AMA: eCommerce Solutions for Retailers 🌐🛍️

[areynolds]

On Thursday, February 12, the Square eCommerce, Retail, and Partnerships teams will be here to answer your questions about taking your retail business online!

---

Hey Square Retail Sellers! 

Whether you're just getting started with online sales or looking to level up your existing setup, we're here to help you explore:

🛒 All-in-One Square Solutions

• Building a full online store with Square Websites (no coding required!)
• Creating quick payment links to share anywhere
• Managing inventory across all your sales channels

🔗 Third-Party Platform Integrations

• Connecting Shopify to Square with Thrive Inventory
• Connecting Square with Wix, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and more
• Keeping everything synced without double entry

Ask us about things like:

• Which eCommerce option is right for your business stage
• How to sync inventory between online and in-store sales
• Connecting your third-party eCommerce platform to Square

Want a head start? Check out this guide to Square's eCommerce options before the AMA.

To participate, post your questions to this thread and check back on Thursday, February 12 for responses from our Square eCommerce, Retail, and Partnerships teams directly in the thread. No sign-up or registration required. 

[rtfulk]

I  have a couple questions.

1. Are there plans to support native product videos in Square Online (stored in the Image Library) to improve conversion rates, especially for retail sellers?

2. Are there upcoming improvements to Square Online customization? For instance: on the Index/Homepage, there are section/templates to put up images, but there is no way to resize them. The photo below is from my website, I would like the ability to resize my social media icons to make them smaller.

3.How does Square handle SEO for product pages vs Shopify?

4. There has been several conversations about websites being ADA compliant. What is Square doing or How does Square handle ADA compliance for websites?

Thank You.

[TCCinWV]

Hi! First, let me say I love Square. It has definitely made my life easier in terms of tracking sales and other metrics.

 I have a shop selling handmade unique gifts. For example, I have a line of hand-painted jewelry. I am struggling with how to move to online sales because I have for example, 200 necklaces that meet the same general description but each piece is distinctly different. Is there a manageable way to sell these online? I sell them for $20 each so -given the low price point -  it seems like an enormous amount of effort to photograph, upload, and write copy for each individual piece. But so far I’ve not been able to come up with an alternative. Do you have any advice or solutions for me? Thank you!

Lastly, is this AMA going to be a live event or is just the posts in this forum? If it’s a live event can you post the registration link?

[areynolds]

Hi @TCCinWV - we're so glad to hear Square is working well for your business and thanks so much for your question! Your question is a common challenge for many artisans. Here are some solutions we recommend:

Solution 1: Use Product Variants
- Create one product listing for "Hand-Painted Necklace"
- Add variants for different colors, sizes, or styles
- You could upload a photo(s) that shows all the variants together with each one labeled according to how you list your variants
- Customers select their preferred variant at checkout
- This reduces your upload burden significantly

Solution 2: Bulk Import
- Use Square's bulk import feature to upload multiple items at once
- Prepare a CSV file with all your necklace variations
- This is faster than individual uploads

Solution 3: Simplified Descriptions
- Use a template for similar items (e.g., "Hand-Painted Necklace - Unique Design #[number]")
- Add 1 photo per item instead of many
- Include a note that each piece is one-of-a-kind

Solution 4: Bulk Edit
- If you already have items set up in your library, you can use our bulk edit catalog feature
- You can take a number of photos and bulk upload them via Items & Services > Image library
- You can then select the items you wish to edit in your Item Library >> Select "Edit Items"
- This will allow you to make bulk changes to your existing items, including adding an image from your image library, changing pricing, adding names, and more

Pro Tips:
- We recognize getting your full catalog online can be a big undertaking. Consider starting small by first adding your top 15-20 necklaces before expanding as you see more sales. This can help your website feel focused and easier to navigate by your customers.
- Many successful handmade sellers use a combination of variants for similar pieces and individual listings for truly unique items.

Here are a couple resources to help you determine what works best for you:
- Set up items for your online store
- Item and inventory management support articles

[areynolds]

Hi @rtfulk - thanks for your questions! See answers below:

1. Square Online does support product videos to help improve conversion rates. Here are current capabilities available:

- Upload custom videos directly to your store (up to 100 MB, max 1 hour length)
- Embed YouTube videos on product pages and throughout your site
- Embed videos from other hosts using embeddable code
- Use videos as section backgrounds for added visual engagement

While videos aren't stored directly in the Image Library as a dedicated feature, you can manage them through the Video section in your site editor and organize them alongside your product content.

You can refer to this help resource for how to add videos to your online store.

2. We hear you on customization limitations! Currently, Square Online offers section templates with images, but resizing controls are limited in the editor. As a workaround you can pre-resize images before uploading using tools like Canva or Pixlr to get your social medias icons to the exact size you need.

3. Square Online offers many capabilities to help your site stand out in search such as the following:

- Built-in SEO tools for your entire site and individual pages
- Alt text support for images to help search engines understand your content
- Automatic sitemap generation for search engine indexing
- URL customization and redirect management
- Meta descriptions and titles for each page and product
- Mobile-responsive design (important for Google rankings)

In terms of how Square Online compares to Shopify, both platforms support SEO fundamentals, but implementation varies. We are continuously exploring ways to improve SEO capabilities.

Here are a couple resources to help ensure your site is optimized for search engines:
- Index your online store with search engines
- Ultimate SEO guide

4. Square values accessibility, and we strive to make our products accessible to as many people as possible. We consistently evaluate ways to make our products more accessible.

Sellers can review their own website to evaluate their site’s accessibility, in consideration of WCAG guidelines (e.g., navigate each page using a keyboard only, turn on screen reader, etc.). Additionally, there are a number of third-party services that can run an accessibility audit and/or scan your website. Square does not endorse or have official recommendations for specific third-party service providers in this space.

However, Square does integrate with accessiBe which can be found on the Square App Marketplace. We advise website owners to check what types of solutions beyond scanning a website to assess accessibility are available through AccessiBe, as they are a third-party to Square and independently develop their products.

[JUYBoutique20]

So where would the videos live if they're not in the product images?  Will they be available in other places on our website? 

[rtfulk]

That's what I was thinking, I would like to be able to just upload them with our product photos, so they all are in the same location on the page.

[JUYBoutique20]

Same here.  I don't want customers being able to see them anywhere else outside of the product they click on.

[ladielex20]

Where is the link to register? 

[HoseLine_Net]

I would like to see mkt.com re-used as a searchable database across all shopping carts, something that can compete with eBay and others.  I am also seeing too many obstacles now on selling items on Square, granular controls that just make things difficult.

[areynolds]

Hi @HoseLine_Net - thanks so much for your question. 

We understand the desire for a centralized marketplace like eBay. Currently, Square Online functions as your own storefront rather than a marketplace platform. To reach more customers, we recommend connecting to multiple sales channels through Square, like Facebook Shops, Instagram Shopping, and Google Shopping.

Regarding selling obstacles, your feedback about granular controls making selling difficult is important. We need a few more details to help. We recommend taking the following actions to get additional support for your specific concerns:
- Contact Square Support with specific examples of what's making it hard
- Post in the Square Community - other sellers may have workarounds

[areynolds]

@TCCinWV @ladielex20 - you don't need to register or sign up, and there won't be a live event. The Square team will respond to your questions directly in this thread on Thurs, Feb 12. 

[TCCinWV]

Thanks!

[ladielex20]

Meta For Business: I have been trying to link my items to Facebook Shop for months with no luck. Called in and Square said there was nothing on there end. Not able to get a hold of anyone at Meta. No luck and missing out on a key business feature. What to do?

Email Marketing!! We need more options to design, PLEASE!!

Reviews!!! Why can we not send a link to our customers to have them do a review that will post to the product page?? I know that there is an option to send them an email after purchase but that is not always successful. We need another option and Yopto does not allow connection to Square from what I am seeing. How can we add more options to get reviews?

[areynolds]

Hi @ladielex20 - thank you for your feedback and questions, and we apologize for the frustrations you're encountering. See some guidance below on the topics you raised:

Meta integration issue:  Here are a couple trouble shooting steps we recommend:

Step 1: Verify Square's Connection
- Go to Square Dashboard → Websites → Sales Channels → Meta for Business
- Check if status shows "Connected"

- If not connected, try reconnecting from scratch

Step 2: Check Meta Requirements
- Domain verification - You MUST verify your domain with Facebook
- Business Manager account - Ensure you have proper permissions

If you haven't already, we recommend you follow the step by step Meta for Business setup guide here.

Email marketing: If you have specific feedback on what design options you're looking for, we would love to hear it. You can also reach out to Square Support to submit feedback about specific design features you need. You can learn more about creating marketing campaigns here.

Reviews: Currently the only way to request reviews for items purchased on your online store is to set up an email automation to request a review after purchase. We will take your feedback into consideration for future roadmap development.

In the meantime, we recommend exploring Google reviews and our marketing automations that enable you to request Google reviews and Facebook reviews. You can also explore third-party review platforms, like Trustpilot, that integrate with Square on the Square App Marketplace.

[Kwit]

I’d like to create a wedding registry on my square website. Any plans on adding that feature? The bride can create a wish list and friends and family can purchase and it will ship to the Bride. 

[areynolds]

Hi @Kwit - thanks for your question. We don't currently have plans to add wedding registry or wish list capabilities to Square Online, but we will consider your request for future roadmap planning. 

[Kwit]

I would like to start a membership for loyal customers where they can scan a QR code on a key chain and receive an award or gift. Do you have a way to scan membership cards with Square for retail?  I’d like this tag or card to open up their profile. 

[areynolds]

Hi @Kwit - this is a creative loyalty idea! While we don't have a feature specific to this use case, there is a workaround using customer reference IDs and loyalty tiers. Here's how it could work:

Step 1: Add a reference ID to your customer records in Directory, and then generate a QR code or barcode from the ID to distribute to your customers.

Step 2: Set up Tiers in Square Loyalty. The base tier would be your standard loyalty program and the next tier up could be your "membership" tier. Only issue barcodes to customers in this upper membership tier.

Step 3: Once scanned at checkout, your cashier would manually be able to identify the customer and confirm eligibility for a reward or gift.

While this approach isn't a fully automated membership, it could still work well for VIP programs and in-store recognition of your most loyal buyers.

[WeArose]

Is there a way to have a total inventory number for an item, instead of having to put a number in for each location? We don't have a brick and mortar, but are a mobile business. Our locations are either pickup or drop off sites. We have a set number of an item to sell online and would like to just be able to enter that number and not divide it between the locations, since it's basically just delivery or pick up.

Can I arrange the items on the customer facing site? I would like one item to appear at the top of the list that doesn't come first alphabetically.

Thank you!

[areynolds]

Hi @WeArose - thanks for the great questions!

Regarding centralized inventory for your mobile business, we recommend creating one master location for your online sales.

Here's how to do it:
- Go to your Square Dashboard → Account & Settings → My business → Locations and create a new location that's just for online selling
- Then from your Square item catalog, you can assign certain items and stock counts to your new online only location so that all of your online sales pull from a single inventory count

Regarding arranging items on your website in the order of your choice, you can absolutely do this. Here's how you can do so:

Option 1: From Square Websites
- Go to your Square website editor
- Select your Shop All page then Item List
- Click Arrange Items and you can choose to sort by popularity, newest, price, alphabetical or a custom order

Option 2: From Items
- Go to Items & services > Categories
- Select a category
- Select Rearrange under the Items in the Category to adjust how items are displayed on your website