RSVPMaker Events and Email Marketing

Category: PayPal

  • PayPal Integration (REST API)

    RSVPMaker now integrates with PayPal via its REST application programming interface (API).

    If you previously set up integration with the older Express Checkout / NVP API method, RSVPMaker still supports it. PayPal also still supports it but is not adding new features to that version. You probably want to switch to the new method anyway because the user experience is better and more tightly integrated with your website.

    The pay by PayPal / pay by credit card buttons will appear as part of the confirmation message when someone registers for one of your events.

    PayPal payment buttons

    Attendees who click on the PayPal button will get a pop up prompt inviting them to log in and pay.

    PayPal login prompt

    Those who prefer to pay by credit card can click one of the credit card icons (or the button on the screen above that says Pay with Debit of Credit Card) and be prompted for credit card information.

    To obtain the required credentials for the REST API, go to developer.paypal.com and log in with your PayPal password. The developer’s dashboard allows you to register multiple sandbox accounts for testing and create an app for your integration. Creating an app just means you are generating the API access keys required for the integration with RSVPMaker. Just give your app a name, associate it with a sandbox account for testing, and click the Create App button.

    Creating an App

    Then copy the keys (the client id and client secret) for both the Sandbox (test) and Live versions of the app.

    Copying the client id and client secret.

    Once you have copied and pasted all the credentials, into the Payments Tab of the RSVPMaker settings, it’s a good idea to toggle the Operating Mode setting from Production to Sandbox. Create a sample event with sample pricing and test the integration. For testing, you can make payments using one of the sandbox accounts associated with your developer account on PayPal, which is funded by imaginary money.

    Once you are satisfied that everything is working properly, go to the Payments tab in RSVPMaker settings and toggle the integration from Sandbox to Production to accept live payments.

    Here is a quick video demo:

  • Using RSVPMaker for WordPress with Stripe Instead of PayPal

    Using RSVPMaker for WordPress with Stripe Instead of PayPal

    If you charge for some of your events, you now have the option to use the Stripe payment service rather than PayPal. This is a new feature (call it “beta” if you like), so if you try it please report back with a comment below to confirm that it worked for you.

    Rather than writing my own API integration code for Stripe, I’m supporting this with an assist from the WP Simple Pay Lite for Stripe plugin. (There is also a Pro version for you to consider, but the free version seems to work just fine for my purposes). Once you install and activate the plugin, you will see a checkbox option to “Use Stripe instead of PayPal” on the RSVPMaker settings screen.

    Update: The integration method I used is based on what the latest release of WP Simple Pay defines as its “legacy” shortcode and settings.

    You will also need to have SSL security enabled on your site (or at least on the event page) to use Stripe payment in production. These days, SSL is becoming more and more of a default requirement for all websites, and there are good free options for obtaining SSL certificates. The reason SSL is not required for RSVPMaker’s default PayPal integration is that the responsibility for encrypting the financial transaction is delegated to PayPal’s website. After users complete the transaction at paypal.com, they’re redirected back to your WordPress site, and the payment is logged to the RSVP record.

    You may find the Stripe integration to be a nicer user experience because the user never leaves your website and is presented with a straight credit card entry form, rather than a choice between between paying by credit card or with a PayPal account. According to this comparison, Stripe’s fee schedule also includes fewer surcharges.

    For the sake of the demo below, I have WP Simple Pay enabled but in test mode.

  • Introducing Timed “Early Bird” Pricing for Events

    The latest release of RSVPMaker supports more complex pricing scenarios with different price breaks, associated with deadlines for each tier (“early bird”, “on time”, and “late” registration for an event). This is one of several ways the new RSVPMaker improves the process of setting up events and accepting payment via PayPal and adds flexibility.

    The example embedded below is loosely based on the variety of pricing packages my local Toastmasters district uses for its regional conferences. Click on the “RSVP Now!” button, and you will see two sets of prices with the “early bird” rates available until about 1 month before the event date. After that deadline, all the early bird prices will disappear from the options website visitors can select from the menu. (I picked a date in 2018 to keep the expiration dates from arriving too quickly.)

    Timed pricing options
    Timed pricing options

    The corresponding administrative user interface for setting up pricing looks like this:

    earlybird-admin
    Pricing setup