Common Squarespace Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Squarespace is well-known for its sleek templates and ease of use, making it a favorite for users who want to create beautiful websites without needing to dive deep into code. However, like any platform, there are pitfalls that can detract from the effectiveness of your website if you’re not aware of them.
Whether you’re new to Squarespace or a seasoned user, here are some of the most common Squarespace-specific design mistakes and how to avoid them, ensuring your website looks great and performs well.
1. Not Customizing Template Defaults Enough
One of the biggest advantages of Squarespace is its wide range of beautiful, pre-designed templates. While these templates can get you started quickly, many users fall into the trap of leaving too many default elements in place, leading to a website that looks generic rather than personalized.
The Problem:
If you rely too heavily on template defaults, your site may lack personality and fail to reflect your brand. It’s common for beginners to simply swap in their content without making any real customizations to fonts, colors, or layout. The end result is a site that feels cookie-cutter and doesn’t stand out from other Squarespace websites.
How to Avoid It:
Once you’ve selected a template, take time to personalize it. Adjust the fonts, colors, and spacing to align with your brand. Squarespace offers style editing tools that make it easy to adjust these elements globally, so even small changes can have a big impact. Consider changing up sections, rearranging elements, and experimenting with different layouts while keeping the cohesive look and feel that Squarespace templates provide.
Additionally, you can use custom CSS within the style editor for further customization, allowing you to tweak elements in ways that the default settings might not allow.
2. Overlooking the Squarespace Layout Engine (Section Spacing Issues)
Squarespace uses a section-based layout system that helps keep designs clean and responsive. However, a common mistake is mismanaging section spacing, leading to layouts that feel either too crowded or too empty.
The Problem:
By not adjusting section padding, margins, or spacing between elements, you can end up with uneven or awkward gaps on your site. Too much white space can make your site look sparse, while too little space can make it feel cramped and difficult to navigate. Users who don’t pay attention to the layout engine may also experience issues when shifting between desktop and mobile views, where spacing appears disproportionate on smaller screens.
How to Avoid It:
Utilize the spacing and padding controls within Squarespace’s layout engine to adjust the space between sections, blocks, and other elements. These controls help ensure your site maintains balance and proportionality across different screen sizes.
It’s especially important to preview your site across desktop, tablet, and mobile views to ensure that the layout transitions smoothly. Squarespace’s responsive design works automatically, but making minor adjustments to padding and spacing can make your site feel more polished and professional on every device.
3. Misusing Index Pages (In Legacy Templates)
Some older Squarespace templates rely on Index Pages to create scrolling, multi-sectioned pages. These index pages are powerful, but they can be misused when users don't fully understand how to organize content within them.
The Problem:
Many users pack too much content into a single index page, creating an endless scroll that overwhelms visitors. Alternatively, users may not take advantage of the ability to customize individual sections within the index page, resulting in a visually monotonous design that doesn’t differentiate between key content areas.
How to Avoid It:
If you're using a legacy template with index pages, be mindful of your page’s length and content. Each section of an index page should serve a distinct purpose—whether it's an introduction, a services overview, or testimonials. Instead of cramming everything into one index page, spread your content out across multiple pages if necessary, using the navigation menu to guide visitors.
Use the customization options for each section within the index to vary the design. For example, alternate between image backgrounds, color blocks, and layout styles to visually differentiate each section, creating a more dynamic and engaging page.
If you're using a newer template in Squarespace 7.1, which doesn’t use index pages in the same way, focus on leveraging the built-in sections and blocks for easy page-building that maintains a similar effect but with better control.
4. Not Utilizing Built-In Analytics for Design Decisions
One of the powerful features of Squarespace is the built-in analytics dashboard. Many users, however, overlook this tool when making design decisions, relying instead on subjective judgment without understanding how visitors are actually interacting with their site.
The Problem:
If you’re not paying attention to how visitors navigate your site, you might leave problematic design elements in place. For example, a call-to-action (CTA) button might be placed in an area that users never scroll to, or a popular blog post might not be featured prominently on the homepage, leading to missed engagement opportunities.
How to Avoid It:
Regularly check your Squarespace analytics to understand visitor behavior. Track metrics such as Bounce Rate, Time on Page, and Traffic Sources. These insights can help you adjust your design to better meet user expectations. If a particular page has a high bounce rate, it might indicate that the design or content isn’t resonating with visitors—perhaps the layout is confusing or important information is buried.
Use this data to inform design decisions, such as repositioning important CTAs, improving the navigation structure, or highlighting high-traffic pages in more visible areas of the site.
5. Overlooking the Power of Blocks and Content Layouts
Squarespace offers a variety of content blocks that allow you to mix and match different elements—text, images, videos, galleries, buttons, and more—into a seamless layout. However, a common mistake is failing to use these blocks to their full potential, leading to repetitive and uninspired designs.
The Problem:
Some users rely too heavily on basic text and image blocks, missing opportunities to create engaging layouts using a variety of other block types. This can result in a static, uninteresting site that doesn’t take full advantage of Squarespace’s design capabilities.
How to Avoid It:
Explore and experiment with the different blocks available on Squarespace. In addition to text and images, consider incorporating galleries, forms, buttons, social media links, and summary blocks. For example, summary blocks can dynamically display blog posts, products, or portfolio items, providing visitors with constantly updated content that’s pulled automatically from other parts of your site.
Use these blocks creatively to break up long sections of text, add visual interest, and guide visitors through your site. This can help keep your pages dynamic and interactive, encouraging users to explore more content.
6. Ignoring Built-In SEO Features
Squarespace has excellent built-in SEO tools, but many users either don’t know they exist or don’t take full advantage of them. Properly setting up these tools is critical for helping your site rank in search engines.
The Problem:
Failing to use Squarespace’s SEO features can hurt your site’s visibility on search engines like Google. Common issues include neglecting to set SEO titles and descriptions for individual pages, not customizing URLs, and forgetting to add image alt text.
How to Avoid It:
Squarespace makes SEO setup straightforward. Take the time to fill out the SEO settings for each page, including descriptive and keyword-rich titles and meta descriptions. Customize URLs to ensure they’re clean and reflect the content on the page.
For images, always add alt text, which not only helps with accessibility but also allows search engines to understand what’s in your images. While Squarespace handles many technical SEO elements automatically, optimizing these content-related areas can significantly improve your site’s search rankings.
7. Relying Too Heavily on Pre-Built Sections
Squarespace 7.1 introduced pre-built sections, which can be dragged and dropped onto pages for quick layouts. While these are incredibly useful for speeding up design, some users rely too heavily on these pre-designed sections without personalizing them, leading to websites that look similar to other Squarespace sites.
The Problem:
Overuse of pre-built sections can result in a website that feels generic and lacks a unique identity. While they offer great design foundations, leaving them untouched can make your site blend in with others using the same template and sections.
How to Avoid It:
Use pre-built sections as a starting point, but customize them to fit your brand. Adjust the fonts, colors, and imagery to ensure the sections align with your overall design. Rearrange the blocks within the sections or swap out content to make each section feel unique to your site.
By personalizing these sections, you can maintain the professional structure Squarespace provides while ensuring your website reflects your brand’s distinct identity.
Squarespace is a powerful tool for building professional, visually appealing websites, but avoiding common design mistakes is key to making your site stand out. By personalizing templates, optimizing for mobile, taking advantage of built-in features like content blocks and SEO tools, and utilizing the data from Squarespace’s analytics, you can create a website that not only looks beautiful but also performs effectively.
Ultimately, your site should be a reflection of your brand—unique, functional, and engaging. By keeping these tips in mind, you’ll ensure that your Squarespace site leaves a lasting impression on visitors
