Accept Donations on WordPress with Stripe and WP Full Pay

Want a clean donation form on your WordPress site and payments deposited directly to your bank? This guide walks through creating a donation form using Stripe (payment processor) and WP Full Pay (WordPress plugin). Both are free to sign up for; your site must run WordPress.

Why use Stripe?

• Accepts cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and some bank transfers so donors don’t need extra accounts.
• Handles security and fraud protection so you don’t store sensitive payment data on your site.
• Deposits funds to your bank on Stripe’s payout schedule.
• Supports one-time and recurring donations plus custom amounts.
• Note: Stripe charges transaction fees (approximately 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in many countries; rates vary).

Step 1 — Create a Stripe account

1. Visit stripe.com and sign up.
2. Provide email, password, and the requested organization details. Stripe may request additional verification depending on country and organization type.
3. Add banking and tax information and complete any dashboard verifications.
4. Confirm payout and bank details are configured before collecting live donations.

Step 2 — Install WP Full Pay on WordPress

1. In your WordPress dashboard go to Plugins → Add New and search for "WP Full Pay." Install and Activate.
2. Follow the plugin onboarding and choose Connect with Stripe. Authenticate and select your Stripe account.
3. Finish basic setup in the WP Full Pay interface. You can skip optional marketing emails if you prefer.

Step 3 — Build a donation form

1. In WordPress go to Full Pay → Payment Forms and click Add form.
2. Name the form (internal use) and select Donation as the type.
3. Choose layout:

• Checkout: redirects donors to Stripe’s hosted checkout page to complete payment. Simpler and can increase donor trust.
• Inline: shows payment fields directly on your site for a seamless experience.

1. Click Create and edit form.

Important form settings

• General: set the form name and what happens after payment (confirmation message or redirect).
• Payment: choose currency and country, set suggested donation amounts, allow custom amounts, and set minimums.
• Enable recurring donations if you want monthly or other regular giving options.
• Invoice/receipt options: enable if your legal or tax situation requires it.
• Appearance: change the button text, form title, add an image, and optionally show a donation goal bar to display progress.
• Form fields: collect donor name, email, message, or other fields you need.
• Email notifications: decide whether WP Full Pay or Stripe sends receipts. Stripe’s emailed receipts are often more reliable.
• Webhooks: advanced feature for developers who want automated syncing with other systems; not required for basic setups.

Save the form. It will appear in your list of payment forms.

Step 4 — Add the form to a page or post

1. Edit the page or post where you want the form.
2. In the block editor click the + icon and search for "wp full pay." Add that block.
3. Select your donation form from the block dropdown, then save and publish the page.

Testing and launch

• Test the full donation flow before promoting the form. Use Stripe test mode to simulate payments and verify emails and confirmation pages.
• Make sure receipts arrive and payouts appear in your Stripe dashboard.

Design and fundraising tips

• Match the form styling to your site and add images or context that explain impact to improve conversions.
• Offer suggested amounts and a clear option to enter a custom amount.
• If recurring donations are available, highlight the benefits and let donors control frequency and cancelation.
• Display a visible donation goal or recent donor activity (if appropriate) to build momentum.

Other considerations

• Track Stripe fees and factor them into fundraising goals.
• Check local legal and tax requirements for issuing donation receipts.
• If you later need integrations (CRM, email marketing, accounting), WP Full Pay and Stripe support webhooks and developer tools for automation.

If you want, I can help draft on-page copy for the donation form, suggest suggested amounts, or walk through Stripe test mode and a live test payment.