To test a PayPal checkout for PayPal Express, you will need to set up a PayPal Developer account. If you already have a PayPal Developer account, log in to that account via the link above before running a test checkout.

  1. Log in to your PayPal Developer account.
  2. Create Sandbox Test Accounts per PayPal’s documentation.
  3. Once you have a testing account created, navigate to the dots (…) and select View / Edit Account > API Credentials
  4. Navigate to the Memberships > Payment Settings page of your WordPress site.
  5. Set your “Payment Gateway” to the PayPal option you would like to use.
  6. Set the “Gateway Environment” to “Sandbox/Testing”.
  7. Configure your PayPal “NVP/SOAP Sandbox API Credentials” in Payment Settings.
  8. Save settings.

After saving the settings, log out or browse to your membership levels page in incognito mode to test checkout for a paid level. You must use a Sandbox Test Account as set up in your PayPal Developer account in order to run the test.

For more information, visit PayPal’s Sandbox Testing Guide.