How to Accept Donations on WordPress: 5 Tested Steps
You can accept donations on a self-hosted WordPress site without buying a large fundraising system. A form plugin can collect an amount, connect to a payment processor and display a confirmation. But a successful form submission is not necessarily a successful payment, and a donation button is not a substitute for clear fees, accurate records and a tested checkout.
This five-step guide updates our original 2019 WPForms tutorial. Its screenshots show the old PayPal Standard integration, which WPForms now calls deprecated. Both Stripe and PayPal Commerce can now work with WPForms Lite, so the original instruction that you must first buy a payment add-on is no longer correct. The current instructions and fees below come from WPForms’s Stripe Lite guide and PayPal Commerce Lite guide.
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Which donation setup should you choose?
| Approach | When to consider it | Cost and limitation |
|---|---|---|
| WPForms Lite + Stripe | A straightforward one-time donation form with card payments | WPForms adds 3% per transaction to Stripe’s separate processing fees; payment-method availability varies by region |
| WPForms Lite + PayPal Commerce | PayPal payments, or a single recurring donation plan | WPForms adds 3% per transaction on top of PayPal’s processing fees; requires a PayPal Business account |
| WPForms Pro | You already need its more advanced form, payment or recurring-payment features | Paid licence; the vendor says Pro removes the additional 3% WPForms payment fee, but processor fees remain |
| GiveWP | A nonprofit needs dedicated fundraising campaigns and donor management | Check its current free-plan fees, payment gateways and paid features before committing |
Don’t confuse the additional WPForms 3% fee with Stripe’s or PayPal’s separate processing fees. For an organization collecting substantial donations, compare the total amount received after all fees, support and any annual licence. Our WordPress donation-plugin comparison covers specialist fundraising options.
Step 1: Prepare your donation page and payment account
Make sure the entire donation page uses HTTPS, choose your supported currency and open a properly verified account with the payment provider. Explain who receives the money, what the funds support and how donors can contact you about an error or refund. Do not label donations tax-deductible unless your organization and the specific donor’s jurisdiction actually qualify; obtain local professional advice where necessary.
Decide whether you need one-time gifts, a recurring plan, a campaign target or detailed donor reporting. WPForms Lite supports a single recurring PayPal Commerce plan, but a form offering a choice between one-time and recurring PayPal payments requires Pro according to the vendor’s current guide.
Step 2: Install WPForms and create a donation form
- Go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress dashboard, search for WPForms and install the official WPForms Lite plugin.
- Open WPForms → Add New. Choose an available donation or payment template, or start from a blank form if the template is not available on your plan.
- Add an amount using an appropriate payment item field; add name and email fields only where needed for receipts and administration. Show the currency clearly.
- Make any optional newsletter signup a separate, unticked choice. Donating is not consent to receive marketing.
The original article’s 2019 form-builder screenshots are historical examples rather than a reliable guide to the current interface. Use the vendor’s current instructions for the precise field names and current editor screens.
Step 3: Connect Stripe or PayPal Commerce
Option A: Stripe with WPForms Lite
Follow the WPForms Stripe Lite setup to connect your account in the plugin’s payment settings, add the relevant Stripe payment field to your donation form and enable the payment integration. The published documentation requires HTTPS and explains the extra 3% WPForms Lite fee. Check that the payment gateway’s country and currency support fit your organization.
Option B: PayPal Commerce with WPForms Lite
Connect a PayPal Business account in WPForms → Settings → Payments using the current PayPal Commerce connection instructions. The form needs a payment item field and a PayPal Commerce field; then enable PayPal Commerce in that form’s Payments settings. Configure its webhooks so completed, failed, refunded and canceled payment statuses can be reflected in the plugin. The current plugin typically configures webhooks when the account is connected, but verify the result.
Do not follow the old PayPal Standard screenshot. WPForms explicitly labels PayPal Standard deprecated and recommends Commerce instead. If you maintain a legacy Standard form, migrate and test rather than turning off the old integration before confirming the replacement works.
Step 4: Configure the confirmation and embed the form
Write a clear donation-page headline, explain the cause and show the form near the relevant information. Use the WPForms block in the block editor to select and embed the saved form, or use the embed method documented by your installed plugin version. Check the page on a phone, with keyboard navigation and a slow connection.
A thank-you message that appears after form submission should not imply that money arrived unless the processor confirms it. Configure payment-confirmation notifications using the integration’s completed-payment status and test how failed and pending payments are handled. Keep donor records and payment receipts consistent with actual gateway transactions; never assume an admin email by itself is proof of settlement.
Step 5: Test the entire donation journey before going live
- Enable the processor’s test or sandbox mode and make a successful test donation with a small sample amount.
- Confirm the payment appears with the correct status in both the payment provider and your WordPress payment records.
- Run a declined or canceled test and verify it does not create a misleading successful-payment receipt.
- Test a mobile donor journey, the thank-you page, notification emails and the refund/cancellation workflow.
- Turn test mode off, reconnect or verify the live account as required, and make a controlled real payment if appropriate; reconcile it against the provider’s dashboard.
Use the official Stripe or PayPal Commerce testing instructions. A sandbox payment does not prove your live account, webhooks, payment methods or settlement are configured correctly.
What if your organization needs a real fundraising platform?
A single WPForms donation form can suit a small project, tip jar or occasional campaign. A charity running multiple appeals may need donor histories, campaign reports, recurring-donor management, customized receipts and accounting integrations. Check the capabilities and fee structure of GiveWP or another specialist plugin against those actual needs rather than assuming a general contact form handles donor management.
Also consider the hosted WordPress.com setup separately: WordPress.com publishes a Donations Form block for eligible sites. That is not a built-in payment engine on every self-hosted WordPress.org installation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I accept donations with WPForms Lite?
Yes. The vendor’s current Lite guides document both Stripe and PayPal Commerce payment integrations. Each adds a 3% WPForms fee on top of the payment provider’s own charges, subject to current terms.
Do I need a paid PayPal add-on?
Not for basic PayPal Commerce payments in WPForms Lite. Pro adds features such as advanced recurring-payment choices and removes WPForms’s additional platform fee; the exact feature split may change, so check the current vendor documentation.
Is PayPal Standard still the recommended integration?
No. WPForms says its PayPal Standard add-on is deprecated and recommends PayPal Commerce. Existing forms should be migrated carefully and payment-tested.
Does a successful form submission prove the donation was paid?
No. Check confirmed transaction status from your payment provider and webhook integration. A visitor can abandon or fail payment after submitting initial form information.
Are donations through any WordPress site tax-deductible?
No automatic deduction follows from using WordPress or a donation plugin. Eligibility depends on the organization, payment and applicable tax rules; obtain jurisdiction-specific advice before making such a statement to donors.
Next step: start with WPForms Lite, follow the current Stripe or PayPal Commerce documentation and run a complete test before you invite real donors.
