16 of the most effective Squarespace templates for bloggers and past

Editor’s word: Squarespace not too long ago introduced Squarespace Refresh, its annual launch of latest options and updates (together with video monetization and {custom} merch instruments). We’ll be updating this content material with further data within the weeks to come back.

If you’ve listened to any podcast ever, you already know the spiel: Squarespace is an all-in-one web site builder that makes it simple to create a professional-looking on-line presence. Numbers-wise, it’s the second hottest net builder on the market (after Wix) and the third hottest internet hosting service (after Wix and Shopify), supporting greater than 2.8 million reside web sites throughout the web on the time of publication.

One of the first the reason why Squarespace has seen this success — effectively, other than all of these Ira Glass-narrated advert slots — is that you do not want any net design or coding expertise to get a lovely web site up and working on its platform. With intuitive drag-and-drop constructing parts and an enormous choice of ultra-modern templates, it is simply some of the beginner-friendly instruments of its form.

Truthfully, the toughest half about designing a Squarespace web site is usually simply selecting a kind of templates — there are 234 of them throughout Squarespace variations 7.0 and seven.1, the 2 iterations of the platform which might be at present supported. How do you resolve which one to make use of to your oil portray portfolio, your Taiwanese-American meals weblog, or the net retailer to your cool-girl denims? (Those are all totally different sorts of internet sites which were made with Squarespace, FYI.)

Let’s get into it — however first, a fast primer.

Why ought to I take advantage of Squarespace?

After quick and simple web site design, the most effective factor about Squarespace is its all-in-one strategy: Your plan contains 24/7 buyer help, web site metrics, search engine optimization options, SSL safety, limitless bandwidth, and video storage, all for as little as $14 a month. (That will get even cheaper when you go together with a long-term plan, by the way in which.) Squarespace additionally throws in absolutely managed cloud internet hosting at no additional price, plus a 12 months’s price of a brand new {custom} area when you join an annual membership. No have to set anything up with one other supplier or platform.

What is a Squarespace template, precisely?

A Squarespace template (or theme) is a pre-designed, ready-to-use demo web site you can customise with totally different colours, pages, fonts, and drag-and-drop component blocks like textual content, pictures, galleries, buttons, and kinds. Squarespace describes 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.”

Each template has been constructed completely for Squarespace, which implies you received’t discover them on WordPress, Wix, or different site-building platforms.

Are Squarespace templates mobile-friendly?

All Squarespace templates are mobile-optimized from the soar, which is superior for 2 causes: Mobile-friendly websites look nice on all gadgets and get larger precedence from Google on the subject of indexing and search engine optimization rankings.

Templates from Squarespace model 7.0 have separate cell kinds that activate on smaller gadgets, whereas their model 7.1 counterparts adapt to cell view mechanically. (More on these in a sec.) Check out Squarespace’s suggestions for protecting your web site mobile-friendly(opens in a brand new tab) as you proceed to construct it out.

Which model of Squarespace is best: 7.0 or 7.1?

Launched in 2014, Squarespace model 7.0 categorizes its 91 templates(opens in a brand new tab) into sure template “families,” that are teams of equally coded templates alike of their primary construction and performance. Each one has its personal guidelines and customization choices(opens in a brand new tab), which implies you typically have to swap templates and begin over (and danger shedding content material) when you’re after a particular function. For instance, infinite scroll(opens in a brand new tab) is unique to the Farro(opens in a brand new tab) and Skye(opens in a brand new tab) template households.

Squarespace scrapped these hard-and-fast classifications with the discharge of model 7.1 in early 2020. All 143 of its newer templates(opens in a brand new tab) now belong to the identical household with the identical options and underlying construction, which makes it simpler to vary web site kinds in seconds.

That being stated, neither model of Squarespace is conclusively “better” than the opposite. Version 7.1 might be the perfect selection for people who find themselves new to the platform because it aggressively streamlines the design course of, particularly for the reason that July 2022 rollout of Fluid Engine(opens in a brand new tab). (That’s Squarespace’s next-gen content material editor for 7.1 websites, which makes use of a grid system and extra block placement choices for improved format flexibility(opens in a brand new tab) — significantly on cell(opens in a brand new tab).)

However, customers who’ve constructed a Squarespace web site earlier than should still have good cause to stay with model 7.0 — its templates have some superior options that have not been added to the brand new ones but. (See: parallax scrolling, one particularly common function of the beloved Brine template household that is lacking from model 7.1; folks have been fairly salty about that one.)

One caveat: While it’s doable to modify between variations 7.0 and seven.1, doing so will normally require a full rebuild and mess along with your web site’s search rating. On the intense aspect, Squarespace affords a free 14-day trial so you may noodle round with each earlier than you commit.

Is Squarespace higher than WordPress?

This one’s fairly situational. WordPress is greatest for folks on both finish of the customization spectrum: You can use the free model to create an excellent primary weblog, or go balls-to-the-wall on a completely distinctive, from-scratch web site with premium themes and tens of hundreds of plugins. Keep in thoughts that the latter requires managing your personal internet hosting, safety, and updates; you may additionally want to rent a developer in case your coding expertise aren’t as much as par.

Squarespace’s templates are much less versatile than a custom-built WordPress web site and lean onerous on visuals, however they have already got some nice built-in options and look fairly snazzy proper out of the gate — plus, all the technical drudgery is dealt with by the platform itself.

Squarespace additionally helps the official integrations of sure providers, together with Apple News (to cross-publish your content material), Paypal (to simply accept funds), and OpenTable (to let company make reservations), together with a pair dozen third-party extensions. While not as prolific as WordPress plugins, they need to be capable of meet most of your and your customers’ wants, no downside.

How do you discover the proper Squarespace template for you?

To get began, head over to the Templates tab on Squarespace’s web site and filter its library by Type and Topic to slim down your pool of candidates. You can hit “Preview” on any theme that catches your eye to see what it might appear to be within the wild.

Squarespace recommends selecting a template primarily based in your favourite colours and layouts quite than the demo content material you see there: “You can change the style and layout of your site at any time, but you may find it easier to start with a design that’s already close to how you want your site to appear,” reads a web page on its Help Center. “For example, the Dario demo site is designed for a wedding, but you could adapt it to accept RSVPs for a different type of event, or to gather pre-orders for a new product launch.”

If you are having hassle selecting one, know this: It’s mainly unattainable to make an unsightly Squarespace web site, and with sufficient time and experimentation, you may tweak virtually any template to suit your precise imaginative and prescient and wishes. But simply in case you want a nudge in a sure course, hold studying: Below, we have rounded up 16 of the most effective Squarespace templates for all types of web sites.

Note: Most of our suggestions are from Squarespace model 7.1, however we have sprinkled in a number of choices from model 7.0 that proceed to face out. Templates have been labeled accordingly.