Getting started with Stripe and client-side validation

Before we go any further, there are a few things that we need to do. We need to sign up for an account on the Stripe website and install a couple of third-party dependencies that we'll be using along the way as we build out the client-side payment processing feature.

Registering for a Stripe account

This one's easy. Head over to https://stripe.com/ and click on the big green Create account button on their landing page. It's a simple signup form, so it doesn't really require any explanation.

Once you've registered and logged in, you'll be greeted with the Stripe dashboard where you'll have access to the Developers menu on the left-hand side, which contains an API Keys section beneath it. In here, you'll find both your public and secret Stripe API keys for testing. You'll need both eventually, but the public key belongs in your JavaScript code for the first part of the payment process, and the secret key belongs safely in the server-side...