And I give up. Can someone point me to another web hosting service that is easy to use/customize for my needs? I've had enough of trying to make things work with Squarespace.

The 10 best Author and Podcast Squarespace inspiration websites — Launch23 Brand Designer & Square. October 2020. Looking for some examples of Squarespace in use? Look no further! Here is a list of my favourite Author, book, and Podcast websites that have been designed on Squarespace. I've done a lot of digging (and redesigning!) and I think I've found some of the best templates for Squarespace bloggers. It all depends on what your goals are. Here are a few great template options, depending on the vision you have for your blog: IF YOU WANT A SIDEBAR. Basil – Best Squarespace template for business website. You may wonder why Basil is the best. This versatile template is a writer’s best friend, with the capabilities to be an excellent author page, portfolio, promotional site, blog — or all of the above. See Details Best Interactive. Jun 03, 2020.

Best Squarespace Template For Blog


I am a writer, musician, and voiceover artist.
I need a website that ideally comprises of the following:
Homepage - photo and bio
Subsections - writing, music, gallery, videos, voiceover, contact
The writing section needs to allow me to add links to my published work
The music section needs to allow me to route to my Bandcamp page
The gallery needs to just be a photo gallery
The video page needs to allow me to embed music videos
The voiceover page needs to allow me to embed examples of my voiceover work
The contact page needs to contain my contact information
I don't know why this is so hard to execute in Squarespace, but I've tried like nine templates at this point and it's all very frustrating and I've had enough. Everyone tells me that Squarespace is super easy to use and that actually isn't the case at all in the slightest. Is what I need really that complicated? I don't want to have to hire a web designer - I don't have money to do that right now. Help, please, I'm tearing my hair out.
posted by nayantara to Technology (10 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
This all seems fairly straightforward to do with hosted WordPress -- hosted so you don't have to worry as much about updates -- and one of its oodles of free themes and its (basic) gallery support and the media embedding support, with the main advantage that it's much easier to export all your content than Squarespace or Weebly or one of the other browser-based web-builders.
posted by holgate at 2:05 PM on August 9 [1 favorite]

I haven't worked with Squarespace but I do web design and I am willing to help you for free provided there's no custom design/coding required and you have all the theme/plugins/graphics needed. MeFi Mail me.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 2:23 PM on August 9 [6 favorites]

I just rebuilt my website through Wix and found it intuitive and fairly easy. I was up and running in two days, with a fully functioning store. I also have easily embedded video and can't see any reason why you couldn't do all of what you need there. I compared Squarespace and Wix fairly deeply and found Squarespace to be too griddy and restrictive. Wix was much more flexible – allowing me to put stuff almost anywhere I wanted. (And trust me, I have a layman's definition of easy. Easy is not typing <backspace/colon something. Easy is, you want to make that sentence in that paragraph a link? Highlight it, drop down a menu and type in the place you want it to link to. Wix did that.) It also does a pretty decent job of automatically reformatting your site for phones and tablets. Message me if you'd like to take a look at what I did.
posted by lpsguy at 3:30 PM on August 9 [2 favorites]

Squarespace
WordPress, hosted at WordPress.com, with a built in theme is a very safe and reasonably easy way to go.
I work professionally in web development and used to always hear those Squarespace podcast ads, so I figured it must be pretty nice. When a friend asked me to help with their Squarespace site I was shocked at how difficult it was to work with. That'll teach me to believe marketing 🙄
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 5:00 PM on August 9 [3 favorites]

Squarespace's templates only really work if you run a small restaurant or have an image-focused store: Things with few words and huge pictures. The customized coding was a nightmare, and the 24-7 helpline was a joke.
So another one for Wix. I don't like their templates, really, so I started from scratch, copying the structure of a website I did like. It also took me about two days, and it was a pleasure to do. Best website I ever made, and if you have a problem, they'll answer the phone, and even pass on questions to a developer. It is, perhaps, the fifth WYSIWYG website platform that I've ever used, and the only one that was genuinely WYSIWYG. I can't recommend them enough.
posted by Violet Blue at 6:41 PM on August 9 [3 favorites]

Another vote for WordPress, either at Wordpress.com or at a managed host like WPEngine. You are not crazy -- Squarespace is the pits. I'm pretty sure the only reason they're so popular is their advertising budget.
posted by nosila at 8:01 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]

Ugh Squarespace made me cry. I use Weebly which I've found perfectly adequate, although based on these recommendations I might try Wix if I had it to do over again, mostly because it has a less embarrassing name.
posted by babelfish at 8:52 AM on August 10

You could get plain webhosting from a place like Namecheap and a website creation program like Xara Web Designer. It has a trial so you could check it out.
posted by Sophont at 9:45 AM on August 10

I just have to say I love Squarespace and would never ever go back to Wordpress. What you are describing can be done easily in Squarespace and I would be happy to chat with you with specific suggestions on how to do it. (Hint: use the 7.0 Brine template and build each page from scratch). I build websites for small businesses and do not recommend Wordpress as it is difficult and often expensive to maintain for most small business owners. I've dabbled in Wix and have heard anecdotally from people that use both that SqSp is better, more flexible. Memail if you'd like to chat.
posted by j810c at 11:20 AM on August 10

Thanks all. My step-brother who is a web developer jumped in when I texted him with some Squarespace GRAR and was able to get me a template that was easy to work with and got me started, so I'm ok for now. If I ever want to do something different, I will definitely take you up on your offer Foci for Analysis.
Thanks again. Squarespace still is the pits. 🤬
posted by nayantara at 5:37 AM on August 14

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Squarespace is arguably the most popular cloud-based website building platform available today. One of the main features that made the platform so popular is its collection of professionally designed website templates.

In this post, we handpicked a collection of the best Squarespace templates for creating any type of a website to promote your brand and business on a budget.

The gorgeous template designs aren’t the only reason why most businesses choose Squarespace. It also offers lots of other facilities, functions, and features that provide a complete all-in-one website building experience to its users.

Why Use Squarespace?

The beginner-friendly WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) website editor is what makes Squarespace special. The platform makes it quite easy for complete beginners to design their own website without any prior web design knowledge using hundreds of customizable options.

Starting at only $12 per month, Squarespace is also very affordable compared to other platforms. As a result, the platform is quite popular among freelancers and small businesses.

Some of the main Squarespace features include:

  • Affordable pricing plans
  • Free hosting, SSL, and global CDN
  • eCommerce solutions for online stores
  • Integration with email marketing services
  • Website designs optimized for SEO
  • Built-in analytics and reports

The platform also features a large collection of pre-built website templates you can customize to make your own websites. These templates feature modern and professional designs that suit almost any kind of a website you want to build.

Here are a few of the great website templates you can use to build a website with Squarespace.

Ready – Freelancer Squarespace Template

Ready is a minimal and elegant template designed for creating websites for professionals who offer services such as coaching, consulting, and freelancing. The template is effectively designed for attracting clients and detailing your services. There’s also a CTA (call to action) button that allows people to schedule an appointment, which is quite easier to setup using the Squarespace’s built-in scheduling system.

Skye – Modern Blog Squarespace Template

Skye is a great template you can use to make a simple blog. If you’re thinking about starting a travel blog or a food blog to share your travel stories and food recipes, this template is perfect for you. It features a fullscreen design with grid-based content blocks. Blog post layouts are also created to offer improved user experience as well.

Harris – Minimal Corporate Squarespace Template

Harris is a highly minimalist Squarespace template that’s most suitable for making websites for corporate businesses and agencies, especially for attorneys as well as officials and agents. The template homepage is made to showcase your business information. It also comes with multiple inner-page templates for showcasing services, clients, and more.

Galapagos – eCommerce Squarespace Template

Galapagos is a modern eCommerce website template you can use to setup an online store with Squarespace. The template comes with a minimal design featuring a grid-based layout for showcasing your products effectively on the homepage. It supports quick view, integration with the powerful Squarespace shopping cart system, and secure payment processing.

Hayden – Agency Squarespace Template

Hayden is a simple yet effective Squarespace template you can use to build a professional website for a design agency, architecture firm, real estate business, and more. It comes with a modern design and many sections for highlighting your services, clients, portfolio, and case studies. It also features a scheduling system for booking appointments.

Sofia Rey – Freelancer Squarespace Template

Sofia Rey Squarespace template is made for creating websites for freelancers. It comes with a minimal and clean design that provides you with different sections for including information about yourself, your services, client testimonials, and a contact form. Muna arabic font. The template also has a resume section that allows you to use the template to create an online resume website as well.

Pacific – Restaurant Squarespace Template

Pacific is the perfect template for creating a website for a restaurant, hotel, or a cafe using Squarespace. The template design offers many useful features for creating an effective website, including a section to detail menus, a fullscreen image slider, CTA sections for making reservations, and much more.

Carson – Portfolio Squarespace Template

Carson is an unusual portfolio website template that comes with a unique design. Instead of a scrolling website layout, it has a static homepage where it lets you highlight the top pages in an interactive way. When you hover your mouse cursor over a link, the background changes. Each page lets you showcase the clients and the projects you’ve worked on before. The hidden menu can be used to link to other pages such as contact and about me pages.

Impact – Education Squarespace Template

Impact is a modern website template made for creating educational websites such as for schools, colleges, online learning programs, and even for non-profits. The template features a stylish layout with an effective header section that quickly grabs your attention. Followed by neatly designed sections for detailing your programs, mission, team, and more.

Foster Juice Co – Business Squarespace Template

Fost Juice Co is a template you can use to setup a website for a food and beverages business or brand. But, the design can also be easily customized to make other types of websites as well. The template comes with a clean layout where you can effectively showcase your best products and even sell them online using the built-in Squarespace eCommerce features and the shopping cart. Raphael saadiq stone rollin 320 rar.

Avenue – Portfolio Squarespace Template

Avenue is a minimalist portfolio website template. If you’re a designer or an illustrator, this template is perfect for setting up a simple website to showcase your work online. The template features a grid-based layout for including different portfolio items on the homepage. The single portfolio item pages can be used to describe them in more detail as case studies as well.

Heights – Fitness Squarespace Template

Heights is a fitness and gym Squarespace template. It comes with a modern and a simple design you can use to promote your gym or fitness brand to online audiences. The template features an effective header section that encourages people to sign up for your gym membership and has separate sections for promoting private sessions, classes, and for showcasing trainer profiles.

Best Squarespace Template For Authors

Wix is another great platform you can use to build a website. Check out our collection of the best Wix templates to see what the platform has to offer.

Looking for WordPress hosting? We use Kinsta. They offer world-class WordPress hosting, built to keep your website fast, secure, and always online.

With the recent launch and success of our “Translating Squarespace with Bablic” tutorial, we figured it’s only fair to provide some Squarespace design inspiration to our loyal readers.

A little about Squarespace first for those who don’t know! Squarespace is a web based service that allows you to “easily” create a beautiful website, blog, portfolio and/or even a full-out e-commerce store. It is quickly becoming a leader in the industry and competing with the likes of WordPress, Wix and others thanks to its user-friendly and intuitive platform which lets you create beautiful Squarespace websites, all at an affordable cost.

It seems they are also trying to get deeper into the e-commerce space with their latest update which lets you import all of your products directly from Shopify or Big Cartel. Drag and drop abilities, in-page editing, analytics, templates, modules, apps, custom domains, gmail integration – pretty much everything an online publisher can ever ask for. They also proudly stand behind their product, Squarespace.com’s front-end is actually made with with Squarespace.

Squarespace’s websites are now all responsive so you won’t have to worry about building for different devices and screen sizes, just focus on creating a beautiful site. Check out the Squarespace examples below, also known as the most beautiful Squarespace websites – keep in mind, they are in no particular order.

Fotio

KISS (Keep it simple stupid) is the idea behind Fotio simply yet beautiful Squarespace website. The website white, clean and puts its product in focus. It may seem bare but sometimes that’s just the look you’re going for and these guys nailed it.

Cornell Crème

The large background, stylish typography, professional images and Cornell Crème color palette makes it hard to imagine this website is running on Squarespace but it sure is!

Lumio

Lumio showcases how even e-commerce websites can look beautiful and run properly on Squarespace. Check out both their homepage and the shop page to really get inspired if you’re planning on launching a simple e-commerce website.

Egg Shop

Egg Shop used Squarespace to build a website for their NYC restaurant. Simple and straightforward, the website features their menu, location, hours and a detailed press section showing off their achievements. The website is just as appetizing as the high resolution food pics they post in their gallery, if I was in NYC I’d probably stop writing right now and head there for one of their classics.

The Die Line

If anyone knows design it’s Andrew Gibbs, packaging production artist. TheDieLine.com is his brain child and it features the world’s most best package designs, all from a beautiful Squarespace website.

Template

Big Human

BigHuman is a well-known product design and development studio based in NYC. They have a simple yet colorful portfolio layout setup which lets them feature their best work right when you land on the homepage. They also use Squarespace in a beautiful way for their blog.

Expensify

Expensify focuses on simplified expense reporting and they do it in an extremely stylish way. The website’s look and feel is extremely clean and simple even though there’s a ton of information on it. That shows the power of good design, just browsing the site makes me want to learn more about the product. Surprising to see that even a website with lots of content such as this one can look so nice and run so smoothly using Squarespace.

Maravillas

Jennifer Maravillas uses Squarespace to showcase her work as an artist and a traveler. The typography used for her logo is one of a kind and how her layout blends in with her work makes this minimalist Squarespace website a home-run in terms of design. Shows what you can do with a bit of creativity.

UberEats

Bigger companies use Squarespace too! Here’s Uber’s latest project, UberEats, using Squarespace for their app lander. A short & sweet website featuring different background/slider images and a high resolution mockup of the app running on an iPhone. Scroll up and down for cool animation.

Indian Gardens

Indian Gardens looks like it’s using the Marquee Squarespace template with some customization. A one-page website with smooth scrolling and a unique color scheme, love how they display their menu right on the homepage.

Hope you enjoyed our short feature of 10 of the best Squarespace websites. Let us know which are your favorites in the comment section below. We’ll be posting more about beautiful Squarespace websites and would love to feature yours or your suggestions if they make the cut. Bookmark our small business blog for more similar posts!

Keep in mind, Bablic is the easiest way to translate your Squarespace website, try it now for free at Bablic.com, don’t forget to check out our Squarespace translation tutorial.