Square Review

Summary review

You might already be familiar with the payment processing giant Square, but did you know that you can now create an online store using Weebly’s software? Yup, after its acquisition of Weebly in 2018, we now have an all-in-one e-Commerce and payment processing solution in the form of Square eCommerce.

In essence, Square is a website builder fused with e-Commerce functionality. Sure, the editor looks very much like Weebly, but that means building up your store won’t require any coding knowledge. It will also provide just about anything you need to start selling online, including but not limited to the following:

- Free unlimited hosting
- Free Domain Name
- Access to real-time inventory
- Responsive website
- Instagram sales integration
- Shipping labels integration
- Advanced reporting integration
- In-store pickup service
- Synchronization with Square POS



But the question remains, is Square Online Store the right solution for your business? We’ll cover the pros and cons, features, pricing, customer support, and pretty much everything you need to know so you can make an informed decision.

Pros

+ Free plan available
+ Great for small volume merchants
+ Requires no coding skills
+ All-in-one payment system
+ Easy to use dashboard
+ An excellent way to link your POS and online store
+ Easy integration with other e-commerce solutions
+ Reasonable pricing with advanced features on paid plans
+ Decent theme selection

Cons

- Only available to USA & Canadian businesses
- Not ideal for high-volume stores
- Limited features, customization, and payment options
- Some neat features are locked-in to pricey paid accounts
- Shipping strategy and rates could be better
- You’ll be forced to use Square as your payment gateway in order to avoid higher transaction fees

Who is Square Online Store for?

If you already have a brick-and-mortar store and want to take your business online, Square Online Store is a great choice. Restaurants, for example, can set up a convenient online ordering system or allow in-store pickup. If you’re a massage therapist or yoga instructor, Square Online Store will make it possible for your clientele to book appointments online. One important thing to note, however, is that Square Online Store is only available to merchants in the US and Canada. If you’re not in these locations, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Main Features

Ease of Use

Getting started with Square Online Store is a breeze. Setup is fast and easy and from a general layout, you can go ahead and do some basic customization like adding your company logo or changing fonts and colors to be more consistent with your brand. Once you get to the dashboard, you will be able to access insights, marketing tools, orders, website design tools, and more.

Product Types

Square Online Store is quite versatile when it comes to the type of products you can sell on its platform. On top of the usual physical and digital products, you can also sell services, event tickets, memberships, carryout orders, or accept donations.

Payment Options

Understandably, this web builder is owned by Square so you really only have one option when it comes to choosing your payment processor and that would be, uh, Square. If you subscribe to either Performance or Premium plan, you can integrate PayPal but that’s about it.



E-Commerce

Square Online Store’s e-commerce features are not too shabby. Below are some of the things you can do:

- List products
- Fulfill orders
- Accept payments
- Sell in multiple channels
- Manage inventory
- Offer coupon codes and gift cards
- Automatically calculate tax
- Offer in-store pickup option
- Calculate shipping
- Get integrated shipping labels via UPS
- Get real-time shipping and even discounts
- Track shipments
- Send abandoned cart emails
- Allow customer reviews
- Collect information via contact forms



Apps

Are you familiar with Instagram Shopping tool? Well, Square Online Store offers something a bit similar. Once you have integrated your store with Instagram, people can click on a product post and get redirected to your store to complete the purchase. Pretty neat, huh?! In addition to this, you will have access to over a hundred other add-ons and third-party integrations that can handle other aspects of your business from invoicing to accounting and more.

Shipping Options

Square Online Store also gives you a lot of leeway when it comes to shipping options. You can calculate shipping according to weight, purchase total, or order quantity. You can also use a flat rate, real-time rates, or even offer free shipping! Depending on your subscription plan, Square Online Store also allows you to print shipping labels and track your orders.

Templates

Square Online Store only has a handful of templates. While that may turn some people off, the good news is that every template is responsive and optimized for e-commerce use. This is great for those who have no expertise in what makes a website great for online selling. This saves you hours and hours of research figuring out which color can excite your potential customers, what’s the best layout or navigation, as well as the overall design. Everything is taken care of, while giving you a bit of freedom to express your brand identity.



SEO

If you already know the basics of SEO, you won’t have any problem utilizing it to improve your site’s organic traffic. You can edit SEO titles, descriptions, or add permalinks. In addition to SEO, you will have also access to reports and analytics provided that you are subscribed to the Performance plan. This will give you insight on your website’s number of visits, views, and more.

Marketing

Considering how affordable it is compared to other e-commerce platforms, Square Online Store doesn’t skimp on essential marketing features. You can activate pop-ups to collect emails, make an announcement, and offer discounts, among others. You also get to automate your email notifications for order confirmation, refunds, shipped items, and cancellation. Another important tool is the abandoned cart recovery but you will need a Performance or Premium plan for this.

Support and Knowledge Base

You’ll get access to the usual knowledge base section where you can browse helpful articles. If you’d rather reach out to a customer support agent, there are three ways to do so. You can contact support via email, live chat, or phone.

Pricing and Plans

Square Online Store currently offers three paid plans:

The Bottom Line

All in all, we believe that this website builder is good enough for startups or businesses with a small sales volume. It’s easy to use and has all the basics to get your store up and running in no time. However, if you have a larger store with higher sales volume, you might find the lack of advanced features frustrating. And if you live outside the US or Canada, you should seek a different platform...