How To Choose the Best Payment Gateway for a Bootstrap WordPress Site

Today we have another article contribution that one of our readers sent me a few days ago. It’s about choosing a payment gateway for your Bootstrap WordPress website. Let’s take a look:

Ever since making its appearance, Bootstrap has been one of the most influential UI frameworks, and in the past three years it’s inched closer and closer to that 50% rating from users as it gains some ground on HTML5.

Users find the Bootstrap framework to deliver the end-product with ease and the best part is the low cost. Bootstrap themes seem to be hotting up WordPress sites of late and the best part is that these themes can be tailored to specific industries.

Although there are also themes that incorporate built-in payment platforms as well, there are also those who can do with an additional option. Discover some of the best platforms to integrate with an existing Bootstrap theme.

Important Things To Consider Before Picking That Payment Gateway or Theme

Before letting those fingers cross the keyboard in search of the ideal payment gateway, it’s important to take a few things into consideration first. As far as setting up an e-commerce Bootstrap site is concerned, there are two options.

The first is going with a theme specifically designed to accommodate the e-commerce aspect. The second is to go with a bespoke or standard theme and add the code for the payment gateway separately. There are a number of things to consider before going in either direction, and these are a few of them:

• Will the theme support the code for a payment gateway?
• Level of comfort of adding code to a site, or the budget to appoint someone to add and maintain the payment gateway.
• Whether the actual payment gateway is suitable to main target group, for instance, whether they will have access to PayPal, Stripe, or credit cards.
• If going with a theme, does it support the business branding?

Say Hello To Compatible Coding

If Bootstrap themes were a business, it would be a turnkey operation that merely required the owner to show up, open doors, and switch on the lights.

These themes include everything from the bottom up and while those specifically designed for e-commerce already have the payment gateway as part of the package, nothing is more frustrating than finding the ideal Bootstrap theme but it has no e-commerce option.

Thankfully, there are those who dedicate their lives to slogging away at the CSS to provide users with integration options that allow the use of payment gateways such as Stripe and the various PayPal options. Once this is set up, it’s just a matter of doing business as usual.

Spend a Little to Make a Little

Although it’s totally possible to do things on the cheap and still have a thriving business, there are those moments when spending a little money on an upgrade goes a long way.

When it comes to payment gateways, it’s not necessarily the actual gateway that will need a few extra dollars, but rather what the site owner is doing to secure their site.

Upgrading to the highest security on the site provides shoppers with the assurance that when using that payment gateway they’re not just giving their information out to an unscrupulous site owner. This is especially important for those who make use of products not vetted or created by their own developers.

For business owners, a small cash injection into the business will not only ensure an attractive site but also secure their clients’ information. Other areas that may also benefit from a cash injection is using high-quality images, choosing a beefed-up template or even investing in plug-ins that track cart abandonment.

The Simplest Route Is Often the Best

There are web owners who don’t necessarily want to go through the hassles of opening Stripe or PayPal accounts merely to accept payment and require a simpler system.

Accepting card payments directly is the fastest way to receive payment and also offers the least hassle. For this, there are a ton of resources online that provide information, and even free code, to get this option loaded.

Best of all is that the script is easy to tweak if needed and easily integrates into the various themes without looking out of place.

Remember Why You Bootstrapped in the First Place

Thanks to Google’s new focus on mobile accessibility, it makes sense to go with a framework that delivers in this department. The reason for this new focus is due to usability.

Mobile access to websites now exceeds desktop access, which only makes sense to go this route. Bootstrap websites are made for mobile which means it will readily embrace the new Google requirements. Those who happen to add their payment gateway to an existing Bootstrap theme will need to ensure that payments happen fuss-free with a mobile device.

Bootstrap WordPress sites are easy to navigate and customize according to the needs of the business. The best part is that these websites are either low or no-cost, leaving cash flow free for other uses.

By implementing a great payment gateway, there is a small chance of cart abandonment which leads to better sales but choosing the right one may need some homework to be done first.