PayPal on your website can now run as a modern inline checkout: your customer clicks the PayPal button, approves the payment in a small PayPal window, and the order completes immediately on your site. No more being sent away to paypal.com, and no more orders waiting in limbo for PayPal to confirm.
To switch your site over, PayPal needs to issue your account a set of API credentials (a Client ID and a Secret). Creating them takes about ten minutes and is a one-time setup. This guide walks you through it.
Before you start
You need a PayPal Business account. This is the same account that receives your PayPal payments today, so most shops already have one. If your account is a personal account, PayPal can upgrade it to a Business account for free from your account settings.
Step 1: Sign in to the PayPal Developer Dashboard
- Go to developer.paypal.com.
- Click Log in to Dashboard (top right).
- Sign in with your normal PayPal Business email and password. There is no separate developer account; this is just another door into the account you already have.
Step 2: Create your API app
- In the Developer Dashboard, open Apps & Credentials.
- At the top of the page, make sure the toggle is set to Live, not Sandbox. Sandbox credentials are for testing only and will not work on your real website.
- Click Create App.
- Give it a name you will recognize later, such as My Bookstore Website, and click Create App.
PayPal will open the new app and show its credentials.
Step 3: Copy the two credentials
- Client ID: a long string of letters and numbers, shown right on the page. Copy it.
- Secret: click Show under Secret key to reveal it, then copy it as well.
Treat the Secret like a password. Anyone who has both values can process payments through your PayPal account, so do not post them anywhere public.
Step 4: Send them to Bibliopolis
Send both values to Bibliopolis support or your account manager and we will finish the setup for you. We will confirm once PayPal checkout is switched over, and we recommend placing a small test order together at that point.
What changes for your customers
- PayPal appears at checkout exactly where it does today, with the same label.
- Instead of being redirected to paypal.com, the customer approves the payment in a PayPal window and stays on your site.
- The order completes immediately, so confirmation emails and stock updates happen right away.
Nothing changes on the money side: payments land in the same PayPal account as before, and PayPal's normal processing fees still apply. There is no additional Bibliopolis charge for this feature.
Common questions
The dashboard only shows Sandbox. Where is Live?
Use the Live/Sandbox toggle at the top of the Apps & Credentials page. If you do not see a Live option, your account may still be a personal account; upgrade it to a Business account first.
Do I need to change my PayPal email address in my site settings?
No. Keep it as it is; it continues to identify your PayPal account.
I cannot find my Secret again later.
PayPal only reveals the Secret from the Apps & Credentials page while you are logged in. If it is ever lost or exposed, you can generate a new Secret there; let us know if you do, so we can update your site.