How To Easily Integrate Payment Gateways Into Your Website

If you’re selling services online, then you need a way to accept payments from your customers. Period.

While there are a number of different payment processors out there, one option that you may want to consider is integrating a payment gateway into your website. At this point, you should already know what payment gateways are, but how do you go about integrating one into your site?

By the end of this article, you’ll know how to integrate a payment gateway into your agency website, and how it will help you keep track of invoices and payments.

Why do agencies need an integrated payment gateway?

Let’s cover a few of the reasons why you should think about integrating one into your website.

Here are five reasons why agencies should be taking advantage of payment gateways.

1) They’re secure

The role of a payment gateway is to process all data related to a payment by encrypting sensitive information, ensuring that everyone involved is protected. This is important not only for your customers’ safety, but also for your own peace of mind as a business owner.

2) They’re easy to use

Payment gateways are designed to be user-friendly, both for you as the merchant and for your customers. They should be easy to set up and integrate into your website, and they should offer a smooth and seamless checkout experience for your customers.

3) They’re convenient

A payment gateway allows you to accept payments 24/7, even when you’re not physically present to do so. This is especially convenient for businesses that sell services online or offer appointment-based bookings. Plus, thanks to the automated payments, you’re not required to chase clients for payments as you’d have to do when you manually invoice them.

4) They’re scalable

As your business grows, a payment gateway can grow with you. Most payment gateway providers offer various plans to accommodate businesses of different sizes, so you can always find one that fits your needs (and budget).

5) They help you get paid faster

A payment gateway can help you get paid faster by reducing the time it takes for payments to clear. With SPP, you can accept instant payments such as card payments that allow you to execute and deliver orders quickly.

Other payment methods such as SEPA or ACH need a few days’ time to clear. They are better suited for recurring subscriptions than one-time services.

Cost factors for payment gateway integrations

The cost of integrating a payment gateway can vary widely depending on several factors, such as the chosen provider, the complexity of the integration, and the specific business requirements. Let’s examine the typical costs involved.

Cost components

• Integration costs: Many payment gateways charge a one-time fee for integrating with your existing systems. This fee can range from $0 to $300, depending on the provider and integration complexity. More advanced or customized solutions may cost between $20,000 and $200,000 for development and integration.

• Monthly fees: Some gateways charge recurring monthly fees for account maintenance and service access. These fees typically range from $10 to $70 per month.

• Transaction fees: Most payment gateways charge a fee per transaction, structured as a flat rate plus a percentage of the transaction amount. Common structures include:

  • $0.30 + 2.9% per transaction (e.g., Stripe, PayPal)

  • Variations based on transaction volume and type (e.g., international transactions may incur additional fees).

• Development and integration costs: If you need custom development or advanced integration features (like multi-currency support), these costs can range from $100 to $1,000 or more, depending on the developer's rates and project scope.

• Additional costs: These may include fees for enhanced security features, PCI compliance, fraud prevention tools, and other premium services, potentially adding an extra 1% to 2% to your overall costs.

Cost factors

1. Business size and transaction volume: Larger businesses with higher transaction volumes often secure better rates, while smaller businesses might incur higher per-transaction fees due to lower volumes.

2. Type of payment gateway: Hosted gateways redirect customers away from your site, whereas integrated gateways keep them on-site. Although integrated gateways typically require more setup, they can offer lower transaction fees over time.

3. Geographic considerations: Costs can vary based on regional regulatory requirements and currency conversion needs, especially for international transactions.

4. Payment method compatibility: Different payment methods, such as credit cards and digital wallets, may have varying fee structures that impact overall costs.

Compliance factors

• Importance of PCI DSS: Ensuring PCI DSS compliance is essential for businesses that integrate payment gateways. Failing to comply can lead to significant penalties, fines, and damage to reputation. A secure payment processing environment safeguards sensitive customer data, minimizing the risk of card skimming, identity theft, and other malicious activities.

• When PCI DSS is required: Businesses handling sensitive payment data must comply with PCI DSS, including:

  • merchants with annual gross payments over $1 million

  • service providers processing 20,000 or more transactions monthly

  • companies storing or processing credit card information

  • third-party processors of sensitive payment data

• Achieving PCI DSS compliance: To meet PCI DSS standards, set up a secure network, use strong access controls to protect important data, update software often, and have certified auditors check annually.

How to integrate a payment gateway into a website

Now that we’ve gone over some of the reasons why agencies should use a payment gateway, let’s take a look at how to integrate one into your website.

Step one: choose a payment gateway provider

The first step is to choose a payment gateway provider. There are a number of different providers to choose from, so it’s important to do your research and select the one that’s right for your business.

When choosing a provider, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind:

• Fees: Some providers charge monthly or annual fees, while others charge per-transaction fees. Make sure to compare the fees of each provider before making a decision.

• Security: As we mentioned earlier, security is an important consideration when selecting a payment gateway. Be sure to check out each provider’s security features before making your final decision.

• Integration: You’ll also want to make sure that the payment gateway you choose can be easily integrated into your website and other tools you use (e.g., SPP). Otherwise, you’ll likely run into some difficulties down the road.

While we can’t decide which provider is right for you, two of the most popular options on the market are PayPal and Stripe. Both are great places to start your search and can be integrated with SPP.

Step two: set up your account

Once you’ve chosen a provider, setting up your account is usually a pretty straightforward process. Most providers will require you to provide some basic information about your business, such as your business name and contact information.

You may also be asked to set up a payment method, such as a credit card or bank account. This is typically done so that the provider can verify your identity and ensure that you’re a legitimate business owner.

Step three: integrate payment gateway in website

The next step is to integrate the payment gateway into your website. This usually involves adding a few lines of code to your website’s checkout page, but working with a service like SPP can make the process even simpler.

How to integrate Stripe payment gateway in website

Navigate to Integrations → Stripe from your dashboard. Once you enter your Stripe login information, you’re ready to accept payments.

How to integrate PayPal payment gateway in website

Enable PayPal’s Instant Payment Notification (IPN) by navigating to PayPal’s Account Settings→ Notifications → Instant Payment Notification. Next, add https://clients.yoursite.com/paypal/ipn as the notification URL.

Once everything is connected, set up order forms and link their URLs to a button on your website. Most service providers have a pricing page with buy/subscribe buttons. Once clicked, the page redirects to the order form—and the payment gateway integration into your website is complete.

Step four: test your checkout process

Once you’ve integrated the payment gateway into your website, it’s important to test the checkout process to make sure everything is working properly. This usually involves making a test purchase using a dummy account.

SPP makes it easy to test your checkout process with a built-in sandbox mode. You can enable it by going to Settings → Payments and then clicking the “enable test mode” checkbox. Just make sure you remember to disable it before your clients start placing orders!

If everything goes smoothly, congratulations! You’re now ready to start accepting payments through your website.

Using professional services for integrations

If your team lacks a developer to integrate the payment gateway, consider hiring one or engaging agencies experienced with custom integration APIs. A benefit of dedicated agencies is the ease of vetting them through case studies and reviews, whereas a developer hired from platforms like UpWork may be more challenging to evaluate.

When seeking assistance with integration planning, ensure the presence of senior developers proficient in APIs and specializing in payment processing. While some developers may have general API knowledge, they might not understand payment processing intricacies.

Custom payment gateway development

If you’re looking to build a custom checkout process instead of relying on existing payment processing infrastructure, you can develop your own payment gateway, and potentially, reduce transaction fees.

Building a custom payment gateway also brings benefits like better security and an easier integration with current systems. But, it also has challenges such as higher initial costs, longer time to set up, and the need for ongoing maintenance. Custom solutions might also need a lot of knowledge about payment processing, rules, and technical setup.

While I won’t go into detail when it comes to developing your custom payment gateway, here are the components of this path you’re interested in taking:

1. design and planning

2. architecture development (e.g., microservices, APIs)

3. infrastructure setup (e.g., servers, databases, firewalls)

4. integration with existing systems (e.g., e-commerce platforms, ERP software)

5. testing and quality assurance

As you can see, there are a lot of components to take into account. So, before you decide to invest in custom development, keep this in mind:

• you’ll have to face high upfront costs

• there’s a high risk your budget will be overdrawn

• ongoing costs could be higher than using an off-the-shelve solution

If you consider the custom development as a long-term investment, it does seem to make sense—but only for companies with large yearly revenues. Everyone else is better off with one of the popular payment gateways you can find in this list.

Integrating payment gateway in website FAQ

Streamline payment processing with an integrated gateway

Payment gateways are a great way for agencies to take advantage of the convenience and security they offer. By following the steps to integrate payment a gateway in your website, you can start taking advantage of all they have to offer. Also read our post on how to add a payment gateway to your WordPress website if you’re running that CMS.

With SPP’s client portal, agencies can streamline the payment process even further with easy payment gateway integration options that give clients payment flexibility.