Designs Trends for 2021 & How to Achieve Them in Squarespace

Pixelhaze Creative Director Ken Rees reveals what’s genuinely working (and not working) right now for giving your Squarespace site the kind of polish that turns heads, wins clients, and, dare we say, makes your competitors’ sites look like relics from dial-up days. Read on for a dive into practical design trends and proven steps you can steal for your own projects, all topped up with our signature dry wit, actual examples, and a stash of real-world advice you won’t find in a templated “inspo” roundup.

Why This Matters

Let’s face it: your website’s first impression is as unforgiving as a studio spotlight at 8 a.m. Whether you’re launching a portfolio, a business, or your own digital fiefdom, clunky layouts and dated visuals act like a “Do Not Disturb” sign to potential visitors. Worse, they erode trust faster than you can say “Comic Sans.”

Getting your Squarespace design right isn’t just for impressing the design police. Clean, contemporary design helps you:

• Communicate credibility before anyone reads a line
• Shorten the time from visitor to customer
• Avoid endless fiddling and redesigns that waste hours and sink budgets

Web design moves quickly. The days of shadowed gradients and rainbow palettes are firmly in the rear-view mirror. Still, for many, making something feel modern can add hours of trial and error, often ending in a weird Frankenstein’s monster of nice ideas that just don’t work together.

That’s what this guide sorts out. Stick with us and you’ll see how minimalist design, strong type choices, a splash of animation, and smart use of new Squarespace features can save you stress. The end result? You look like you’ve hired an expensive design agency—without sending your bank account into meltdown.

Common Pitfalls

You know the feeling: you set out to tidy up your Squarespace site, aiming for “effortlessly cool” and ending up with “work-in-progress.” Let’s banish the usual offenders:

• Minimalism misunderstood: People think minimal means barren. Cue pages that look like abandoned warehouses, with crucial info swept into digital oblivion.
• Default fonts, default results: Chicken out and stick with Arial or Helvetica? Expect nobody to remember your brand. It’s the typographic equivalent of wearing beige to a neon party.
• Lumpy layouts: Slapping images and text together without care leads to a mess that neither guides the eye nor flatters your work.
• Trying every trend at once: Paralyse yourself with too many ideas. The result? A website with multiple personality disorder.
• Being afraid of white space: Jam-packing every inch with widgets, slideshows, or “fun” animations until your page wheezes for oxygen.

If any of these sound familiar, breathe easy: it’s fixable, and a lot of it comes down to shifting how you think about design as much as what you put on the page.

Step-by-Step Fix

1. Start with a Minimal Foundation

Minimalism isn’t just a style; it’s self-restraint. Fewer moving parts, sharper visuals, and the bravery to leave things out help here. Here’s how:

Step 1: Audit your content. Remove anything that doesn’t serve a clear purpose, trimming copy until every sentence actually matters. (Pro tip: If it feels painful to delete, you’re probably on the right track.)

Step 2: Source a handful of striking, high-quality images. These images put in the work. Blurry stock photography or “that’ll do” phone snaps will betray you faster than a squeaky floorboard at midnight.

Step 3: In Squarespace, head to your chosen page and add a banner image via the Background Image option. Unsplash, conveniently built-in, offers plenty of crisp, free images. Think about strong contrast and focus. Apple’s ads give a masterclass here: if you can’t tell what the website’s about within two seconds, start again.

Step 4: Overlay with strong, clean type. Navigate to Design > Fonts > Headings. Select something unfussy but confident, like Montserrat or Source Sans Pro. Crank up the heading size using Squarespace’s slider tools until it commands attention but doesn’t shout.

2. Let Typography Lead (and Have Its Moment)

The right typeface isn’t just window dressing: it transforms bland messaging into a voice. Typography can make a statement, evoke personality, and create a visual rhythm, all without needing an art school diploma.

Step 1: Decide on your vibe. Modern and punchy? Try an uppercase sans serif with lots of white space. Professional with a friendly edge? Consider a geometric font paired with a subtle serif for body copy.

Step 2: Adjust your Squarespace site’s font settings under Design > Fonts. Don’t fall into the trap of mixing too many. Two families—one for headings, one for text—is generous.

Step 3: Want something more creative? Design custom type overlays for your hero images in Canva (free) or Adobe Illustrator (if you’re feeling flush). In Canva, use pre-made text frames—perfect for experimental layouts. Illustrator lets you go further: turn text into shapes, play with outlines, or create clipping masks to fill type with imagery.

Step 4: Export your text graphic as a PNG or JPG and upload it as a section background in Squarespace. This lets you get custom type looks while keeping the site lightweight.

3. Infuse Subtle Animation (Without Going Full Vegas)

A hint of motion can make a website feel alive. Used judiciously, GIFs add personality and nudge attention where you want it. Used recklessly, they’ll distract and annoy before you can say “dancing baby.”

Step 1: Identify where animation helps, not hinders. Logo reveals, simple icons, or a playful header are usually enough.

Step 2: Create your animated GIF. Beginners can try Canva’s simple animated text or icon maker. For total control, create your animation in Adobe Illustrator or After Effects, then export as a small GIF.

Step 3: Upload your GIF into Squarespace as you would any image. Just drag it into an image block. Drop it in a place of prominence, but don’t pepper every section or you’ll give your visitors motion sickness.

4. Master the Art of Image Blocks and Visual Grids

Get block layouts right and your content stands out while everything feels up-to-date. Mess it up and you get chaos. Here’s your roadmap.

Step 1: Group related content into blocks using Squarespace’s Gallery or Image Block features. This works wonders for portfolios, service rundowns, or showcasing product ranges.

Step 2: Remove excessive padding around images. In version 7.0, use Index Pages and set padding to zero for a flush, edge-to-edge look (no awkward gaps). In 7.1, use the Gallery Section for similar impact. Double-check mobile previews, as default settings can change spacing.

Step 3: Mix and match: Use static images for most blocks, but put in the occasional animated GIF for punch. This adds energy and keeps things fresh.

5. Custom Touches with External Design Tools

Squarespace covers a lot, but sometimes you need outside help to take things up a notch, especially for unique visuals or signature branding.

Step 1: For image-driven headlines or offbeat shapes, open Canva for quick wins. Their templates help you whip up banners, testimonial layouts, or type masked over photos before exporting for the web.

Step 2: For more complex needs, like brand mascots, detailed illustration, or layered effects, Adobe Illustrator is your friend. Create your design (using artboards set to site section dimensions), export as SVG or PNG, and drop it into your Squarespace layout.

Step 3: Always export at the correct size for your website section. A blurry, upscaled image or a weirdly cropped overlay sends the wrong message.

What Most People Miss

Here’s one quiet truth: good design comes from what you choose not to do as much as what you add. Too many people chase features, but that really slick feel usually comes from white space, restraint, and alignment.

A few reminders from the field:

• Whitespace is your friend, not wasted space. Worried about too much emptiness? Give your layout room and let your content breathe. That space lets your message shine.
• Perfect your mobile display. Even seasoned designers forget to tweak for phone screens. Always preview (and adjust) every change on mobile before declaring anything finished.
• Reuse before you reinvent. If a section works on your home page, borrow its layout for your “About” or “Work” pages. Consistency wins trust.
• Photos > filler. Swap out generic icons or blocks of intro text for a single, evocative photo whenever you can. Images aren’t just decoration; they’re the quickest way to set a tone and tell a story.

The Bigger Picture

Get this right and your website acts like a well-oiled machine, quietly working for you.

• New clients get your vibe in five seconds flat
• Spend less time fussing over endless tiny tweaks and more time actually running your thing
• Your site is built with enough flexibility that, when it’s time to add products, showcase new projects, or update your message, it all adapts without breaking

Stick to these design approaches and you’ll raise your reputation, see more sales, and win back hours you never thought you’d reclaim from the churn of DIY design.

Wrap-Up

Here’s the upshot: modern Squarespace design isn’t about fancy effects or chasing what’s trending on Pinterest. It’s about discipline, ruthless editing, and spotting which details make the difference for your business.

Get comfortable wielding strong images, bold type, and a sprinkle of animation. Banish clutter. Use templates as a base, but make them your own with custom graphics and sharp layouts. Remember, good design slips by unnoticed—right up until it’s missing, and it becomes the only thing you see.

Want more confidence, less guesswork, and training that makes your next site something your peers envy? You’re in the right place.

Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.

And if you hit a roadblock, come say hi on live chat or social. Someone real from Pixelhaze will help you get unstuck fast.

Now… step away from that overstuffed page and go make something that actually works.

FAQs and Quick Tips

• How do I keep my Squarespace site minimal without losing info?
  Prioritise one message per section. Move detailed content to sub-pages, and put the essentials front and centre.

• Is Canva good enough for pro results?
  For most web graphics, yes—especially if you use their pre-sized templates. Illustrator is your friend for total custom control or scalable vector logos.

• How do I add an animated GIF in Squarespace?
  Just insert an Image Block, upload your GIF, and check how it loops. Make sure it’s compressed; nobody wants a site that loads like it’s 2004.

• What if I’m stuck with block layouts?
  Check if you’re using Spaces or Sections with hidden padding. Tweak these settings, and your grids will click together like Lego.

• Why does my site look wonky on mobile?
  Mobile preview is essential. Fix text size, image cropping, and button stacking before shipping your updates.

That’s your lot. Until next time.

Ken,
Pixelhaze Creative Director