A Stripe payment form lets people pay by card on your own WordPress site, for a deposit, an order or a registration, without a shop. Set up well, it takes a payment in a few seconds and records it next to the rest of the answers. This guide is ideal for beginners and for teams who want to accept Stripe payments without WooCommerce. We cover the keys, the webhook, test mode and going live, in about 20 minutes in WordPress.
The short version
- Connect Stripe once with your secret key and a webhook signing secret.
- Add a price and a Total to the form, and set it to collect payment.
- Test with Stripe’s test cards before switching to live.
- Echo Forms takes 0% of every payment; only Stripe’s own fee applies.
Why use Stripe for a form?
Because it is quick to set up, works in many countries, and takes the main cards along with wallets. Stripe holds the card details on its own systems, so they never touch your site, which keeps your security work small. With Echo Forms the Stripe connection is free, and we add no fee of our own, unlike some form plugins that charge a percentage on free plans.
What do you need from Stripe?
Two things from your Stripe dashboard:
| Item | Where to find it | Why it is needed |
|---|---|---|
| Secret key | Developers > API keys | So the form can create the payment |
| Webhook signing secret | Developers > Webhooks | So a payment counts even if someone closes the tab before coming back |
Stripe has one set of keys for test mode and one for live mode, so you will repeat this once when you go live. Keys stay in your own site’s database, and a saved secret is never shown again.
How to make a Stripe payment form, step by step
- In Echo Forms, open Connections > Payments, switch on Take payments on forms and set Mode to Test.
- Choose your currency, then paste your Stripe test secret key and webhook signing secret.
- Build the form and add a Single item with the price, then a Total.
- On Settings > Confirmations, set Confirmation type to Collect payment.
- On Settings > Payments, tick Stripe.
- Send a test entry and pay with a card from Stripe’s test card list.
- Swap in your live keys, set Mode to Live, and run one small real payment.
The payments guide shows every screen, and prices and totals covers the fields that add up the amount.
What does the payer see?
After they press send, they see what they owe and a button for each way to pay. They pay with Stripe, then come back to your confirmation. The entry shows as paid under Entries, with Stripe’s own reference, so matching it in your Stripe dashboard takes seconds.
How much does a Stripe checkout form cost?
The form costs nothing with Echo Forms. Stripe charges its own processing fee per payment, which in the US is 2.9% plus 30 cents for most cards, as listed on Stripe’s pricing page. Some form plugins add 2% to 3% of their own on free plans; we add 0% on every plan, free or Signature. On $1,000 of payments a month, that difference is $20 to $30 that stays with you.
Can you charge every month with Stripe?
Yes, with Echo Forms Signature. Set How often to charge to every week, month or year, and Stripe runs it as a subscription, with each renewal and cancellation noted on the entry. Our recurring payment form guide covers it step by step.
A Stripe payment form takes about 20 minutes to set up, most of it spent copying two keys and testing. Do the test run with a test card in under 5 minutes, then take your first real payment the same day.
Take card payments on any form
Stripe is free in Echo Forms, and we take no fee on your payments, on any plan.
