Integration Guide

Website Payments Standard Integration Guide September 2008 5
Contents
Chapter 3 Recurring Payments – Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . 107
Getting Started With Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Using the Button Creation Tool for a Basic Subscribe Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Creating Basic Subscribe Buttons With JavaScript Disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Creating Subscribe Buttons Before You Create Your PayPal Account . . . . . . . . . 112
The Checkout Experience With Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Begin – Subscribers Are Ready to Sign Up on Your Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
1 – Subscribers Enter Their Billing Information or They Log In to PayPal . . . . . . . . 116
2 – Subscribers Confirm Their Subscription Details Before Signing Up . . . . . . . . . 119
3 – Subscribers View and Print Their Subscription Confirmations. . . . . . . . . . . .120
End – Subscribers Receive Subscription Authorization Notices by Email . . . . . . . .121
Enhancing the Checkout Experience With Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Managing Subscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Tracking Subscription Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
How Billing Cycles and Recurring Payments Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Downloading Subscriber Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Canceling Individual Subscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Canceling Multiple Subscriptions at One Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
End of Term Messages Sent Through Instant Payment Notification. . . . . . . . . . .131
Advanced Features of Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Offering Trial Periods and Introductory Rates With Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . .132
Limiting the Number of Billing Cycles With Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Offering Product Options With Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Working With Modify Subscription Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Working With Unsubscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Generating Usernames and Passwords With Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Reattempting Failed Recurring Payments With Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . .141
Creating Advanced Subscribe Buttons on the PayPal Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
Generating Code for Payment Buttons and Email Payment Links . . . . . . . . . . .142
Protecting HTML Code for Payment Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
Using the Button Creation Tool for Advanced Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . .142
Creating Advanced Subscribe Buttons With JavaScript Disabled . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Avoiding Problems With Pasted HTML Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Sample HTML Code for Subscribe Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Sample HTML Code for a Basic Subscribe Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Sample HTML Code for a Subscribe Button With Trial Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Sample HTML Code for a Subscribe Button With Limits on Billing Cycles . . . . . . .167
Sample HTML Code for Subscribe Buttons With Product Options . . . . . . . . . . .168
Sample HTML Code for a Modify Subscription Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170