You can absolutely make an online store with Google Sites by embedding a 3rd party storefront into your Google Site because this website builder allows you to embed HTML.
Google Sites is a free website builder designed for personal use and not intended for e-commerce, but if you want to add an online store, it is possible.
Any native option?
There is no natively supported shopping cart for Google Sites.
You must create an account with a 3rd party option that allows you to embed their storefront, then use the “embed HTML” code snippet within Google Sites to have it appear on your website.
Thus, adding a storefront for physical and digital products is technically possible. The only thing you need to get started is an e-commerce platform that provides you a storefront and the ability to embed that storefront, then a dedicated page on your Google Site where the embedded store will appear.
My recommended storefronts Google Sites
I’ll cover my top choices for any Google Site owner looking to do this. To add e-commerce functionality to your Google Site, you need a shopping cart and storefront to add your products. You have a few different options.
Here are my top choices:
- Ecwid
- Gumroad
- Payhip
- Stripe
- Square
- Lemon Squeezy
- Thrive Cart
Ecwid – Best for physical products
Ecwid remains my top choice for anyone with a Google Site looking to add an e-commerce store. While they recently shifted away from a totally free model (I guess their free forever wasn’t forever), their $5 Starter Plan is incredibly generous.
For a very low price point, you get a storefront that you can embed directly into your Google Site.
With the Starter plan, you can list up to 10 products (an upgrade from the old 5-product limit), generate tax invoices, and get a dedicated “Instant Site.”
The Google Sites Strategy
The “Starter” website provided by Ecwid must be a subdomain (e.g., yourstore.company.site). This makes using Google Sites even better: you can set a custom domain for your Google Site for free and simply embed your Ecwid storefront into a dedicated page.
This gives you a fully branded website with a professional checkout flow without the high monthly cost of a full e-commerce builder.
Once your Ecwid account is set up (products added, taxes configured, and payment processors like Stripe or PayPal connected), you simply grab the embed code and drop it into your Google Site. The Starter plan fully supports this “widget” style integration.
What’s the catch?
The main limitation is scale.
If you need to showcase more than 10 products or want to sell on Facebook and Instagram, you’ll need to move up to the Venture plan.
However, once you upgrade to the Venture level, it often makes more sense to use Ecwid’s own “Instant Site” as your primary home. It becomes a feature-rich, customizable website with a homepage and blog.
The Starter plan is the perfect starting point for Google Sites users, but once you’re ready for serious marketing, moving 100% to Ecwid is the way to go.
Printful and Print-on-Demand
Ecwid integrates seamlessly with many print-on-demand (POD) services, with Printful being a top favorite. Since you can’t embed Printful directly into a Google Site, Ecwid acts as the middleman.
You set up your products in Printful, sync them to Ecwid, and then embed that Ecwid store into your Google Site. It makes running a POD business on a free Google Site possible.
Dropshipping with Ecwid
If you’d rather dropship than hold inventory, Ecwid has numerous apps available for this. On the Starter plan, you are limited to 10 products, but this is an excellent way to learn the ropes of the business model. You connect a dropshipping app to Ecwid, and those products appear in your storefront, which is then embedded into your Google Site.
Pros
- Extremely affordable ($5/mo) compared to Shopify ($39+/mo).
- Perfectly embeds into a dedicated page on your Google Site.
- The checkout process happens entirely within the embed—no redirecting customers away from your site.
Cons
- 10-product limit on the entry-tier.
- No Digital Products: You cannot sell downloads or courses on the Starter plan.
- Once you upgrade to a mid-tier plan, continuing to use Google Sites becomes pointless as Ecwid does everything Google Sites does but better at this level.
Gumroad – Sell a variety of products for free
Gumroad is a unique selling platform that allows you to sell a wide variety of products and services.
They take care of hosting the products, providing the required pages (sales page, checkout page and so forth), running your own affiliate program and they also allow you to embed Gumroad products on your website.
From a membership similar to Patreon, paid email newsletter, podcast, ebooks or an online course. Gumroad can handle it. You can even sell physical goods as well. There really is no product vertical limit with Gumroad.
Best of all? Gumroad is free to use, there are no payment plans or limitations on the free plan as well.
So what’s the catch?
They take a 10% commission on everything you sell. This is quite a hefty fee, particularly if you start having success. But if you’re on Google Sites and you want a free, easy and stylish way to sell products then Gumroad is your best option.
Gumroad product pages can easily be embedded into any page on your Google Site using the HTML code snippet and the checkout process is all done within that embed as well so you don’t have to worry about driving people off your website and you can provide a consistent user experience.
To get started all you need to do is setup your Gumroad account, add and publish your products and then navigate to the widgets section of your Gumroad account.
From here just select “embed” and then copy and paste the script into your Google Site using the embed feature. Finally, simply adjust the embedded product within Google Sites to make it appear correctly and to your liking.
The checkout process is done all through the Gumroad embed so no need to worry about a poor user experience.
Discovery market
Gumroad has their own built in Discover marketplace acts as a built-in recommendation engine that puts your products in front of buyers who have purchased similar items from other creators.
Once your products have sales and good reviews, they’re automatically suggested as a bump offer on other products. The only catch is Gumroad takes 30% of your sale, but it’s a sale you would not have made so it’s worth it.
Pros:
- This platform supports a wide array of products.
- Run your own membership website or email newsletter with Google Sites.
- The embed feature is easy to use and customize with Google Sites.
- Discovery market
Cons:
- The 10% transaction fee is quite high.
- Gumroad branding.
Payhip – Best for coaching and digital downloads
Payhip is a direct competitor to Gumroad and under cuts them on their transaction cost. Instead of 10%, their “free forever” plan charges you just a 5% transaction fee which I find quite fair and reasonable for a free plan.
Payhip does not support as wide of a range of products as Gumroad, but where they do shine is that you can offer coaching through Payhip as well as digital downloads like ebooks and online courses. If you’re a Google Site user and you want to offer coaching, then checkout Payhip.
If you are thinking about selling an ebook, then Payhip is clearly the better option than Gumroad as their transaction fee is lower and they provide a similar service as to where you can embed either the product or “buy” button on your Google Site.
Lightbox checkout
Last, one thing I like about Payhip is their lightbox checkout process. When you embed a product on your Google Site and a user goes to buy said product, a lightbox pops up asking them to enter their email and payment to purchase the product.
Normally I don’t like lightbox checkout processes, but since you’re embeding a product on Payhip I much prefer it over driving traffic off your website to an unbranded checkout page.
Pros:
- Free forever plan.
- Can embed products and services into your website.
- Offer coaching on your Google Site through Payhip.
Cons:
- Payhip only supports digital downloads, coaching offers and courses.
Stripe – Lowest fee option
Stripe offers a variety of tools to help businesses sell products and services, including Payment Links. With this feature, you can easily create a custom payment link that can be shared with your customers through various channels such as email, social media, or messaging apps.
Payment Links allow you to customize the product or service being sold, set the price and currency, start a subscription or collect a donation. On top of that, you can match the look and feel of your brand by adjusting the colors and adding your websites logo.
Stripe fees
Stripe has the lowest fees on my list at 2.9% transaction free + .30 cents per sale. There are also a range of other fees Stripe charges depending on your needs (read more here). But at the base, the 2.9% + .30 cent fee is what you can expect.
What’s the catch?
Stripe is a payment processor. As such, you can’t host your content with them. For that you’ll need a 3rd party solution. If you’re wanting to sell an ebook you could always provide a link to a protected Google Drive link and give access to it in the payment receipt that Stripe provides your customer.
You could also password protect your Google Site and share the login details with anyone who buys. But again, it’s not seamless user experience which is why Stripe is at the bottom of the list.
I do strongly suggest Ecwid, Gumroad or Payhip instead, but you should be aware of Stripe as a potential option.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Customize the checkout page to match your websites branding.
- Low transaction fees for a free option.
- Set the currency and price easily.
- Shareable link for websites and social media.
Cons:
- You need a way to provide product fulfillment.
Square Online – The “Unlimited” Free Alternative
If you’re looking for a free Ecwid alternative then Square Online is your best bet.
While most platforms have retired their $0 tiers, Square still offers a robust Free plan that is uniquely powerful for physical sellers.
It allows you to list unlimited products without a monthly subscription, making it the go-to choice for larger inventories on a budget.
How to use
Square doesn’t “embed” a full storefront into Google Sites as seamlessly as Ecwid does (which is why it’s lower on my list.
Instead, you use Square Payment Links (Buy Buttons).
- How it works: You design your product page directly in Google Sites using Google’s high-quality image and text blocks. Then, you generate a “Buy Button” or “Checkout Link” in your Square dashboard and embed that button next to your product.
- The Result: When a customer clicks “Buy,” they are taken to a clean, professional Square checkout page to finish the transaction. It’s slightly less “integrated” than Ecwid, but it gives you total design control over your Google Site.
What’s the catch?
While there is no monthly fee, Square’s online transaction fees are higher than their in-person rates. The Free plan carries a fee of 3.3% + $0.30 per online sale.
You are essentially trading a monthly “rent” (like Ecwid’s $5) for a higher “tax” on every sale. If you sell a lot of low-cost items, those extra percentages can add up, but for a low-volume shop with many different items, it’s a steal.
Inventory and POS Integration
The real “magic” of Square is its unified inventory.
If you ever sell in person for some reason (at a craft fair, a popup, or a physical shop) Square syncs your stock automatically. If you sell your last t-shirt in person using the Square Reader, it will instantly show as “Sold Out” on your Google Site.
This makes it the superior choice for creators who balance physical and digital worlds.
Social Selling & Pickup
Even on the free plan, Square allows you to sync your products to Instagram and Facebook. It also handles local pickup and “curbside” options natively. If you’re a local creator using Google Sites as a digital business card, Square allows your neighbors to buy online and swing by to pick up their order, all for $0 a month.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Truly $0/month (only pay when you sell).
- Unlimited products (no “gatekeeping” your growth).
- Best-in-class POS sync for in-person selling.
- Small, non-intrusive branding at the bottom of the checkout.
Cons:
- Higher transaction fees (3.3% vs. the standard 2.9%).
- No “Full Store” embed: You have to link to products or use buttons like you do with Stripe.
- No Custom Domain for the Checkout.
Lemon Squeezy – The Global “Tax-Free” Choice for Digital Growth
If you already have your own traffic, from a blog, YouTube channel, or email list, Lemon Squeezy is the logical “level up” for your store.
While it acts as a Merchant of Record (MoR) just like Gumroad (handling all global sales tax and EU VAT for you), the real distinction comes down to math and professionalism.
For a creator looking to scale a digital business on Google Sites, here are the three specific reasons to choose Lemon Squeezy:
1. The “Scale” Math (Half the Fees)
This is the single biggest selling point. While Gumroad takes a significant 10% flat cut, Lemon Squeezy’s fee structure is much more competitive at 5% + $0.50 per transaction.
To put that into perspective:
- On a $100 sale: You lose $10.00 on Gumroad, but only $5.50 on Lemon Squeezy.
- At $10,000 in sales: You keep an extra $450 in your pocket with Lemon Squeezy.
As your volume grows, that 5% difference becomes massive.
2. The “Clean” Google Sites Aesthetic
Google Sites can sometimes look a bit “DIY,” so your checkout needs to elevate the brand.
- Gumroad’s checkout is very distinctive and heavily branded; it clearly feels like a third-party page sitting on top of your site.
- Lemon Squeezy was designed with a “software-first” aesthetic. Its Checkout Overlay is extremely minimal, white-labeled, and looks “expensive.” It makes a free Google Site feel like a premium, custom-coded web store. If you care about professional branding, this is the clear winner.
3. Built-in Business Suite (Affiliates & Emails)
Unlike Gumroad, which functions primarily as a marketplace, Lemon Squeezy is built as a complete business suite.
- Affiliate Center: It features a robust system for managing partners. If you want other bloggers to promote your products for a commission, Lemon Squeezy handles the tracking and professional payouts seamlessly.
- Email Marketing: It includes “Lemon Ink,” which allows for automated sequences—like “Thank You” notes or upsell offers—that are often more powerful and easier to configure than basic workflows on other platforms.
How does it work with Google Sites?
Rather than embedding a bulky storefront that might not match the site’s design, users simply add a link or a button. When clicked, a modern checkout window pops (overlay) up directly over the Google Site.
The visitor stays on the page, completes the transaction, and returns to the content, making the site feel much more professional and seamless.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Free plan.
- Merchant of Record: They take on 100% of the tax and compliance liability.
- Stripe-Backed: High security and better authorization rates via the Stripe ecosystem.
- Superior Overlay: The cleanest “pop-up” checkout experience for Google Sites users.
Cons:
- Digital Only: No support for shipping labels or physical inventory.
- Manual account approval.
Thrive Cart – Best for digital downloads and courses
To round out my list is Thrive Cart. Thrive Cart is a powerful shopping cart that allows you to host digital products and online courses.
It’s not ideal if you’re looking to sell merchandise (it’s possible but it’s not designed for this) it’s much more optimized for selling digital products.
With high converting checkout pages and bump offers it’s easily the best option on my list as you can create nice looking sales pages with Google Sites and then link to your Thrive Cart checkout page.
So what’s the catch?
It’s a $500 one time fee. This is why Payhip and Gumroad are higher on the list because if you’re on Google Sites, you’re probably looking for the most cost effective options.
But don’t sleep on Thrive Cart, it’s honestly the best for hosting and selling products.
How to use with Google Sites
With Google Sites you’ll build out product pages using “new page” option. Build out a sales page and add a “buy” button using Google Sites.
Link to your checkout page that you’ll create in Thrive Cart.
Thrive Cart hosts digital downloads via their platform. If you’re building out a course, then you can use the built in “learn” feature that allows you to structure a course.
You’ll have to source your own video hosting (YouTube unlisted videos, Vimeo or Bunny.net).
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Sell digital downloads and online courses with your own branding.
- One time fee.
- The “learn” course features is included with your purchase.
- High converting checkout pages, order bumps and upsells.
- No transaction fees on your sales.
Cons:
- Expensive one time fee.
- Need to source video hosting.
Final Thoughts
Google Sites is by far my favorite website builder. With the ability to leverage 3rd party options, you can totally build out a simple online store, offer coaching and print on demand.
Is it the best platform for ecommerce? No.
It’s a website builder not intended for commercial purposes, but even so it’s still a solid entry point.
Any questions or comments drop me an email.
Your man,
-David
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