Support – Online Payments
Taking payments online should be simple for your customers and reliable for your business. Technical Web Services can design, build and support online payment solutions for websites of all sizes, from one-off card payments through to recurring subscriptions, deposits, invoicing and automated order workflows.
We typically implement payments using Stripe and PayPal (often together), and we can also integrate alternative providers where they make commercial sense for your business. Our aim is always the same: a smooth checkout experience, clear payment records, and systems that reduce admin.
What we can build for you
1) Simple “Pay Now” payments
- Card payments (Visa / Mastercard / Amex where available)
- PayPal checkout options
- Apple Pay / Google Pay (typically via Stripe)
- Fixed-price payments (e.g., “Pay £95 deposit”)
- Custom amounts (e.g., pay an invoice total, pay what you owe)
- Donation-style pages (one-off or recurring)
2) Deposits, part-payments and staged payments
- Deposit + balance workflows (pay deposit now, pay remainder later)
- Milestone payments (e.g., 50% upfront, 50% on completion)
- “Pay outstanding balance” links generated automatically
- Automated confirmation emails and receipts
3) Recurring subscriptions and memberships
- Monthly/annual subscriptions
- Membership sites with renewals and access control
- Automatic failed-payment handling (retry logic and email prompts)
- Upgrade/downgrade plans, cancellation flows, and proration (where needed)
4) E-commerce checkout for products and services
- Basket/checkout systems for physical or digital products
- Delivery rules, postcode pricing, and location-based fees
- Discount codes, vouchers, offers, and minimum order rules
- Stock control (simple or advanced depending on platform)
- Order confirmation, customer emails, admin notifications
5) Invoicing and “pay by link”
- Invoice pages that support card, PayPal, and bank transfer
- Payment links inside emails (so clients can pay in seconds)
- Automatic marking of invoices as paid
- Downloadable receipts and VAT invoices (where applicable)
6) Booking and appointment payments
- Deposits to secure appointments
- Pay-in-full booking
- Automated confirmation messages and calendar-friendly emails
- Cancellation / reschedule policies with clear wording and options
Payment providers we implement
Stripe (recommended for most businesses)
Stripe is our go-to for modern card payments and a polished checkout experience. It supports cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and a wide range of payment methods depending on the country and business type.
- High-quality checkout with mobile-friendly payment screens
- Subscriptions and recurring billing
- Strong fraud prevention options
- Clean reporting and payment tracking
- Advanced integrations (webhooks, automated workflows, custom logic)
PayPal (ideal as a second option or for PayPal-first customers)
PayPal remains a popular choice for customers who prefer to pay using their PayPal balance or linked bank account. We can implement PayPal as a primary checkout or as an additional option alongside card payments.
- PayPal checkout buttons or full PayPal card-capable checkout
- “Pay now” and invoice-style payments
- Payment confirmations and automated receipts
- Server-side verification for reliable payment status
GoCardless (Direct Debit)
If your business relies on regular payments (services, retainers, memberships), Direct Debit can be a strong option. GoCardless is widely used for UK Direct Debit and can reduce card failure rates over time.
- Recurring Direct Debit collections
- Mandate setup and customer notifications
- Automated reconciliation and payment status updates
Square (useful for businesses that do online + in-person)
Square can be a good fit where a business takes payments in person as well as online, and wants a single view of sales.
Worldpay / Opayo (Sage Pay) / other merchant providers
Some businesses already have a merchant provider relationship, or need a specific acquiring arrangement. Where appropriate, we can integrate alternative gateways, provided they offer a stable API or supported checkout flow.
Bank transfer and “offline” payments
Not every business wants to pay card fees on larger invoices. We can provide bank transfer options cleanly and safely:
- Clear bank transfer instructions and downloadable invoices
- Optional “I’ve paid” confirmation and admin notifications
- Manual or semi-automated reconciliation workflows
Platform support
WordPress & WooCommerce
- Stripe and PayPal setup, configuration, and checkout optimisation
- Product, shipping, VAT, and email configuration
- Checkout clean-up (reduce friction and improve conversion)
- Subscription / membership add-ons where required
Custom websites (PHP / MySQL / bespoke systems)
- Custom checkout builds with Stripe / PayPal APIs
- Server-side payment verification (reliable paid/unpaid status)
- Order tables, invoice tables, customer records and admin tooling
- Automation using webhooks (e.g., mark orders paid, send emails, trigger fulfilment)
- Integration into existing back-office systems and workflows
Hosted payment pages
If you want the fastest route to accepting payments, we can use provider-hosted checkout pages. These reduce complexity and keep sensitive payment details away from your website.
Customer experience and conversion improvements
Payment isn’t just a button — it’s the moment a customer decides whether to complete or abandon. We can improve checkout performance and clarity with practical upgrades:
- Mobile-first checkout layout
- Clear pricing and what’s included (reduce disputes and chargebacks)
- Trust signals (secure payment messaging, clear contact details, policies)
- Reduced steps and friction (fewer fields, better defaults)
- Cart recovery prompts (where appropriate)
Security, compliance and reliability
Online payments require careful handling. We build with security and reliability in mind, using provider best practice and proven implementation patterns:
- PCI considerations: we prefer approaches that keep card data out of your server entirely
- 3D Secure / SCA: support for modern authentication where required
- Fraud protection: sensible controls to reduce risk without blocking genuine customers
- Webhook verification: reliable payment status updates (not just “success pages”)
- Error handling: graceful recovery when a payment is interrupted or fails
- GDPR-aware data handling: collect only what you need, store it responsibly
Automation and integrations
The real benefit of an online payment system is what happens after payment. We can automate key steps to reduce admin and speed up fulfilment:
- Automatic email receipts and confirmations
- Admin notifications with order/payment details
- Generate invoices/receipts automatically after payment
- Customer account areas (view invoices, past orders, renewals)
- CRM integrations (basic or advanced depending on system)
- Accounting/export workflows (e.g., structured exports for reconciliation)
- Booking systems: mark appointment confirmed only when paid
Common use cases
- Trades and local services: deposits, quotes, and staged payments
- Professional services: pay-by-link invoices, retainers, subscriptions
- Online shops: full checkout, delivery pricing, discounts, stock
- Courses and digital products: paywall access and instant delivery
- Charities and community groups: donations and recurring contributions
- Events: ticket-style payments, booking deposits, capacity limits
How we approach your payment project
- Quick discovery: what you sell, how you deliver, how you need to reconcile payments
- Provider selection: Stripe/PayPal by default, or alternatives if needed
- Checkout design: simple, mobile-friendly, and clear
- Build & integration: implement payments, confirmations, admin view, and automation
- Testing: sandbox testing, failed-payment scenarios, email checks, edge cases
- Go-live: switch to live keys, final checks, monitoring
- Ongoing support: improvements, reporting, and feature upgrades as your needs grow
Support and maintenance
Payment systems need to stay healthy over time. We can provide ongoing support for updates, checkout improvements, platform maintenance, and help with provider changes (for example, migrating from one gateway to another).
- Monitoring and troubleshooting failed payments
- Checkout improvements to increase conversion
- Updates to plugins/platforms where relevant
- Enhancements: subscriptions, deposits, invoicing, new payment methods
Talk to us
If you want to take payments online (or improve an existing setup), we can recommend the simplest route and implement it properly. Call us to discuss what you need and we’ll suggest a practical approach that fits your business.
