Introducing our new course series; Box of Tricks…

Welcome to the next evolution of the Pixelhaze Academy. If you’ve ever tried to wrangle Squarespace into doing something just a bit special—maybe to impress a client, or just to quiet that niggling sense your website could be sharper—then I’ve got something that’ll brighten your day (and probably save you a few headaches down the line).

After years of helping people build, break and fix Squarespace websites, I’ve seen it all: from perfectly reasonable creative visions scuppered by a button that won’t budge, to hours lost chasing features you could’ve set up in three clicks. This doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. That’s why we’ve put together the “Box of Tricks” course series.

Pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable, and I’ll explain why you might want to clear a space on your browser’s bookmarks bar.

Why This Matters

Time is your most precious resource. Whether you’re running a business, building sites for clients, or just bootstrapping your side-hustle after the kids are in bed, every minute counts. The challenge with Squarespace is, for all its strengths, you can easily fritter away hours tinkering: struggling with stubborn layouts, wishing you could break out of template jail, or googling “why won’t my gallery display properly on mobile”.

You don’t just lose evenings and weekends when things run aground. The bigger risk is ending up with a site that looks like everyone else’s or feeling powerless to fix what’s bothering you, which can drain your enthusiasm for creating faster than any other roadblock.

That’s where the “Box of Tricks” steps in. This course has been built to give you back your time and control, to smooth the sharp corners off your web design journey, and to help you focus on the fun side: making something brilliant.

Common Pitfalls

Let’s be honest. Most people wade into Squarespace full of optimism. You pick a template, swap out some photos, and think, “this’ll do just fine.” But before long, niggles creep in. You want to move that bit there, or integrate a feature you saw on a competitor’s site. Then you open the Style Editor, and suddenly you feel overwhelmed.

Some common traps are fiddling endlessly with site styles hoping for a magic fix, avoiding anything to do with custom code, or glazing over when anyone mentions plugins. Many folks never dare poke their noses beyond the official Squarespace extensions for fear of breaking something.

Perhaps the biggest mistake is thinking you have to put up with a website that only half-fits your needs, or that “pro-level” design is out of reach unless you hire a developer. Trust me, you don’t need to accept off-the-peg when a custom fit is perfectly achievable.

Step-by-Step Fix

Here’s how the Box of Tricks will break it all down, step by step:

Step 1: Understanding Your (Actual) Canvas

First up, it’s time to get familiar with what’s possible, not just what’s obvious. Squarespace is deceptively simple on the surface, but it’s hiding plenty of advanced options if you know where to look. Our course kicks off by walking you through the new 7.1 interface, uncovering features and menus that the average guide breezes past.

There’s no heavy jargon here, just a tour around the nooks and crannies that matter. You’ll learn, for example, why that ‘Spacing’ slider isn’t always your friend, and which blocks can quietly undermine your whole layout on mobile.

Step 2: Braving Custom Code (Without the Collywobbles)

This is the big one for most: custom code. The very phrase sends a chill through some folks, and understandably so. But my years of agency work have convinced me that a handful of simple tweaks involving HTML, CSS, and a dash of JavaScript can open up an entire set of possibilities.

In each module, we’ll show you step-by-step how and where to drop in custom code. No “hello world” nonsense. Real-world fixes: how to tweak a form, hide a pesky element, or get columns to sit exactly how you want them. Cut and paste solutions, all explained as we go. And if anything looks scary, we’ll walk it back.

Step 3: Proper Design Practices – The Pro’s Checklist

Web design is about clearly communicating, building trust, and quietly guiding your visitors to do what you want. But design theory can feel like another foreign language.

We’re distilling decades of hard-won agency knowledge into simple, practical pointers. You’ll learn why some fonts are friendlier than others, how to balance white space so your site feels polished rather than patchy, and why “that colour looked amazing in Photoshop” but turns into a mess in reality. Expect advice rooted in real projects and honest mistakes, without leaning on recycled theory.

Step 4: Working Wonders With Third-Party Plugins

Squarespace gives you a decent starting point, but sometimes you want that little bit extra, for example an event booking system, an animated slider, or something to collect testimonials with more style. Third-party plugins help with these needs.

We’ll guide you through safely sourcing, installing, and configuring trusted plugins. I’ve seen plugins from all corners of the globe and I’ll tell you there is a big difference in quality between them. The course cuts through the noise, highlights the best options, and shows with real examples how to get them working alongside Squarespace’s own features.

Step 5: The One-Take Workshop Approach

If you’ve ever suffered through online courses that feel scripted within an inch of their lives, I’ve got good news. Every “Box of Tricks” video is delivered in one take, warts and all. We aim to capture the reality of design: sometimes things go awry, and that’s when the real learning happens.

If I make a mistake on camera, you’ll see how I fix it. If something goes sideways, I’ll show you how to recover gracefully. Watching these videos is the closest you’ll get to sitting in on a live, one-to-one workshop, except you can enjoy your own coffee.

Step 6: Building Your Own Library – And Ours

We don’t just drop a single guide and sign off. “Box of Tricks” is an ongoing library, with new modules added regularly. We’re always on top of the latest Squarespace updates (yes, including those sneaky mid-year changes), fresh plugins, and workflow tweaks.

You can dip in, pick the tricks that suit your next project, and leave the rest for another day. If there’s a module you need that doesn’t exist yet, just tell us. The focus is on flexibility and community, so you can learn on your terms without waiting for the “next version”.

What Most People Miss

The key distinction between hobbyists and pros is their understanding of which trick to use and when to use it, rather than simply knowing every possible feature. Focus on learning one new trick at a time, and get comfortable applying it as you go.

Too many chase perfection at the start and become paralysed. It’s better to ship a decent site using three good tricks, then improve steadily, than to drown in options and never finish.

Professional designers aren’t born knowing everything. They know how to build on what they learned last month, last year, or after the last project that went marginally off the rails. “Box of Tricks” helps shortcut that learning curve, while making sure you still experience all the most important lessons as you progress.

The Bigger Picture

Once you start seeing Squarespace as a toolkit instead of a closed box, everything changes. Your sites become faster to build and simpler to maintain. When a client or boss asks for an “annoyingly specific” feature, you don’t have to bluff or say no; you can deliver.

These skills go beyond just websites. Developing confidence and problem-solving abilities will carry over to other platforms and technologies as well. You’ll begin to recognise patterns—what makes for good design, how to communicate more clearly, and how to fix things when something goes wrong.

You’ll save time, avoid costly mistakes, and achieve better results, thanks to practical experience and guidance from someone who’s already made and fixed the big mistakes. When technology changes—and it always does—you’ll be able to handle those surprises instead of stressing out.

Wrap-Up

You don’t need to be a developer, a designer or a coding boffin to make Squarespace work for you. You just need the right tools, explained in friendly, practical language, with plenty of room to experiment and ask questions. That’s what “Box of Tricks” is all about.

If you want to move on from template sameness and enjoy something that feels more custom, and if you’re keen to pick up some professional tips (and a few cautionary tales), come and join us. Watch the course trailer, sign up for early access, or just subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date as we roll out new tricks and modules.

The kettle’s on and we’re just getting started.

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