Review of Squarespace: Easy to Use Website Builder

Even though Squarespace's website builder isn't always as intuitive as its competitors' offerings, the platform does provide users with a number of helpful tools that can be used to create attractive and functional websites for personal and small business use.

If you've spent any time in the past few years watching videos on YouTube or listening to podcasts, it's likely that you've seen or heard an advertisement for Squarespace. It's one of the most popular do-it-yourself website builders, and it's a tool that lets you build a web presence quickly and easily. In addition to having a website builder with robust capabilities, Squarespace also supports strong e-commerce integration and provides services for community building. Even better, each Squarespace website is given helpful extras, such as free domain registration and a free SSL certificate. Moreover, Squarespace websites are completely free. Despite this, there are a few minor issues that prevent this website builder from being exceptional.

Squarespace 7.1 vs. Squarespace 7.0

If you've been using Squarespace since around the year 2014, the website builder's redesigned interface might look strange to you. Squarespace 7.1 was released by the company in March of 2020, and it provided users with streamlined options for the creation of websites. Because the modifications were so significant, Squarespace developed a guide that can provide you with an overview of the new features in a single glance. One of the most significant distinctions is that all Squarespace 7.1 websites use the same template, whereas Squarespace 7.0 offers multiple template families, each of which has its own distinct look and set of features.

If this is your first time using Squarespace, the 7.1 build will be available to you as soon as the site goes live. However, users of version 7.0 will need to rebuild their websites using version 7.1 in order to take advantage of the newly added features. That is very irritating. To our great relief, Squarespace also provides a guide for doing so. Although it is possible to track down the Squarespace 7.0 builder with some digging, the company would prefer that users upgrade to the most recent version. The current standard option for building websites is version 7.1 of Squarespace. In a moment, we'll discuss some of the key differences between the versions.

Pricing and Plans for Squarespace

Squarespace does not offer a free account option for an extended period of time like Weebly and Wix do, but you can test it out for free for a period of two weeks. Having said that, until you actually pay for an account, your test site won't be visible to anyone else on the internet. The Personal level, which does not support e-commerce and costs $19 per month (or $14 per month when billed annually) is the entry point for the pricing structure. The Advanced Commerce plan, which incorporates real-time shipping integration, costs as much as $65 per month (or $49 per month when billed annually). This is the most expensive of the available plans.

The Business plan, which costs $33 per month (or $23 per month when billed annually) and allows you to sell items for a transaction fee of 3 percent, falls in the middle of the entry-level and high-end options. In addition, Squarespace provides a Basic Commerce plan for an additional $36 per month (or $27 per month when billed annually), which waives that fee (as does the Advanced Commerce plan). When compared to the starting prices offered by 1&1 MyWebsite ($9.99 per month), Jimdo ($7.50 per month), Weebly ($9 per month), and Wix ($14 per month), these rates are quite pricey.

Website hosting is included in the price, and both monthly data transfers and storage space can be unlimited. If you pay for Squarespace on an annual basis, you not only get one year of free domain registration, but you also have the option to connect a domain that you already own to the website that you build using Squarespace. After the first year, the price of the domain you select will change based on how desirable the URL you select is likely to be. Those who subscribe on a monthly basis are required to pay that amount right away.

Interface and Website Design Options

In the first step of the process, Squarespace will ask you to select a template for your website, just as almost every other website builder does. Squarespace will ask you to select a general category for your website's focus from a list of predetermined options, such as "Music," "Food," "Marketing," and "Gaming." After that, you decide what you want your website to accomplish, such as making announcements about upcoming events, displaying artwork, blogging, or selling products. The following step will ask you where you are in the process of creating your website, with options ranging from "Collecting Inspiration" all the way up to "Replacing Your Current Website with a Squarespace Version." After that, you will be brought to a carefully selected group of template options.

Squarespace provides users with dozens of visually appealing options, many of which feature full-photo backgrounds and some of which offer scrolling interfaces. You are able to narrow your search results by using the categories that are associated with each template. These categories include Blog, Art & Design, and Media & Podcast, among others. You can also perform a preview of each template before beginning the process of creating and editing new versions.

Again, all of the Squarespace 7.1 templates have the same options and features available to them, including both style and feature choices. Because you are now able to customize anything and everything, you should think of the template design that you have chosen as a starting point. As a direct consequence of this, the capability to switch templates was removed from Squarespace in version 7.1. The inability to switch templates quickly won't be a problem for you if you want to manually personalize your website, though. On the other hand, users who want to simply update the appearance of their website by clicking a single button will be disappointed that 7.1 does not support changing templates. You can switch templates quickly and easily with Gator, which makes it one of our top recommendations for website builders.

In the same vein as the pages that Squarespace designs, its editing interface is among the most elegant things currently available, despite possibly not being the most intuitive. Your website utilizes a predefined homepage that is derived from the design template that you've selected. There is a sidebar on the right that contains several site settings, such as Pages, which allows you to add new page types to your site and tweak your main navigation; Design, which allows you to tweak the overall site style and make custom CSS; and Commerce, which allows you to set up a storefront if your plan includes the option to do so. If your plan includes the option to do so, click on the cog icon in the sidebar on the right. In addition, there is an assistant that will appear on the left-hand side of the window for first-time users. This assistant will walk you through the process of creating something.

You can add pages by using the menu panel on the side of the screen, where you'll find a number of options (the exact number will vary depending on the template you use), such as Album, Blank Page, Blog, Cover Page, Events, Folder, Gallery, Link, and Products. You are able to move pages up and down in the navigation, but unlike in Wix, you cannot drag pages onto other pages to create a subordinate navigation level. Instead, you will need to make use of the Folder type in order to accomplish nested navigation.

There are prefab page layouts available for things like About, Contact, and Team pages that look fantastic, and it's possible that you won't need to modify their layouts in any way at all. To enter edit mode for a page, all you have to do is double-click anywhere on the page. This will bring you into the layout editor. Page sections and editable elements are highlighted in blue, and accompanying text describes the type of element each of these elements is. It is not entirely obvious how to add new elements, as it is simple to add new sections but somewhat more challenging to figure out how to add new elements (hover your mouse over an existing element and click the blue "plus" icon). The use of Squarespace requires some practice and instruction.

Squarespace does not require you to use a separate menu in order to navigate your site like Wix does; rather, it allows you to use the navigation that is displayed on the preview itself. One of the many page elements that you can choose from is one that allows you to enter markdown, which is a simple language for editing websites. Text, images, galleries, separators, buttons, charts, forms, and links are all present, in addition to all the other elements that are typically found on websites. On the other hand, you do not have access to free-form shapes like you do in Wix, and you cannot precisely position things on your page as you see fit.

In order to position elements exactly where you want them, you will need to become proficient in the use of the Spacer element and the placement of it. There are some helpful free integrations, such as Flickr, Instagram, and SoundCloud, as well as premium options, such as Amazon and OpenTable. Additionally, there is a new gallery of extensions that are available, each of which adds additional functionality. There are over 30 Squarespace Extensions available as of the time that this article was written, some of which include inFlow Cloud (software for managing inventory) and QuickBooks Online by OneSaas (automated accounting). Despite the fact that we are pleased to see Squarespace offer these third-party add-ons, Weebly and Wix offer a significantly wider variety of features.

While you are in the process of making your website, you can access the Style Editor and add a logo by clicking on the Design tab. The latter gives you the ability to modify the colors and fonts of your template to suit your preferences. You can select from hundreds of fonts and colors using a gradient color-picker, which is just one of the many ways Squarespace gives you ample control over the appearance of your website. The colors of every type of button, header, and link can be customized, including the colors of the social buttons. It is important to keep in mind that colors and fonts only apply to the content types. It is not possible to alter the fonts and colors used for different instances of a header, for instance. You are also able to change the spacing and padding for buttons, images, and titles using the Style Editor.

With version 7.1, Squarespace now gives you the ability to make broad changes to your site without having to modify each individual element. For instance, you can rapidly alter the overall look and feel of your website by applying sitewide changes to the font, color, and style of the site. Alterations to the design that are specific to individual sections of your website can also be personalized by you.

When it comes to developing their websites, Squarespace 7.1 users can now take advantage of the Fluid Engine, which provides a significantly simpler editing user interface. With the Fluid Engine, you are able to drag, drop, and resize whatever elements you want directly on the site. This is in contrast to the somewhat abstract process that you go through when using Squarespace's traditional editor. The grid ensures that everything is aligned properly. It makes it much easier to experiment, and it brings Squarespace more in line with other modern builders that are competing with it. Simply adding a Blank+ section to your page that is based on a compatible 7.1 template is all that is required to use the Fluid Engine.

Using Images

Your uploaded images can take advantage of Squarespace's built-in online photo editing functionality, which enables you to make adjustments to the images' brightness and contrast, apply filters to them, as well as crop them. Additionally, it gives you the ability to search for, preview, and purchase licenses to use professional stock photography from Getty Images on your website. The licensing fee for our test images was ten dollars, which we consider to be reasonable. In addition to the gallery of Getty Images and a few free image options, Squarespace features a repository where your uploaded images can be stored for future use elsewhere on your site(s).

You can add a gallery to any page, or you can add a gallery page, which will take its design from your template. If you choose to add a gallery as a page, you will not have the option to customize the gallery's appearance in any way. On-page galleries can be displayed in the form of carousels, grids, slideshows, or stacks, and they offer a variety of behavior customization options. Some of these options include displaying the gallery's title and description when the mouse is hovered over an image, transitions, and a lightbox for grid galleries. You can also adjust the spacing, but you do not have the same level of control over the appearance of your galleries as you would with some other website builders. The result is an improved overall design, but at the expense of creative expression.

Using Squarespace to Blog

You are able to add nearly the same kinds of content to a blog post that you add to any other page that you build using Squarespace. In addition, Squarespace allows you to save posts and schedule them for publication at a later time, whereas 1&1 MyWebsite and Gator do not offer this important functionality. Each post features a comment section, a heart icon for liking the post, and a share icon. When you aren't near your computer, you can still keep up with your blog by enabling an RSS feed and sending new posts via email. Integration with podcasting through iTunes is also available.

Getting Paid for Your Website

The available selling options on Squarespace are extensive. You are able to sell an unlimited number of products if you have the Business plan or either of the Commerce plans. The difference between business accounts and commerce accounts is that business accounts incur a transaction fee of 3 percent, while commerce accounts do not. You will be able to start making sales immediately after adding a Product page, regardless of whether you are selling physical goods, digital downloads, or services. You have the ability to enter SKUs, prices (both regular and sale), tags, categories, dimensions, and any custom options (for color and size, for example). The customer who visits your website will have access to a shopping cart, and you will be able to assign a unique URL to each individual product page. You can also keep track of inventory by assigning a stock number to each item and creating a form to collect information from customers who purchase your products.

In addition, Squarespace offers its users gift cards, monthly and annual subscriptions, customer account pages where users can view their purchase history and save their payment information, and new conversion metrics that show precisely where users engaged with your website. Both of the latter two are now included in the Business Basic and Advanced plans, as well as the Commerce Basic plan.

You previously only had one option for a payment processor, and that was Stripe; however, you can now also connect to PayPal. People can use Apple Pay from within Safari (on iOS devices or Macs) to make purchases from your site that are processed by Stripe. This option requires only one tap from the customer. You can also embed buttons for PayPal and stores from Etsy.com. You also have the option of using Square as your point-of-sale system in the United States. You have the option of establishing an express checkout, publishing terms of service and privacy agreements, and establishing a return policy. The integration of USPS and ShipStation makes it easier to send your merchandise to customers. Accounting support is available to you beginning at $9 per month when you integrate Xero.

Squarespace Email Campaigns is the company's in-house solution for managing email marketing campaigns. This gives you the ability to automatically import a variety of content into your email notifications, including your company logo, social media icons, mailing lists, and more. For the purpose of site promotion, Squarespace also integrates with Facebook, which enables you to synchronize a page or gallery on your website with your Facebook Page. Instagram users with Commerce-level plans can add tags to their posts to drive traffic to their online stores.

Squarespace Scheduling is an optional online assistant that is available around the clock to manage the appointments for your company. With Squarespace Scheduling, you can create and sync calendars, let customers book appointments, create gift certificates, memberships, or subscriptions, and start paying as little as $15 per month for all of these features. Squarespace Scheduling is not a product that can be purchased on its own; rather, in order to use it, you will need to have some kind of Squarespace hosting.

Creating Mobile Websites

The website that you create for desktop browsers can be converted into a mobile version by Squarespace, which does this automatically. Squarespace sites display beautifully on mobile devices, which is the primary reason why its templates restrict the positioning and dimensions of objects.

There is one setting that is only accessible via mobile: the Mobile Information Bar. If you have those features turned on for the mobile site view, the following menu will appear across the bottom of the screen: contact information, location information, and business hours. You can preview your site as it would appear on a smartphone or a mobile device that is roughly the same size as a smartphone using buttons that are displayed along the top of the editing interface in Squarespace.

Website Traffic Analysis

There is a section called Analytics that is included in every Squarespace account. This section displays traffic statistics for visits, page views, and audience size on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis. In addition to that, it highlights activity on mobile sites, referrers, popular content, geographic location, and search engine queries. Included in this package is the Google Search Keywords panel, which is a tool that, once you have connected your account to the Google Search Console, will allow you to view keywords, click-through rates, and search position data. The IP addresses of your site's visitors can be found in an Activity Log. You also have a limited view of the technology that visitors are using, such as the platform and web browser they are using, through the use of bar charts and pie charts. Accounts at the Commerce level receive an additional Metric option known as Sales Overview. This option displays revenue and the number of units sold on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis. In addition to providing an SEO checklist for your website, Squarespace also gives you the option to hire a Squarespace SEO expert.

Outstanding Customer Service Support

Email support is available around the clock, while live chat support is available from Monday through Friday, 4 am to 8 pm Eastern Standard Time. Unfortunately, there is no phone support available. The question that we typed into the chat box was answered by a customer service representative mere moments after we pressed the Enter key on our keyboard. After a few moments had passed, the individual on the other side of the screen connected us to the answers that we sought in regard to the support of third-party extensions. The customer service is satisfactory, although it does not provide the reassurance of being able to speak with a real person. In contrast, Wix provides telephone support for all accounts, including the free ones. On the opposite end of the spectrum, WordPress.com only provides free users with access to a knowledge base; live chat is reserved exclusively for paid accounts.

Fantastic uptime

The percentage of time that a website is accessible to users is one of the most crucial aspects of a hosting service. If your website is down, potential clients and customers won't be able to locate you or get access to the goods or services you offer. Over the course of a week and a half, we tracked the availability of our test website hosted on Squarespace by using a tool that monitors websites. The tool will ping our website once every 15 minutes, and if it is unable to make contact with the site for at least one minute, it will send an email notification. The results of the tests indicate that Squarespace is extremely reliable; during the course of the testing period, there was not a single instance in which the platform became unavailable. Therefore, you can have complete faith that Squarespace will serve as a sturdy basis for your website.

Squarespace Is Not a Square Business

Individuals and smaller businesses can quickly and easily establish an online presence using Squarespace because of its adaptability. It creates websites that have a fantastic appearance, are optimized for mobile devices, and provide you with powerful e-commerce tools. In light of this, users who are still operating on Squarespace version 7.0 will either be unable to access newly added features or will be required to rebuild their websites using Squarespace version 7.1. Look to our Editors' Choice picks for do-it-yourself website builders, such as Duda (for SaaS), Gator (for paid builders), and Wix, for improved cohesion as well as more affordable subscription options (for free builders).

Bottom Line

Even though the website builder on Squarespace isn't always as user-friendly as alternatives, it still has many helpful tools for creating beautiful, useful websites for individuals and small businesses.

Pros

• Stunning designs that are responsive and can adapt to the size of mobile screens.
• Fluid Engine enables a more intuitive design in areas that are specifically designated.
• Strong capabilities in online commerce, including the ability to sell digital downloads.
• Lets you use custom code.
• The blogging tool allows you to schedule your posts in advance.
• Helpful and insightful analytics tools.
• Certification de sécurité SSL gratuite.
• Unlimited monthly data transfers and storage space are included with all plans.

Cons

• If you are upgrading from Squarespace 7.0, your site will need to be rebuilt.
• In the new version, it is not possible to switch templates.
• There is no free tier.
• Phone support is not available.