Table of Contents
The article will teach you how to start a free store for your online business. It covers the 10 most important pieces of advice that can make sure it is successful, so read on!
For stores, restaurants, service enterprises, and organizations, Square Online provides a free eCommerce website. Anyone may start a Square Online shop, list items for sale, accept payments, and fulfill orders through regular shipping methods, curbside pickup, or local delivery. This includes mobile enterprises and multi-store operations. Square’s backend reporting also syncs with online shop analytics for proper data management across online and in-person sales.
The free Square Online shop is straightforward to set up, and we’ll take you through it in 10 easy steps. We’ll also demonstrate how to create a Square Checkout page for pickup orders, as well as how Square Online works for restaurants. Sign up for a free Square account today if you want to follow along. It’s risk-free and just takes a few minutes, and you can start building your business while reading these instructions.
Learn more about Square and why it’s so popular with small companies.
1. Sign up for a free Square account.
Opening a free Square account is the first step in setting up a Square Online shop. This account gives you access to the Square dashboard, which houses your online store’s controls as well as other business features like order management, marketing, and reporting.
Your email address and password are the only pieces of information needed to create a Square account. Because your identification and financial information will be linked to your profile, make sure you use a safe password. Optional information such as your company name and type may be entered now or later in your Square Dashboard settings.
With an email address and a password, anybody can establish a free Square account.
You’ll also need to submit your legal name, the last four digits of your Social Security Number or individual taxpayer identification number, and a phone number for Square to verify your identity. In order for Square to deposit payments from your online store’s sales, you’ll also need to connect to a bank account.
2. Select Your Store’s Initial Settings
You may start building your online shop when you’ve created your free account. Square uses automatic prompts to help customers through the process; no technical knowledge is necessary. The Square Dashboard allows you to alter all of your settings at any time. So don’t be concerned—nothing you do now will be lasting.
Step-by-step instructions may be found in the photos below:
To obtain ideas for templates that are well-suited to your company’s requirements, first choose your business type—restaurant, retail, salon, etc.
Add marketing, gift cards, payment, invoicing, and other tools to your shop once you’ve selected your company type. You may update these settings at any moment on your dashboard.
Finally, decide if you want a single-page site for rapid orders or a multi-page site with additional product and company information. Choose the single-page option if you already have a website and merely want to handle orders online. If you’re not sure which choice to choose, Square will guide you through the process with prompts.
3. Create a Square Website
After that, follow the automatic directions to your Square Dashboard. You may start by watching video lessons or jumping directly into the Setup Guide to start developing your shop. We used a multi-page retail shop as our example.
The important stages in selecting your first design may be found by scrolling through the photos below:
Square Online offers a selection of website themes for retail, restaurants, services, nonprofits, and events. (Image courtesy of Square Online)
To begin constructing your site, click the “Online” icon on the left side of your dashboard. This will take you to the setup instruction, where you may immediately choose the shop features you need. The shop mock-up will immediately reflect your modifications as you add or delete features.
After you’ve decided on your store’s features, go ahead and upload your logo by clicking “Next.” If you don’t already have one, you may skip this step for now and add or edit it later. Finally, choose your site’s font type and primary color, both of which may be changed afterward.
Square Online’s shop has relatively few customization options, particularly when compared to drag-and-drop builders like Wix or Weebly. Square Online, on the other hand, makes up for its lack of customization with quickness.
4. Create your online store’s URL
Following that, Square will ask you to create a domain or URL for your website and online shop. There are three possibilities:
- Purchase a domain for $12 per year with Square: This option also requires the purchase of a Square Online subscription.
- Connect an existing domain: You may connect an existing domain to your Square Online shop by purchasing it from a third-party provider like GoDaddy or Bluehost. This option also requires the purchase of a premium subscription.
- Use a free Square subdomain: If you choose this option, your website will be hosted on Square’s subdomain. You may establish your domain like andythepitbull.square.site for free, for example, if you operate a pet business named after your dog Andy.
Using a Square subdomain keeps your shop free, but subscribing to a subscription account gives you access to services like abandoned cart recovery emails and sophisticated shipping choices, as well as additional credibility in the eyes of prospective buyers.
5. Enter the information for your homepage.
You may modify your homepage after you’ve picked the basic design settings and functionality. Work your way through the Header, Main Banner, Featured Products, Contact, and Footer components using the navigation bar on the left. Each part may have text, buttons, font, and color added or changed.
The templated nature of Square Online Store makes it simple to bring in critical information before launching your site.
The majority of this procedure will be guided by Square, so creating your website’s main page will be quick and painless. Individual components can only be customized to a limited extent—you can’t pick an alternative design, free-range resize items or move text boxes to a different location. If you’d rather pay a professional to create your website, Square has a designer option (prices start at $199).
You may link your Instagram account and add an email signup box to your website to increase your online visibility. Customers may buy things straight from Instagram via a shoppable post created by a Paying Square user with an Instagram Business account.
In the Location area of the page, finish setting up your homepage by entering your business hours and contact information.
6. Add Sellable Items
Square allows you to sell both physical and digital items, such as food and drinks, memberships, services, and event tickets. You may also raise funds by collecting contributions. Regardless of the sort of shop you choose at the start of the process, you may utilize all of these choices.
The most time-consuming phase of setup will be adding all of your items into the item catalog with descriptions and photographs if you have a lot of them.
You may add items to your Square site in a few ways:
- Add goods one by one.
- Using an Excel or CSV file, upload goods in bulk.
Bulk upload will save you a lot of time if you have a lot of items. If you currently use Square POS, your products will be automatically transferred to your Online Store, but you’ll be able to choose whether or not to sell each item online.
To upload in bulk, follow these steps:
- Go to the Square Dashboard’s home page.
- Select “Items” from the drop-down menu (not Online Store)
- Square’s Excel or CSV templates are available for download.
- Fill in the blanks with your current inventory and save the spreadsheet.
- To import your library, upload an Excel or CSV file to Square.
If you already have a product list from a POS system, inventory management software, or even your supplier, adapt it to Square’s Excel template. It will save you a lot of time over manually uploading each product.
Include Item Specifications
You’ll need an item name, product description, price, and quantity whether you submit your items in bulk or individually. You may also provide SKU numbers, weight, tax information, permalinks, SEO descriptions, custom modifiers, and product variations as optional information.
Set the pickup and delivery prep time for each item here, as well as whether it’s available for shipment, pickup, or delivery.
Photo of the Product
Because product images can make or break a sale in an online business, it’s critical to provide at least one photo for each product you offer. If you’re a merchant setting up an online shop for the first time, you may use your smartphone to take high-quality product images. You may also contact your product suppliers—many wholesalers, manufacturers, and distributors will provide you with free high-quality product images.
A product photography service is also available via Square. Square will give you high-quality digital photographs if you mail in your purchases. Interactive 360-degree pictures cost $29.95 apiece or $9.95 for a photo bundle of three product photographs viewed from various angles.
7. Calculate Shipping Costs
You’ll need to input your mailing address, choose your target areas, and specify shipping costs before you can send your purchases.
- Square will automatically fill in your store’s address in this section, but you may modify it if necessary (for example, if you’re delivering from a warehouse).
- Add the regions you ship to (for example, the United States or the United States and Territories) and leave out the ones you don’t.
- Set a single flat shipping charge to get your business up and running immediately. You may easily add custom delivery prices or promotional shipping options afterward. Make sure your flat shipping pricing is competitive, but not at the expense of your profit margins.
Upgrade to one of Square’s premium online shop plans for integrated shipping choices and real-time shipping calculations at checkout.
8. Include options for pick-up and delivery.
You may enable curbside or in-store pickup and order delivery after adding your goods and choosing shipping charges.
You’ll need to validate your store’s time zone, select certain hours for customers to submit online orders for pickup and delivery, and estimate prep times to allow order pickup. Setting an appropriate prep time is critical since Square utilizes it to provide a pickup time to clients when they make an order. Customers may plan a particular pickup time with retailers.
Square automatically activates text message notifications when you allow order delivery, so consumers may opt-in to receive updates through SMS. If you wish to enable purchasers to get email updates, you may turn this off under the Checkout advanced options.
Customers might be given explicit directions, such as “pick up orders at the register,” by businesses. Due to Square’s lack of an automatic function that adjusts delivery settings or choices depending on the user’s location, companies must declare which locations they deliver to in the instructions box.
9. Establish Checkout Procedures
Square’s online shop is pre-configured to take credit cards, debit cards, Square gift cards, and mobile payment solutions like Apple Pay.
Square may also be used to design and deliver personalized order invoices. For online payments, Square’s regular transaction cost is 2.9 percent + 30 cents. You’ll enjoy cheaper processing rates and the ability to accept PayPal payments if you subscribe to a premium plan.
One of the biggest advantages of Square Online Store over other basic store builders is that it has built-in payment processing that requires no configuration or setup.
Include policies for shipping and returns.
There are opportunities to add shop policies for shipping and returns underneath the payment processing settings. Indicate how long it takes to process orders, how long consumers should expect normal delivery to take, and what your refund policy is in these areas.
Use the Shipping and Return policies to manage consumer expectations about how long it takes to complete orders and who pays for return and exchange shipping fees.
Tax Collection for Online Orders
Square, like other major eCommerce systems and website builders, provides an automated US tax calculator that calculates US sales tax based on your store’s address and the delivery location of your customers. This eliminates guessing and tedious computations, ensuring that you charge the exact tax rate.
10. Preview
Your Square shop is now ready to go live. Click “Preview” in the upper right corner of the site editor to double-check everything. To ensure that both the desktop and mobile versions appear well, flip back and forth between them.
You may also share the preview through a link before posting it. When you’re happy with your site, click “Publish” in the upper right corner to make it live.
Square’s web builder defaults to a desktop view, so be sure to check the mobile preview before going live.
Even after your site has been launched, you may make changes to any aspect of it, such as product pages, inventory, shop policies, and shipping or delivery information. You may also include pages and features like an About Us page, client testimonials, and social media links.
Other options include gathering consumer emails for a newsletter, selling event tickets, and launching a membership club.
Continue to expand your Online Store after it has been published by adding new features, product kinds, and marketing tools.
Square Online Checkout: How to Use It
Square Online Checkout is a simple, one-page webpage that any company or group may use to simplify purchasing and payment. A single item (physical or digital goods, food or beverage, contribution request, or subscription) is shown on a Square Checkout page, along with payment buttons.
Square Checkout pages are great for a variety of uses, including:
- Pre-orders or product launches
- Payments for services rendered
- Subscriptions
- Books and electronic items
- Adding a check-out feature to an existing website
- With the use of a QR code, you may shop without having to use your hands.
Checkout, like Square Online’s shop, needs no code and even less design. Creating a Checkout page is similar to completing a form. Customers may then access it through a link, a purchase button, or a QR code.
In three easy steps, you may establish a Square Online Checkout page:
1. Sign up for a free Square account.
The first step, just as with a complete Square Online shop, is to create a free Square account. An email address, password, name, last four digits of your Social Security or individual taxpayer identification number, and a phone number are required to establish an account. If you wish to accept payments, Square will use that information to verify your identification (but there is no application or approval procedure).
Once you’ve created an account, you’ll be sent to Square Dashboard, which acts as a command center.
2. Include information about the product or service.
When you’re signed in to your Square account, you have two options for creating an Online Checkout page:
- Create a product library and use the data to build a checkout page.
- Individual pages may be created by entering product information and price.
If you just require a few checkout pages, the latter is preferable.
There are three main sorts of checkout links: cash collection, item sale, and contribution acceptance.
3. Pass on the URL
Customers may be emailed or texted the link individually or as part of a campaign. To promote a certain product or service, including the URL in social postings or adverts. Make your website shoppable by adding purchase buttons that go to your Square Checkout pages if you currently have one.
Customers may access your checkout page by emailing or texting the URL, scanning a QR code, adding a button to your website, or sharing it on Facebook.
Square Checkout may also be used for contactless in-store purchases by businesses. Print the QR code for the item and place it next to it in the shop.
You may direct clients to a simple purchase page with Square Online Checkout by sending them a text or email link, a social media post, or by integrating a buy button into an existing site. (Image courtesy of Square)
You may direct clients to a simple purchase page with Square Online Checkout by sending them a text or email link, a social media post, or by integrating a buy button into an existing site. (Image courtesy of Square)
Square Online: How to Make a Restaurant Website
Square Online may be used by restaurants to create an ordering website. This solution is suitable for both delivery and pickup orders, as well as a contactless menu option. Square Online integrates with other Square products, such as Square for Restaurants and the kitchen display system, allowing you to keep track of all of your orders in one spot.
For additional information, see our Square for Restaurants guide.
Square Online allows restaurants to schedule deliveries. Connect to Square’s on-demand delivery platform or use your own drivers. (Image courtesy of Square)
Is Square Online the Best Option for You?
Square Online is a unique product in that it provides small companies of all sorts (retail, restaurant, cafe, service, and more) with free online sales tools. It also integrates with Square’s POS software, which is likewise free to use.
Square offers premium options that you may upgrade to as your company develops. While Square Online isn’t as feature-rich as other popular eCommerce systems like Shopify (see our Shopify vs Square comparison), it provides incomparable value for brick-and-mortar companies looking to expand online.
Conclusion
Small companies may immediately move their activities online by registering for a free Square Online account. Setup is quick and painless, and tracking inventory and orders is simple once your business is up and running. Additionally, if your company expands, you can use Square’s free POS software for in-person sales and add on other eCommerce and marketing capabilities to help you build your business. Create a free Square account and start selling online right now.
