Goal of this Lesson:
Connect WooCommerce to a payment processor (Stripe or PayPal) so your customers can purchase your course safely and securely.
🧠 Why Stripe and PayPal?
These are the two most common payment gateways — and WooCommerce works with both.
- Stripe: Clean checkout experience, credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay
- PayPal: Great if your audience prefers PayPal or is international
You can enable one or both — WooCommerce lets customers choose at checkout.
🧩 Step 1: Install the Payment Plugin(s)
Go to Plugins > Add New, and install:
- 🔹 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway (by WooCommerce)
- 🔹 WooCommerce PayPal Payments (by WooCommerce)
Click Install and Activate each one.
⚙️ Step 2: Configure Stripe
- Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments
- Enable Stripe
- Click Manage
From here, you’ll be prompted to:
- Click “Connect with Stripe”
- Log in to your Stripe account (or create one)
- Approve access and return to your site
Once connected:
- Choose “Test Mode” if you want to run fake purchases for now
- Or disable Test Mode to go live immediately
💡 Stripe takes minutes to set up and verifies your identity before your first payout.
💲 Step 3: Configure PayPal (Optional)
- On the same Payments tab, enable PayPal
- Click Set Up
- Log in to your PayPal Business account
- Approve the connection and return to your site
You can now accept payments via PayPal at checkout.
⚠️ You must have a PayPal Business account — personal PayPal won’t work with WooCommerce.
🧪 Step 4: Test Your Payment System (Optional but Recommended)
To test with Stripe:
- Enable Test Mode
- Use Stripe’s test card numbers (e.g., 4242 4242 4242 4242)
- Go through a full checkout with a real product
To test with PayPal:
- Use a second PayPal account and set the course price to $1 for testing
📧 Step 5: Customize Confirmation Emails (Optional)
Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Emails
You can:
- Customize the Order Confirmation email
- Change the “From Name” and “From Email”
- Add your branding or course welcome message
✅ What You Should Have Now
By the end of this lesson, you should:
- Have Stripe and/or PayPal connected to WooCommerce
- Be ready to accept real payments
- Know how to run test purchases
- Be prepared to start selling your course securely