When setting up a sales funnel online, one of the things people most often forget is that it is a sales funnel. They forget to set up a way for people to pay for the offer. And, while this seems easy, it used to be that a separate shopping cart and payment processor were required for this step. Not only was this a separate step (actually several) separate steps, there were extra costs involved as well.
But then Leadpages added Checkouts. Checkout allows users to integrate Leadpage with Stripe and makes checking out a seamless process. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to integrate a Stripe account with Leadpages to create a checkout page and also how to connect Leadpages with PayPal if you don’t use Stripe.
Integrate Leadpages with Stripe
Before you can set up Checkouts in Leadpages, you need a few things:
- A Pro Level or better Leadpages account. While upgrading to Pro level does mean more of a monthly charge, the difference between a Pro and Standard account is less than you’d pay for a separate shopping cart service.
- A Stripe account. Stripe is a payment processor – a way to collect payment.
Before you can create a checkout page, you need to integrate Leadpages with Stripe.
Once you’ve logged in, click on your name and you’ll get a drop down menu. Go to Payment Gateways and click the blue button that says Connect Stripe Account. You’ll be prompted for some steps from Leadpages and Stripe to integrate the two accounts by cutting and pasting some code. Don’t worry, it’s well explained.
After you’ve integrated Leadpages with Stripe, you can create a checkout page using any of Leadpages templates. If you want templates to help you get started, look for “checkout” templates under “page type.”
I chose a very basic template for my example. You can design the checkout page to be as simple or as complex as you’d like using the typical Leadpages tools. Any page in Leadpages can be turned into a checkout page just by adding a checkout widget.
Once you have the checkout page created, click the blue button that says “pay.” Depending on the template, it could say something else, but you want to click on the button to set up the integrations.
In the left side bar you’ll see Create Product in Stripe. This is where you integrate your product from Leadpages to Stripe. Stripe is set up by default to do recurring memberships. The only way to set up a one-time sale is to do it through this Leadpages integration. If you set up the product in Stripe first it will not work with Leadpages.
You’ll be prompted to sign in to your Stripe account.
In Stripe, you’ll enter the product information. Under Pricing, if you scroll down, you’ll see “one-time” and “recurring” buttons. Click “one-time” and enter your price. You can enter as little or as much as you like in the products area, and then click “save.”
Back over on Leadpages, refresh the Stripe Leadpages integration by clicking on the circular arrows below the “product” and “price” drop downs that say, “Not finding what you’re looking for?” (not shown in the image below)
You should then see your product listed under “Select Product to Sell.”
Select the price: the Stripe integration with Leadpages means it pulls the price though to your form.
From there, you move through the left side bar menu to finish editing your form like you would with any Leadpage. This is where you’d set up your integrations so that the information on Leadpages is carried over to your email account.
When you’ve finished all of the steps and the page looks as you’d like it to, make sure to click the publish button in the upper right hand corner to save as you would with any Leadpage.
Congratulations, you’ve integrated Leadpages with Stripe!
How to Integrate Leadpages with PayPal
To integrate PayPal with Leadpages, you don’t need to upgrade to the Pro account of Leadpages. While you may feel like that saves you money, the customization options in Leadpages are a little harder to manage with the PayPal Leadpages integration and overall, PayPal can be more problematic for people to use as a payment processor than Stripe.
To set up an integration between Leadpage and PayPal, you need:
- A basic Leadpages account
- A PayPal account
Once you have your PayPal account set up, you need to create a button. Start with the Pay & Get Paid menu and then select PayPal Buttons.
For most types of products, you’ll want to create a Buy Now button.
In the Create PayPal payment button screen, you’ll be walked through a variety of options for customizing your button.
When you are finished, scroll all the way to the bottom and click, “Create button.”
Once your button is created, you need to copy and paste the generated html code into Leadpages in order to complete your integration from PayPal to Stripe. Copy the generated code.
Back on Leadpages, instead of configuring the checkout widget (shown) you’l get rid of it using the trash can.
On the left sidebar, check Show More.
When more options are shown, click the html widget.
Slide the widget over on to the checkout page. The darker blue stripes show where the button will be placed. The lighter blue stripes show all of the places it could go.
Once you’ve placed the widget, you’ll find a spot to drop your copied code from PayPal to complete your Leadpages integration with PayPal.
Hit “save” and Leadpages will show you how your button looks on your checkout page. Because the PayPal Leadpages integration isn’t a direct integration, you cannot change the button in any way on Leadpages except to change its placement. All button design changes have to be made on PayPal itself.
One thing to note when incorporating PayPal into Leadpages is that you don’t get the form integration options you do when you incorporate Stripe with Leadpages. This means that you cannot collect their email address unless you set up a separate Leadpages widget to do so.
Which is better: Leadpages Integration with Stripe or PayPal?
The advantages to integrating Leadpages with Stripe are that it is a true integration. The two systems are designed to work together via API and you have much more control over the design and information collected when you’re using Stripe. You can connect the form with your email service and collect email addresses of your buyers at the same time your customer is checking out.
Another advantage to the using Stripe with Leadpages is that overall Stripe is considered a better payment option. PayPal often holds funds for investigation, particularly for new accounts, if they start seeing a lot of activity (a very successful launch for example) or if a lot people are using it to pay from areas of the world they deem “suspicious.”
The advantage of using a PayPal setup with Leadpages is that you don’t need a Pro account on Leadpages. That’s about it.
If you’re looking for an easy way to create a checkout page without having to sign up for a separate shopping cart service, Leadpages is a great option whether you choose PayPal or Stripe. You can create a page as simple or complicated as you’d like and you’re using a service that has multiple uses.
Want help setting up your Leadpages account? I can do that for you. Check out my done for you options here.
