Add items and categories to Square Online in the site editor
With Square Online item sync, items synced to Square Online from your Square Item Library can be changed to several different item types and displayed on your site as needed. They can also be added to site categories you can organise separately from categories on your POS. In this article, we’ll review how to add and manage site items and categories from your site editor.
Note: You can also add and edit items from the Square Online Overview page in your Dashboard for additional tools not found in the editor. Learn more about adding items and categories to Square Online in the Overview page.
To understand all Square Online tools and features in the editor, learn more about how to navigate the Square Online site editor. You can also check out how to manage Square Online item settings from your Item Library for additional item tools not found in Square Online.
Item types and visibility
Check out the seven item types found in Square Online you can display on your sites as needed.
Feel free to choose an item type that fits your purpose. We help you by providing specific fields and layouts perfectly suited for each one.
The seven item types found in Square Online are the following:
- Physical: Best for basic retail items such as clothing or jewellery. Learn more about selling physical items online.
- Digital: Lets you provide a digital file for download like an e-book or song. Learn more about selling digital items online.
- Donation: Allow site visitors to send donations for any cause. Learn more about accepting donations online.
- Membership: Collect membership dues and registration fees for clubs and classes. Learn more about selling non-physical items like memberships online.
- Event: Sell tickets to events, and include location address and times. Learn more about selling non-physical items like event tickets online.
- Service: Best for services for hire such as massages and hair styling. Learn more about selling non-physical items like services online.
- Prepared food and beverage: Best for restaurants and other food venues. Learn more about selling food and beverage items online.
You can switch an item’s type (e.g. switch a physical item to a food and beverage item) in Square Online at any time. To switch an existing item’s type:
- From your Square Online Overview page, go to Items > Site Items.
- Select one of the existing items in your list.
- In the Item Information section, select Change under Item Type.
- After choosing a new type, select Change item type, read the final note and select Save as new item type to finish the switch.
- Complete all other changes to the item and select Save when finished.
Note: Some item details may be lost if the new item type doesn’t use them.
Item visibility refers to how and where an item will appear on your websites in Square Online. The item visibility settings will apply to items on every site they’ve been assigned to. For example, if you mark an item as Visible, it’ll be visible on each of your sites where the item is being sold.
To control an item’s visibility:
- From your Square Online Overview page, go to Items > Site Items.
- Select an item from your items list.
- Under Visibility, select either Visible, Hidden or Unavailable.
- Complete all other edits to the item and select Save when finished.
You can also update visibility for multiple items at once using the bulk editing method, or update directly from your Square Item Library by selecting an item and editing the Visibility under ‘Square Online settings’. Learn more about creating and managing items in your Item Library. You can also learn more about managing multiple websites with Square Online for more information on item visibility between multiple sites.
The available item visibility settings are as follows:
- Visible: Your item is visible online and available for purchase, and will show up in navigation and site search results.
- Hidden: Your item is available for purchase online but only to those who have the direct link to it (useful for exclusive items).
- Unavailable: Your item isn’t visible online and can’t be purchased (useful if you aren’t ready to sell the item).
Category visibility refers to how a category will appear on your Square Online site. To control a site category’s visibility:
- From your Square Online Overview page, go to Items > Site Categories.
- Under the category you want to manage, select ‘…’ > Hide from site.
Note: If your ordering page template is Order Online, then items in a category won’t appear on your site when the category is hidden. If your template is Shop All, then items in a category will still be visible even when the category is hidden.
Create a new item
Understanding the section above, you can now create items from within the Square Online site editor in a few different ways:
Select +Add and choose Item from the dropdown menu.
Select the Page dropdown menu, scroll down to the ‘Item pages’ and select +Add item.
With a page open, select the Add section button and choose one of the featured items sections. Then select Add to place it on the page. These sections usually have a button to choose items to display.
Whichever method you choose, a pop-up will open where you can quickly add a new item.
First, enter essential information, such as the item type, title, price and a description that will appear on the item page. Next, add one or more images and select a fulfilment method.
From here, select Save to finish or select More options to access all item settings as seen in the Square Online Overview page.
View and edit existing items
To view or edit existing items, select the Page dropdown menu and scroll down to the Item pages. Whenever you add a new item, a page is automatically created and added here. Select any item in the list of item pages to see how the item will look on your website.
You can edit the information for an item by selecting the item page and then selecting Edit item details. This will open the item edit screen and allow you to make changes and save them without leaving the editor. Below the Edit item details button, there are several options that allow you to customise your item pages.
Create a new category
You can create categories from within the Square Online site editor in a few different ways:
Select +Add and choose Category from the dropdown menu.
Select the Page dropdown menu, scroll down to Category pages and select +Add category.
With a page open, select the Add section button and choose the Featured categories section. Then select Add to place it on the page. These sections usually show a button in the editing panel to choose categories to display.
Note: You won’t be able to create more categories from within the editor if you’re using the Order Online ordering page template. Instead, create categories from your Square Online Overview page in Items > Site Categories and they’ll automatically appear on the Order Online page.
On the add category screen, give your new category a title, add an image and choose which items to add to the category. Save when finished to see the items you selected displayed on the category page.
View and edit existing categories
To edit an existing category, open the Page dropdown menu, scroll down to Category pages and select the category you want to edit.
Select the category page to open the options. You can edit the category details and customise your category pages just as you can with item pages.
Note: You won’t be able to edit existing categories from within the editor if you’re using the Order Online ordering page template. Instead, edit categories from your Square Online Overview page in Items > Site Categories and changes will automatically appear on the Order Online page.
Add items and categories to your navigation
You can add a link to your item and category pages using buttons, images or text just like any other page on your site. You can also add them to your navigation menu.
To do so, select the header section on your site. Then, select Navigation links in the editing panel to edit your navigation menu. Select Add navigation link, choose the type of page you want to link to and select or search for the specific item or category you want to add. Finally, select Save when finished, and you’ll see the page appear on your navigation menu. Learn more about how to create pages and navigation in Square Online.
Note: You’ll be unable to link to category pages when using the Order Online ordering page template.
Troubleshooting
If your items display as Unavailable or don’t appear at all on your Square Online site, there are a few things to consider that could be the cause. Learn more about troubleshooting non-visible items in Square Online.