PayPal X: Slightly less "Huh?"

With the announcement of X, PayPal's new developer network, I was excited. Finally, I thought, PayPal integration would get simpler. Maybe not. I've done ecommerce for ten years now, designing and developing for some very large and some very fun sites.

As developers go, I'm pretty well versed in the jargon of building online stores, but PayPal's product offering has always confused me. I'm convinced the same guys that brought us six versions of Windows Vista developed PayPal's product line.

Accept facilitate payments

PayPal offers no less than nine ways to accept payments:

Button Manager API

Button Manager APIs let you create, manage, edit, and delete Website Payments Standard buttons. Consider using these APIs if you are creating more than just a few buttons or if you manage buttons for others; for example, if you provide a shopping cart for merchants.

Express Checkout

Express Checkout is our premier checkout solution that can help increase conversion rates and attract new customers. It streamlines the checkout process for buyers and keeps them on the merchant site after making a purchase.

Mass Payment

Mass Payment lets you send multiple payments in one batch. It's a fast and convenient way to send commissions, rebates, rewards, and general payments.

Mobile Checkout

Create apps for the mobile web with the quick, secure checkout experience you expect from PayPal. Your apps with Mobile Checkout will help shoppers zip through mobile transactions.

Payflow Pro

Payflow Pro is the flexible payment gateway solution that you use with your internet merchant account so you can process credit card transactions online. You can choose add-on services like recurring billing and fraud protection, and also set up standard or custom reports through an XML API.

Payflow Link

Payflow Link gives you a fast, easy way to add credit card processing to a website. You can have a completely automated payment solution in a matter of hours thanks to "cut and paste" integration.

Website Payments Standard

Website Payments Standard is our easiest way to receive payments online. HTML code integrates Website Payments Standard with websites and e-commerce apps.

Website Payments Pro

Website Payments Pro is a low-cost, all-in-one payment solution that is both a merchant account and payment gateway. You can accept credit cards and PayPal payments directly on a website.

Virtual terminal

Virtual Terminal is an online version of a credit card swipe machine. With Virtual Terminal, you can process phone, fax, and mail orders anywhere there's an internet.

But wait. What if I need to collect from my customers every month. Do I go with the Recurring Payment or Recurring Billing?

Confused? Fear not. There's a new offering:

For the first time, we're opening up the global PayPal payment platform to developers. You're in the driver's seat with the Adaptive Payments API suite. You get to decide where, when, and how payments happen.

Maybe. You make it sound so easy.