PayPal - Testing PayPal

PayPal allows you to create sandbox accounts for both the customer (this is called a Personal account) and the merchant or seller (this is called a Business account). You can use these accounts to test the payment process without incurring real charges.

For test purposes the Business account is added to your website in place of the account you will use on the live site, while the Personal account is used to pay for items as a customer would.

You can learn more about setting up Sandbox accounts from PayPal support:

Setting up test account

Log in to the PayPal Developer site. Go to the Sandbox accounts page and create:

  • a Personal sandbox account
  • a Business sandbox account

You can see pairs of Personal and Business sandbox accounts in the screenshot above.

Click View/edit account to see the account details.

Take note of the Email ID and System Generated Password for the accounts. This is the information you'll need to configure your test account in DPG.

### Connecting sandbox PayPal account

Go to Services from the main menu or Dashboard. Click on the PayPal > Add tab. Click the Add button.

Enter your Business sandbox account email address.

You'll see test accounts are marked with a test flag in the tab.

You are now able to select this account to use for testing of your shop website.

Testing shop payments

From the website screen, go to the Sales tab. Select the test account from the PayPal account dropdown menu. Click Save.

Now that the testing account has been selected, you can test your shop website.

It's a good idea to use the testing URL while testing your shop to avoid any cache issues.

Visit your website. Add some items to your cart and continue to the checkout.

Complete the information at checkout, selecting PayPal as the payment method if prompted to choose. Review your order and Proceed to payment.

You will now see the PayPal payment page. Use the Personal sandbox account email address and password to complete the transaction.

Once payment is completed, you'll be directed back to your shop and a "Thank you for your order" page will display. You will also receive an order confirmation email.

Completed test orders

Test orders appear in Sales > Orders. Click Manage to view each order in detail.

Test mode orders are labeled with the test flag.

Once testing is complete, you can Archive or Delete any order using the panels in the sidebar.

Switching to live PayPal account

Once you've completed testing, make sure that you replace the testing account with one in live mode before you launch your shop. Go to Sales > Options from the website screen and choose your live account.