MODULE 7: COURSES & MEMBERSHIPS
💡 DESIGNER SECRETS FOR COURSES:
The "Welcome" Module: Always make your very first lesson a "Welcome & Start Here" video. Use this page to explain how to navigate the course, how to contact support, and provide a link to your private community (like a Facebook Group or Discord).
Keep Videos Bite-Sized: Attention spans are short! Instead of uploading a massive 2-hour lecture, break it up. Five separate 15-minute lessons are psychologically much easier for a student to complete than one giant video.
Customizing the Course Overview: Don't forget to edit the main Course landing page! Click "Edit" on the main course page to change the background colors, update the fonts, and make the curriculum list look perfectly on-brand.
Curriculum outlined and videos uploaded? Amazing. Hit SAVE!
28. Creating a Course Layout
You’ve built an incredible online course, a premium video library, or a private member's area. Now, you need a digital "bouncer" at the door!
A Paywall ensures that only people who have actually purchased your product can log in and view the content. In Squarespace, this is done by creating a Pricing Plan.
Here is how to lock your premium content and set up your subscription tiers.
Step 1: Open the Pricing Plans Menu
Go to your main Squarespace dashboard.
Click on Selling (or Commerce).
Click on Digital Products, and then select Pricing Plans.
Click the Create Pricing Plan button.
Step 2: Choose Your Pricing Model
Squarespace gives you fantastic flexibility for how you want to charge your customers. You will need to fill out the details here:
Name & Description: Give the plan a clear title (e.g., "VIP Lifetime Access" or "Monthly Membership").
Pricing Options: * Fixed Amount: A standard one-time payment. (You can also split this into installments, like 3 monthly payments of $100!).
Subscription: A recurring charge (weekly, monthly, or yearly) that automatically bills the customer's credit card until they cancel. Great for ongoing communities!
Free: Users still have to create an account and log in, but they don't have to enter credit card details.
Step 3: Attach Your Content (The Lock & Key)
This is the most important step. You have to tell the Pricing Plan exactly which pages it is supposed to unlock!
Scroll down to the Included Products section.
You will see a list of the Courses, Member Sites, or Video Libraries you have built on your website.
Check the box next to the content you want to include in this specific plan.
Click Create in the top right corner. Your paywall is now active!
Step 4: Selling the Plan on a Page
Now that the paywall exists, how do people actually buy it?
Go to your Sales Page and enter Edit mode.
Click the "+" icon to add a new block.
Select the Digital Product block.
Choose the Pricing Plan you just created. This will create a beautiful, highly-converting checkout card on your page. When visitors click it, they will be prompted to create an account and pay!
💡 DESIGNER SECRETS FOR PAYWALLS:
The Global Seller Workaround (For External Payments): If you use an external invoicing service for international clients and do not want to use Squarespace's native Stripe/PayPal checkout, you can still use the Course feature! Set your Pricing Plan to "Free," but keep the sign-up page hidden from your main menu. When a client pays your external invoice, simply email them the secret link to the "Free" sign-up block. They create their login, and you keep 100% of your money through your preferred payment gateway!
Create Multiple Tiers: You aren't limited to just one pricing plan per course! You can create a "Basic Plan" (for $99) that only unlocks the Course, and a "VIP Plan" (for $199) that unlocks the Course plus a premium Member Area where they can ask you questions.
The "Lead Magnet" Strategy: Want to grow your email list fast? Build a mini-course (just 2 or 3 short videos) and put it behind a Free Pricing Plan. People love the high perceived value of a "Course," and they will gladly give you their email address to create an account and watch it!
A Paywall ensures that only people who have actually purchased your product can log in and view the content. In Squarespace, this is done by creating a Pricing Plan.
Here is how to lock your premium content and set up your subscription tiers.
Step 1: Open the Pricing Plans Menu
Go to your main Squarespace dashboard.
Click on Selling (or Commerce).
Click on Digital Products, and then select Pricing Plans.
Click the Create Pricing Plan button.
Step 2: Choose Your Pricing Model
Squarespace gives you fantastic flexibility for how you want to charge your customers. You will need to fill out the details here:
Name & Description: Give the plan a clear title (e.g., "VIP Lifetime Access" or "Monthly Membership").
Pricing Options: * Fixed Amount: A standard one-time payment. (You can also split this into installments, like 3 monthly payments of $100!).
Subscription: A recurring charge (weekly, monthly, or yearly) that automatically bills the customer's credit card until they cancel. Great for ongoing communities!
Free: Users still have to create an account and log in, but they don't have to enter credit card details.
Step 3: Attach Your Content (The Lock & Key)
This is the most important step. You have to tell the Pricing Plan exactly which pages it is supposed to unlock!
Scroll down to the Included Products section.
You will see a list of the Courses, Member Sites, or Video Libraries you have built on your website.
Check the box next to the content you want to include in this specific plan.
Click Create in the top right corner. Your paywall is now active!
Step 4: Selling the Plan on a Page
Now that the paywall exists, how do people actually buy it?
Go to your Sales Page and enter Edit mode.
Click the "+" icon to add a new block.
Select the Digital Product block.
Choose the Pricing Plan you just created. This will create a beautiful, highly-converting checkout card on your page. When visitors click it, they will be prompted to create an account and pay!
💡 DESIGNER SECRETS FOR PAYWALLS:
The Global Seller Workaround (For External Payments): If you use an external invoicing service for international clients and do not want to use Squarespace's native Stripe/PayPal checkout, you can still use the Course feature! Set your Pricing Plan to "Free," but keep the sign-up page hidden from your main menu. When a client pays your external invoice, simply email them the secret link to the "Free" sign-up block. They create their login, and you keep 100% of your money through your preferred payment gateway!
Create Multiple Tiers: You aren't limited to just one pricing plan per course! You can create a "Basic Plan" (for $99) that only unlocks the Course, and a "VIP Plan" (for $199) that unlocks the Course plus a premium Member Area where they can ask you questions.
The "Lead Magnet" Strategy: Want to grow your email list fast? Build a mini-course (just 2 or 3 short videos) and put it behind a Free Pricing Plan. People love the high perceived value of a "Course," and they will gladly give you their email address to create an account and watch it!
29. Setting Up Pricing Plans & Paywalls
You have your products, your pricing is set, and your shop is looking beautiful. Now, it is time for the most important step: giving your customers a secure way to hand you their money!
Squarespace does not process credit cards directly. Instead, it securely connects to industry-leading payment processors. You also have the flexibility to bypass the native checkout entirely if you use external invoicing.
Here is how to get your payment systems online.
Step 1: Accessing the Payments Menu
Go to your main Squarespace dashboard.
Click on Commerce (or Selling, depending on your menu layout).
Select Payments.
Step 2: The Native Options (Stripe, PayPal & Square)
If you want customers to add items to their cart and checkout seamlessly without ever leaving your website, you will need to connect one (or both) of the native options:
Stripe: This is the absolute gold standard for online business. Connecting Stripe allows your website to securely accept all major credit cards, debit cards, and Apple Pay.
PayPal: Connecting a PayPal Business account gives your customers the option to pay via their PayPal balance or Venmo. (Many stores connect both Stripe and PayPal to give customers maximum choice!).
Square: This is primarily used for Point of Sale (POS). If you have a physical store and use a Square reader to swipe cards in person, you can sync your inventory here.
Step 3: Making the Connection
In the Payments menu, click Connect next to Stripe or PayPal.
A pop-up window will appear. If you already have an account with them, simply log in. If you don't, you can create a free account right there in the window.
Once connected, the money your customers pay will bypass Squarespace entirely and land directly in your Stripe or PayPal dashboard!
Step 4: The External Checkout Method (For Global Sellers)
What if you are navigating international payment restrictions, operating outside of Stripe's supported countries, or simply prefer to use a third-party global invoicing service?
You do not have to use Squarespace's native checkout!
Instead of adding products to a Squarespace "Store" page, you can build a beautiful, standard page using normal Fluid Engine sections.
Add a standard "Buy Now" button, and simply paste the URL link to your external checkout provider (like EasyStaff, Thrivecart, or Stripe Payment Links). When the customer clicks the button, they are safely redirected to your preferred global payment gateway!
💡 DESIGNER SECRETS FOR PAYMENTS:
Check Your Currency: Before you launch, make sure your store is charging in the right currency. Go to Commerce > Store Payments > Store Currency. If you are targeting the American market, ensure this is set to USD ($), as this is the universally recognized standard for most digital global sales.
Beware of Transaction Fees: If your website is on the Squarespace Business Plan, Squarespace takes a 3% transaction fee on every sale (on top of the standard credit card fees). If you are processing a high volume of sales, it is mathematically smarter to upgrade to the Commerce Plan, which drops the Squarespace transaction fee to 0%!
Run a Test Transaction: Never launch a store without testing it first! Turn on "Test Mode" in your payment settings, or simply temporarily lower a product price to $1.00, buy it yourself with your own credit card, and make sure the money arrives in your account and the download email sends correctly.
Processors connected? Fantastic. Make sure to hit SAVE!
Now that the technical setup is done, let's talk about how to get your website found on Google. We are moving into the final stretch: Module 7: SEO & Launching. Let's start with Lesson 28: Basic SEO Settings!
Squarespace does not process credit cards directly. Instead, it securely connects to industry-leading payment processors. You also have the flexibility to bypass the native checkout entirely if you use external invoicing.
Here is how to get your payment systems online.
Step 1: Accessing the Payments Menu
Go to your main Squarespace dashboard.
Click on Commerce (or Selling, depending on your menu layout).
Select Payments.
Step 2: The Native Options (Stripe, PayPal & Square)
If you want customers to add items to their cart and checkout seamlessly without ever leaving your website, you will need to connect one (or both) of the native options:
Stripe: This is the absolute gold standard for online business. Connecting Stripe allows your website to securely accept all major credit cards, debit cards, and Apple Pay.
PayPal: Connecting a PayPal Business account gives your customers the option to pay via their PayPal balance or Venmo. (Many stores connect both Stripe and PayPal to give customers maximum choice!).
Square: This is primarily used for Point of Sale (POS). If you have a physical store and use a Square reader to swipe cards in person, you can sync your inventory here.
Step 3: Making the Connection
In the Payments menu, click Connect next to Stripe or PayPal.
A pop-up window will appear. If you already have an account with them, simply log in. If you don't, you can create a free account right there in the window.
Once connected, the money your customers pay will bypass Squarespace entirely and land directly in your Stripe or PayPal dashboard!
Step 4: The External Checkout Method (For Global Sellers)
What if you are navigating international payment restrictions, operating outside of Stripe's supported countries, or simply prefer to use a third-party global invoicing service?
You do not have to use Squarespace's native checkout!
Instead of adding products to a Squarespace "Store" page, you can build a beautiful, standard page using normal Fluid Engine sections.
Add a standard "Buy Now" button, and simply paste the URL link to your external checkout provider (like EasyStaff, Thrivecart, or Stripe Payment Links). When the customer clicks the button, they are safely redirected to your preferred global payment gateway!
💡 DESIGNER SECRETS FOR PAYMENTS:
Check Your Currency: Before you launch, make sure your store is charging in the right currency. Go to Commerce > Store Payments > Store Currency. If you are targeting the American market, ensure this is set to USD ($), as this is the universally recognized standard for most digital global sales.
Beware of Transaction Fees: If your website is on the Squarespace Business Plan, Squarespace takes a 3% transaction fee on every sale (on top of the standard credit card fees). If you are processing a high volume of sales, it is mathematically smarter to upgrade to the Commerce Plan, which drops the Squarespace transaction fee to 0%!
Run a Test Transaction: Never launch a store without testing it first! Turn on "Test Mode" in your payment settings, or simply temporarily lower a product price to $1.00, buy it yourself with your own credit card, and make sure the money arrives in your account and the download email sends correctly.
Processors connected? Fantastic. Make sure to hit SAVE!
Now that the technical setup is done, let's talk about how to get your website found on Google. We are moving into the final stretch: Module 7: SEO & Launching. Let's start with Lesson 28: Basic SEO Settings!
27. Connecting Payment Processors
