Packed with expert insights, practical tools, and a library of resources, this book teaches everything you need to know to build design focused, professional websites that deliver inspiring user experiences from signup to launch.
Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook
Key Features
Use a hands-on approach and professional insights to design a custom website on Squarespace 7.1 and Fluid Engine
Launch a website on your domain with features like commerce, member areas, blogging and scheduling
Grow your audience with a mobile-optimized website you can own, edit, and update
Book Description
You've heard about Squarespace; maybe you've even started a trial site, but you haven't gotten around to actually launching it yet. It looks simple enough and feels like it should be easy, so why is it such a challenge? Author and Squarespace expert Kelsey Gilbert-Kreiling is here to help.
Squarespace from Signup to Launch a comprehensive guide to customizing the most design-focused and user-friendly website builder in the no-code world. More than a technical manual, the book will help you prepare to build a website, explain the foundational knowledge behind Squarespace 7.1 and Fluid Engine, and introduce you to a professional designer's mindset. Readers will learn how to build forms, use content blocks, optimize websites for mobile, build an online store, and become comfortable with Squarespace's built-in SEO, marketing, and analytics tools.
Learn from Squarespace experts Christy Price, Will Myers, David Iskander, Kristine Neil, Kathryn Joachim, Beatriz Caraballo, Justin Mabee, Shelly Price and more, with professional insights and resources in each chapter.
By the end of the book, you will have gained the confidence needed to build professional Squarespace websites with the developer's technical knowledge, project organization, and design intuition. You won’t just launch your site; you’ll be proud to share it with the world.
What you will learn
Build a website on Squarespace, step by step, with expert insights and practical tips
Plan your site content with an easy-to-understand outline Source and create the visual elements needed for a professional site
Go beyond pre-set templates to create a polished design from navigation to footer
Use advanced tools such as commerce, scheduling, member areas, blogging and email campaigns
Integrate custom code to enhance the design and functionality of your project
Optimize your website for mobile view and search engine visibility
Market your site and grow your audience after launch
Who this book is for
If you are interested in building a website on the Squarespace platform, including its newest versions, 7.1 and Fluid Engine, then this book is for you. Maybe you’re a brand designer with little or no code experience or perhaps you’re an entrepreneur who needs a website you can own and use. You could even be a website designer versed in other platforms looking to expand your skills to a new tool. No matter your entry point, this book will offer an understanding of the why and how of Squarespace, preparing you to use it as a go-to practical guide.
Table of Contents
Choosing Your Platform – to Squarespace or Not to Squarespace
Preparing to Build Your Site – Making an Outline and Gathering Your Assets
Setting Up Your Squarespace Site
Getting Started – Creating and Editing Your Site Header
Design Essentials – Color and Typography
Building Your First Pages and Sections
Using Content Blocks and Building Forms
Optimizing Your Site For Mobile
(N.B. Please use the Look Inside option to see further chapters)
Author(s): Kelsey Gilbert Kreiling
Publisher: Packt Publishing Pvt ltd
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 354
Squarespace from Signup to Launch
Foreword
Contributors
About the author
About the reviewers
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Companion Site
Conventions used
Get in touch
Share Your Thoughts
Download a free PDF copy of this book
Introduction
Hi, I’m Kelsey Gilbert Kreiling
How to use this book
Theory
Practical Application
Professional Insights
Build-Along Milestones
Resources
Why Include Professional Insights?
How to use the resources in this book
Companion site, workbook, and links
Summary
Part 1: So, You Want to Build a Website on Squarespace
1
Choosing Your Platform – to Squarespace or Not to Squarespace
The evolution of Squarespace
Squarespace 5
Squarespace 6
Squarespace 7
Understanding Squarespace 7.1 and Fluid Engine’s features
Core features summary
Advanced features summary
Squarespace versus other website builder tools
Wix – the drag and drop competitor
WordPress – the leader in blogging
Shopify – commerce that scales
Webflow – animations and interactions
Comparing the cost of different site builder tools
Squarespace’s most significant weaknesses
So, why use Squarespace?
Professional insight – why do professionals choose Squarespace?
Resource – the Squarespace decision tree
Summary
Questions
Answers
2
Preparing to Build Your Site – Making an Outline and Gathering Your Assets
Technical requirements
Start with your why
The time has come to build an outline
Customer journey brainstorms
The three questions to ask about every page
Writing website copy
Digital assets – what do you need?
Creating your folders
Gathering design inspiration
Developing a color palette
Logo and type styles
Photos and video
Graphic design elements
Professional insight – what makes a good outline
Resources – website outline template and digital asset checklist
Digital asset checklist
Must have
Optional
Summary
Questions
Answers
Part 2: Design and Build Your Site
3
Setting Up Your Squarespace Site
Technical requirements
Creating a Squarespace account
Answering onboarding questions
Choosing a template
Previewing templates
Setting up your account
How does a trial work?
Professional insight – purchasing pre-built site templates
Resource – top templates in 2023
Summary
Questions
Answers
4
Getting Started – Creating and Editing Your Site Header
Technical requirements
What is a site header and how does it work?
Accessing your site editor
Adding a logo or site title
Using Pages to create a navigational structure
Creating folders
Styling and designing your navigation
Professional insight – understanding the impact of navigation on SEO – an interview with David Iskander of Launch Happy
Resource – five Squarespace page header examples to inspire your project
AFMKTG
Molly Each
Canvas
Coleague
Summary
Questions
Answers
5
Design Essentials – Color and Typography
Technical requirements
Why font selection and color choice matters
A site style overview
Choosing a typeface and adjusting font settings
Switching font packs and editing the base size
Editing headings, buttons, paragraphs, and miscellaneous
Assign Styles
Setting and editing color themes
Changing the colors in your site’s palette
Customizing your themes
Professional insight – an interview with Kathryn Joachim from Crème Brands
Resource – creating your style guide
Summary
Questions
Answers
6
Building Your First Pages and Sections
Technical requirements
Exploring what Fluid Engine is
Understanding pages and sections
Creating your first pages
Adding pages to your website
Types of pages
Building pages with sections
Building a page from a blank section
Using pre-built section templates
Using auto layouts
Professional insight – making small adjustments to create a big impact with Kathryn Bethard from Crème Brands
Keeping copy under control
Using high-resolution images
Keeping layouts fresh
Resource – populating placeholder content with ChatGPT and Squarespace AI
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Answers
7
Using Content Blocks and Building Forms
Technical requirements
What blocks are and how they work
Opening the block menu and adding a block
Understanding each block option
Basic
Powered by Tock
Business
Filters and lists
Premium
Integrations
Using forms and newsletter signups
Editing content
Styling forms and newsletters
Connecting a source
Professional insight – your top five blocks
Resource – keyboard shortcuts for using blocks
Summary
Questions
Answers
8
Optimizing Your Site for Mobile
Technical requirements
Understanding mobile optimization and responsive design
What is responsive design?
Why optimize for mobile?
Visualizing websites on different screen sizes
Viewing and reviewing your website in mobile view
Device view
Resizing your browser window
Areas to consider when viewing on mobile
How does Squarespace determine the order of content on mobile?
How do I know when to check the mobile layout?
Editing site settings
Mobile header edits
Adding a Mobile Information Bar field
Editing page by page
A detailed breakdown of adjustments
Giving yourself space to work
Checking object spacing
Re-ordering blocks
Focusing on images
Professional insight – reviewing your navigation from a mobile-first perspective with Launch Happy’s David Iskander
Resource – using development tools to the check site experience
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Answers
9
Using Custom Code to Enhance Your Website
Technical requirements
Custom code and Squarespace
Using CSS, HTML, and JavaScript
The world of snippets and plugins
The custom CSS editor
When to use this area
How to access the CSS Editor
Code injection
Adding code to pages
Code blocks
Embed blocks
Markdown
Common issues with custom code
Professional insight – getting curious about custom code with Will Myers
Resource – the best custom code resources and plugins
Online CSS, HTML, and JavaScript resources
Squarespace tutorials and education
Plugins and code snippets
Summary
Questions
Answers
Part 3: Give Your Site Superpowers
10
Commerce – Selling Items, Subscriptions, and Services
Technical requirements
Let’s make some money with commerce
A tour of the selling tools in Squarespace
Storefront
Detail pages
Your commerce dashboard
Cart and checkout
Checkout settings
Notification settings
Adding products to your store
Adding products
Details and images
Adjusting inventory, setting price, and creating variants
Organization – adding categories and subcategories
Other product types
Designing your shopping experience
Designing your storefront
Customizing product detail pages
Making your store live
Professional insight – using Squarespace add-ons with Squarespace commerce expert Kristine Neil
Resource – three add-ons to boost Squarespace commerce
Universal Filter plugin
LiveChat
AfterShip returns
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Answers
11
Blogging – Sharing Your Ideas
Technical requirements
The value and power of blogging
Adding a blog to your website
Editing the format of your blog page
Creating a new blog post
Editing Blog Post Settings
Adding tags and categories
Editing the format of your blog posts
Blogging and search engine optimization
Using Summary Blocks to add blog posts to other areas on your website
Professional insight – making your blog stand out with Christy Price
Resource – adding an archive and a search bar to your blog page
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Answers
12
Member Areas – Selling Your Knowledge and Protecting Your Content
Technical requirements
What is a Member Area?
How to access Member Areas
Setting up your first Member Area
Adding a video page
Adding a Member Area signup block to a sales page
Member Area settings
Adding a Login button to site navigation
Editing notification messages and styles
Managing user accounts
Member Areas pricing
Professional insight – Max Pete on common mistakes when building a community
Resources – member tool comparison chart
Summary
Questions
Answers
13
Scheduling – Selling Your Time and Sharing Your Availability
Technical requirements
What is Acuity Scheduling?
Why use a scheduling tool?
Turning on Acuity Scheduling
Setting up your calendar and availability
Setting hours of availability and calendar limits
Creating appointments
Creating a new type of service
Creating a new type of group class
Adding scheduling to your website
From the Squarespace pages menu
From the Acuity Scheduling menu
Connect to other calendars
Additional functionality
Resource – a scheduler setup checklist
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Answers
Part 4: Launch Your New Website
14
Prepare to Launch Your Site
Technical requirements
Testing time – reviewing your site, page by page
Viewing your site on different devices and screen sizes
Sending it to a friend
Thinking about what’s missing
Adding SEO page descriptions and checking page titles and URL slugs
Page titles
SEO
Social images
Building your footer
Adding a footer
Important content to include in your footer
Copyright
Contact information
Social media links
Call to action
Privacy policy and Terms of Use
Makeing it a bit more special
Adding a browser icon and social sharing image
Adding a browser icon
Adding a social sharing image
Upgrading your site to a paid subscription
Professional insight – preparing for launch day with Christy Price
Resource – launch checklist
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Answers
15
Connecting Your Domain and Making It Live
Technical requirements
You.com – how to choose a domain name
Setting up your domain with Squarespace
Connecting your domain name with other DNS providers
Transferring a domain
Using Nameserver Connect
Using DNS Connect
What happens after you have connected your domain?
SSL certificate setup
Hosting services
Social media debugging
Professional insight – why isn’t my domain connecting? The top seven things to check
Resource – help links for common DNS issues
Summary
Questions
Answers
16
Understanding Analytics and Setting Up SEO
Technical requirements
Analyzing the analytics page
Finding your Squarespace analytics
Key metrics
Cookie banners and data collection options
Other tools that you can use to understand user behavior
Five ways to use analytics to grow your audience
Completing your SEO checklist
Before launching
After launching
Professional insight – SEO expert David Iskander on the top 5 things to do to help your site be found
Resource – best DIY SEO resources list
Tools
Summary
Questions
Further reading
Answers
17
Keep Growing Your Site with Marketing Tools
Technical requirements
Keeping it fresh – how your website stays updated
(hint – it’s you!)
Taking a whole-site view
Checking the details
Optimizing for mobile and SEO
When in doubt, duplicate and edit
Looking for new Squarespace updates
Integrating social media
Adding social media icons
Connecting accounts to push content updates
Adding an Instagram feed to your site
Additional content creation tools
Unfold
Bio.Sites
Squarespace Video Studio
Marketing Kit
Email marketing
Creating a mailing list
Creating a Sender Profile
Selecting an Email Template
Automations
Promotional popups and announcement bars
Popups
Announcement bars
Professional insight – using site audits to help clients evolve with Beatriz Caraballo
Resource – website launch marketing worksheet
Summary
Questions
Answers
Index
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