This guide walks you through connecting GiftFlow to Stripe in Sandbox (Test) Mode. Sandbox mode lets you run real payment flows — entering card numbers, receiving confirmation emails, and seeing donations recorded in WordPress — without charging any real money.

Complete this setup before you go live. When you are ready to accept real donations, you only need to swap the sandbox keys for your live keys and change the mode to Live.

What You Will Need

• A free Stripe account (opens in a new tab)
• Administrator access to your WordPress site
• About 10 minutes

Step 1 — Create a Stripe Account

If you do not have a Stripe account yet:

1. Go to https://dashboard.stripe.com/register (opens in a new tab)
2. Enter your email address, full name, and a password, then click Create account
3. Stripe will send a confirmation email — click the link inside to verify your address
4. Log in to your new Stripe Dashboard

:::note You do not need to complete business verification to use sandbox mode. Test keys are available immediately after registration. :::

Step 2 — Get Your Sandbox API Keys

Once you are logged in to the Stripe Dashboard:

1. Make sure you are in Test mode — look for the "Test mode" toggle in the top-right area of the dashboard. It should be switched on (the label shows "Test mode").

2. In the left sidebar, click Developers, then click API keys.

3. You will see two keys under the Standard keys section:

   Key	Starts with	What it does
   Publishable key	pk_test_…	Used on the frontend (safe to expose)
   Secret key	sk_test_…	Used on the server (keep private)

4. Copy both keys — you will paste them into GiftFlow in the next step.

   To reveal the secret key, click Reveal test key next to it.

:::warning Keep your Secret key private. Never share it publicly, put it in Git, or paste it anywhere except your WordPress settings page. :::

Step 3 — Enter the Keys in GiftFlow

1. Log in to your WordPress Admin.

2. In the left sidebar, go to GiftFlow → Settings.

3. Click the Payment tab.

4. Scroll down to find the Stripe (Credit Card) section and click on it to expand it.

5. Fill in the fields:

   Enable Stripe — turn this toggle on.

   Stripe Mode — select Sandbox (Test Mode) from the dropdown.

   Stripe Sandbox Publishable Key — paste your pk_test_… key here.

   Stripe Sandbox Secret Key — paste your sk_test_… key here.

6. Leave the Live key fields empty for now — those are only used when you switch to production.

7. Click Save Settings at the bottom of the page.

Step 4 — Set Up a Webhook (Recommended)

Webhooks allow Stripe to notify your site when a payment is confirmed, failed, or refunded — even if the donor closes their browser before the page redirects. Without a webhook, some payment statuses may not update reliably.

4a — Copy your Webhook URL

Back in your GiftFlow settings (still on the Payment tab, inside the Stripe section), look at the description next to the Enable Webhook toggle. You will see your webhook URL — it looks like this:

https://your-site.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=giftflow_stripe_webhook

Copy that full URL.

4b — Create the Webhook in Stripe

1. In the Stripe Dashboard (still in Test mode), go to Developers → Webhooks.

2. Click Add endpoint.

3. Paste your webhook URL into the Endpoint URL field.

4. Under Events to send, click Select events and add the following events:

   For one-time payments:

   • payment_intent.succeeded
   • payment_intent.payment_failed
   • payment_intent.canceled
   • charge.refunded

   Additionally for recurring donations (if enabled):

   • invoice.paid
   • invoice.payment_failed
   • customer.subscription.deleted
   • customer.subscription.updated

5. Click Add endpoint to save.

6. Stripe will show you the newly created endpoint. Click Reveal under Signing secret to see the webhook secret — it starts with whsec_.

4c — Enter the Webhook Secret in GiftFlow

1. Go back to GiftFlow → Settings → Payment → Stripe (Credit Card).

2. Turn on the Enable Webhook toggle.

3. Paste the whsec_… value into the Stripe Sandbox Webhook Secret field.

4. Click Save Settings.

Step 5 — Test a Payment

Now verify everything is working end-to-end.

1. Visit your site as a regular visitor and open a campaign page.

2. Click Donate Now (or fill in a donation form).

3. Choose Credit Card (Stripe) as the payment method.

   You will see a notice on the form:

   You are currently in Stripe Sandbox Mode. To test your payment, use the test card number 4242 4242 4242 4242 with any CVC and any valid future expiration date.

4. Fill in the card fields using these Stripe test card details:

   Field	Value
   Card Number	4242 4242 4242 4242
   Expiry Date	Any future date, e.g. 12/34
   CVC	Any 3 digits, e.g. 123
   Name on Card	Any name

5. Enter a donation amount, your name, and email, then submit the form.

6. If everything is configured correctly, the donation will complete and you will see the success screen.

7. Go to GiftFlow → Donations in the WordPress admin to confirm the donation was recorded with a Completed status.

Additional test cards

For all test cards, use any future expiry date and any 3-digit CVC.

Step 6 — Optional Settings

Enable Apple Pay and Google Pay

In the Stripe section, you will see an Enable Apple Pay + Google Pay toggle. When this is turned on, Stripe automatically detects the donor's device and browser and shows Apple Pay (on Apple devices in Safari) or Google Pay (on Chrome) as an additional payment option alongside the card form.

:::note Apple Pay and Google Pay require your site to be served over HTTPS and your Stripe account domain to be registered in the Stripe Dashboard under Settings → Payment methods → Apple Pay. :::

Enable Recurring Donations

The Enable Recurring Donations toggle allows donors to choose a recurring interval (monthly, yearly, etc.) on the donation form. Recurring donations are processed through Stripe Subscriptions. When this is on, per-campaign recurring options become available in each campaign's Campaign Details settings.

:::note Webhooks are required for recurring donations to work correctly, because Stripe sends renewal payment confirmations asynchronously via webhooks. :::

Going Live

When you are ready to accept real donations:

1. Log in to the Stripe Dashboard and switch to Live mode using the toggle in the top-right.

2. Go to Developers → API keys and copy your Live publishable key (pk_live_…) and secret key (sk_live_…).

3. In GiftFlow → Settings → Payment → Stripe, enter both live keys into the Stripe Live Publishable Key and Stripe Live Secret Key fields.

4. Change Stripe Mode from Sandbox (Test Mode) to Live (Production Mode).

5. Create a new webhook endpoint in the Stripe Dashboard under Live mode → Developers → Webhooks pointing to the same webhook URL as before, copy the new webhook signing secret, and paste it into the Stripe Live Webhook Secret field.

6. Click Save Settings.

:::warning Before going live, make sure you have completed Stripe's account verification (business details, bank account, etc.) in your Stripe Dashboard under Settings → Business details and Settings → Bank accounts. Payouts will not be sent until verification is complete. :::

Troubleshooting

The Stripe card form does not appear on the donation form

• Confirm that Enable Stripe is toggled on and the settings are saved.
• Check that your Sandbox Publishable Key is entered correctly and starts with pk_test_.
• Make sure there are no JavaScript errors in your browser's developer console.

The donation shows as "Pending" instead of "Completed"

• This is usually a webhook issue. Confirm that the webhook endpoint is created in Stripe, the Enable Webhook toggle is on in GiftFlow, and the Stripe Sandbox Webhook Secret matches the signing secret shown in your Stripe Dashboard.
• In the Stripe Dashboard under Developers → Webhooks, click your endpoint to see recent delivery attempts and any error messages.

Test payment fails with "Payment failed. Please try again."

• Double-check that you are using a valid test card number (4242 4242 4242 4242).
• Confirm your Sandbox Secret Key is entered correctly and has not been truncated.

I see "Stripe is not properly configured" error

• This means the Secret Key field is empty or incorrectly entered. Go back to GiftFlow → Settings → Payment → Stripe and re-paste the sk_test_… key, then save.

Summary