What is PayPal Website Payments Standard ?

"PayPal Website Payments Standard" uses HTML buttons and forms on your website to redirect buyers to PayPal in order to pay you. Buyers return to your website after they complete their payment transaction using PayPal.

The following work flow demonstrates a typical experience with a Buy Now button which is one of the feature of PayPal Website Payments Standard. The images are copied from the official website of PayPal.

Animated diagram showing the basic PayPal Website Payments Standard page flow: shopper on merchant site clicks a button, lands on a PayPal-hosted checkout, then returns to the merchant site after payment.
Begin : Buyer is ready to Purchase
Illustration introducing PayPal Website Payments Standard as a hosted checkout solution where PayPal handles payment collection and the merchant site only renders payment buttons.
1. Buyer Logs in to PayPal:
Animated sequence showing a shopper clicking a Buy Now button, being redirected to PayPal to authorize the payment, and returning to the merchant's thank-you page.
2: Buyer Reviews Payment Details:
Screenshot of the PayPal-hosted checkout page where the shopper enters credit-card or PayPal-account credentials to complete the payment.
3: Buyer Views PayPal Payment Confirmation
Screenshot of the PayPal payment confirmation step with the link that returns the buyer to the merchant's site once the transaction completes.
End: Buyer Returns to Merchant Website
Screenshot of a merchant's thank-you page rendered after the buyer is redirected back from PayPal, illustrating the final step of the Website Payments Standard sequence.
How You Get Your MoneyAfter a buyer makes a payment, your PayPal account lists the payment in your Account History, as shown below.
PayPal account 'Recent Activity' transaction list animated screenshot showing how the merchant sees incoming Website Payments Standard payments in their PayPal dashboard.
Notification : You can be notified of payments in four ways: email, transaction history, downloadable history log, and Instant Payment Notification (IPN).

Last updated on Jan 7, 2026
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