Alternative Options To PayPal Buttons

Jawara
Contributor
Contributor

The current version of PayPal buttons does not include an editing option to include for shipping cost by item weight. Which third party shopping cart, with shipping by weight is a good recommendation? I just want to generate buttons and add them to current website, I don't necessarily want to build a new site. I am a small business looking for a free or low-cost shopping cart option.  Ecwid is a free option listed as one of the PayPal partners options, is this a viable option, or is one of the others more suitable? (Sell Online with PayPal Shopping Cart | Accept Payments with PayPal (ecwid.com) Help!!!

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8 REPLIES 8

LarryG-SIA
Contributor
Contributor

JAWARA,

 

I feel your pain.

 

PayPal is DEPRECATING much of the old BUY NOW and ADD TO CART buttons variables.

 

The largest problem is ... the documentation is not keeping up.   HTML VARS that show good do not work when creating/editing the button.  Really frustrating they **bleep** THIS UP for those of us who need a basic button offering.

 

For instance, the shipping calculations no longer are working.  For one of my websites, these were weight based and used the Account Profile for domestic shipping.  When you look at the documentation, it states WEIGHT is still a valid variable (i.e. not in the DEPRACATED list). 

 

Going to have to spend some time trying to figure out a workaround.  Potentially have to provide ALL BUTTON details within the code versus the PayPal button system doing it.

 

If I research one of the other CART vendors, will add that to this post.  

 

Good luck.

LarryG

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MTS_Chiranjeevi
Moderator
Moderator

Good day @Jawara/@LarryG-SIA,

 

Thank you for posting to the PayPal community.

 

Third party platforms eCommerce develops their own plugins/modules.

 

Please contact the support of respective eCommercewho should be able to help you regarding the plugins/modules setup.

 

Yes, PayPal Website Payments Standard (WPS) is a legacy integration. 

 

We recommend merchants to integrate our latest PayPal Checkout (Smart button) product.


Please follow the steps provided in the below detailed guide links : 

 

https://developer.paypal.com/docs/checkout/

 

https://developer.paypal.com/demo/checkout/#/pattern/server 

 

https://developer.paypal.com/integration-builder/ 

 

Merchants should handle their internal website(built via third party eCommerce) and pass the "Shipping" amount parameter in the payment API request call to PayPal system.

Please contact your website developer or the support of your third party platform(eCommerce) to pass the respective shipping cost amount value via "Shipping" amount parameter.

 

https://developer.paypal.com/docs/api/orders/v2/#orders_create!path=purchase_units/amount/breakdown/...

 

If your still facing any issues, please create a MTS ticket via - https://www.paypal-support.com/s/?language=en_US  with the detail information and error details.

 

Sincerely,

Chiranjeevi

PayPal/Braintree MTS

 

If this post or any other was helpful, please enrich the community by giving kudos or accepting it as a solution.

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LarryG-SIA
Contributor
Contributor

@MTS_Chiranjeevi,  ( @Jawara )

 

Thanks for chiming in but I have read many responses from you on various entries concerning the deprecation of the BUY NOW and ADD TO CART buttons.  And it's always use a third party eCommerce [shopping cart] solution or switch to the SMART buttons, neither of which is easy for non-software people ... UNLIKE the PayPal BUY NOW and ADD TO CART buttons.

 

So I will ask these point blank questions:

1)  Are the BUY NOW and ADD TO CART buttons being sunset in the near future?   If so, WHEN?

 

2)  Please, can PayPal at least get the documentation that goes along with those buttons updated?  I have wasted quite a bit of time trying to use HTML VARS that are in the "good" list only to find out they are deprecated.

 

3)  Why is PayPal nibbling away at the HTML button code?  Why not just set a sunset date but leave all functionality active until that date, like Google Analytics did from GA3 to GA4.   Deprecating VARS in a hodge-podge way is just not good business and very frustrating to customers, and not having correct documentation is very frustrating to developers.

 

As for the SMART buttons, FWIW, I am a software engineer and there is nothing simple about the SMART buttons.  PayPal has taken away a very strong SIMPLE useful tool for A LOT of customers who are not software developers but need basic button offerings for their websites.  I will say it flat out ... PayPal will lose customers over this. 

 

Just started watching the How To Integrate PayPal Standard Checkout Tutorial Video ... and just started laughing.   No non-software person is going to follow that.   Heck, I had to rewind when RAUL started spouting off typical software acronyms (REST, NodeJS, PayPal SDK, etc.) just because I was not expecting it in a replacement for SIMPLE HTML buttons.

 

I was able to find workarounds for the website I have which uses ADD TO CART buttons, and will post that in a different thread.   Just do not know how long those will last since PayPal is hap-hazardly deprecating functionality instead of leaving it all there and giving us a SUNSET date.

 

But plain and simple ... PayPal really FUBAR'd this up for simple non-software people (and developers who only needed an EZ button) ... WHICH WAS PAYPAL's STRONG SUIT for so many years.

 

LarryG-SIA

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MTS_Chiranjeevi
Moderator
Moderator

Hi @LarryG-SIA,

 

Yes, WPS legacy buttons is deprecated. We recommend to integrate our latest REST API PayPal Checkout integration. 

 

If your facing any issues while integration, please create a MTS ticket via - https://www.paypal-support.com/s/?language=en_US  with the detail information and error details.

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LarryG-SIA
Contributor
Contributor

@MTS_Chiranjeevi 

 

Thank you for the quick responses ... but ... are you not able to answer the Legacy Button questions? 

 

Yes, we know they are deprecated ... but can you not tell us WHEN they will be SUNSET?

 

How much longer do we have to integrate with another PP solution OR find another payment processor before the legacy buttons quit all together?

 

Thank you,

LarryG-SIA

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USSupernet
Contributor
Contributor

Good day, LarryG-SIA.

 

I couldn't agree with you more, regarding some of your observations.  Deprecating the "Add to cart" buttons in favor of requiring coding is going to leave a lot of people behind - and it is going to cost PayPal a lot of money, as all of these folks may have to find other payment solutions.  I have found some work-arounds myself to keep things going, but I am looking for an entirely new solution - with no success yet.

 

I've been a website developer for 20+ years.  I have about 130 clients.  I know HTML and css, and just a bit of php.  I may know more about the deprecated PayPal buttons then some of the people who answer the phone there too.  (I have never had much luck when I've called them with technical questions).  I have a little MySQL experience too.  But I haven't done any programming since college.   

 

I'm looking at replacing the deprecated PayPal buttons (and shopping carts) on approximately 30 sites.  These customers are not going to want to be told that they need a new website.  They will want me to replace the payment buttons and shopping cart functionality with something else, on their existing websites, and that's what I would prefer to do too.

 

I've tried watching Raul's video a couple of times, also.  He seems to be an affable and knowledgeable fellow, but a few minutes in, I have no idea what he is talking about.   The folks at PayPal are basically dumping me and all of my customers.   For the time being, I'm still using the deprecated buttons, but I am concerned that one day they will all stop working, with no notice, and I'll have thirty clients calling me at once.   I need a new solution in place before that happens.

 

I have looked at many shopping cart solutions.  It's easy to find one shot "buy Now" functionality, but not something that allows a customer to "add to cart" and then "continue shopping", followed eventually by "view cart".    Your post is a couple of months old.   I'd love to know if you have found a solution (or if anyone else has...).  I prefer NOT to go to WordPress, or migrate everyone to an entire "on-line store" platform.  I just want something simple that works like what we've had for 20+ years.

 

Thank you!

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willmar_intl
Contributor
Contributor

I know this is 6 months past the last post but I will chime in.    We use the paypal standard button for close to 15-20 yrs and it works great except for the shipping where you need to declare either value based shipping or weight based, but because I can train someone to do it in a short period of time, I can over look that issue.   

 

We were told about the deprecation and were sent the video as well when we called into paypal support.   

I have php experience, html 5, css etc but it was hard to follow the video.  I have no Json experience and I am hesitant to learn on this with someone's credit card.   

 

The problem seems to exist with the check out page and that seems to be what they  are deprecating, more so than the buttons.   I called paypal and was sent to a product specialist, Brendan Cordell.    Since I talked with him once about the issue and a replacement about 4 months ago, he has not answered any of my emails.   Another product specialist told me they are working on something in March 2024 and she would get back to me but she does not answer her emails or phone either.  

 

The big problem appears to be in the check out page.   I have been looking for a work around since we use a lot of tables in our website so the customer can make product decisions quickly between items and the paypal buttons fit neatly into the table on an existing html 5 / css website and the customer can use the continue shopping option.   

 

I don't really know where to go at this point.   I hesitate to write my own check out page for reasonable fear of botching it and time is a problem.     I have talked with several payment gateway people who claim to have a solution but they don't.   They have a one off purchase solution but not a multiple product solution.     

 

The paypal solution was unique because you could drop it into your existing website in a nice neat fashion.   You could keep the form and feel of your website that you wrote for the customers and have the ecommerce experience.    We have 15,000 sku's of which only about 500 use the buttons.   We were set to expand it to all 15K when  we got the news in October 2023 about button deprecation.    Any one with any ideas, please let us know.       We like paypal but we are being left with no alternative but to leave paypal.

 

 

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SnakeGadsden
New Community Member

I am very frustrated and saddened by PayPal's decision to deprecate the Buy Buttons.  They have also decided to remove the redirect URL features for Buy Buttons for both a cancelled transaction and a successful purchase, rendering the buttons no longer viable for my needs.  A PayPal representative said that PayPal is in the process of restoring the redirect URL feature back into the Buttons, but "it will take some time."  The PayPal rep said I should look into the PayPal Checkout products, so I started reviewing the guides.  When I started looking at the integration video that others have mentioned in this string, I turned it off after about 4 minutes.  As a non-developer "standard Joe," I understood nothing.  I have been looking into other options to of no avail, so if anyone finds PayPal Button and Add To Cart solutions that don't require any code (like PayPal had done for years), please post it here. 

 

Something that escapes me is: why would PayPal do this?  They receive a percentage of every purchase, so I can't imagine money being the reason.  However, I can almost guarantee it is, otherwise it wouldn't make any sense to deprecate the Buttons and Add To Cart Features.

 

Either way, I'm very sad and disappointed with PayPal's direction on this.  

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