Whether you’re a charity or a content creator who’s been hustling for a while, you’re probably considering reaching out to your audience for financial support. However, being able to accept donations on your WordPress site can be difficult without the right tools.
Luckily, there are several excellent plugins that you can use to set up this functionality on your website. Without any coding knowledge, you can create slick donation forms, manage your income flows, set goals, and more.
In this article, we’ll introduce you to three user-friendly plugins that you can install to accept donations on your WordPress site. Let’s get to it!
Why You May Want to Accept Donations on Your WordPress site
WordPress is an excellent platform for non-profits. It’s open-source, scalable, and includes many features that can help you build and connect with online communities. However, you don’t need to be a charity to rely on donor support.
For instance, online donations can be used as a crowdfunding alternative for artists, bloggers, or even software developers. Whether you create inspiring content or provide free products that are valuable to your audience, accepting financial assistance can turn your passion into a business.
Receiving donations online requires you to be able to process payments. However, unlike e-commerce websites, the ‘checkout’ process doesn’t have to link to a specific product. All your supporters need is a clear Call to Action (CTA) and the ability to choose how much they want to contribute.
When looking for the optimal WordPress donation plugin, consider the size of your project and whether you need to include highly-engaging forms. Some key features might include:
- The ability to set goals
- A progress bar to demonstrate how much you’ve raised so far
- Donor management options
- Various payment gateways
- An option to set up recurring donations
- Advanced marketing functionality and insights
If you’re raising funds for multiple projects, you’ll probably need more than just a simple donation form. For instance, you might require features to help you launch a marketing campaign or other robust solutions.
How to Accept Donations on Your WordPress Site (3 Top Plugins)
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s look at three top plugins to accept donations on your WordPress website, no matter the size of your project. We’ll walk you through how to get started with each of them, too.
1. Give WP
GiveWP is a popular WordPress plugin used by many charities and non-profits. The free version has limited features, although it’s sufficient for adding basic donation functionality to your website.
With the freemium product, you can accept donations through PayPal or Stripe. You also gain access to handy reporting tools and donor management functionality.
GiveWP boasts a beautiful design with slick donation forms, which integrate seamlessly with your theme. You can also add extra fields and goals to entice more people to give:
If you require more advanced features, you can upgrade to one of the premium options. The basic plan starts at $199 per year and gives you access to all payment gateways, PDF receipts, and extra marketing add-ons such as MailChimp integration.
To use it, install and activate the plugin. Then, go to Donations > Settings to configure your form. Go through each tab to set your preferences, including the currency, payment gateways, and display options. You can also choose a basic email template to communicate with your donors:
Once you’re happy with your settings, go to Donations > Add Form. You’ll see a new window with several tabs where you can customize your form. Set your desired donation levels, and choose whether to stop accepting funds once you reach your goal:
When you’re done, click on Publish, and you’ll be ready to start accepting donations on your WordPress site. You can also refer to GiveWP’s extensive support library for detailed instructions.
2. PayPal Donation
PayPal has been specializing in collecting online payments for many years, so it’s not surprising it has a dedicated plugin for donations. It’s an excellent option if you want a simple solution without the hassle of setting up forms. It’s also arguably the fastest way to start collecting money on your website.
The free version of the plugin gives you a choice of PayPal branded donation buttons, which you can include anywhere in your posts and pages. You can list up to ten donation levels. It also supports 25 currencies and 18 languages, which is useful if your donors are international.
PayPal Donation Pro comes with additional recurring donation options and up to 20 items in the dropdown menu. Pricing starts from $59.95 per year for a single website. Note that PayPal may charge transaction fees for processing donations.
To use it, you need to have a PayPal account. Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, go to Settings and enter your PayPal email address:
Next, go to Buttons, and click on New PayPal Donation Button. You’ll see a screen where you can enter your donation option details, such as the name of the button and the desired amount:
Once you’ve saved your changes, you’ll be able to directly insert a PayPal Donation button from the post editor.
3. Charitable
Charitable is another freemium plugin that enables you to accept donations via PayPal. You can set it up quickly and create unlimited fundraising campaigns.
The donation forms are customizable and will look great with any WordPress theme. You can also add goals, set timelines, send follow up receipts and emails, and much more:
While the free version is quite robust, you can upgrade to one of the paid extensions. The premium versions give you access to recurring donations, multiple payment gateways, geolocation, and advanced marketing tools. Pricing starts at $77.40 per year, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
To use it, install and activate the plugin, then go to Charitable > Settings. Fill in the fields under General to set up your base country and preferred currency:
Then, go to the Donation Form Display Options, where you’ll be able to choose from three display variations.
Next, go to Appearance > Customize, where you can edit the look of your form. Once you’ve saved your changes, configure your PayPal settings under Payment Gateways:
Now that you’re ready to set up a donation form, follow the plugin’s detailed instructions on how to create a new campaign.
Conclusion
Providing free content or developing a new product doesn’t have to mean that you can’t earn money like a regular business. Learning how to accept donations on your WordPress site can help you generate a new stream of income. With the right plugin, you can easily transform your website and start accepting donations today.
To recap, here are the top three plugins for accepting donations on your WordPress site:
- Give WP: An excellent choice for charities and non-profits.
- PayPal Donation: A simple way to start accepting donations online without long forms for donors to fill out.
- Charitable: Suitable for bigger projects and those who need to run multiple campaigns.
Do you have any questions about accepting donations on your WordPress site? Let us know in the comments section below!
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