Choose from the following options to make your goods or services available for sale through Google Checkout. These options are different means for presenting the buyer's itemized list of goods or services to them for payment, whether by a merchant's email or website.
Google Checkout provides a streamlined process for merchants to sell their goods or services to buyers via credit or debit card. Buyers give their card information to Google rather than to the merchant. When the buyer proceeds to place the order, they are asked to log in or sign up for a Google Checkout account, and are taken to a "Place order" page where they can select a card and make a payment.
The following options provide two basic approaches: Selling by button or cart. The first two options below present a button to the buyer; the rest present a shopping cart.
This page presents Part I: Set Up Checkout Orders. After setting up one of these options, proceed to Part II: Process Checkout Orders.
What is it? Email invoicing lets you sell without an online store. Buyers can place orders from you by phone, fax, email or other offline means; then you send email invoices from the Merchant Center to the buyers requesting payment. Email invoices contain a personalized message from you regarding the requested payment as well as a "Pay now through Google Checkout" link. When buyers click this link, they are brought to Google Checkout where they can complete the payment process.
Best for: Use this option if you don't have or need an online store.
Time required: There's no setup &mdash just open a Google Checkout merchant account and you can immediately start sending invoices.
Technical skills required: None. Just Internet access.
Demo: Email Invoice and Wizard (requires sign-up)
Processing Orders: (Part II) Once orders start coming in, use the Merchant Center to charge orders and update order status.
What is it? If you have a website, but don't have a shopping cart, you can add our pre-generated HTML to your site to display Buy Now buttons for your items. Buyers who visit your site and click the Buy Now buttons will be brought to the Google Checkout flow where they can complete purchases.
Time required: You perform a few steps in a straight-forward operation that should take only a few minutes, depending on the number of products you sell.
Technical skills required: A working knowledge of how to add HTML to your website. It is as simple as copying and pasting HTML code (generated for you in the Google Checkout Merchant Center) onto your website. No complicated coding or technical tasks are required.
Demo: Buy Now Button Demo and Wizard (requires sign-up)
Processing Orders: (Part II) Once orders start coming in, use the Merchant Center to charge orders and update order status.
What is it? The Google Checkout store gadget allows you to quickly and easily create an online store powered by Google Checkout with inventory managed in a Google Docs spreadsheet. The store gadget comes pre-integrated with the Checkout shopping cart (see below), so no complicated coding or technical tasks are required. Instantly embed the store on your personal website, Blogger, Google Sites, or iGoogle.
Best for: Works on your personal website, Google Sites or iGoogle and Blogger. A good choice if keeping track of your inventory in a Google Docs spreadsheet sounds appealing.
Time required: You can get your first online store up-and-running in under five minutes.
Technical skills required: Enter your inventory in a Google Docs spreadsheet. Generate HTML snippets with our store creation wizard, then copy and paste those snippets to your website.
Demo: Checkout Store Gadget Demo
Processing Orders: (Part II) Once orders start coming in, use the Merchant Center to charge orders and update order status.
What is it? If your website doesn't have a shopping cart yet, you can add our pre-generated HTML to your site. Your buyers will be able to be able to add multiple items to their shopping cart, change item quantities, and remove items -- all without leaving your site.
Best for: Your own website. Doesn't work in Google Sites or iGoogle. Does work in Blogger.
Time required: The simplest integration option should take only about 10 minutes, depending on the number of products you sell and options you choose.
Technical skills required: A working knowledge of how to add HTML to your website. It is as simple as copying and pasting HTML code (generated for you in the Google Checkout Merchant Center) onto your website. No complicated coding or technical tasks are required.
Demo: Checkout Shopping Cart Store Demo
Processing Orders: (Part II) Once orders start coming in, use the Merchant Center to charge orders and update order status.
What is it? A pre-integrated shopping cart is a cart that has already been integrated with Google Checkout by one of our integration partners. It displays the Google Checkout button and includes the underlying code to enable buyers to add items to the cart and complete the order through Google Checkout. Typically, a pre-integrated cart is developed by a third party and made available to anyone, so is off-the-shelf. (Contrast with custom shopping cart below.)
Time required: If you already have a pre-integrated cart installed and running, adding Google Checkout typically requires only a few minutes to enter your Merchant ID and Key on the shopping cart provider's website.
If you don't have a pre-integrated shopping cart and decide you need one, the amount of time varies quite a bit, depending on whether it's a hosted or deployed software solution. Each eCommerce platform is different.
Technical skills required: If you already have a pre-integrated cart installed and running, this integration method doesn't require any technical skills. You'll only need your Merchant ID and Key.
If you decide you need a pre-integrated shopping cart, the amount of technical skill varies quite a bit, depending on whether it's a hosted or deployed software solution. Each eCommerce platform is different. If you need additional guidance on how to integrate with Google Checkout, please contact your provider.
Demo: See integration partner websites
Processing Orders: (Part II) Once orders start coming in, use Pre-integrated Order Processing to charge orders and update order status.
What is it? If you're currently accepting and managing orders using a shopping cart custom-built by you or an outside developer, you can integrate with Google Checkout via our Application Programming Interface (API). When buyers visit your site and click the Google Checkout button, items from their shopping cart will be transferred to the Google Checkout flow where they can complete their purchases.
Integration is available with either the HTML API or XML API. For help choosing, see Choosing Between HTML and XML API for Custom Carts.
Time required: Integrating via a custom-built shopping cart is more complex than the previous options and will take more time. The amount of time you'll need to integrate will depend on the following:
For an integration estimate more specific to your business, we recommend you consult with the programmer or programmers who will be responsible for your integration.
Technical Skills required: The programmer responsible for integrating your website or shopping cart with Google Checkout via the API should have a strong working knowledge of:
Demo: Interactive code demo
Processing Orders: (Part II) Once orders start coming in, use Custom Order Processing to charge orders and update order status.
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