How to integrate Payment in our Website

Introduction

In the present era, it is important for any business that is eyeing to sell its products and services directly through its website to have a stringent and reliable payment gateway application in place. If you are in the business of selling products or services, or if you are accepting donations, a payment gateway should work effectively and efficiently to guarantee that payments made to you are properly processed and that the necessary security measures have been followed. Here are the main strategies that will enable you to design an efficient way of handling payment on your website.

1. Choose a Payment Gateway

The first thing you need to do to incorporate payments into your website is identify the type of a payment gateway that would be suitable to your business. Consider factors such as:

• Supported Countries: Check that the payment gateway you are implementing in your business can handle transactions within the country or region.
• Accepted Payment Methods: Make sure which credit cards and debit cards, and other forms of payment ( PayPal, Apple Pay, etc., this gateway supports.
• Fees: Understanding about the amount of money required for the setup, about the charges per each transaction, and about the possible monthly charges.
• Security: A review of the website should confirm whether proper security check measures like the PCI have been implemented to safeguard the requisite payments information.

2. Create an Account and Obtain API Credentials

Once you’ve chosen a payment gateway, sign up for an account on their website. Complete any verification processes required and obtain the API credentials necessary for integrating the payment gateway into your website.

• API Keys: Typically, you will need both a publishable key (used on the client-side) and a secret key (used on the server-side) provided by the payment gateway.

3. Determine Integration Method

Depending on your technical expertise and the requirements of your website, decide on the integration method:

• Hosted payment page: Redirect the customer to the secure payment page hosted by the payment gateway to complete the transaction.
• Direct API integration: Integrate payment gateway APIs directly into your website to process transactions without directing users.

Direct API integration offers more control over the checkout experience and allows for a seamless integration into your website’s design.

4. Set Up Your Website for Payments

To enable the payment feature, several steps need to be followed in order to set up your website for payments and selling.

Example: Integrating Stripe

Transaction processing being assured with the features, developers love using Stripe due to its API and documentation. Here’s a basic outline of integrating Stripe into your website:Here’s a basic outline of integrating Stripe into your website:

Client-Side Integration (Using Stripe Elements)

Install Stripe JavaScript Library: Include Stripe.js in your HTML file.

<script src="https://js.stripe.com/v3/"></script>

Create a Payment Form: Add a form with Stripe Elements for securely collecting payment details.

<form id="payment-form">
  <div id="card-element">
    <!-- A Stripe Element will be inserted here. -->
  </div>
  <button type="submit">Pay Now</button>
  <div id="card-errors" role="alert"></div>
</form>

Handle Form Submission: Use JavaScript to handle form submission and tokenize card information.

var stripe = Stripe('your-publishable-key');
var elements = stripe.elements();
var card = elements.create('card');
card.mount('#card-element');

var form = document.getElementById('payment-form');
form.addEventListener('submit', function(event) {
  event.preventDefault();

  stripe.createToken(card).then(function(result) {
    if (result.error) {
      var errorElement = document.getElementById('card-errors');
      errorElement.textContent = result.error.message;
    } else {
      stripeTokenHandler(result.token);
    }
  });
});

function stripeTokenHandler(token) {
  var form = document.getElementById('payment-form');
  var hiddenInput = document.createElement('input');
  hiddenInput.setAttribute('type', 'hidden');
  hiddenInput.setAttribute('name', 'stripeToken');
  hiddenInput.setAttribute('value', token.id);
  form.appendChild(hiddenInput);

  form.submit();
}

Server-Side Integration (Using Node.js with Express)

Install Stripe Node.js Library: Install the Stripe Node.js package using npm.

npm install stripe

Handle Payment Processing on Server: Create an endpoint in your Node.js application to handle payment processing.

const stripe = require('stripe')('your-secret-key');
const express = require('express');
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
const app = express();

app.use(bodyParser.json());

app.post('/charge', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    let {status} = await stripe.charges.create({
      amount: 2000, // amount in cents
      currency: 'usd',
      description: 'Example charge',
      source: req.body.stripeToken,
    });

    res.json({status});
  } catch (err) {
    res.status(500).end();
  }
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server running on port 3000'));

5. Test Your Payment Integration

Ensure you check the payment integration in a minimally live environment, using the payment gateway test environment. Try out all sorts of cases, positive and negative cases, such as when payments are going through or when they are declined, when there is an error.

6. Go Live

Upon successful testing, you are now ready to deploy your application on a real live server using your production api keys and credentials that were given by the payment gateway.

7. Monitor and Maintain

Keep checking transactions and keep updating the payment gateway to make sure that it is running smoothly for the convenience of the buyers. Regularly update yourself with the new releases and the protective measures that are introduced by the payment gateway provider.

Conclusion

To meet its clients’ payment needs, a firm must make the following decisions: decide on what payment gateways to incorporate, setup API keys, select the integration techniques and last but not the least, test the gateway rigorously before a live launch. By applying the above recommendations and guidelines, it is easy to achieve a more secure and efficient payment process for the consumers and therefore improving their confidence and satisfaction with the concerned online business enterprise.

Frequently Asked Questions