Square Online

Square Online is a cloud-based website and ecommerce platform for businesses that sell products, services, food, or tickets online. Square now presents the product within its Websites offering, while retaining the Square Online name in developer documentation and common usage.

The platform connects online orders with Square Point of Sale, shared product catalogs, customer records, payments, and inventory. Sellers can create a single ordering page or a multi-page ecommerce website without writing code.

Square Online supports shipping, in-store pickup, curbside pickup, local delivery, digital wallets, gift cards, discounts, and social commerce. Its strongest fit is for small and midsize businesses already using Square for payments or point of sale.

Square Online includes a hosted website builder with ecommerce layouts, custom domain support, basic SEO tools, product listings, product variations, and mobile-friendly checkout pages.

Commerce tools include catalog synchronization with Square Point of Sale, inventory management across locations, customer accounts, order tracking, subscriptions, product bundles, gift cards, discounts, and abandoned-cart emails.

Fulfillment options include shipping, real-time shipping rates on eligible plans, in-store pickup, curbside pickup, and local delivery through staff or third-party couriers. Sellers can also connect Facebook, Instagram, Google Product Listings, and Google Food Ordering.

Square’s developer platform provides Sites and Snippets APIs for Square Online. The Sites API can retrieve site metadata, while the Snippets API can insert scripts into site pages except checkout pages.

Square Free has no monthly subscription charge or startup cost. It charges online card processing fees when a seller makes a sale. Square Plus costs $49 per month per location, and Square Premium costs $149 per month per location on the current United States pricing page.

The listed online card rate is 3.3% plus $0.30 for Square Free and 2.9% plus $0.30 for Square Plus and Premium. Square Pro uses custom pricing for qualifying businesses, including sellers processing more than $250,000 annually.

Square Plus and Square Premium include 30-day free trials. Square Free does not require a trial because it has no monthly subscription fee. Additional charges can apply for services such as text marketing, gift-card loading, international cards, and Afterpay.

Pros

• A free plan supports website creation and online selling.
• Online and in-person catalogs, orders, customers, and inventory can share one Square system.
• Pickup, local delivery, shipping, digital wallets, and social selling are supported.
• Sites and Snippets APIs support custom integrations and site extensions.
• Paid plans add advanced customization, subscriptions, reporting, and lower online processing rates.

Cons

• Advanced features require paid plans billed per location.
• Payment processing fees remain applicable on the free plan.
• Some integrations are managed by third-party partners and may have separate costs.
• Developer access for Square Online Sites and Snippets APIs is documented as an early access program.
• Businesses needing highly specialized ecommerce workflows may require custom development or another platform.

Shopify is a broader ecommerce platform with extensive themes, apps, and multichannel selling tools. It may suit businesses that need a larger ecommerce ecosystem.

Wix eCommerce combines visual website design with online selling and can connect to Square catalogs in supported workflows.

BigCommerce targets growing and larger online retailers with advanced catalog, channel, and operational features.

WooCommerce adds ecommerce functionality to WordPress and offers extensive control through plugins and custom development.

Ecwid lets businesses add ecommerce capabilities to an existing website and supports Square payment integration in supported markets.

Is Square Online free? Yes. Square Free has no monthly subscription charge or startup cost. Sellers pay transaction processing fees when they accept payments.

Does Square Online offer a free trial? Square Plus and Square Premium each offer a 30-day free trial. Square Free does not need a trial because it has no monthly subscription fee.

Does Square Online integrate with Square POS? Yes. Online sales, product information, customer data, and inventory can connect with Square Point of Sale and other Square business tools.

What payment methods does Square Online support? Supported checkout methods include major cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Square Pay, Cash App Pay, and Afterpay, subject to market and account eligibility.

Does Square Online have an API? Yes. Square documents Sites and Snippets APIs for extending Square Online sites. Other Square APIs support payments, orders, catalogs, customers, inventory, and related commerce workflows.

Can Square Online support pickup and delivery? Yes. Sellers can configure in-store pickup, curbside pickup, local delivery, shipping, and eligible third-party courier integrations.