Walkthrough: Integrate Square Payments in a Website

This topic provides a walkthrough with step-by-step instructions to set up a simple website integrated with Square for payments. We keep the exercise simple and build a basic form that only takes a credit card on a web page.

Overview

The following example shows a basic form that only takes a credit card on a web page. Digital wallet examples are not shown.

Subsequent topics explain how to add digital wallets to your website. The SqPaymentForm technical reference is available when you need more information about one of the payment form library types or functions.

Processing payments in a website using Square is a two-step process:

Follow this process to set up a website and test the setup by taking a payment. The walkthrough also shows how to review the payment on the Seller Dashboard. At the end, a variation of the payment form called a single-element payment form is explained.

Before you begin, note the following:

• The walkthrough uses a Node.js web server project template that Square provides. Node.js is used because it is easy to set up and test. After finishing this walkthrough, you can explore similar examples in other languages provided on GitHub. For more information, see connect-api-examples.

• The walkthrough uses the Square Sandbox environment for testing. In the Sandbox, you do not charge real credit cards, but instead use a fake card that Square provides for Sandbox testing. After taking a payment, you see how the payment appears in the Sandbox Seller Dashboard.

• If you are new to Square payment forms, you should follow the step-by-step instructions. A complete sample is available on GitHub for download if you want to check your project code at the end of this walkthrough.

Get ready

To prepare for the walkthrough, you:

• Install Node.js and npm (a Node.js package manager).

• Get your application credentials from the Square Developer Dashboard.

• Download the project template created for this exercise.

Install Node.js and npm

When you install Node.js, you also get npm. For instructions, see Node.js.

Get Sandbox application credentials

The walkthrough uses the Square Sandbox environment for testing. Therefore, you use your Sandbox credentials.

Developer Dashboard in Sandbox mode

Use an application ID to obtain a nonce in step 1 and the personal access token to take a payment using the Payments API in step 2.

Download the project template

For this exercise, start with a predefined project template to set up your initial web server.

Now you are ready to build a web page that embeds SqPaymentForm.

Step 1: Generate a secure single-use token (nonce)

In this step:

• Build a web page with SqPaymentForm embedded in it.

• Test the page by submitting card information and verifying that you get a nonce.

1.1: Embed SqPaymentForm in a static web page

Add the following components to the index.html page:

• Required CSS and JavaScript references.

• A <div/> with credit card fields.

• A <script/>, which manages the SqPaymentForm object and user interaction using a JavaScript initializing block and <div/> tags in the form.

1.1.1: Add script references

Open index.html and add the following references in the <head/> section.

<!-- link to the SqPaymentForm library -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.squareupsandbox.com/v2/paymentform">
</script>

<!-- link to the local custom styles for SqPaymentForm -->
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mysqpaymentform.css">

Note the following about these references:

• js.squareupsandbox.com/v2/paymentform is the Square JavaScript library used in testing the payment form in the Sandbox.

• mysqpaymentform.css is the file provided as part of the project you downloaded.

1.1.2: Add an HTML div

Add the following HTML <div/> in the <body/> section of the same index.html.

   <div id="form-container">
     <div id="sq-card-number"></div>
     <div class="third" id="sq-expiration-date"></div>
     <div class="third" id="sq-cvv"></div>
     <div class="third" id="sq-postal-code"></div>
     <button id="sq-creditcard" class="button-credit-card" onclick="onGetCardNonce(event)">Pay $1.00</button>
   </div> <!-- end #form-container --> 
   <!-- TODO: Add script from step 1.1.3 -->

In the form, note the following:

• Each credit card field is an empty <div/> with an ID. SqPaymentForm replaces each <div/> with an input element that runs securely on the Square domain. This allows the form to take credit card input while keeping your code outside of PCI scope.

• The onclick event handler (onGetCardNonce) calls the SqPaymentForm.requestCardNonce library function to get a nonce.

1.1.3: Add JavaScript to index.html

In this section, add code to the HTML page to configure and initialize the SqPaymentForm object. <script/> is added in the <body/> because SqPaymentForm can only be initialized after the DOM is fully loaded.

Copy and paste the following code into index.html after <!-- TODO: Add script from step 1.1.3 -->:

   <script type="text/javascript">
   
     //TODO: paste code from step 2.1.1
   
     // Create and initialize a payment form object
     const paymentForm = new SqPaymentForm({
       // Initialize the payment form elements
       
       //TODO: Replace with your sandbox application ID
       applicationId: "REPLACE_WITH_APPLICATION_ID",
       inputClass: 'sq-input',
       autoBuild: false,
       // Customize the CSS for SqPaymentForm iframe elements
       inputStyles: [{
           fontSize: '16px',
           lineHeight: '24px',
           padding: '16px',
           placeholderColor: '#a0a0a0',
           backgroundColor: 'transparent',
       }],
       // Initialize the credit card placeholders
       cardNumber: {
           elementId: 'sq-card-number',
           placeholder: 'Card Number'
       },
       cvv: {
           elementId: 'sq-cvv',
           placeholder: 'CVV'
       },
       expirationDate: {
           elementId: 'sq-expiration-date',
           placeholder: 'MM/YY'
       },
       postalCode: {
           elementId: 'sq-postal-code',
           placeholder: 'Postal'
       },
       // SqPaymentForm callback functions
       callbacks: {
           /*
           * callback function: cardNonceResponseReceived
           * Triggered when: SqPaymentForm completes a card nonce request
           */
           cardNonceResponseReceived: function (errors, nonce, cardData) {
           if (errors) {
               // Log errors from nonce generation to the browser developer console.
               console.error('Encountered errors:');
               errors.forEach(function (error) {
                   console.error('  ' + error.message);
               });
               alert('Encountered errors, check browser developer console for more details');
                return;
           }
           //TODO: Replace alert with code in step 2.1
           alert(`The generated nonce is:\n${nonce}`);
        }
      }
    });
    //TODO: paste code from step 1.1.4
   </script>

In the JavaScript code, the callback cardNonceResponseReceived alerts the user that a nonce is generated and returned by the SqPaymentForm object. In step 2.1, the nonce is POSTed to a server-side component to charge the payment source. The server-side component is reviewed in step 2.

1.1.4: Add JavaScript to handle "Pay $1.00" button click event “onclick”

In this section, add a callback function to handle the pay button click event. The event handler calls requestCardNonce to get the payment card nonce from the SqPaymentForm object.

Copy and paste the following code into index.html after //TODO: paste code from step 1.1.4:

//TODO: paste code from step 1.1.5
// onGetCardNonce is triggered when the "Pay $1.00" button is clicked
function onGetCardNonce(event) {

  // Don't submit the form until SqPaymentForm returns with a nonce
  event.preventDefault();
  // Request a nonce from the SqPaymentForm object
  paymentForm.requestCardNonce();
}

1.1.5: Add javaScript to build the form

In this section, add JavaScript to force the SqPaymentForm object to render the payment form on the page.

Copy and paste the following code after //TODO: paste code from step 1.1.5:

paymentForm.build();
     
//TODO: paste code from step 2.1.2

1.2: Provide your application ID

For SqPaymentForm to load successfully, open index.html and find //TODO: Replace with your Sandbox application ID.

Replace REPLACE_WITH_APPLICATION_ID with your Sandbox application ID. SqPaymentForm requires a valid application ID to return a nonce.

// TODO: Replace with your sandbox application ID
applicationId: "REPLACE_WITH_APPLICATION_ID";

1.3: Test the payment form and verify the secure token (nonce)

Complete the following steps to test the payment form:

Application flow summary

In this section, you do not perform actions. The section explains how the code you developed in step 1 works. You can read or skip ahead to step 2 to charge the payment source.

When the page loads, it renders the payment form defined in index.html. The page also downloads and executes the SqPaymentForm JavaScript library. This is a library that provides the SqPaymentForm object. For more information about the library, see SqPaymentForm object model.

The embedded JavaScript code does the following:

• Initializes the SqPaymentForm with configuration fields and callback functions.

  Each credit card input form field requires a corresponding configuration field. For example, the SqPaymentForm initialization defines the card number input as shown in this inputTarget field.

  Copy

   cardNumber: {
     elementId: 'sq-card-number',
     placeholder: 'Card Number'
   }
  

  It maps the SqPaymentForm.cardNumber configuration field to corresponding form field sq-card-number. The SqPaymentForm initialization also includes callback implementations; for example, the SqPaymentForm.cardNonceResponseReceived. The callback executes after SqPaymentForm completes a request for a nonce.

• Provides code for the event handler onGetCardNonce that executes when you choose Pay $1.00.

After the payment form is built, it replaces DOM elements with iframes. The iframes take the buyer-entered credit card information and call the requestCardNonce function to get a nonce. This allows you to take payments through Square.

When a buyer enters information in the form and chooses Pay $1.00, the onGetCardNonce event handler executes. This code generates a nonce by calling the SqPaymentForm.requestCardNonce function and passes the nonce back to the client by calling the SqPaymentForm.cardNonceResponseReceived callback. The client displays an alert box with the generated nonce.

Step 2: Charge the payment source using the nonce

The index.html file sends the nonce to server.js by using the fetch API. Server.js uses it to create a payment. This server-side component uses the Square Node.js SDK library to call the Square Payments API to charge the payment source using the nonce. In step 2, you add the fetch code to index.html and update server.js with your access token.

2.1: Add JavaScript to send the nonce to the backend

In this section, you make a final change to index.html. Replace the alert that notifies on nonce received with code that actually sends the nonce to server.js.

2.2: Configure the backend with your access token

The JavaScript code in server.js is already complete, but it is not set with your Sandbox access token. In this step, replace the placeholder with your token.

2.3: Test the payment flow from client to server

This time you generate a nonce and charge the payment source using the generated nonce.

Deploy the application to production

In this walkthrough, you used the Sandbox environment to test the payment form using a fake credit card number. This section explains how you deploy the application in production by doing the following:

• Replace the Sandbox access token and application ID with a production access token and application ID.

• Update your code to send requests to Square production endpoints.

• Take payments with a valid credit card. In production, Square actually charges the card.

To deploy the preceding walkthrough in production, do the following:

When you have completed these steps, your application is ready to run in production.

If you want to test the application in a production environment (squareup.com), you must use an actual payment card. Note that Square actually charges payment cards in production so if you must test in production, charge minimum amounts.

Shopping cart example

The previous sections show you the client and server code to integrate the payment form. These isolated examples are best understood when seen in the context of a real-world shopping cart example.

Note that the example code for the payment form client in this topic does not send the amount to charge along with the nonce, idempotency key, and location ID. This is because payment amounts should always be provided by the business logic that your application runs on the backend.

For a shopping cart example that uses the payment form, see Order-Ahead Sample Application. This quick start sample builds a shopping cart with the Catalog API, creates an order with the Orders API, and collects a payment card with the payment form.

Build a single-element payment form (beta)

The SqPaymentForm library offers two ways to configure a payment form in your website. This section shows how to modify the client-side code that you added in the previous sections to render the single-element payment form.

• Multi-element payment form. Build the payment form with DOM elements, one for each of the card data item (card number, expiry date, CVV value, and postal code). Map each DOM element to the corresponding SqPaymentForm configuration inputTarget. This is the payment form you built in the preceding walkthrough.

• Single-element payment form. The SqPaymentForm library also provides the card configuration field to build a single-element payment form. The single form element can take all the card information. This can simplify coding:

  • Instead of defining the four DOM elements for taking card information, you define only one DOM element and map it to the card configuration field.

  • The card configuration field provides a default CSS configuration. For example, you do not use most of the CSS work you did in the preceding exercise. The default style of the single-element form can be customized to conform to your payment page style. To learn about styling the single-element form, see Customize Payment Form Appearance.

  Using the card element is an alternative to building a payment form if you do not need the flexibility of individually placed payment card fields.

Update the walkthrough to use the card configuration element. Follow the steps to update the files you created in step 1.2, where you added code to embed SqPaymentForm in a static web page.

When you have completed your project code updates to run the single-element payment form, go back to step 2.3 and follow the instructions to retest your payment form.

Single-element payment form and digital wallet support

The SqPaymentForm object in the single-element payment form mode does not support digital wallets. If you want to use a single-element payment form in a payment page along with digital wallets, you need to add a second instance of SqPaymentForm configured with only the digital wallet elements. You then add callbacks for digital wallet support to the second instance of SqPaymentForm.