Gift cards on a small business website

The simplest way to sell gift cards on your website is usually to use the gift card tool your point-of-sale system already includes and link to it from a clear button on your site. You do not need an online store for this. Square, Clover, Toast, Shopify POS and most salon and spa booking systems can sell digital gift cards on a page they host, and the card works at your counter the same as one bought in person. Your website's job is to make that page easy to find and to answer the questions buyers have.

Why gift cards belong on a local business website

People buy gift cards for someone else, often at the last minute, often from their phone. They search for your business, land on your site, and look for a way to buy. If they cannot find one, they buy a card from a chain instead, or a generic card that may be spent elsewhere.

Gift cards also bring new customers through the door. The person receiving the card may never have visited you. For restaurants, salons, spas, barbers, bakeries, boutiques, studios and many services such as detailing or cleaning, they are an easy win around holidays, Mother's Day and graduation season.

Start with the system you already use

Before you look at anything new, check what your point-of-sale or booking system offers. Most of them have a gift card feature, often called eGift cards or digital gift cards. When it is turned on, the system gives you a link to a page where buyers pick an amount, pay by card and send the gift by email or text.

The big advantage of using your existing system is that the balance lives in one place. A card bought online can be redeemed at your register or applied in your booking system, and a card bought in the shop can be checked online. Using a separate gift card service that does not talk to your register means your staff has to look balances up by hand.

Things to look at in your system's settings:

Amounts. Set a few fixed amounts and, if allowed, a custom amount.
Design. Add your logo and pick a plain, readable card design.
Delivery. Email, text or both. Let buyers schedule delivery for a birthday.
Fees. Your system may charge a processing fee or a fee per card. Check before you promote it.
Physical cards. Many systems can also sell plastic cards for the counter, which use the same balances.

If your system has no gift card feature at all, the next easiest option is a gift card provider that works with your card reader, or a simple payment link for a set amount with a code you send by hand. The last option works for a very small business but needs careful record-keeping.

Putting the button on your website

Once you have the link to your gift card page, put it where buyers will look:

In the menu, as "Gift Cards", if gift cards matter to your business. Restaurants and spas often deserve this.
On the home page, as a short line with a button, especially from November through December and before other gift-giving days.
In the footer, all year round, so anyone who scrolls down can find it.
On your Google Business Profile, if your system and profile support a gift card link. Check your profile settings at business.google.com.

Use plain wording on the button: "Buy a gift card". Not "Gift the experience" or something clever. A buyer in a hurry is scanning for those words.

The button should open your system's gift card page. Make sure it goes straight to the buying screen, not to a general account page or a login. Try it on your phone, the way a customer would.

What to write next to the button

A few short lines answer the questions buyers and staff get asked most:

How the card is delivered: "Sent by email or text, instantly or on the date you choose."
Where it can be used: "Good for any service or product in the shop."
Whether it expires. Federal rules generally limit how soon gift cards can expire, and many states add their own rules, so check before you write anything about expiration. The FTC has consumer information on gift cards at ftc.gov.
How to check the balance, if your system offers a balance page.
Who to contact about a lost or missing card.

A one-paragraph example for a salon:

Gift cards. Give a cut, color or anything on our menu. Choose an amount, pay online, and we send the card by email or text, right away or on the date you pick. It works for any service or product at the salon. Questions about a card? Call us at the number above.

Things to watch out for

Two systems, two sets of balances. If you sell cards through one service and ring up services through another, someone will eventually try to use a card your register cannot see. Keep it in one system if you can.

Old paper certificates. If you used to sell paper gift certificates, decide whether you still honor them and say so if people ask. It is usually worth honoring them.

Promotional cards. Bonus offers like "buy a set amount, get a bonus card" are popular. Be clear about whether the bonus card has different terms, such as an earlier expiry or a minimum spend, and check what your state allows. Write that on the page, not only in small print at checkout.

Taxes and accounting. Gift card sales are usually handled differently from regular sales in your books until the card is used. Ask your accountant how to record them.

Gift cards without an online store

You do not need a shopping cart on your website to sell gift cards. A clear button that opens your point-of-sale system's gift card page is enough, and it keeps your website simple. If you later want to sell a few products, a buy button linking to a payment page works the same way. Taking payments on a website without an online store explains the options, and adding a PayPal or Stripe button to your website shows the most basic one.

What to do this week

Log in to your point-of-sale or booking system and look for gift cards or eGift cards. Turn them on if they are not.
Set your amounts, add your logo and copy the link to the buying page.
Add a "Buy a gift card" button to your footer, and to your home page before the next holiday.
Write the short paragraph that explains delivery, where it can be used and who to call.
Buy one card yourself and redeem it at the counter.

If your current site makes it hard to add a button or a banner before the holidays, you can see your site rebuilt first and put the gift card link in yourself afterwards.