Square Online alternatives for sellers who want more design freedom than Square's themes
Square Online, which Square now calls websites, is built around the Square account you already sell with: one catalogue and stock count for the shop counter and the website. Square describes its design tools as basic site layouts and design options. Square Online alternatives make sense when the site's look matters as much as the checkout, but if your in-person sales run on Square, the sync is worth a lot.
What Square's own pages say
Square's online store page explains in its FAQ that Square Online was renamed websites to highlight the site-building tools, with the same features. It describes managing inventory across store locations and sales channels so you don't oversell, choosing shipping, pickup or delivery, connecting a custom domain, and starting from customisable e-commerce themes with no coding.
Square's plans page, as of 24 October 2026, describes the website builder as basic site layouts, design options and blog content with SEO tools. On the US page, Square Free is $0 a month, Square Plus $49 a month per location and Square Premium $149 a month per location, in US dollars, with card fees that vary by plan. The same page lists a Wix online store sync that connects a Wix store to your Square catalogue, keeping inventory, orders and discounts in step.
So Square says plainly that its design tools are basic. Sellers who want a site with its own character look elsewhere; sellers who want the stock count to be right everywhere often shouldn't.
Before you change anything
- Decide where products live. Your catalogue belongs to your Square account, not the website. If you keep Square for in-person sales, the question is only which site sells online.
- Check card processing in your country. Square's availability article lists card processing in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, Ireland, France and Spain only.
- List what the site does today. Pickup, delivery zones, gift cards, online ordering for a menu: note each, because simpler sites may not replace them.
- Note domain and redirects. Record which domain the site uses and the paths of your most visited product pages. Anticode has no per-site redirect manager, so old product addresses won't redirect there.
Four options to compare
| Option | Suits | From its own pages |
|---|---|---|
| Wix with Square sync | Building the site in Wix while Square stays the catalogue | Listed on Square's plans page as syncing inventory, orders and discounts with Square |
| Shopify | A full online store with its own point of sale | Its pricing page lists Basic at $39 USD a month, or $29 a month paid yearly, with POS Pro at $89 a month per location |
| Squarespace | A template site with a built-in store | Its pricing page lists 0% store transaction fees from Core, at $39 a month or $29 on the annual toggle |
| Anticode | A designed site for a shop, café or studio that sells a few things by link | No cart, no inventory and no Square checkout link |
Only the first option keeps Square as the single place your stock is counted. Shopify replaces Square at the till as well as online. Squarespace and Anticode are separate systems from your Square POS.
Where Anticode fits
Anticode suits the seller whose website is mostly about the place and the brand, and whose sales mostly happen in person. Describe the business; the Architect asks up to three questions and shows a plan with pages such as Shop, About, FAQ and Contact. The design engine builds in one of seven design systems, from Luxury to Playful, with one font family and one action colour, so the site has a look of its own.
Selling online is deliberately simple. Buy buttons open a checkout link from Stripe Payment Links, PayPal, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify or Whop; see adding a buy button. For a weekly menu or a list of products that changes, a CMS collection holds the items and gives each its own page. Contact forms save enquiries and can email you.
What Anticode can't do for a Square seller
- No Square sync. Anticode doesn't read your Square catalogue or update stock.
- No Square checkout. Square isn't one of the payment link providers listed above.
- No cart or store engine. One payment link per account, so every buy button opens the same checkout; no shipping, pickup, tax or inventory.
- No embeds. Ordering widgets, reservation tools and video can't be embedded; link to them.
- English only. The builder and sites are in English.
When to stay on Square Online
Stay if your in-person sales run on Square and your online orders matter: a bakery taking pickup orders, a shop selling the same stock online and at the counter, a restaurant with online ordering. One catalogue and one stock count are worth more than a more distinctive homepage. If design is the only issue, the Wix sync that Square lists keeps that catalogue while changing the site. Or keep Square Online for orders and put a separate brand site in front of it, linking to the shop.
Questions people ask
Is Square Online still available?
Yes. Square's FAQ says it was renamed websites to highlight its site-building tools, with the same features.
Which square online alternatives keep my Square inventory in sync?
Square's plans page lists a Wix online store sync that keeps inventory, orders and discounts in step with your Square catalogue.
Can I use a Square checkout link on Anticode?
Square isn't among Anticode's listed payment link providers, which are Stripe Payment Links, PayPal, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify and Whop.
Where can Square process card payments?
Square's help centre lists the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, Ireland, France and Spain.
Sources
- Square: online store, checked
- Square: plans and pricing, checked
- Square Support: International availability, checked
- Shopify pricing, checked
- Squarespace pricing, checked