How I added PayPal to a Webround store when Stripe Connect couldn't help
When I migrated a 4-year-old store to Webround, my client had one hard requirement: PayPal had to stay. Their customers were used to it and removing it meant losing conversions from day one.
Webround uses Stripe Connect in standard mode, which is clean and works great, except it doesn't support PayPal unless you become a merchant of record. That means collecting money on behalf of merchants and redistributing it yourself: a completely different business model. Stripe's Support confirmed this on a phone call.
So I used Webround for what it does best: an extension. I built a standalone PayPal checkout on a Cloudflare Worker that sits completely outside Stripe. The Worker validates the cart against the Webround API (never trusting the frontend), creates the order on both sides, and handles the webhook to mark the Webround order as paid. When that happens, Webround fires its native order.paid event downstream: email, stock, CRM, everything.
I also noticed a silent discrepancy between how I was calculating totals in the PayPal integration rather than the native Stripe one. This is a story you can read on the blog: https://blog.webround.com/en/paypal-checkout-stripe-connect-cloudflare-workers
On the Webround side, the whole thing is a React component dropped into the built-in IDE, added below the native checkout button. The platform's API-first architecture made it straightforward to plug in an external payment flow without touching anything in the platform core.
The full Worker source, React component, D1 schema and wrangler config are on GitHub: github.com/WebroundAdmin/wr-paypal-integration
Built on Webround, an API-first e-commerce & website platform: webround.com
The PayPal example is a strong illustration of what the platform enables beyond its native feature set. The “developer freedom” positioning becomes much more tangible when there’s a real case like this behind it.
That's exactly the direction I'm taking with the blog. I want to talk about real problems I solve, providing code that can be reused by anyone.
Developer freedom is not only the ability to integrate anything, but also to do it in any way you want.
That makes the positioning much clearer. If you’re open to continuing the conversation beyond the thread, what’s the best email to reach you at?
IH doesn't let me write links in comments yet, so I can't directly provide it to you, but you can either go to the official Webround website or check my IH profile: you'll find my social and email contacts there!
Got it, thanks. I’ll check your profile and reach out there.