How to Send Email After Stripe Payment in Strapi

Setting Up Automated Emails in Strapi

Integrating Stripe with a React frontend for handling payments offers a seamless checkout process for users. With Strapi as the backend and Stripe to manage transactions, the setup is robust and scalable. The addition of an automated email notification upon successful payment enhances user experience by confirming their transaction immediately.

This implementation utilizes SendGrid, a leader in email delivery, which is integrated into Strapi using its dedicated email provider plugin. However, despite the successful test emails through Strapi's admin settings, the actual transaction-triggered emails fail to send, suggesting an issue within the email lifecycle handling in Strapi.

Detailed Explanation of Automated Email and Payment Scripts

The scripts provided offer a comprehensive solution for integrating Stripe payments and SendGrid email notifications within a Strapi application. The use of createCoreController extends Strapi's default controller functionalities, allowing for custom logic to be embedded directly into the order processing workflow. In the setup, the setUpStripe function is crucial as it processes the cart data received from the front end, utilizing Stripe to handle payment transactions efficiently. Each product in the cart is validated through a call to strapi.db.query, ensuring that only items available in the database are processed for payment.

Once the total amount is calculated using the reduce method, a payment intent is created with Stripe using the stripe.paymentIntents.create command, which encapsulates all necessary payment details like amount and currency. This step is vital for initiating the actual transaction process. If successful, a confirmation response is sent back to the client. On the other hand, the email notification functionality is implemented in the afterCreate lifecycle hook in the order model. This hook automatically triggers the SendGrid email service using strapi.plugins['email'].services.email.send, sending a customized thank-you email once an order is successfully created and processed.

Automating Email Notifications on Payment Completion in Strapi

Node.js and Strapi Backend Script

const strapi = require('strapi');
const stripe = require('stripe')('sk_test_51H');
// Strapi's factory function to extend the base controller
const { createCoreController } = require('@strapi/strapi').factories;
module.exports = createCoreController('api::order.order', ({ strapi }) => ({
  async setUpStripe(ctx) {
    let total = 0;
    let validatedCart = [];
    const { cart } = ctx.request.body;
    await Promise.all(cart.map(async (product) => {
      try {
        const validatedProduct = await strapi.db.query('api::product.product').findOne({ where: { id: product.id } });
        if (validatedProduct) {
          validatedCart.push(validatedProduct);
        }
      } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error while querying the databases:', error);
      }
    }));
    total = validatedCart.reduce((n, { price }) => n + price, 0);
    try {
      const paymentIntent = await stripe.paymentIntents.create({
        amount: total,
        currency: 'usd',
        metadata: { cart: JSON.stringify(validatedCart) },
        payment_method_types: ['card']
      });
      ctx.send({ message: 'Payment intent created successfully', paymentIntent });
    } catch (error) {
      ctx.send({ error: true, message: 'Error in processing payment', details: error.message });
    }
  }
}));

Enabling Email Dispatch Following Successful Stripe Payments

Strapi Lifecycle Hooks in JavaScript

module.exports = {
  lifecycles: {
    async afterCreate(event) {
      const { result } = event;
      try {
        await strapi.plugins['email'].services.email.send({
          to: 'email@email.co.uk',
          from: 'email@email.co.uk',
          subject: 'Thank you for your order',
          text: \`Thank you for your order \${result.name}\`
        });
      } catch (err) {
        console.log('Failed to send email:', err);
      }
    }
  }
};

Enhancing E-Commerce with Strapi and Stripe Integration

Integrating Strapi with Stripe and SendGrid transforms the e-commerce experience by streamlining both the payment and communication processes. This setup not only facilitates secure and efficient transactions but also enhances customer engagement through timely notifications. The advantage of using Strapi lies in its flexibility and extensibility, allowing developers to customize workflows and data models to fit their specific needs. By leveraging Strapi’s robust API and plugin system, developers can integrate third-party services like Stripe for payments and SendGrid for email delivery seamlessly.

Moreover, implementing automated email notifications post-transaction with SendGrid through Strapi can significantly improve customer satisfaction. It keeps customers informed about their order status, creating a trustworthy relationship. This approach also aids in marketing efforts, as it allows for the sending of personalized emails based on customer actions, which can lead to increased sales and customer retention. The ability to customize email templates in SendGrid and trigger them from Strapi based on specific actions or events makes this solution highly effective for modern e-commerce platforms.

Common Questions About Strapi, Stripe, and SendGrid Integration

1. Question: How do I connect Stripe with my Strapi application?
2. Answer: To connect Stripe, install the Stripe Node.js library, configure your Stripe API keys in your Strapi config, and use the Stripe API to handle transactions in your controller.
3. Question: What is SendGrid used for in a Strapi application?
4. Answer: SendGrid is integrated into Strapi to handle outbound emails, such as transaction confirmations and marketing communications, directly through your application.
5. Question: Can I customize the email templates used by SendGrid in Strapi?
6. Answer: Yes, SendGrid allows you to create and manage custom email templates that can be triggered by Strapi to send different types of emails based on user actions or order status.
7. Question: How do I handle errors during the Stripe payment process in Strapi?
8. Answer: Handle errors by implementing error-catching mechanisms in your payment processing function and provide feedback to the user through the Strapi backend.
9. Question: What are the benefits of integrating Stripe and SendGrid with Strapi?
10. Answer: Integrating these tools enhances your application's functionality with robust payment processing, secure transactions, and effective customer communication, leading to an improved overall user experience.

Final Thoughts on Automating Payments and Notifications

The integration of Stripe and SendGrid with Strapi serves as a robust solution for automating payment processing and customer communications in e-commerce applications. By configuring these tools within the Strapi environment, developers can ensure seamless transaction management and effective customer engagement. The provided approach highlights the importance of error handling and lifecycle management to maintain a reliable and user-friendly system. Further debugging and testing are recommended to resolve any issues with email delivery, ensuring all components function as intended.