Navigating the digital landscape can be a bit of a headache for small businesses, particularly when handling online payments.
Sure, big names like Stripe and PayPal are out there. However, integrating these platforms isn’t always a walk in the park, especially for businesses operating on a tighter budget or with fewer resources. Any small business owner or professional individual trying to work with the top platforms often has issues properly integrating them and dealing with the charges incurred.
Figuring out the nuances of different payment systems, dealing with compatibility snags, and worrying about costs can really pile on the pressure.
That’s why this blog post is here to give you a hand. Let’s dive into some of the best small business-friendly payment processing solutions for 2023.
These tools are not just easier to integrate, but they’re also more kind to your wallet and make handling online transactions a breeze.
Before moving to the top tools, I should make the disclaimer that I co-own and help manage some of the tools mentioned here. And that’s for good reason.
My business vision is to help the little guys stand with the big guys who have departments of technical experts, developers, and so on to build powerful marketing and payment processing tools.
I’ve helped make this possible by creating affordable and top-class opt-in popup forms, a Google Analytics plugin, and so on
My latest venture has been in making eCommerce and online payment processing easier. And I can recommend the tools here without hesitation for small businesses that want to get digital growth as easily as possible. Let’s give in.
1. WP Simple Pay
Many businesses want to use Stripe as their payment gateway. And they should – Stripe is globally used and works with most platforms.
However, integrating it with WordPress is still a hassle. Most businesses need to hire someone with technical expertise just to integrate Stripe into their sites in a convenient way.
Now, WP Simple Pay makes that easy, intuitive, and code-free. It’s easily the best Stripe plugin for any site that wants to sell online.
You can collect recurring payments or one-time payments right on your WordPress website.
Use it to accept donations, sell products, run subscriptions for a newsletter, and so on. You don’t even need a complicated shopping cart setup. Once you download and activate the plugin, you can connect Stripe to your site in literal minutes.
It accepts payments from all the major online platforms, is secure, and is easy to use. As 53% of transactions happen with credit cards, 43% via digital payments, and 38% with debit cards, you want to use a tool that works with everything.
It has a drag-and-drop form builder for making payment forms. It also has multiple features supporting your branding and customization needs, such as building landing pages, custom receipts, etc.
Using WP Simple Pay is an easy choice if you want to set up your website for sales and conversions ASAP.
2. WPForms
When you think of forms, you think of contact forms to connect with businesses.
However, a form can be much more than that – primarily if you use a form plugin built to grow companies.
This is where WPForms comes in. With many customers asking us for a versatile form solution for their site, we just had to build it.
WPForms is the perfect fit for anyone who doesn’t want to build a complex eCommerce store and invest in Shopify or WooCOmmerce.
You can use a drag-and-drop builder to build any kind of form you like, including order forms or payment forms.
WPForms already has an order/billing form template you can pick. Or you can build any kind of form you want from scratch and then add the payment feature.
In this way, you can collect payment for donations, webinar signups, sell single products, and virtually anything else you can think of.
You can do a lot more with WPForms, and you can pick between using Stripe, Square, PayPal, and other merchants as the payment gateway.
So, you can have a simple way to start selling on your site without dealing with any technical issues.
3. Easy Digital Downloads
Today, digital products are viable and powerful items you can sell online.
If you offer online services that you can ‘productize’ or sell things like ebooks, checklists, or downloadables, then you don’t need a full eCommerce site.
You’re best served with an eCommerce plugin focused on digital products. And this is where Easy Digital Downloads comes in.
Like the others mentioned here, EDD focuses on creating the best user experience.
That is, you won’t have to know a line of code to set up your page where everything from making your product live to building your payment process and so on takes place.
You can add discounts, offers, and coupons and do multiple things that drive sales.
And it’s as simple as adding the plugin, filling in a few details, and getting your products up and running.
The advantage of using EDD over platforms like Gumroad is keeping more profits. And you build a solid source of passive income that pays well over time.
4. MemberPress
Creating memberships is another excellent way to sell online.
Many people need exclusive group experiences and are ready to pay for them. People who offer community-related services such as coaching, tutoring, and so on need membership portals instead of online stores.
And for this reason, MemberPress is a great option for WordPress.
You can use it to create sites that require memberships, restrict content access, and accept payments.
It’s also a paywall plugin where you only make content accessible to subscribers and customers.
MemberPress also integrates with the major payment gateways, making it easy to quickly and easily set up your online services.
Start Selling Online With Ease
Going online with your business and making it easier for people to pay can seem like a lot of work.
On the other hand, having the right tools makes it a lot easier and faster. What payment processing service you choose can directly affect how your business grows, how happy your customers are, and how much money you make.
Each solution we’ve discussed offers unique benefits tailored to different types of businesses. You must determine which tool fits your business model and goals the best.
Don’t forget that the end goal is to make the transaction process simple, safe, and quick for your customers. Start selling things online now—the digital market is waiting for you.
Featured Image Credit: Provided by the Author; Unsplash; Thank you!
