SitesPlaced now supports PayPal — paid to your own account
The button a lot of overseas buyers look for before they will type a card number into a shop they have never heard of. Free plan, 0% commission.
PayPal is now a payment option on every SitesPlaced store. You create an app in your own PayPal developer dashboard, paste its Client ID and Secret, and a PayPal option appears at checkout. Money lands in your PayPal balance — SitesPlaced is never in the payment and takes no cut.
TL;DR
- • Free plan. 0% SitesPlaced commission, as with every payment method.
- • Two values to paste, from your own PayPal developer dashboard.
- • Customers can pay with their PayPal balance, a linked bank account, or a card — in most countries without a PayPal account.
- • Sandbox mode included, so you can run a fake order end to end before going live.
- • Sits alongside Stripe, Razorpay, PhonePe, Cashfree and cash on delivery.
Why PayPal, when Stripe is already there
Because for a meaningful slice of buyers it is not a preference, it is the only thing they trust. Older buyers, and almost anyone buying across a border from a shop they have not heard of, will look for the PayPal button before they will type a card number.
There is a specific psychology to it that is easy to underestimate if you have never sold internationally: PayPal's buyer protection is the reason a stranger will risk £40 on your store. Removing that from the checkout does not make them pay by card instead. It makes them close the tab.
It costs nothing to have both connected, and different customers pick different buttons. That is the whole argument.
What your customers get
- • Pay with a PayPal balance — the fastest path for anyone who keeps money there.
- • Pay with a linked bank account — common in Europe.
- • Pay with a card as a guest — in most countries, no PayPal account needed at all.
- • Buyer protection — PayPal's, not yours to administer, and a genuine reason strangers buy.
Choosing PayPal at checkout takes the customer to PayPal to approve, then straight back to your store where the order completes. Card details never touch your website.
How the order gets confirmed
PayPal works differently from every other gateway here, and it is worth knowing: PayPal only moves the money when the store asks it to. Approving on PayPal's page authorises the payment; the actual capture happens when the customer returns to your store.
In practice that means if a customer approves and then closes the tab on PayPal's page, nothing is charged and no order completes. That is PayPal's design, not a gap in ours — and it is why the PayPal path is the one place we cannot fall back on a webhook. If a customer tells you they paid but you have no order, ask them to place it again; they were not charged.
Sandbox first, if you want
PayPal gives you a full sandbox with fake buyer accounts, and connecting in Sandbox mode lets you run a complete order end to end without moving real money.
Live and sandbox credentials are not interchangeable, and connecting sandbox credentials while Mode is set to Live fails on purpose. That refusal is deliberate — the alternative is a store quietly taking orders that look paid and never settle.
What connecting involves
- Sign in at developer.paypal.com with the PayPal account that should receive the money.
- Open Apps & Credentials, make sure you are on the Live tab, and create an app.
- Copy the Client ID and reveal and copy the Secret.
- In your store, open Settings → Payments & invoices, paste both into the PayPal card, leave Mode on Live and connect.
The credentials are verified with PayPal before anything is saved, so a wrong pair fails there rather than at a customer's checkout. Step-by-step with exact paths: connect PayPal.
What it costs
The integration is on the free plan, and SitesPlaced takes 0% commission on orders — on every plan, as with every payment method. PayPal charges its own per-transaction fee, which varies by country and whether the payment crosses a border. That goes to PayPal, and we add nothing on top.
An honest note for Indian sellers
PayPal works differently for Indian merchants and is mainly aimed at receiving payments from abroad rather than domestic sales. If you already have a working PayPal business account you can connect it, but for Indian customers paying in rupees, Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree are the right tools — they support UPI, which is how most Indian shoppers actually want to pay.
Frequently asked questions
Does SitesPlaced charge commission on PayPal payments?
No. SitesPlaced takes 0% of every order on every plan, and the PayPal integration is on the free plan. PayPal charges its own per-transaction fee.
Do customers need a PayPal account?
In most countries, no. PayPal's page lets them pay by card as a guest. The PayPal button is often what makes a nervous overseas buyer willing to check out at all.
The customer approved on PayPal but there is no order. Were they charged?
No. PayPal only moves money when the store captures it, which happens when the customer returns to your store. If they closed the tab on PayPal's page, the payment was authorised but never completed. Ask them to order again.
Can I test before going live?
Yes. PayPal's sandbox gives you fake buyer accounts, and you can connect in Sandbox mode to run a full order without real money. Sandbox and live credentials are not interchangeable, so switch before you start selling.
Where do I issue refunds?
In your PayPal account, on the transaction. The order status in SitesPlaced does not change automatically for a PayPal refund, so update it by hand so your records match.
Add PayPal to a free store
Build the store free, publish it, and connect PayPal from Settings whenever you want the extra checkout option. 0% commission on every plan.
