Express Checkout User Interface Standards Last updated: October 2009
Express Checkout User Interface Standards Document Number: 10094.en_US-200910 © 2009 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is a registered trademark of PayPal, Inc. The PayPal logo is a trademark of PayPal, Inc. Other trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. The information in this document belongs to PayPal, Inc. It may not be used, reproduced or disclosed without the written approval of PayPal, Inc. Copyright © PayPal. All rights reserved. PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie., S.
Contents About this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Chapter 1 PayPal Placement in the Checkout Flow . . . . . . . . . . 7 Checkout Option on Your Shopping Cart Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Payment Option on Your Payment Methods Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents 4 October 2009
About this Guide Express Checkout User Interface Standards details the requirements and best practices for placing PayPal graphic images on your website. It also explains how buyers who pay with PayPal will experience checkout on your website, and how you can modify that buyer experience depending on your needs. Following these requirements and best practices provides optimal performance and ensures that PayPal buyers have a consistent checkout experience from website to website.
P 6 Preface Intended Audience October 2009 User Interface Standards
1 PayPal Placement in the Checkout Flow By using these recommended checkout flow and the placement requirements, you optimize your website’s checkout flow and significantly improve your buyer’s experience, increasing conversion. Your buyers immediately see that you have PayPal and stay on your website.
1 PayPal Placement in the Checkout Flow Checkout Option on Your Shopping Cart Page FIGURE 1.
PayPal Placement in the Checkout Flow Payment Option on Your Payment Methods Page 1 P a y m e n t O p t i o n o n Yo u r P a y m e n t M e t h o d s P a g e Place PayPal near the end of the checkout on your Payment Methods page, along with other payment options you offer.
1 10 PayPal Placement in the Checkout Flow Payment Option on Your Payment Methods Page October 2009 User Interface Standards
Placement of PayPal Branded Acceptance Marks and Graphics on Your Site 2 The following sections detail the requirements for placing PayPal graphic images on your site. Using PayPal-Hosted Images PayPal requires that you use PayPal graphic images hosted on PayPal’s secure servers. That way, if PayPal updates its graphic images, they will appear automatically on your website so it looks like a trusted PayPal site. As a result, the PayPal branding that consumers see is consistent from website to website.
2 Placement of PayPal Branded Acceptance Marks and Graphics on Your Site Home Page Home Page Display the PayPal acceptance graphic in an area of the page that the buyer can view without scrolling. Consistent placement of PayPal branding across the Home and Product Details pages results in increased overall sales and conversion.
Placement of PayPal Branded Acceptance Marks and Graphics on Your Site Product Details Page 2 Product Details Page Display the Express Checkout acceptance graphic on your Product Details pages.
2 Placement of PayPal Branded Acceptance Marks and Graphics on Your Site Shopping Cart Page Shopping Cart Page Displaying the Checkout with PayPal button before your checkout process on your Shopping Cart page, as shown in the figure below, leads to higher sales and conversion.
Placement of PayPal Branded Acceptance Marks and Graphics on Your Site Payment Methods Page 2 Payment Methods Page Display PayPal as a payment option near the other payment options on your Payment Methods page. This placement, as shown in the figure below, provides the greatest conversion of buyers when using PayPal Express Checkout.
2 Placement of PayPal Branded Acceptance Marks and Graphics on Your Site Payment Methods Page URL to ‘What is PayPal’ Text “What is PayPal?” should be linked to the official “What is PayPal” text at the following URL: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/popup/OLCWhatIsPayPaloutside Placement Samples On your Payment Methods page, use the placement sample below that most closely resembles the way you display payment options to your buyers. 1. Radio button - Vertical alignment 2.
Placement of PayPal Branded Acceptance Marks and Graphics on Your Site Payment Methods Page 2 When the page first loads, credit card fields should be either hidden (samples 1 and 2 above) or uneditable (sample 3 above). Credit card fields should dynamically display or become editable only after the buyer chooses Pay using credit card as the payment method. PayPal research indicates that displaying payment options using radio buttons converts better than drop down menus or tabbed navigation bars.
2 18 Placement of PayPal Branded Acceptance Marks and Graphics on Your Site Payment Methods Page October 2009 User Interface Standards
3 Best Practices The following sections illustrate PayPal’s best practices for optimal performance and ways that you can customize each of the pages in the Express Checkout flow to the specific needs of your business. Merchant Product Home Page and Product Details Page Use consistent PayPal branding on your website’s Home page and Product Details page. For example, if you use Now Accepting PayPal on your Home page, use the same message on the Product Details page.
3 Best Practices PayPal Login Page Six months after the launch, change the message from Now Accepting PayPal to either We Accept PayPal or We Prefer PayPal consistently on both pages. The PayPal acceptance graphics should be linked to the approved “What is PayPal” text. Consistent placement of PayPal branding across the Home and Product Details pages results in increased overall sales and conversion.
Best Practices PayPal Review Page 3 PayPal Review Page After the buyer logs into their PayPal account, they can choose their funding source. Depending on the options that you set in API calls or your PayPal profile, the buyer may also select a shipping address or other information. This is an example PayPal Review page showing line item details that were passed (optionally) as part of the SetExpressCheckout API request.
3 22 Best Practices PayPal Review Page October 2009 User Interface Standards
Best Practices PayPal Review Page 3 This is an example of the PayPal Review page that appears when the buyer selects PayPal from your Payments Methods page.
3 Best Practices Merchant Review Page Merchant Review Page In those cases where the buyer clicks the Checkout with PayPal button on the Shopping Cart page, the buyers are returned to your website’s Review page after logging in to PayPal and selecting their funding source. After the Merchant Review page, we recommend that there are no more than two pages in your checkout flow for the highest conversion.
4 Additional Options and Requirements This section contains the requirements for other options you can use when placing PayPal in the checkout flow. Checkout From the Product Details Page When your buyer clicks the Checkout with PayPal button, they log in to PayPal and select a shipping address and payment method. Because this information is returned to you when the buyer returns from PayPal, you can skip the Shipping and Payment Methods pages in your regular flow.
4 26 Additional Options and Requirements Checkout From the Product Details Page October 2009 User Interface Standards
Additional Options and Requirements Elimination of Merchant Review Page 4 Elimination of Merchant Review Page If you sell digital goods or other products where a Review page on your site is not required, you can optionally make the checkout appear to complete on the PayPal site and entirely bypass your Review page.
4 28 Additional Options and Requirements Elimination of Merchant Review Page October 2009 User Interface Standards
5 Recurring Billers Express Checkout Flow If you sell items or services that require charging buyers on a recurring basis, such as subscriptions or memberships, use the following recommendations to provide a fast, easy checkout experience for your buyers who choose PayPal. These recommendations let you charge your buyers periodically without requiring them to log in to their PayPal accounts each time.
5 30 Recurring Billers Express Checkout Flow Recurring Payments Flow October 2009 User Interface Standards
