Note: The option mentioned in this documentation is outdated and should no longer be used. This documentation is retained for legacy reference only. Please refer to our updated PayPal subscription payment button documentation.
You can use PayPal recurring or subscription payment buttons to charge ongoing payment for membership access. For example: you can charge $19.95 per month for access to your premium membership content.
Recurring Payment Button for Membership
Step 1) Generate the Advanced Variables Code
Go to the payment settings tab from the admin dashboard menu of the simple membership plugin.
Take note of the ID of the membership level that you are creating this subscription payment button for. You can find the ID of a membership level (example: 4) in the “Membership Level” menu of the
plugin.
Lets say you are creating a payment button for your “Gold” membership that has an ID of 4.
Enter 4 in the level ID field and then hit the “Generate Code” button:

Copy the code that the plugin generates for you. You will need to paste it in the “Advanced Variables” section of the PayPal subscription button.
Step 2) Create the PayPal Subscription Button with the Code
Log into your PayPal account and go to the “Merchant Services” menu.
Create your PayPal subscription button as usual but before finishing the button, go to the “Advanced variables” section.

- Check the Add advanced variables checkbox.
- Copy and Paste the advanced variable code that the plugin generated for you in step 1.
- Finish creating your button and use it on the “Membership Join Us” page.
- You can edit the “Join Us” page this plugin created for you and embed the button code on this page. Your customers will use this button to pay a recurring charge for the membership access.
Notes
- You should use “No Expiry” option for the membership level using recurring payment
- The plugin will automatically expire the user as soon as the recurring payment stops or the user cancels the payment