How to Use Squarespace to Build a Website (+ Video Tutorial)

Squarespace is one of the most popular all-in-one website builders, known for its sleek designs and built-in tools that help small businesses grow and succeed. Our Squarespace tutorial shows how to use Squarespace to build a website in just five easy steps. To start, create an account, select a template, customize your template, review it, and upgrade to a premium plan to publish.

Squarespace Tutorial Video

While Squarespace pricing has changed since this video was released, the steps of how to build a website with Squarespace are the same as laid out in our Squarespace tutorial video:

1. Get Started With Squarespace

Select from the hundreds of sleek templates offered by Squarespace

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Squarespace is made for beginners, and thus learning how to build a Squarespace website is extremely straightforward. First, head over to Squarespace and click on “Get Started.” From there, it will take you to a page with templates you can browse or sort by type and topic (e.g., the type of website you want to build or the industry your business is in).

For example, clicking on the checkbox for Online Store and Photography will show you a different set of templates than clicking on One Page Websites or Food. You can also opt to check more than one type (e.g., Online Store as well as Memberships).

To browse all of the 100-plus Squarespace templates available, don’t click on a checkbox. Instead, click on “All Templates” under “Topic.” To mark a template as a “favorite,” press on the heart at the bottom of the preferred template. You can view your favorites at the top right corner of the selection screen.

Alternatively, you can opt not to use a template altogether by selecting “Use Blank Template.” With a blank template, you can add, delete, and edit Squarespace’s premade sections to build out your website.

2. Create Your Account

Choose a name for your Squarespace website

Once you’ve chosen a template, you will need to create an account to edit it. You can choose to continue using an email address or your Google, Facebook, or Apple account. Using Squarespace to create a website is 100% free for 14 days (with no credit card required) and you can begin editing your website right after you sign up.

Squarespace also gives you a brief overview of what to do after creating your website. Choose a name for your site to proceed to the mini-tutorial. Don’t worry if you can’t decide on your site’s name just yet as you can always click on the arrow below and name your website later.

After the “mini-tutorial,” a pop-up will appear on the right-hand side of your screen. This is a step-by-step checklist of what you can do to set up your website. You can dismiss or minimize this pop-up if you deem it unnecessary.

3. Edit Your Squarespace Website

Squarespace’s editing interface

The next step in how to use Squarespace to build a website is editing your site. If you chose to start with a template, this could be as simple as replacing some of the images and the text content. If you started with a blank template, you’ll build pages using Squarespace’s premade content blocks.

Regardless of the template you started with, for editing, Squarespace presents a drag-and-drop editor where you can drag or click content blocks to edit. Check your sidebar to see the menu. Below we explain how to create new pages or delete pages you don’t need, change your site’s design elements, customize the header and footer areas, and optimize your site for online search.

Create & Delete Pages

Shortcuts:

• Add a page: Main Menu > Pages > + > Blank Page/Page Layouts
• Edit a page: Main Menu > Pages > Page Name > Gear Icon
• Delete a page: Main Menu > Pages > Page Name > Trash Icon

Access the page’s settings by clicking on the gear icon beside each page

Check if the default pages that came with your chosen template are enough for your website or if you need to add more (or delete any you don’t want to have). Then, click on the Pages tab on the left menu bar to add or remove pages or change your website’s navigation. You can also edit each individual page’s settings by clicking on the gear icon beside the page.

Change the page’s title, URL slug, and navigation. Make sure that it gives an accurate description of the page for optimization purposes. Pay attention as well to the search engine optimization (SEO) tab in the page settings, where you can add SEO titles and descriptions to each page. Be sure to save the changes before leaving the menu or exiting a page after editing as Squarespace does not autosave your changes in real time.

Squarespace has a wide range of options like Contact, About Me, Appointments, and Menu. Add a new page by clicking the “+” icon in the same left-hand side menu. When adding a new page, you have the option to choose from a blank page or a premade layout.

Drag your pages to organize them on your navigation bar. To create subpages—which will show as drop-down menu items on your site’s navigation bar—create a folder and name it, and then drag the pages you want into the folder. To delete any page, simply hover over the page in question and press the trash icon that appears beside it.

Change Your Site’s Design

How to Edit Pages of Your Squarespace Website

Shortcuts:

• Edit a section: Main Menu > Pages > Specific Page > Edit > Specific Section
• Add a section: Pages > Specific Page > Edit > Add Section
• Add a content block: Pages > Specific Page > Edit > Specific Section > +
• Delete a section/block: Pages > Specific Page > Edit > Drag Section/Block to Trash

Edit Squarespace website page content directly on the interface

The actual editing of your website’s pages is done on the editor itself. Just click on the page you want to edit, click “Edit” on the top left corner of the screen, and click on the content block you want to change. When you’ve finished making changes, be sure to click “Save” before navigating away or you will lose your edits.

You can also add or remove content blocks and sections by clicking on the “+” sign and the “Add Section” button, respectively, and by dragging blocks or sections to the trash icon that pops up at the bottom of the screen. Use the up and down arrows to arrange the sections on your page, and drag and drop your content blocks to where you want them to go.

After editing your page’s design, save or discard the changes by hovering over “Done” at the upper right corner of your screen, and bringing down the menu. In the next step of how to use Squarespace to create a website, we show how to edit your site’s header and footer areas.

Update Your Header & Footer

Shortcuts:

• Edit header: Main Menu > Pages > Specific Page > Edit > Edit Site Header
• Edit footer: Main Menu > Pages > Specific Page > Edit > Edit Footer

Edit your site’s header and footer by hovering over the sections on any page

Click the header (on any page) to edit your site’s header. Keep in mind that this doesn’t change the header on just one page, but every page. The design of your header should be universal and will generally include a main navigation menu as well as contact information and a site search widget.

Change your site’s title, and upload your logo by clicking on the Site Logo section and uploading an image from your computer. You can also upload a unique mobile logo; simply leave this blank if you plan to use the same logo for your website across all device types.

If you don’t have a logo yet, Squarespace offers a free logo maker that you can use without signing up. Alternatively, for a more custom design, you can purchase a professionally designed logo from a Fiverr freelance pro for as little as $5. Before heading to make changes to your site’s footer, make sure to save all changes by hovering over “Done” at the top left corner and clicking on “Save.”

Next, scroll down to the very bottom of your screen to see your footer. Like your header, the footer stays constant throughout every page on your entire website.

Some content ideas to put in your footer are your location, contact information, social media links, a call to action (e.g., an email sign-up or free demo offer), a menu including your site’s top level pages (or at least the home page), and a search bar. Click the “+” sign to add these elements to your footer, and the trash icon that pops up to delete. When done, save your changes.

Optimize Your Squarespace Website for Search

Shortcut to overview: Main Menu > Marketing > SEO
Shortcut to page-level SEO settings: Pages > Gear Icon > SEO

Page-level SEO features are in Page Settings

In addition to learning how to use Squarespace to build a website, it’s important to know how to optimize your site so it gets found in online search. These include search engine optimization (SEO) tactics for each page, such as keyword-optimized titles, descriptions, image alt-tags, as well as site-level settings. To add optimized page titles and descriptions to a page, click on Pages → Gear Icon → SEO.

In addition, in the SEO tab under Marketing, Squarespace also offers a checklist with several ways to improve your website’s optimization, including an in-depth SEO checklist to see how to optimize your site even further. Find out more about this platform’s SEO capabilities and learn why Squarespace is one of the absolute best website builders for SEO.

4. Review Your Site

Once you’re satisfied with how your website looks, review each page to see if all the content blocks are in order and if you’re not missing any important details. Click on the mobile icon at the top right corner of your screen to switch between mobile view and desktop view. Keep in mind that you can also use the editor when viewing the mobile version of your site, and any change you make will reflect on your desktop site as well.

Before you publish your website, review the following:

• Business information: Your business’ name, address, and contact information
• SEO: Page titles and descriptions in the search engine optimization (SEO) tab as well as other items in Squarespace’s SEO checklist to fully optimize your website
• Header: Your logo, main navigation menu, links to important pages like applications or contact pages, an easy way for site visitors to contact you (such as a click-to-call phone number), a search bar, and so on
• Footer: Your logo (hyperlinked to your site’s “home” page), a short navigation menu, search bar, email sign-up form, contact information, location address(es), recent posts, etc.
• Privacy page: Every website should have a privacy page (and Squarespace requires you to have one) that notifies site visitors about things like how data is stored and used when they submit a form, whether your site uses cookies, and who to contact if they want their information deleted
• Custom 404 page: Adding a custom 404 error page improves the experience for the site visitor as you can personalize it and give them options of things to do, such as search for content they were looking for or contact you for help
• Cookie notification banner: A cookie notification pop-up or banner is required by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation act, and while not required for those conducting business in the U.S., it is becoming increasingly standard on all websites—you will find settings for these in → Settings → Cookies & Visitor Data
• Plugins and extensions: Squarespace plugins (called extensions) add extra features and functionality to your website through third-party integrations for things like shipping, bookkeeping, marketing, and more

The last bullet is optional. One of the things that makes Squarespace unique is the amount of third-party plugins you can download. Plugins are small bits of code that you can easily download to customize your website even further.

Downloading and installing plugins on Squarespace is extremely easy: head over to Squarespace’s list and find the extension that you want. Click on the plugin and hit “Connect to Site,” and Squarespace will install it for you. All the extensions you’ve downloaded are available to view in the Extensions tab within Settings (on the main menu).

5. Choose a Plan & Publish Your Site

Purchase a premium plan to make your website visible to the public

Now that you’ve completed the steps for how to use Squarespace to build a website, your site is ready to publish. Head over to Settings on your sidebar and click on “Site Availability.” From here, you will be asked to choose a plan in order to publish your website.

Unlike website builders like Wix and GoDaddy, Squarespace does not have a free plan. To make your website accessible to the public, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan, starting at $14 per month (when billed annually).

How Much Does Squarespace Cost?

Here are the plans currently offered by Squarespace on an annual billing cycle. Note that if you pay monthly (vs annually), it’s more expensive.

*Billed annually; plans range from $23 to $65 billed month to month

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the best Squarespace alternatives?

If Squarespace isn’t for you, there are numerous beginner-friendly website builders in the market. Our top Squarespace alternatives offer various benefits, such as free plans to start with, built-in booking tools, and robust ecommerce. Wix is the most customizable and has a free plan, and GoDaddy can also be used free and has built-in appointment booking tools. Those wanting robust ecommerce in low-cost or even free website builders should start with Weebly.

Is Squarespace free?

Squarespace doesn’t have a free plan, though it does have a 14-day free trial. You can build your website on Squarespace and access its features for 14 days, but to make your website visible to the public, you’ll need a paid plan. To build a website for free instead, see our list of the best free website builders available.

How much does building a website cost?

Building a website can cost anywhere from only paying for web hosting ($1 to $10 per month) to over thousands of dollars should you decide to hire a web design agency. However, hiring a professional isn’t as expensive as you may think. On Fiverr, you can find an experienced web designer to build a fully customized website for you for a few hundred dollars. See a comparison of website building costs and decide for yourself.

Bottom Line

Squarespace tops our list of the best website builders for small businesses. It’s fairly intuitive and beginner-friendly, has premade templates to streamline the process of how to use Squarespace to build a website, and is full of features to help you create the perfect site. Take advantage of the 14-day free trial to see how easy it is to build a website with Squarespace.

Try Squarespace Today

You Might Also Like…

• Still unsure of how to use Squarespace and if you should use it? Read our full Squarespace review.
• Need help choosing a template? Here are the best Squarespace templates available.
• Squarespace has ecommerce features too. Build your Squarespace store today.