We have a PayPal merchant account for contributions to our small environmental non-profit. PayPal has two basic options for the "Donate" button for non-profits: one is to have a fixed amount pre-entered (like an annual membership fee) the other is to let contributors enter whatever amount they choose on the first PayPal screen they see. We use this variable amount button in several places on our websites.
Recently, we started receiving complaints from contributors that "your PayPal page is broken." They said that when they got to the PayPal page, the donation amount was locked at $0.00 and there was no way they could enter their contribution.
I checked it out, and agreed: There was a blinking cursor to the right of "$0.00" but there was no way I could click or double-click in the amount field to replace the zeros with my contribution. After wasting a few hours experimenting with button code and such, I called PayPal support.
Their answer: our buttons were working perfectly. They have recently "improved" this contribution entry page with a syntax their programmers think is better. You aren't supposed to click in the amount window. You're supposed to just start typing the amount with the blinking cursor where it is (to the right of the amount field) and the numbers you type will magically replace the place-holder zeros. It looks very elegant once you undestand it. The problem is that it goes completely against the conventions used throughout the internet (and the rest of data processing) since the dawn of time.
We have now added the following explanation right above the PayPal buttons on all our websites:
"Please note that PayPal's entry screen is a little odd: Don't try to move the blinking cursor over the zeros. Just leave the blinking cursor where it is and start typing the amount you want to enter . The numbers you type will automatically replace the zeros."
This sure ain't pretty, but hopefully it will eliminate the complaints about a "broken" PayPal page.
I suggest that PayPal put a similar explanation on their contribution entry page . . . unless, of course, they can convince their programmers that their supposed "Improvement" should be replaced by the conventional syntax everyone has been using for the past 50 years.
