How to create a PayPal Joomla Form

Published in Convert Forms
Updated 28 Jun, 2023

Introducing our enhanced Joomla form builder extension! Now, with seamless integration of PayPal, you can effortlessly create payment and donation forms. Experience the convenience of automatic redirection to PayPal after successful form submission, empowering you to easily collect funds or facilitate product sales.

How to Create a PayPal Payment Form

To create a PayPal payment form, go to Components > Convert Forms > Dashboard > click "New Form" and from within the Convert Forms Templates Library, hover over the "PayPal Payment Form".

Convert Forms PayPal Payment Form Template

Then, click on "Insert" to use this template.

Use Convert Forms PayPal Payment Form Template

Once the form has been created, you will need to change a few field values to ensure the form functions as expected. Below you can find all the fields that need to be changed.

Field Name/Label Description
business Enter your PayPal Account Business Email Address.
Select Products Configure the products you are selling.
item_name Enter the name of the item you are selling.
item_number Enter the quantity of the item you are selling.
currency_code Enter the currency code. You can view all currency codes, here.
return Enter the return URL where users will return to after successfully purchasing your products or services.

How to Create a PayPal Donation Form

To create a PayPal donation form, go to Components > Convert Forms > Dashboard > click "New Form" and from within the Convert Forms Templates Library, hover over the "PayPal Donation Form".

Convert Forms PayPal Donation Form Template

Then, click on "Insert" to use this template.

Use Convert Forms PayPal Donation Form Template

Once the form has been created, you will need to change a few field values to ensure the form functions as expected. Below you can find all the fields that need to be changed.

Field Name/Label Description
business Enter your PayPal Account Business Email Address.
currency_code Enter the currency code. You can view all currency codes, here.

How to Create a PayPal Form Manually

To create a PayPal form, whether it's for selling goods or services, or acception donations, start by creating a new Form via Components > Convert Forms > Forms > New or edit an existing one. Once you are in your Form, you will need to add a few fields into your form. Below you can field all fields required for your PayPal form to work.

Decide on your Payment Type

Your Payment can be one of the following:

  • Receive donations
  • Sell products

If you are receiving donations, you will need to add the following field:

Field Type Field Name Field Value
Hidden cmd _donations

If you are selling products, you will need to add the following field:

Field Type Field Name Field Value
Hidden cmd _xclick

After deciding on the Payment Type field, you can now add the fields that say who will receive the payment, the item name that describes what your users will be paying for, the amount of items your user will be buying as well as the amount of the payment, currency and an item image.

Field Type Field Name Field Value
Number or Textbox amount 5
Hidden business Your PayPal Business Email Address
Hidden item_name My Item Name
Hidden item_number 1
Hidden image_url Image URL of Item
Hidden currency_code USD

To return your users to a specifc page after they have successfully made a transaction, you will need to add the following field in your form:

Field Type Field Name Field Value
Hidden return URL of a page on your site where users will be redirected once they make a transaction

Note: You will need to enable Auto Return on your PayPal account page. Read more here: How do I use PayPal's Auto Return feature to redirect customers back to my website?

To return your users to a specifc page after they have cancelled a payment, you will need to add the following field in your form:

Field Type Field Name Field Value
Hidden cancel_return URL of a page on your site where users will be redirected after they have cancelled a payment

Shipping cost

To set a shipping cost, create the following field in your form:

Field Type Field Name Field Value
Hidden shipping Set your shipping cost

Lastly, you should set the Form Submission Redirect URL settings to point to PayPal. To do so, go to your Form > Submission and set the following:

Setting Name Setting Value
Sucessful Submission URL Redirect URL
Redirect URL https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
Pass Submission Data To Redirect URL Enable

How your Form's Submission setting should look like:

Convert Forms PayPal Payment Form Submission Settings

After adding the above fields, your form should look something along these lines:

Convert Forms PayPal Payment Form Frontend

Your users can now set the donation amount, press the Donate button and after successfully submitting the form, they will be redirected to paypal to send the donation.

Donation PayPal Redirection:

Convert Forms PayPal Donation

Payment PayPal Redirection:

Convert Forms PayPal Payment

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pre-set the amount of the donation/payment?

You can set your amount field to be a Hidden Field instead of a Textbox or a Number so you can define the amount your donation or payment will have once your users get redirected to PayPal.

Field Type Field Name Field Value
Hidden amount 5

Can I calculate the amount based on field values?

Whether you have a simple or a complex calculation, using the Field Calculations you can now pass the calculated total as the amount to your payment or donation.

How can I test my form in PayPal sandbox?

You can test your form in sandbox mode by usng the following Redirect URL, instead of the live PayPal URL mentioned above.

Setting Name Setting Value
Sucessful Submission URL Redirect URL
Redirect URL https://www.sandbox.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
Pass Submission Data To Redirect URL Enable

How can I set the language when redirected to PayPal?

To set the language of PayPal when redirecting the user to make a payment, you will need to add the following Field in your form:

Field Type Field Name Field Value
Hidden lc GR

You can find a list of Country Codes, here.