Floris
20th August 2004, 02:08 PM
Introduction to PayPal and vBulletin Paid Subscriptions System
You can use PayPal and vBulletin together to get the most out of your members and web site by setting up (for example) Donation links, Premium member subscriptions or pay them for contributing articles or other content, or allow users to pay you for services you offer on your site. This is why DanielP and I have decided to write out an introduction to PayPal and vBulletin paid subscriptions.
http://vbulletin.nl/files/paypal_logo.gif
What is PayPal?
PayPal is an account-based on-line payment system that allows members to instantly send money to anyone with an email address. Recipients are notified by email that they have received a payment.
Because of numerous attempts to hack their system and/or trick the members into giving out their login information, PayPal is continuously trying to keep fraud at a minimum and provide the best security for it's users. But word of advise is in place to always be aware of fraudulant payment, emails and such. People are still encountering fraud these days so keep in mind the following if you want to protect your account:
Sign-up with your exact and full details (address, email, etc)
Never give out your personal or PayPal details to anyone
Change your password at a regular basis and make it hard to guess
Do not follow links received in emails or sites, they can be spoofed addresses
Be aware of possible fraudulant purchases
It might be wise to only accept payments from veryfied PayPal accounts
Read the announcements and security information on the PayPal site regularly
Check up on each payment received to make sure all details are correct
Note: All other security rules also apply.
Getting a PayPal account
Signing up for an account is easy and free, PayPal is available in about 45 countries which makes it a great 'internet' service for secure on-line payments. At sign-up time, you are presented with two types of accounts: Personal and Business account. Because this article is in relation to the vBulletin Paid Subscriptions System you might want to consider getting at least a Premium account. Of course you can always upgrade your Personal account to a Premier or Business account at any time.
You can sign up for free here: http://www.PayPal.com/ (https://www.paypal.com/nl/mrb/pal=DUD2ZWHUDPL2A)
Using the PayPal service
After you've signed up, sending and receiving money is child's play. You can practically send money to anyone with an email address. If a user has no PayPal account they will still receive the email and are invited to register with PayPal to claim the money.
In the Profile page you can personalize your account and browse through a wide selection of features, settings and options. It is wise to get familiar with their Help system so you can find out what means what and how to use it. I must say that their Help system is complete and simple to use.
PayPal can also give you monthly account statements, and offers a History option that's helpful for tracking all your money transfers.
vBulletin Paid Subscriptions System
Now for the fun part, the part you've been waiting for, integration with vBulletin's Paid Subscriptions feature :)
The Paid Subscriptions System present in the vBulletin forum software allows the owner of the board to create income via the forums in the form of Donations, auctions or have members paying for services like Premium forum accounts or access to additional services (advertisement, banners, featured users/websites, etc).
This is generally achieved by temporarily adding a member to one or more additional usergroups. These usergroups will have additional permissions over regular the primary usergroups.
Using the Subscriptions System
To be able to use Paid Subscriptions with PayPal, you will need to do the following:
Login to your PayPal account
Click on the Profile tab
Click the Instant Payment Notification Preferences link
Click on Edit
Note: You need to have a Premier or Business account in order to enable IPN.
Select the checkbox to enable IPN
Enter the following in the field under the checkbox: http://www.yoursite.com/forums/subscriptions/paypal.php
Click on Save
Now go to your vBulletin Admin Control Panel > vBulletin Options > vBulletin Options > Paid Subscriptions, and enter your PayPal email in the text box.
The next step is to setup paid subscriptions for your vBulletin board. For help on adding Paid Subscriptions, please check the vBulletin 3 manual, located here: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/subscriptions and you can find a practical example here: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/main/subscriptions_example.
Inform your members
Nearly the most important step to take is to inform your members. After you are done setting up the Paid Subscriptions and testing it. You can make announcements, add the link to your navigation bar or footer.
© Copyright 2004 DanielP and Floris - http://www.vBulletin.nl/ (http://www.vbulletin.nl/)
You can discuss this article here (http://www.vBulletin-Fans.com/showthread.php?t=6178)
Floris, DanielP & Staff
You can use PayPal and vBulletin together to get the most out of your members and web site by setting up (for example) Donation links, Premium member subscriptions or pay them for contributing articles or other content, or allow users to pay you for services you offer on your site. This is why DanielP and I have decided to write out an introduction to PayPal and vBulletin paid subscriptions.
http://vbulletin.nl/files/paypal_logo.gif
What is PayPal?
PayPal is an account-based on-line payment system that allows members to instantly send money to anyone with an email address. Recipients are notified by email that they have received a payment.
Because of numerous attempts to hack their system and/or trick the members into giving out their login information, PayPal is continuously trying to keep fraud at a minimum and provide the best security for it's users. But word of advise is in place to always be aware of fraudulant payment, emails and such. People are still encountering fraud these days so keep in mind the following if you want to protect your account:
Sign-up with your exact and full details (address, email, etc)
Never give out your personal or PayPal details to anyone
Change your password at a regular basis and make it hard to guess
Do not follow links received in emails or sites, they can be spoofed addresses
Be aware of possible fraudulant purchases
It might be wise to only accept payments from veryfied PayPal accounts
Read the announcements and security information on the PayPal site regularly
Check up on each payment received to make sure all details are correct
Note: All other security rules also apply.
Getting a PayPal account
Signing up for an account is easy and free, PayPal is available in about 45 countries which makes it a great 'internet' service for secure on-line payments. At sign-up time, you are presented with two types of accounts: Personal and Business account. Because this article is in relation to the vBulletin Paid Subscriptions System you might want to consider getting at least a Premium account. Of course you can always upgrade your Personal account to a Premier or Business account at any time.
You can sign up for free here: http://www.PayPal.com/ (https://www.paypal.com/nl/mrb/pal=DUD2ZWHUDPL2A)
Using the PayPal service
After you've signed up, sending and receiving money is child's play. You can practically send money to anyone with an email address. If a user has no PayPal account they will still receive the email and are invited to register with PayPal to claim the money.
In the Profile page you can personalize your account and browse through a wide selection of features, settings and options. It is wise to get familiar with their Help system so you can find out what means what and how to use it. I must say that their Help system is complete and simple to use.
PayPal can also give you monthly account statements, and offers a History option that's helpful for tracking all your money transfers.
vBulletin Paid Subscriptions System
Now for the fun part, the part you've been waiting for, integration with vBulletin's Paid Subscriptions feature :)
The Paid Subscriptions System present in the vBulletin forum software allows the owner of the board to create income via the forums in the form of Donations, auctions or have members paying for services like Premium forum accounts or access to additional services (advertisement, banners, featured users/websites, etc).
This is generally achieved by temporarily adding a member to one or more additional usergroups. These usergroups will have additional permissions over regular the primary usergroups.
Using the Subscriptions System
To be able to use Paid Subscriptions with PayPal, you will need to do the following:
Login to your PayPal account
Click on the Profile tab
Click the Instant Payment Notification Preferences link
Click on Edit
Note: You need to have a Premier or Business account in order to enable IPN.
Select the checkbox to enable IPN
Enter the following in the field under the checkbox: http://www.yoursite.com/forums/subscriptions/paypal.php
Click on Save
Now go to your vBulletin Admin Control Panel > vBulletin Options > vBulletin Options > Paid Subscriptions, and enter your PayPal email in the text box.
The next step is to setup paid subscriptions for your vBulletin board. For help on adding Paid Subscriptions, please check the vBulletin 3 manual, located here: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/subscriptions and you can find a practical example here: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/main/subscriptions_example.
Inform your members
Nearly the most important step to take is to inform your members. After you are done setting up the Paid Subscriptions and testing it. You can make announcements, add the link to your navigation bar or footer.
© Copyright 2004 DanielP and Floris - http://www.vBulletin.nl/ (http://www.vbulletin.nl/)
You can discuss this article here (http://www.vBulletin-Fans.com/showthread.php?t=6178)
Floris, DanielP & Staff