This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.
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If you’ve listened to any podcast ever(opens in a new tab), you already know the spiel: Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder that makes it easy to create a professional-looking online presence. Numbers-wise, it’s the second most popular web builder(opens in a new tab) out there (after Wix) and the third most popular hosting service(opens in a new tab) (after Wix and Shopify), supporting more than 3 million live websites(opens in a new tab) across the internet at the time of publication.
One of the primary reasons why Squarespace has seen this success is that you don't need any web design or coding experience to get a beautiful site up and running on its interface. With intuitive drag-and-drop building elements and a vast selection of ultra-modern templates, it's easily one of the most beginner-friendly tools of its kind.
Truthfully, the hardest part about designing a Squarespace site is often just choosing one of those templates — there are over 230 of them across Squarespace versions 7.0 and 7.1, the two iterations of the platform that are currently supported. How do you decide which one to use for your oil painting portfolio(opens in a new tab), your Taiwanese-American food blog(opens in a new tab), or the online store for your cool-girl jeans(opens in a new tab)? (Those are all different kinds of websites that have been made with Squarespace(opens in a new tab), FYI.)
Should you use Squarespace?
After fast and easy site design, the best thing about Squarespace is its all-in-one approach: Your subscription plan includes 24/7 customer support, website metrics, SEO tools, SSL security(opens in a new tab), unlimited bandwidth, and video storage, all for as low as £13 a month. Squarespace also throws in fully managed cloud hosting at no extra cost, along with a year's worth of a new custom domain if you sign up for an annual membership — no need to set anything else up with another provider or platform. All things considered, its flexibility and convenience make it a stellar pick for first-time website owners.
What is a Squarespace template?
A Squarespace template (or theme) is a pre-designed, ready-to-use demo website that you can customise with different colour schemes, font packs, layouts, pages, and drag-and-drop element blocks(opens in a new tab) like text, images, galleries, buttons, and forms. Squarespace describes(opens in a new tab) them as "a starting point to help inspire your site's design," noting that "[you] can keep the structure of your original design intact by replacing the demo content with your own, or you can completely change the design of your site and start from scratch." You can do as much or as little customising as you'd like; your site will look polished either way.
Each template has been built exclusively for Squarespace, which means you won’t find them on WordPress, Wix, or other site-building platforms.
Are Squarespace templates mobile-friendly?
All Squarespace templates are mobile-optimised from the jump, which is awesome for two reasons: Mobile-friendly sites look great on all devices and get higher priority from Google when it comes to indexing(opens in a new tab) and SEO rankings.
Templates from Squarespace version 7.0 have separate mobile styles that activate on smaller devices, while their version 7.1 counterparts adapt to mobile view automatically.
What's the difference between Squarespace version 7.0 and 7.1?
Launched in 2014, Squarespace version 7.0 categorises its 91 templates into certain template "families," which are groups of similarly coded templates alike in their basic structure and functionality. Each one has its specific rules and style options, so you may need to swap templates (and risk losing content) to access certain functionality. For example, infinite scroll is exclusive to the Farro and Skye template families, while only Wells and Five allow sidebars on all of their pages, not just blogs.
Squarespace scrapped those hard-and-fast classifications with the release of version 7.1 in early 2020. All of its 140-plus templates now belong to the same family with the same underlying structure and design options, which makes it easier to change site styles(opens in a new tab) in seconds.
While neither version of Squarespace is conclusively "better" than the other, version 7.1 is more ideal for people who are new to the platform since it aggressively streamlines the design process, especially since the July 2022 rollout of Fluid Engine. That's Squarespace's next-gen content editor for 7.1 sites, which utilises a grid system and additional block placement options for improved layout flexibility (particularly on mobile).
Users who have built a Squarespace site before may still have good reason to stick with version 7.0 since its templates have some advanced style options that haven't been added to the new ones yet. One especially popular feature of the beloved Brine template family(opens in a new tab) that's missing from version 7.1; people were pretty salty(opens in a new tab) about that one.)
One caveat: While it’s possible(opens in a new tab) to switch between versions 7.0 and 7.1, doing so will usually require a full rebuild(opens in a new tab) and mess with your site's search ranking. On the bright side, Squarespace offers a free 14-day trial(opens in a new tab) so you can noodle around with both before you commit.
What features does Squarespace offer?
Structural and formatting differences aside, all Squarespace templates between both versions of the platform support the same suite of features — including several new tools introduced in the most recent Squarespace Refresh, its annual product update. Highlights include:
Blogging tools like commenting systems, post scheduling, podcast integration, and multiple author profile support
Portfolio tools like an image editor, image metadata importing, and video hosting/monetisation
Ecommerce tools for physical and digital products like on-demand Custom Merch, Member Areas, appointment scheduling, Point of Sale, subscriptions, product merchandising, product reviews, inventory management, USPS shipping label purchasing and printing, and local pick-up options
Marketing tools like email campaign integration, mailing lists, promotional banners, form blocks, and social selling on FaceBook and Instagram
Universal asset uploading and stock imagery via Unsplash and Getty integrations
It's worth mentioning that Squarespace also maintains three mobile apps that are free with any subscription or trial. They work with both versions of the site, too:
The main Squarespace app (available for iOS(opens in a new tab) and Android(opens in a new tab)) supports on-the-go writing, editing, updates, commerce, and analytics
The Squarespace Video Studio app (available for iOS(opens in a new tab)) makes it possible to create professional-quality videos with audio narration, animated text, and licensed music — think of it as a TikTok or Instagram Reels alternative
The Squarespace Unfold app (available for iOS and Android) is designed for creating sharable content for social media, including stories and Linktree-style Bio Sites
How do you find the right Squarespace template for you?
To get started, head over to the Templates tab(opens in a new tab) on Squarespace's website and filter its library by Type and Topic to narrow down your pool of candidates. You can hit "Preview" on any theme that catches your eye to see what it would look like in the wild.
Squarespace recommends(opens in a new tab) choosing a template based on your favorite colours and layouts rather than the demo content you see there, though you might find it easier to pick one that already looks close-ish to your end vision. For example, a template with a grid of products on its homepage can become your online store in a matter of clicks, whereas a template designed around event RSVPs will take more noodling for ecommerce purposes.
If you're having trouble settling on one, know this: It's basically impossible to make an ugly Squarespace site, and with enough time and experimentation, you can tweak almost any template to fit your exact vision and needs.
What is the best Squarespace template for you?
If Squarespace sounds like the right solution for you, know this: You really can’t go wrong with any of its templates. Like, it’s almost impossible to make an ugly Squarespace site, but just in case you need a little help to get the ball rolling on the site of your dreams, save yourself a Google search and just keep reading.
These are the best Squarespace templates in 2023.
