How to Set Up Subscriptions on Squarespace 2026

Log in and pick the site from the Dashboard tab, which lists every site tied to your account with its domain and plan status. Subscriptions are configured per site and per product, so double-check you've opened the right project if you manage more than one.

From the Pages panel, open the store page and create or edit the product. You'll land on the standard product editor: an Images panel, and an Inventory section with price and stock. Fill these in the same way you would for a one-time item.

In the product editor, open Payment Options and click Subscription Options. This is where Squarespace draws a hard line: subscriptions work for physical and service products, not for standard downloadable digital products.

If the product you opened is a Digital Download, this section won't turn it into a subscription; digital subscriptions run through a separate feature available only on Basic Commerce, Commerce Advanced, Business or Commerce Basic plans. Once enabled, choose the purchase type: "One-time purchase and subscription" lets a customer pick either at checkout, while "Subscription only" removes the one-time option entirely. Pick subscription-only for something that only exists as a recurring offer, like a membership; pick the combined option for a physical product some customers will want just once.

With subscriptions enabled, a Frequency section lets you set how often the order repeats, from weekly up to a 12-month interval. Billing Cycle then controls how long it runs: choose Never Expires for an ongoing plan, or Expires After to cap it at a set number of payments, counting the initial purchase as the first one.

A monthly subscription set to expire after three payments bills the customer three times total, then stops automatically. Match the interval to how the product gets used: weekly for something consumable, monthly for a membership. Click Add once the frequency and cycle are set.

For a product offering both purchase types, the same screen lets you apply a discount to the subscription option, either to the first payment only or to every renewal. A 100% discount on the first payment only is how Squarespace supports a free-trial-style offer, since the customer still enters payment details but isn't charged until the second cycle.

A modest ongoing discount, five or ten percent, is usually enough to make committing worthwhile without eating into margin on every unit. Click Apply, then Save, to lock in the settings.

Recurring orders only work if the store can charge a saved payment method automatically. Squarespace requires Squarespace Payments or Stripe for this, and customer accounts need to be turned on so returning subscribers have somewhere to manage their plan.

Check both at the account level before launch, not just on the individual product. Squarespace won't let a site place a genuine subscription test order until it's on a paid plan, so on a trial site you can review the checkout screen but not complete a real cycle. Note that gift cards can't be redeemed against a subscription order, so don't promise that option to customers.

Once real subscribers sign up, the orders and customers tools show who's active, when the next renewal is due, and any failed payments. A customer can only hold one subscription product at a time, so repeat sign-ups to the same product replace rather than stack.

Check renewals regularly in the first few weeks after launch. A declined card is far easier to catch and fix early than a lapsed subscriber is to win back later.