘Pay in 4’ is you can pay off the total amount sooner if you have the finances available.

Buy Now Pay Later solutions are seeing many faze out their credit cards. The ability to pay off an item is attractive for many consumers who wish to purchase an item and pay it off as they receive their next paychecks. Spreading the cost of an item over four payments often reduces the stress for consumers during expensive periods of the year such as Christmas. Pay later checkouts allow the consumer to spread the cost of an item over a number of weeks. While an item selling for $1000 may seem out of someone’s budget, when this item is broken down into payments of $250, it appears less expensive and achievable.

Who Should Use a BNPL Platform?

ECommerce websites that stock many low ticketed items may have no trouble moving stock. For those online stores selling items with hefty price tags, many customers now have an expectation to pay off an item using one of the many BNPL platforms. In fact, even so, some customers rely so heavily on being able to buy now and pay later, that they will abandon their cart if the option to pay later is not provided to them.

Unlike the old fashion in-store laybys, once you make the first of the four payments with a ‘BNPL’ transaction, the goods will be shipped to you, or alternatively, you will be able to access the service. While spending money you don’t have may seem great at the point of sale, it is important to consider whether you will have your paycheck prior to needing to pay the next installment as many of the pay later services charge hefty fees for late-payments which is how they often make a profit.

Terms and Conditions of PayPal’s ‘Pay in 4’

Like all ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ style services, they all sound great, to begin with, but are you wondering what the catch is?

If you are the website merchant, it appears that ‘Pay in 4’ will only benefit your business. Unlike ‘Afterpay’ who charges the merchant a fee for offering the option to customers on their website, PayPal handles their pay later platform differently. This means that PayPal charges the merchant no additional fees to offer ‘Pay in 4’.

‘Pay in 4’ is a new option offered by the payment giant PayPal so there is no surprise it is currently limited to those located within the United States, even more specifically unfortunately at the present those within Georgia, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, and Wisconsin are unable to use the pay later option.

Who Can Use ‘Pay in 4’?

To use Pay in 4 you must:

• Live within an eligible state within the United States
• Be at least 18 years of age or older
• Be a PayPal account holder
• Agree to have a ‘Soft Credit Check Completed’
• Complete a transaction valued between $30.00 and $600.00 USD

There are some exclusions such as certain goods and services that ‘Pay in 4’ will not work for. While the majority of those with a PayPal account will be approved, for certain reasons, such as bad finance history may mean you are knocked back from using ‘Pay in 4’ by PayPal. PayPal will send you an email explaining why you have been knocked back if that is the case.

While there are no upfront fees for using PayPal’s ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ option, you need to be timely with payments otherwise you run the risk of a late fee.

How Many Payments are Involved in ‘Pay in 4’

As the name suggests, there are four payments you will need to make when signing up to use PayPal’s ‘Pay in 4’. The total cost of the goods/services you are wanting to purchase is split into four even payments. The first of the payments you will make then and there after being approved to use this PayPal service. The next payment is then due 15 days later followed by another in 15 days and then the last payment due 15 days later. While the service is currently only available for those in the US, the good news is, any currency currently accepted by PayPal can be used to make the payments. Please note, currency will be converted to USD at the time of the transaction, and conversion fees will be applied.

How Do I Make a ‘Pay in 4’ Payment from my PayPal Account?

‘Pay in 4’ payments are automatically deducted from the credit or debit card that you have stated upon signing up to use this ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ style of payment. This is great for those who may forget when a payment is due as all the hard work is completed. All that needs to be done is to ensure you have the funds ready to be transacted from your account. You can keep track of your ‘Pay in 4’ payments from within your PayPal dashboard. From within the ‘Pay in 4’ menu you will see your plan/s and then upon clicking on the plan in question you will be presented with the amount still owing on that plan. You also have the following options that often are unavailable when using other ‘BNPL’ schemes:

• The ability to make an additional unscheduled payment so that the plan can be concluded sooner
• Pay off the entirety of the plan at any point in time if you have the finances available

Benefits of ‘Pay in 4’ By PayPal

Like any ‘BNPL’ service, it allows a consumer to purchase an item that they potentially only have a quarter of the purchase price currently sitting in their bank account. This means that a customer is more likely to purchase an item rather than attempting to save in advance. For many websites, this leads to an increase in sales and the ability to sell to new customers who prefer to pay off an item over time.

While the customer will pay the entirety of an item off over four payments, the merchant will be paid the total of the item upfront without incurring any additional fees to offer this service unlike the hefty fees charged to merchants from other big brand ‘Pay Later’ services. The only fees associated with using this service are the basic PayPal transaction fees that you would pay with any regular sale made using the PayPal Payment Gateway.

• Gives your customers a range of different ways to make a payment
• Reduces the amount of abandoned carts

‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Comparison

PayPal was not the first company to introduce the option for their customer’s to buy an item now, and pay for it later, nor will they be the last company. As the consumer demand for a ‘Pay Later’ style transaction increases, so do the amount of companies offering this way of purchasing an item. Some of the other well-known companies offering customers the option to ‘Pay Later’ include although are not limited to:

• ‘Pay in 4’ by PayPal
• Zip Pay
• Afterpay
• LayBuy
• Latitude Pay

Of these providers, you may be wondering which will work out best for you as a merchant, or alternatively which will work out best as a customer. In the table below, let’s take a look at these 5 companies and the different fees and services that they offer.

Buy Now Pay Later Comparison Table

	Pay in 4	Zip Pay	Afterpay	Laybuy	Latitude Pay
Interest Free?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Any Upfront Fees for Customer?	No	No	No	No	No
Late Fees	Differs from state to state.	$6.00 If account is not paid on time.	$10.00 if account is not paid on time.	$10.00 if account is not paid on time.	Between $10.00 and $50.00 if account not paid on time.
When are Payments Due?	Fortnightly	Weekly, Fortnightly or Monthly (Up to account holder)	Fortnightly	Weekly	Weekly
Do merchants incur a fee for offering this BNPL Service?	No, Pay in 4 is free to offer to your customers and will be automatically available to those in eligible states.	Merchants pay a percentage per transaction.	A fixed fee per transaction (30c) and an additional commission of the sale ranging from 3 cents to 7 cents.	Percentage fee of the purchase price is taken.	Fees apply to purchases greater than $250.00

How Can I Offer ‘Pay in 4’ from my Website?

If you run an eCommerce website and would like to offer your customers the ability to pay the total cost of an item off over time, ‘Pay in 4’ by PayPal involves a simple and easy setup. In fact, if you offer PayPal and you are located in the US, eligible customers will see the option to pay in 4 from the payment popup automatically.

Using TTHQ’s very own WP Express Checkout, you can offer ‘Pay in 4’ to customers from your WordPress website. Allowing your customers to buy and item and pay it off in four equal payments can result in a decrease in abandoned checkouts. The payment process of the WP Express Checkout will still be simple and easy, but when you are located in an eligible US state, selling to a customer who is also eligible for PayPal ‘Pay in 4’ the additional option to buy now, pay later will be displayed.

Video Tutorial: Using WP Express Checkout to Offer PayPal ‘Pay in 4’ Buy Now Pay Later Option

Written Tutorial: Using WP Express Checkout to Offer PayPal ‘Pay in 4’ Buy Now Pay Later Option

If you wish to offer your customers the ability to pay in four installments, complete the steps outline below.

Please read the T&C’s of ‘Pay in 4’ to ensure you are eligible. The option will only be displayed when a merchant and customer are eligible for this payment type.

Merchant Set Up:

Step 1)
Install and activate the WP Express Checkout Plugin on your WordPress website.

Step 2)
Complete the basic setup required to use this plugin and create your first product.

Since you now have a product available on your website, a customer will be able to purchase the item/service buy clicking the payment button. They can then fill out their details in the PayPal popup window. It is in this popup window that those who are within eligible states will see the option to pay in four installments.

Customer Completing a ‘Pay in 4’ Transaction:

Step 1)

As a customer you have landed on a product page where you click the payment button (‘Buy Now’) to purchase an item.

Step 2)

You are displayed the PayPal popup window because the merchant is using the ‘WP Express Checkout’ plugin to handle transactions on their website. You scroll down and see the option to pay in four installments.

Step 3)

You continue to choose to pay in 4 installments as this will be an easier payment method for your circumstances.

Step 4)

You review how the payments will work and decide to continue.

Step 5)

You agree and apply to be able to use ‘Pay in 4’.

Step 6)

You select a bank card where the four installments will be transacted from.

Step 7)

The transaction was successful. The first payment has been taken from your account and you will receive your item/service. You will have three more installments automatically deducted from your chosen bank card.

The post PayPal’s Pay in 4 Feature appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

Alternatively, you can also create a WordPress admin user via MySQL.

You will need to have FTP access to your site so you can access and edit the theme files.

Step 1) Log in via FTP

Log into your site via FTP and browse to your theme’s folder. It should be in the following location:

wp-content/themes/

You can use a free software like FileZilla to log into your site using FTP.

Step 2) Add the PHP Code

Copy and paste the following PHP code in your theme’s functions.php file. Change the value of the username, password and email fields.

function create_new_admin_user_account() {
    $username = 'new_admin';
    $password = 'New_Password!123';
    $email = 'email@domain.com';

    //Check to see if an account exists with the given username and email address value.
    if ( !username_exists($username) && !email_exists($email) ) {
        //All clear. Go ahead.

        //Create WP User entry
        $user_id = wp_create_user($username, $password, $email);

        //WP User object
        $wp_user = new WP_User($user_id);

        //Set the role of this user to administrator.
        $wp_user->set_role('administrator');
    }
}
//Run the function with WordPress's "init" hook is triggered.
add_action('init', 'create_new_admin_user_account');

Step 3) Execute the Code

Access your site’s homepage to execute this code.

You can now log in using this newly created user.

Delete the code from the theme’s functions.php file after the task is done.

The post Add a WordPress Admin User Account via PHP appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.

What is 2FA?

Two Factor Authentication (2FA) in simpler terms is adding an additional layer of security to a login to prevent hackers from gaining access to sensitive information. Think of 2FA as adding a virtual security door to your platform (website, bank account, member login). 2FA is often an option that can be enabled on a website where you are storing sensitive information. For example, many banks offer 2FA to their customers for their online portals. PayPal, a global name in online payments allows their customers to enable the 2FA feature of their account to add an additional layer of security.

2FA comes in many different forms with it often involving the use of a secondary device such as a mobile phone where a code can be sent to the ‘real’ account holder. The account holder can then enter this code after their correct login details to gain access. It often makes sense to use a mobile phone or email account as the second authentication step as only the account holder should have access to these.

Two-factor authentication requires you to provide two pieces of information to prove you are the ‘real’ owner of the account. There are three types of authentication including something you know, something you have and something you are. When speaking about online 2FA, generally something you know (login name and password) along with something you have (such as a code sent to a mobile phone number) are used.

To read up on more information about two-factor authentication please see our related article here.

Why Should I Enable 2FA for PayPal?

We will get to the ‘How to Enable 2FA for PayPal‘ in just the next section but before that, it is important to understand ‘Why’ 2FA may be important for your PayPal account. Accounts, where you store sensitive information such as your personal address and bank details, should have multiple layers of security. 2FA allows you to achieve a multi-layer security system that should stop any potential hackers in their attempt to gain access. Without the device or details to a secondary account, hackers will not be able to proceed to log in, and therefore cannot acquire your sensitive information. Within your PayPal account, you may have added your bank cards and your current address, date of birth, or even your occupation. These are sensitive pieces of information. These sensitive pieces of information hackers can use to siphon money from your bank account. Not only will 2FA prevent potential hacks into your account, but it will also act as an alert if there has been an attempt as you will receive a ‘code’ to your mobile or application each time a login is attempted. This gives account owners the opportunity to change their passwords to something of greater strength to safe guard the account.

While no amount of authentication steps can ensure 100% security of your account, a hacker is far less likely to try and crack the code on an account where 2FA is enabled compared to a single login account. If you are a merchant it is extra important to enable 2FA to ensure your company is protected from hackers trying to gain access to transaction details and more importantly funds that you may have stored in your account.

Is 2FA a Hassle When Logging in to PayPal?

When you enable 2FA for your PayPal account, it will mean you will need to enter an additional piece of information prior to logging in. While this may take you a moment longer, the benefits definitely outweigh the hassle. In fact, many systems such as internet banking are making 2FA logins mandatory.

If you have opted for the secondary authentication code to be sent to your mobile via SMS, you will need to make sure you have mobile phone service at the time of the login. If you have chosen to be sent the code via an application, you will need to have internet access which you would already be hooked up to for access to the PayPal account.

Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for my PayPal Account: Video Tutorial

Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for my PayPal Account: Written Tutorial

When you set up a PayPal account, 2FA is not automatically enabled. In this section, we will take a look at the simple steps in ensuring your PayPal account is protected by two layers of security when logging in.

PayPal offers two different ways of providing users with the second authentication code. You can choose to set it up so the code is sent to you via text message or via an authentication app. Some vouch using an application provides hackers with less ability to intercept the text message to receive the code while others believe being sent the code straight to their mobile in messages is simpler and easier to then input into the required PayPal authentication field. Whichever of the two methods you choose, both will add a second layer of security to your PayPal account.

Before you proceed to follow the steps below you will need to consider which way you wish to receive the 2FA code each time you login in to your PayPal account:

• Via Text Message (SMS)

or

• Via a Smartphone Application

Enabling 2FA for PayPal

1. First things, first. You will need to start by logging into your PayPal account. If you are yet to create an account, doing so is simple and free. We have some PayPal related videos here that will get you started.
2. Once you are in your PayPal account, click on the ‘Cog’ Settings icon. Then you will need to click on ‘Your Profile‘. This will take you to the profile settings page.
3. Click the ‘Update‘ button within the 2-step Verification section.
4. You will now see a number of options to choose from to better secure your PayPal account. You can choose between ‘Text me a code‘, ‘Use an authenticator app‘ or ‘Use a security key‘.
5. Once you have selected the way you would like to receive the code for the two-factor authentication, click ‘Set It Up‘.
6. If you are choosing to set it up so that you receive the code via SMS, you will need to add the appropriate phone number or follow the simple on-screen steps to link up an authenticator application.
7. Click ‘Next‘ and confirm you are the ‘real’ owner of the secondary authentication by providing the code sent to you by PayPal.
8. You can add back up devices at this stage if you wish to. Click ‘Done‘ to complete the setup. You can revisit the settings at any time to alter the changes you have made.

Logging Into PayPal with 2FA

If you have enabled two-factor authentication for your PayPal account (instructions on how to do so found in the above section), each time you log in, you will need to enter your normal credentials (username and password) along with a code sent to your mobile as an SMS or sent to your authentication application. It is important that once you receive the code you enter it promptly as it will only last ten minutes.

If you have opted to authenticate your login via text message the flow of events will look like the following:

1. Sign in to your PayPal account using your email address and password.
2. Press continue to be text messaged the unique code.
3. Open the text message you receive and enter the code into the appropriate field.
4. Click ‘Continue‘ if you were able to enter the code, or click the ‘resend‘ button if you are yet to receive the code.
5. If you have entered the code correctly, you will be logged into your PayPal dashboard. You will be able to go about your business as normal.

The post Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for a PayPal Account appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.