How to Accept Recurring Payments in WordPress (Easy Method)

Do you want an easy way to set up WordPress recurring payments?

Recurring online payments help scale your sales or donations. You get predictable income without spending time chasing up payments.

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In this article, we’ll show you how to set up recurring payments in WordPress using fully customizable forms.

How to Accept Recurring Payments in WordPress

You can watch the video above for a walkthrough of how to use recurring payments in WPForms. If you prefer reading instructions, follow the steps below.

Step 1: Install the WPForms Plugin

As the best form builder for WordPress, WPForms allows you to create forms configured to accept recurring payments on all license levels.

This means you can use the free or any paid version of WPForms to connect it with Stripe and take recurring payments.

However, if you opt for the Pro or Elite license levels, you get more advanced options like conditional payment logic and lesser transaction fees.

Now that you know about differences in WPForms license levels in terms of payment settings, go ahead and choose a plan.

Then, install and activate the WPForms plugin. If you need help, see this step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Step 2: Get the Stripe Pro Addon

While this step is optional, we strongly recommend getting the Stripe Pro addon to access the full range of payment features for your forms.

The Stripe Pro addon is available for Pro and above users. To install this addon, open your WordPress dashboard and go to WPForms » Addons.

On the Addons page, scroll down to the Stripe Pro Addon or search for it using the search bar. Press the Install Addon button under Stripe Pro Addon.

Once we’ve installed the addon, we’ll need to connect our Stripe account in the main WPForms settings area. This is super easy, and you’ll only have to do it once as we show in the next step.

Step 3. Connect WPForms with Stripe

From the WordPress admin area, hover your cursor over WPForms in the sidebar and then click on Settings.

When the setting page opens, click on the Payments tab.

Now, scroll down to find the Stripe connection button. Click on Connect With Stripe to proceed.

You’ll now find yourself on the Stripe login page. If you already have a Stripe account, you can simply enter your login details to connect with Stripe.

You can also create a new Stripe account here if you’d like. Once you’re connected, return to the WPForms payments screen.

At this point, you should see your Stripe Connection Status turn green to confirm that you’re connected.

If you want, you can use test mode first to run a few test payments and ensure everything works. You can simply use the Test Mode checkbox to toggle in and out of it.

Step 4: Create Your Recurring Payment Form

In this step, we’ll create a donation form that takes a recurring monthly payment, along with other basic configurations.

The steps are basically the same for any kind of order, subscription, or donation form. First, go to WPForms » Add New to create a new form.

Type in a name for your form at the top. We’ll call our form Recurring Donation. Feel free to call your form anything you’d like.

Next, you can pick one of the 2,000+  templates included in WPForms Pro.

There are several donation templates to choose from, and you can use any of them to take recurring payments. For our example, we’ll use the regular Donation Form template.

This is what our donation form looks like before customizing any of the form fields.

You can drag fields over from the left-hand panel to add them to your form. And if you want to customize a field, just click on it and edit the settings.

WPForms doubles as a powerful WordPress Stripe plugin because it lets you accept multiple payment methods, including credit cards, Google Pay, and Apple Pay with Stripe.

Go ahead and tweak your form until it works the way you want. For help with this, check out our full tutorial on creating a nonprofit donation form in WordPress.

Step 5: Customize Your Payment Form Fields

Now it’s time to add the payment fields for recurring billing in WordPress. WPForms makes this super easy. You’ll need to have:

1. At least one ‘items’ field (Single Item, Multiple Items, or Dropdown Items)
2. A Stripe Credit Card field.

And that’s it.

On our donation form, we already have a Donation Amount field, which is a Single Item field. But it still needs a Stripe Credit Card field to accept credit card details from visitors.

So we’ll drag and drop the Stripe Credit Card field located under the Payment Fields section.

That’s all you need to do! Now your form has a credit card field for payments.

In the next step, you can use conditional logic in your Stripe payment settings to tell WPForms whether to process a one-time payment or a recurring payment depending on user selections.

Step 6: Configure Recurring Payments With Stripe

Now, let’s edit your form settings so that each entry creates a new subscription payment. In the form builder, click Payments to start.

Next, click Stripe to open up the payment settings for your form.

On the right-hand side, you’ll see the payment settings in the form builder. Let’s toggle on the option labeled Enable Stripe payments.

Next, let’s scroll down to Subscriptions and toggle on the option labeled Enable recurring subscription payments.

The settings underneath will apply to the recurring payments through Stripe:

• Plan Name: Type in a descriptive name that your customer will recognize.
• Recurring Period: Use the dropdown to choose how often people will be billed. You can choose a weekly, monthly, or yearly billing interval.
• Customer Email: Select the customer’s email address for the recurring payment notification emails.

All set? Click Save at the top.

Step 7: One-Time or Recurring Payments (Optional)

If you’re a Pro user with the Stripe Pro addon activated, you can give users the extra freedom to choose between one-time or recurring payments through the same form.

This is totally optional but allows you to attract all kinds of donors and customers because they can set their own payment preferences.

To do this, you’ll want to add a dropdown field to your form with 2 different choices: one-time or recurring.

Then go back to Payments » Stripe. Under the Subscriptions settings, toggle on the Enable Conditional Logic option.

Then set up the dropdowns to read, Process this payment as recurring if “Would you like to make a recurring donation?” is “Yes, I’ll donate monthly.”

Now the payments made through this form will only be charged monthly if the user selects that option from the dropdown. Don’t forget to save your changes!

Remember: if you’re a Lite, Basic, or Plus user, you can only either accept recurring payments or one-time payments from the same form.

Step 8: Publish Your Recurring Payment Form

Before adding your donation form to your WordPress website, make sure to test it to make sure everything processes correctly.

For help with this, we have documentation walking you through how to test Stripe payments before accepting actual payments.

Now you can publish your form! To start, hit the Embed button at the top of the form builder.

Click Create New Page in the popup that appears.

And finally, type in a name for your new WordPress page and click Let’s Go.

Check that your page is ready to go live, then hit the blue Publish button.

Now you’re ready to start taking payments for your subscription plans, services, or donations.

To view payments that you’ve collected in your WordPress dashboard, simply go to WPForms » Payments.

This screen gives you a complete summary of your payments allowing you to track your earnings or donations effortlessly.

And that’s it! Now you can take recurring card payments in WordPress without any hassle.

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FAQs about WordPress Recurring Payments

Looking for answers to your questions? Check out some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about WordPress recurring payments.

How do I set up recurring payments on WordPress?

Select a plugin that supports recurring payments, such as WPForms or WP Simple Pay. These plugins are user-friendly and integrate seamlessly with WordPress, allowing for easy setup, especially for small businesses that want to create a simple order form to ship products and receive payments.

Can WooCommerce do recurring payments?

Yes, WooCommerce can handle recurring payments, especially when paired with extensions like WooCommerce Subscriptions. This allows for the sale of subscription-based products and services, offering various billing schedules and automatic payment collection.

Is it better to use a third-party platform than WordPress to manage subscription payments?

You can use third-party platforms like Chargebee to manage recurring payments. However, if you’re already using WordPress, WPForms offers a more seamless and integrated solution for handling recurring payments directly on your site. If you’re still interested in exploring this option, you can take a look at this guide on how to set up Chargebee, but for most WordPress users, WPForms is the more streamlined choice.

Can you process payments on WordPress?

Yes, to process payments on WordPress, you can use plugins like WooCommerce, WPForms, or WP Simple Pay. These plugins support major payment gateways, providing a secure way to handle transactions directly on your site.

What is the best WordPress plugin for monthly payments?

For monthly payments, the best WordPress plugin is subjective and depends on your specific needs. WPForms and WP Simple Pay are excellent for straightforward payment setups.

For more complex subscription models, WooCommerce Subscriptions is a powerful option, offering flexibility and extensive features for managing recurring payments.

Next, Grow Your Online Store

While we’ve used Stripe in this example, you can easily set up recurring payments by setting up a PayPal WordPress form. If you decide to upgrade to a full eCommerce store, this article on how to start an online store will be super helpful.

Finally, if you want to accept recurring donations for your charity, be sure to check out all the ways WPForms can help your nonprofit, including the WPForms nonprofit discount and tips for increasing recurring donations.

Create Your Recurring Payment Form Now

Ready to build your form? Get started today with the easiest WordPress form builder plugin. WPForms Pro includes the Stripe addon and offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.

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