How to add Square Online Ordering to your website
Square Online Ordering is Square's commission-free online ordering for restaurants and cafes, used by restaurants, cafes and takeaways already using Square for payments. Here's how to put it on your own website, which embed option to pick, and what goes wrong.
Quick answer
Get the code from your Square Dashboard under Online, where the ordering site and its links and buttons are configured. For most people the right choice is the ordering site link — a button linking to your Square ordering page. Paste it into a code or embed block on your site — not a plain text field — then place it beside your main call to action and test the whole flow on a phone before relying on it.
Square Online Ordering: which option to use
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ordering site link | A button linking to your Square ordering page. |
| Order button embed | Square's button code placed on your own site. |
| QR code ordering | For table ordering, using the same underlying menu. |
Step-by-step
- 1
Find the code or link in your account
Square Online Ordering keeps this in your Square Dashboard under Online, where the ordering site and its links and buttons are configured. Copy what you need before touching your website — most of the time people lose is spent hunting for the snippet, not installing it.
- 2
Pick the right option for the job
The table above is the decision. Ordering site link: A button linking to your Square ordering page. Order button embed: Square's button code placed on your own site. Choosing before you paste saves rebuilding the section later.
- 3
Paste it into a code or embed block
This needs an HTML, code or embed block — not a plain text field, where the code will simply appear as text on your page. On Adviita, ask the AI editor to add an embed section and drop the code in. On WordPress use a Custom HTML block, on Squarespace a Code block (Business plan or above), and on Wix an Embed HTML element.
- 4
Put it where the decision happens
Ordering and booking are the whole point of a hospitality site. Everything else is supporting material. A widget three scrolls down does a fraction of the work of the same widget beside your main call to action. Decide what the page is for, then place it at the point the visitor is deciding.
- 5
Check it on an actual phone
Most visitors to a small business website arrive on a phone, and embeds are where mobile layouts break. Open your live site on your own phone and confirm it loads, fits the screen without sideways scrolling, and does not push your contact button out of view. Third-party embeds are also the most common cause of a slow page, so if it noticeably delays loading, consider a plain link instead.
- 6
Test it end to end before you rely on it
Run through the whole flow yourself as a customer would — confirm it renders and links correctly — and confirm what should happen actually happens. Broken embeds fail silently, and the first person to notice is usually a customer who has already given up.
Tips & best practices
- ▸Menu and item availability live in Square. If you run out of something, mark it unavailable there or you will take orders you cannot fulfil.
- ▸Pickup and delivery windows need configuring realistically, or you will promise times your kitchen cannot meet at peak.
- ▸The ordering site is a separate hosted page. Your own website still does the job of being found in search.
- ▸Re-test the embed after any change to your site, your plan, or the connected account — third-party widgets break quietly and nothing tells you.
Common questions
Is Square online ordering commission-free?
+−
Square does not charge a per-order commission in the way delivery marketplaces do — you pay standard card processing fees and, for some features, a subscription. Compared with a delivery platform taking a substantial percentage of every order, that difference is significant on volume.
How do I add Square ordering to my restaurant website?
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Set up your ordering site in the Online section of your Square Dashboard, then copy the link or button code and add a prominent 'Order now' button to your website. Keep item availability updated in Square so the menu on the ordering page stays accurate.
Do I need a developer to add Square Online Ordering to my site?
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No. Every option here is copy and paste into a code or embed block, which every mainstream website builder provides. The only genuine blocker is a builder or plan that does not allow custom code at all — Squarespace, for instance, requires a Business plan or above for code blocks.
Will adding Square Online Ordering slow down my website?
+−
Any third-party embed has some cost, because it loads code from another company's servers. One is usually unnoticeable; four or five on the same page is where small business sites become visibly slow. If page speed matters to you, prefer a plain link over a script wherever the option exists, and keep embeds to the pages that genuinely need them.