How to open your store
From empty spreadsheet to live store in about 7 minutes. No coding, no app installs, and SpreadFront never gets access to your Google files: your sheet only needs a public view link.
1. Create your product sheet
Copy the template sheet to your Google Drive: one click, then just edit the sample rows.
Or start from scratch: go to sheet.new, put the column names in the first row, then one product per row. You can copy this block into cell A1 as a starting point. If it lands in a single column, select column A and use Data → Split text to columns:
Name Price Discounted Price Description Category Brand Tag Availability Thumbnail Image1 Image2 Lavender Candle 12.90 9.90 Hand-poured soy wax candle, 40h burn time Candles MajaCraft Bestseller Available https://www.example.com/lavender.jpg Vanilla Candle 12.90 Classic vanilla scent Candles MajaCraft Available https://www.example.com/vanilla.jpg Gift Box 29.00 Three candles in a gift box Sets MajaCraft New Sold Out https://www.example.com/box.jpg
What each column means
| Column | Required | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | yes | Product title. Rows without a name are skipped. | Lavender Candle |
| Price | yes | Regular price, number only or with symbol. Both 12.90 and 12,90 work. | 12.90 |
| Discounted Price | no | Sale price: shown big, with the regular price struck through. Must be lower than Price. | 9.90 |
| Description | no | Shown on the product page. Plain text works as-is (line breaks kept), and Markdown is supported for richer formatting: **bold**, *italic*, [link](https://…), lists with "- " or "1. ", headings with "## ". | Hand-poured soy wax… |
| Category | no | Products get filter chips per category on the store home page. | Candles |
| Brand | no | Adds a brand filter when there is more than one. | MajaCraft |
| Tag | no | Small badge on the product photo. | Bestseller |
| Availability | no | "Sold Out", "No" or "Hidden" disables ordering; anything else (or empty) = available. A numeric Stock column of 0 also marks it sold out. | Available |
| Thumbnail | no | Main photo: a link, pasted as text (see images below). A direct video link (.mp4/.webm) works too and plays as a silent loop. | https://…/lavender.jpg |
| Image1 – Image4 | no | Extra photos (or .mp4/.webm videos) for the product page gallery. | https://…/detail.jpg |
| Options | no | Buyer-selectable variants, e.g. sizes or colors: groups as Name: value, value separated by "|", up to 3 groups × 12 values. The choice is saved with the order. "Variants" works as a header too. | Size: S, M, L | Color: Red, Blue |
| SKU, SEO Title, SEO Description | no | Optional extras for inventory codes and search-engine text. | LAV-40 |
| File | no | Name of a file uploaded in your dashboard's Files section: makes the product digital, delivered as a download link (paid plans). "File Download" works as a header too. | my-ebook.pdf |
| Interval | no | "weekly", "monthly" or "yearly" turns the product into a subscription billed automatically by card (Pro plan; billed through Stripe Connect card payments - available soon). | monthly |
| Payment Link | no | This product's own pay-by-link URL (e.g. a Stripe Payment Link): buyers get a "Pay online" button after ordering when enabled in settings. | https://buy.stripe.com/… |
Coming from store.link? Your existing sheet works unchanged, same columns (C2 is understood as the variant column).
2. Product images: free hosting that works
Image cells hold a link, pasted as text. Pictures inserted into the sheet (Insert → Image) are invisible to every external service. That's a Google Sheets limitation, not ours, so always paste a link instead.
Simplest: upload in your SpreadFront dashboard
No image host, no extra account. Once your store exists (step 4), open it in the dashboard, scroll toFiles & images, upload a photo, then copy the link shown next to the file and paste it into the product's Thumbnail or Image cell. Upload all your photos first and copy the links in one go. Storage is included in every plan (100 MB free, 500 MB on Starter, 2 GB on Pro), enough for a few hundred product photos.
Or paste a link from anywhere
- Google Drive: upload photos to a Drive folder, right-click a photo → Share → “Anyone with the link” → Copy link → paste into the cell. SpreadFront converts Drive links to fast direct image links automatically.
- Postimages (postimages.org): free, no account needed: upload, copy the “Direct link”, paste.
- ImgBB (imgbb.com): free, copy the “Direct link”.
- Dropbox: copy the share link; we convert it automatically.
- Any image already on your own website: right-click → “Copy image address”.
Square photos around 800×800px look best in the grid. Use your own images. Don't hotlink other shops' photos.
3. Share the sheet
In Google Sheets click Share (top right) → under “General access” choose Anyone with the link, role Viewer → Copy link. That's the only access SpreadFront ever needs: we can see the sheet, never touch it.
4. Create the store
- Sign in with Google or an emailed link (used only to know who you are, no file access).
- Enter a store name, pick your address (
yourshop.spreadfront.com), paste the sheet link, choose your currency. - Click Create store: we read the sheet, and you're live.
5. Get paid: 0% commission
Money always settles in your own account; SpreadFront never touches it. In your store settings you can enable any combination of these (details in the manual, "Getting paid"):
- Card payments via your own Stripe (paid plans): connect your Stripe account, tick "Accept card payments", and buyers pay by card without leaving the purchase flow.
- PayPal checkout (paid plans): paste your PayPal app's Client ID and Secret and buyers get a "Pay with PayPal" option.
- Crypto (every plan): connect your own NOWPayments account and buyers can pay in USDT, USDC, Bitcoin and others.
- Cash on delivery / pickup: on by default; you arrange payment when fulfilling the order.
- Per-product payment links: put each product's own link (a Stripe Payment Link, a PayPal.Me link, or any pay-by-link URL) in a Payment Link column in your sheet. After ordering, the customer gets a "Pay online" button per item, plus their order number. Tip: use links that stay valid for more than one purchase, like Stripe's product Payment Links, not single-use links that die after the first buyer.
6. Running the store
- Editing products: just edit the sheet, and changes reach the store within about a minute of the next visit (or instantly via the “Refresh products” button in your dashboard).
- Orders: every order appears in your dashboard with the customer's details, and the app pings your phone instantly. Click the buyer's email for a ready-made confirmation draft. Update the order status as you process it.
- Sold out? Type “Sold Out” in the Availability column, and the product stays visible but can't be ordered.
- Look & feel: store settings let you set a logo, banner, description, and switch between the light and dark theme.