Integrating Auth0 and Stripe: Secure Payment Processing for Webflow

Building a back-end for a Webflow site can be an exciting undertaking. In this video tutorial, we are going to build a to-do app with a secured back-end. We will use a third-party authentication service called Auth0 and set up a payment processing system using Stripe. By following this tutorial, you will learn how to create a functional and secure website using Webflow without having to worry about the complexities of writing code from scratch.

Up until now, we have focused on creating a back-end to store, create, update, and delete to-dos. Now, we are going to take the next steps to identify our users so that each user can have their own set of to-dos. This will essentially involve creating a user account system where each user has their own to-dos. In previous streams, we discussed implementing Auth0 in our to-do application, which allows us to identify all the users.

Once we have identified the users, the next step is to enable charging the users. This will allow us to have both free users and paid users. Free users will have access to basic features, such as creating and reading to-dos, while paid users will have access to additional features, such as updating to-dos.

To implement the charging system, we will use Stripe to handle payment processing. Stripe provides a secure and reliable platform for handling online payments. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of integrating Stripe into your Webflow site to create a seamless payment experience for your users.

To use Stripe with Webflow, we need to follow certain steps, which are essential for setting up the payment processing system on our website.

First, we need to create a Stripe customer profile for each user from Auth0. This will connect the payment processing system with the user authentication system, allowing us to handle payments for individual users.

Next, we will create a payment intent using Stripe. A payment intent defines what we are going to charge the user for. It acts as a security measure to prevent fraudulent activities and ensures that the user is charged the correct amount.

After creating the payment intent, we will allow the user to fill out the payment form. The payment form will collect the necessary information needed to process the payment, such as the user's payment details.

Once the user submits the payment form, we will confirm the payment, which involves verifying the user's payment details and finalizing the payment.

Once the payment is confirmed, Stripe will emit a webhook, which is a notification about the payment status. We will use this webhook to update the user's profile in Auth0, reflecting the new payment status.

This process ensures that the user's role (e.g., premium, free) is always reflected in Auth0, allowing us to control access to different features based on the user's payment status.

To implement these steps in Webflow, we need to handle the frontend and backend aspects of the payment processing system. The frontend involves creating the payment form and integrating the Stripe library, while the backend involves handling the payment processing and updating user profiles based on the payment status.

By following this tutorial, beginners can learn how to integrate a secure payment processing system using Stripe with their Webflow site. This will enable them to offer premium features to paid users while providing a seamless payment experience.

Now that we understand the overall process, let's dive deeper into the technical implementation of these steps in Webflow.

To get started, we need to first include the Stripe.js library on our Webflow site. The Stripe.js library is used to handle the client-side interactions with Stripe's payment processing system.

To include the Stripe.js library on our site, we can simply add the following script to the head section of our Webflow site:

<script src="https://js.stripe.com/v3/"></script>

By including this script in the head section of our site, we ensure that the Stripe.js library is available for use throughout the entire site. This is necessary to allow seamless integration with Stripe's payment processing system.

Next, we need to initialize the Stripe.js library and create a Stripe client. This involves obtaining the publishable API key from our Stripe account and using it to initialize the Stripe client.

// Obtain the publishable API key from your Stripe accountconst stripe = Stripe('YOUR_PUBLISHABLE_API_KEY');

Replace YOUR_PUBLISHABLE_API_KEY with the actual publishable API key obtained from your Stripe account. This code initializes the Stripe client using the provided API key, allowing us to interact with Stripe's payment processing system on the client side.

Once the Stripe client is initialized, we can create a payment form using Stripe elements. Stripe elements allow us to securely collect payment information from users, such as credit card details.

To create the payment form, we need to first define an HTML element (e.g., a div) where the payment form will be displayed. We can use the data-element attribute to identify this element for later use.

<div data-element="stripe"></div>

After defining the payment form element, we can use the Stripe Elements API to create a card element within this form. The card element is used to collect the user's payment details securely.

// Get the payment form elementconst stripeElement = document.querySelector('[data-element="stripe"]');// Create a card element within the payment formconst cardElement = stripe.elements().create('card');

This code creates a card element using the Stripe Elements API and associates it with the defined payment form element. The card element will be used to collect the user's payment information securely.

Once the payment form and card element are set up, users can fill out their payment details, and we can proceed with creating a payment intent.

To create a payment intent, we need to define the details of the intended payment, such as the amount to be charged and the currency to be used. We also need to specify the product or service for which the user is making the payment.

For example, if we have a premium subscription product, we can create a payment intent for a monthly subscription using the Stripe API.

// Create a payment intent for the premium subscriptionconst paymentIntent = await stripe.createPaymentIntent({  amount: 1000,  // Amount is specified in cents (e.g., $10.00 is 1000 cents)  currency: 'usd',  product: 'premium_subscription'});

In this code, we create a payment intent using the createPaymentIntent method provided by the Stripe API. We specify the amount to be charged (in cents), the currency to be used (e.g., USD), and the product for which the user is making the payment.

After the payment intent is created, users can confirm their payment, and we can handle the payment processing on the server side.

To handle the server-side processing of the payment, we need to set up webhook endpoints to receive notifications from Stripe about the status of the payment. Stripe webhooks allow us to listen for events such as successful payments, failed payments, or subscription updates.

We can then use these webhook notifications to update the user's profile in Auth0 based on the payment status. For example, if a user successfully completes a payment, we can upgrade their profile to a premium status. If a payment fails, we can downgrade their profile to a free status.

By setting up webhook endpoints and handling the payment status updates, we ensure that the user's payment status is always reflected in Auth0, allowing us to control access to different features based on the user's payment status.

In summary, integrating Stripe with Webflow involves several steps, including initializing the Stripe client, creating a payment form using Stripe elements, and handling the server-side processing of payments using webhooks. By following this tutorial, beginners can learn how to set up a secure payment processing system for their Webflow site, enabling them to offer premium features to paid users and provide a seamless payment experience.

In the next part of this series, we will continue to explore the implementation of the payment processing system, covering the server-side processing of payments using webhooks and how to update user profiles based on the payment status.

Stay tuned for the next part, where we will dive deeper into the server-side implementation and complete the setup of the payment processing system using Stripe with Webflow. Thank you for following along, and we look forward to seeing you in the next part of the tutorial.