Building Your Website with Squarespace – A 2019 Review

Why This Matters

There comes a point, whether you’re an owner of a local business, running a club, or managing a charity, when you realise that Aunt Linda’s nephew’s “web project” won’t cut it any longer. Maybe you tried WordPress and found yourself sinking into plugin quicksand, or you gamely poked around Wix and emerged with a site that looked like a PowerPoint from 1998. Every hour you spend baffled by dodgy menus, slow load times, and plugins arguing with each other is money out the door. Meanwhile, your competitor’s web presence quietly snacks on your market share.

For most small business owners, time and budget are stretched thinner than my patience when a client emails me at 2am about the colour of a button. You need a solution that works reliably, looks sharp, and doesn’t demand a computer science degree (or an exorcism) to update a phone number. Over the last 15 years I’ve used pretty much every content management system going, from Joomla’s maze of menus to WordPress’s plugin bloat and the various virtues (or not) of Wix, Jimdo, or Weebly. The one platform I keep coming back to for real-world results, however, is Squarespace.

A polished, modern website should help your business look credible, attract new customers, and give you control without the recurring headaches or sneaky hidden costs. Many people find the journey resembles a maze of half-built sites and expensive designers. I’ve lived that road and built over 180 Squarespace websites in the process. This guide offers a shortcut so you can get your site live, stylish, and future-proofed without unnecessary frustration.

(And yes, before you ask, all insights here come from my hands-on experience. You won’t find any sponsored “this changed my life” nonsense here.)

Common Pitfalls

Let’s get this out of the way: No website builder is truly “one size fits all”, and most people deciding where to build their site fall into the same avoidable traps:

1. Tinkering into oblivion. It’s tempting to chase every possible tweak: more pop-ups, new galleries, fonts for every mood. Before you know it, your site looks like the online equivalent of a charity jumble sale.

2. Assuming drag-and-drop means instant perfection. Just because you can move things around easily doesn’t mean you’ll get usable layouts or winning user journeys without thought. The best tools still need sound decisions.

3. Ignoring the fine print. Squarespace’s 14-day free trial is generous, but once you’re in, make sure you truly understand how annual plans work, what you’re committing to, and why those “helpful” domain extras might cost more later.

4. Overlooking scale. Squarespace keeps up for sites up to 300 pages. If your site gets closer to 500 pages, you may notice a slow drag, especially if you plan to grow quickly.

5. Chasing the latest trend. Some platforms will tempt you with “AI-powered everything” or the magic of widgets. Shiny features can distract from what matters most: clear, compelling content and a user journey that works.

Step-by-Step Fix

Here’s how you can build a credible, modern website for your organisation using Squarespace, following the same battle-tested process I use for my clients. No waffle, just actionable steps.

Step 1: Make a Decision About Your Platform (and Don’t Look Back)

Don’t waste weeks dithering. Write a list: how many pages do you actually need? Will you sell online? Do you require appointment bookings or email sign-up forms? Squarespace covers all the basics: blogs, galleries, e-commerce up to 200 products, events calendars, and password-protected pages. If you plan on running a global e-commerce empire with endless customisation, consider Shopify or WordPress. For most businesses, Squarespace will deliver with far less fuss.

Step 2: Choose the Right Squarespace Template as Your Starting Point

There are plenty of platforms with endless vaults of templates, but quantity doesn’t mean quality. Squarespace is picky on purpose. Their curated selection means that even if you pick without much design knowledge, you won’t fall too far off the stylish wagon.

Every template is mobile friendly, and switching between designs mid-build is straightforward. If your business thrives on visuals (think photographer, café, artist), go for a template with a strong home page image section. If you’re a solicitor or accountant, opt for clean lines and simple navigation. Don’t worry about perfection; nearly every template can be adapted if you take your time.

Step 3: Build Out Your Page Structure Before Adding Content

Build a skeleton first: Home, About, Services, Contact, Blog/News. Don’t hide your story or your call-to-action three pages deep. Set up the top navigation before you start uploading images or paragraphs. This helps you see if things get too complicated or if you’re squeezing too much into the main menu.

Squarespace’s drag-and-drop editor lets you create multi-column layouts, galleries, forms, and calls to action without any coding. You can add or remove sections quickly, so experiment until your structure makes sense. Watch out for spending excessive time tweaking small design elements—you want to focus on progress that brings in new leads.

Step 4: Populate with Content (And Use Getty or Unsplash If No Photos)

Copy your text into the relevant sections and watch how Squarespace handles headings, body text, and images with consistent, clean formatting. Don’t copy-paste direct from Word documents; you’ll often import unwanted spacing or odd fonts. Tidy up as you go.

Stuck for visual content? Squarespace’s integration with Unsplash (for free, copyright-safe images) and Getty Images (for paid, high-quality stock photos) means you can fill pages instantly without using generic “under construction” graphics. But always swap in your own imagery as soon as you can—authentic photos build trust.

Step 5: Add the Features You Need (And Ignore the Rest)

Resist the urge to pack every feature onto your home page. Use only the functions relevant to your goals:

• Need bookings? Embed a scheduling block.
• Selling products? Set up your store, enter product details, add Stripe or PayPal.
• Want to blog or announce events? Use the integrated blogging and event tools; both work smoothly on mobile devices.

If you run into a feature you’re not sure about (like multilingual support), there’s usually a plugin that can help. Bablic, for example, handles language switching simply. Don’t get carried away, though. If a third-party plugin seems likely to cause more trouble than benefit, it’s usually best to avoid it.

Step 6: Connect Your Domain, Launch, and Track Performance

Squarespace lets you purchase a domain directly or connect one you already own. Domain registration comes free for the first year with annual plans, so you won’t have surprise costs there. Their built-in analytics dashboard gives you solid reporting, though adding Google Analytics is still a smart move if you want deeper insight.

Don’t delay your launch by chasing small fixes. If the main content is set, navigation works, and your contact form functions, go ahead and publish your site. You’ll learn much more from real interactions than from endless preview modes.

What Most People Miss

Most beginners, and even quite a few agencies, overlook the reason behind design and structure decisions. It’s easy to fixate on matching brand colours, but far harder to step into your users’ shoes and actually guide them towards an action like an enquiry, booking, or purchase.

Squarespace makes putting pages together simple, but it doesn’t teach you why a call-to-action should be obvious, or why hiding your contact details under multiple submenus causes issues. A little web design theory—layout, hierarchy, and user experience—helps you stand out above your competition without spending extra.

Take password-protected pages, for example. Clients sometimes hide their best resources so effectively even they can’t locate them. If nobody visits, then security doesn’t help. In e-commerce, putting 150 products online without clear categories confuses your customers, rather than building confidence.

The Bigger Picture

Getting your website “done” is a major step, but keeping a professional online presence now requires you to stay active and involved. Once your Squarespace site is live, you can update hours, testimonials, or products yourself, without waiting for a developer or receiving another invoice. Your business remains yours. This flexibility lets you adjust to seasonal changes, special events, or unexpected circumstances.

A clean, modern site also improves how customers and suppliers perceive your business. It shows reliability, attention to detail, and enthusiasm—traits that no social media activity can fully replace.

You also save money over time. There’s no need to pay developers for minor changes or panic when “URGENT: WordPress plugin conflict” emails arrive. Your brand grows naturally as you adapt alongside your customers and business plans.

And life is too short to spend weekends debugging plugins or hunting down answers in forums. Those hours are better put towards spending time with your family, working with clients, or simply enjoying a proper cup of tea.

Wrap-Up

Squarespace is my preferred choice for building reliable, attractive websites for small businesses, clubs, charities, and anyone who needs their site to work rather than just look good. It sets a high standard for template quality, reliability (99% uptime, with only rare interruptions), and support, with live chat responders who often provide better help than supposed “experts” I’ve encountered.

No tool is perfect. There are quirks, learning curves, and the occasional glitch. But for its price and reliability, nothing else on the market combines ease of use, good design, SEO, and growth potential as effectively for most local businesses. If you need help or want to learn directly from those who have already navigated the typical challenges, consider booking onto our Squarespace Masterclass or joining the Pixelhaze Academy for some support.

Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free.

FAQs, Jargon Buster & Real-World Answers

Q: Is Squarespace right for a large online store or global e-commerce?
A: It easily handles up to 200 products, which is suitable for most local businesses. For very large stores, use Shopify.

Q: What payment gateways can I use?
A: Stripe and PayPal cover most needs. Integration is simple.

Q: Can I talk to support if something goes wrong?
A: Yes, via live chat or email (responses usually within five minutes). No direct phone, but the live chat staff are extremely knowledgeable.

Q: Does it support SEO?
A: You get all the essentials for local and regional businesses. While WordPress with the right plugins can offer extra features, Squarespace covers all the basics you’ll need.

WYSIWYG: “What you see is what you get.” You edit the site like you see it live. There’s no need to write code.

CMS (Content Management System): The toolkit running the show behind your website, making editing possible without hacking HTML.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): How you get your site showing up on Google when people search for your services.

If you want an up-to-date review with the latest Squarespace features, my free Squarespace 2023 review is available for anyone wanting a detailed look. However, if your goal is to get online quickly and smoothly, this guide and some focused effort will help you succeed. Good luck, and I look forward to helping you in the Academy!