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How to Easily Accept Payments in WordPress using WooCommerce EPX
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By The North Developers | December 4th, 2023

WordPress is a popular ecommerce website building tool that allows you to quickly and easily accept credit card payments and other payment methods online.

Get your WordPress website up and running to securely accept your customers’ credit card information via a fast and frictionless hosted ecommerce checkout process. Then, enjoy an intuitive user experience that allows you to access analytics-based data through a convenient admin dashboard to help grow your business. You can even add payment buttons to start accepting online payments in just a few steps by pairing WordPress with an ecommerce plugin. This guide explains how to add WordPress to your web server and setup the EPX WooCommerce payment plugin to start accepting ecommerce payments on your website. No programming is needed because setup is done entirely through the command-line interface (CLI) and your browser.

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Talk to us about adding WooCommerce payments to your WordPress store.

Understanding EPX (Electronic Payment Exchange)

Electronic Payment Exchange (EPX) is the in-house payment processor of North. EPX was founded in 1979 and has operated at the forefront of payments technology ever since. Today EPX offers a secure, fully integrated omnichannel platform and payment gateway that reduces complexity, cost, and risk of payment fraud for merchants, lenders, banks, ISOs, and franchises around the world.

Requirements

The steps and sample commands in this guide are written for users with admin access to the environment described below. If you’re working in a different environment, the sample commands or steps may need to be adjusted.

  • OS: Linux or similar
  • Web server: Apache installed and configured to host files from /var/www/html/
  • PHP installed and configured

Installing WordPress

Run the following commands from the CLI to install WordPress. For step-by-step instructions, refer to an online guide for WordPress installation. 

    curl https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz --output wordpress.tar.gz
    tar xf wordpress.tar.gz
    mv wordpress /var/www/html/
    chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/wordpress/

Installing and Configuring mariadb

Run the following commands from the CLI to install and configure mariadb. For more details, refer to an online guide for mariadb installation. 

    dnf install mariadb-server
    systemctl start mariadb
    systemctl enable mariadb
    mysql_secure_installation

Creating a Database and User for WordPress

Run the following command from the CLI and enter the password for the root database user that was created in the previous step. 

    mysql -u root -p
After entering the password, you will be at a mariadb prompt. From this prompt, run the commands below. For security purposes, change the database name, username, and password given in the sample below. 

    create database my_wordpress_demo;
    create user 'wp_demo_user'@'localhost' identified by 'somesecurepassword';
    GRANT all on my_wordpress_demo.* to 'wp_demo_user'@'localhost';
    flush privileges;

Exit the mariadb prompt.

Running the WordPress Setup Wizard

In your browser's address bar, enter the base URL of your web server followed by the path to your WordPress setup. If you are using a setup where the WordPress site is in the root directory of your web server, it can be accessed at https://examplesite.com. This page should bring up the WordPress setup wizard, which requires you to enter various data and set preferences.
WordPress setup wizard
WordPress setup wizard
After you complete the setup, WordPress is ready to use. You can view the default site at your URL. The site is currently generic, but we will add functionality in the next steps.

Installing the WooCommerce Plugin

From any of the administration screens, navigate to Plugins > Add New. Using the search bar near the top right of the page, search for WooCommerce. Install and activate the plugin.
locate the plugin under the Add Plugins section

Installing and Configuring the EPX Plugin

Follow the instructions in the WooCommerce Plugin Integration Guide on North Developer to install and configure the EPX WooCommerce plugin.
select EPX under the Payment Methods section

Adding a Product

Much of the configuration of a WordPress site takes place in the Administration screens. To access these, browse to https://examplesite.com/wordpress/wp-login.php and log in. To test payments, add products to your online inventory using the Products administration screen.

Testing the Purchasing Process

Ensure that the “Enable EPX TEST Transactions” box is checked on the EPX WooCommerce plugin configuration. In your browser, visit the shop on your new WordPress site and add a product to your cart. Click the “View Cart” link that appears, then click the “Proceed to Checkout” button. Since “Enable EPX TEST Transactions” is checked, fake data can be entered on the payment form to test its functionality. Once you click the “Place Order” button, a page will open with an “Order received” message, followed by details about your order. Your experience may vary based on your WordPress theme.
enter your WooCommerce credentials and select Test Mode

Finishing Setup

To finish setting up your ecommerce WordPress store, adjust the other WooCommerce settings, such as tax and shipping preferences, and add the rest of your products to your online inventory. When you’re ready to start accepting payments, contact the Sales Engineering team for Production WooCommerce Plugin Credentials. Make sure you do not use your Sandbox credentials in a production environment. Then uncheck the “Enable EPX TEST Transactions” box on the EPX WooCommerce plugin configuration. Payments submitted through your online store will be processed using your Merchant ID (MID).

For more information about adding value to your business with the EPX WooCommerce plugin, fill out our contact form and a support representative will reach out to you shortly.

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