Payment page

What is the payment page?

The payment page is a web page designed to enable the purchasing process on your site. It is where your customers choose the preferred payment method and enter their payment details to make a purchase from you. If your business model implies deposits from customers, subscriptions, donations or any other actions involving payments from customers, these are also made on the payment page.

The payment page may also be referred to as checkout, or checkout page.

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Types of payment pages

We can categorise payment (checkout) pages by size:

• One-step, when the purchasing process happens on a single page, allowing a customer to enter the payment information in any order.
• Multi-step, when the purchasing process is broken down into steps, each on a separate page. In this case, a customer has to perform every step gradually.

Besides, we can distinguish several payment page types depending on the payment flow, or the payment method for which they are designed:

• Card payment flow with and without 3DS authentication.
• Payment service that doesn’t require filling up fields, when a payment can be made by just clicking a mouse.
• Payment service with fields.
• Offline bank transfer instruction page.
• Self-service kiosk instruction page, telling the customer how to make a cash payment with the help of a self-service machine, etc.

Another common characteristic of dividing payment pages into groups is the integration type. We’ll get back to it in one of the following parts.

How to get a payment page

Basically, there are three ways to get a payment page for your website: creating it yourself, with the help of outsourced developers or opting for a ready-made third-party solution. Let’s learn about each option.

How to set up a payment page

If you’d like to create your payment page yourself, first make sure you have sufficient resources. By this, we mean the Development team experienced in building online payment products, enough time and money for the development process and maintenance, and a clear understanding of the end product you want to get, from its business logic to your payment page design.

Despite being quite challenging, in-house payment page development will give you complete control over every step of your customer journey.

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So, if you’re sure this option is the best for you, here’s what the simplified process you’ll have to pass looks like:

1. Ensure the security of your website. Set up secure hosting, get an SSL certificate, register the site with an authentication service, etc. It is crucial when dealing with payment information.
2. Get a merchant account with a payment provider and ensure the payment portal’s API fits your needs.
3. Project and build the payment form with all the needed fields and buttons and integrate the payment functionality into your website using API keys. Then test if everything works correctly and if yes, roll out your payment page to the public.

How to order a payment page

The good news is that you can easily hire someone to do the last step for you. Cons: you still have to find those who can do it professionally and whom you can trust, and of course, their services will cost you some money. Prepare detailed technical requirements and agree in advance on who’ll handle the maintenance when the solution is ready: you or your outsourced developers.

How to choose a payment page

This option looks like the most beneficial one: you’ll get an expert solution out of the box, quickly, and reasonably priced. All it takes is careful market research to choose the best third-party provider.

Most frequently, businesses choose the payment page their merchant account provider offers. It’s a convenient option, but only if the provider provides a range of payment page templates to choose from, allows to customise payment page design, etc.

And don’t forget about the critical characteristics of a good payment page: security, optimised UI and UX, payment methods variety, speed and ease of integration and later, of the purchasing process.

Payment page integration methods

How to integrate a payment page into your website? The answer depends on the payment page type per integration method. It can be hosted or self-hosted, each having sub-types.

What is a hosted payment page?

As we can see from the name, this option implies that a payment provider hosts a payment page for you. It allows you to get started quickly and with minimal or no coding efforts on your side. The only drawback is that the provider will control the entire checkout process, so it’s vital to work only with secure, trustworthy and reliable payment partners. Hosted payment page can be added to your site in different ways: flash (modal), embedded (iframe), or pay-by-link (redirect).

What is a self-hosted payment page?

This option provides greater control but requires technical knowledge, coding efforts, and maintenance will be on your side. It is recommended for large enterprises having their own development team, servers, PCI DSS compliance certificate, and user authentication and management system. You can have a self-hosted payment page using the provider’s web components or complete API integration.