The Squarespace Mistakes Every Designer Makes (But Nobody Talks About)

Uncover the hidden traps that often derail graphic designers on Squarespace and learn how to truly make your portfolio shine.

Top Squarespace FAQs from Graphic Designers

Top Squarespace FAQs from Graphic Designers

Why This Matters

Every graphic designer hits the same fork in the road: spend precious time wrangling a clunky portfolio, or find a platform that doesn’t fight you every step of the way. Squarespace has a reputation for beautiful templates, but is it flexible enough to let your work shine without endless technical tinkering?

The answer is not as clear-cut as Squarespace’s marketing makes it sound. I’ve spoken to too many designers who wasted late nights bending their site into something almost right, or sunk hours chasing features buried deep in the settings. In the worst cases, they accepted “good enough” because they thought that was all Squarespace could do, and then later saw a competitor’s jaw-dropping site and wondered what they had missed.

If your website is your shop window, you need to know exactly what’s possible before you decorate. This guide compiles the most common (and occasionally awkward) Squarespace questions designers ask me, along with practical, plain-English answers you won’t find in the official help docs.

Common Pitfalls

  • Thinking templates are set in stone: Too many designers assume you can’t break out of the demo site look, so every other portfolio ends up feeling anonymous.
  • Ignoring image optimisation: Nearly every student I’ve coached has uploaded giant TIFFs “because it looked sharper”—only to wonder why the site lags.
  • Missing font opportunities: Relying just on standard Google Fonts, when custom fonts are perfectly possible (with a little legwork).
  • Treating SEO as an afterthought: They slap up the portfolio, then remember “Oh yes, I need people to find this thing,” by which point half the settings are tucked away.
  • Overediting with code too soon: Jumping into CSS before mining out every built-in tweak first (usually leading to weeks of trial and error and a site that breaks at weird screen sizes).

If you notice some of your own habits in those mistakes, that means you’ll get more value from the fixes below.

Step-by-Step Fix

Let's break down 30 Squarespace FAQ nightmares into actions you can actually finish this week.

1. Push Past the Template: Customising Design Without Losing Your Sanity

Squarespace starts you with pre-made layouts, but you're not stuck with somebody else's design choices.

How to do it:

  • Pick a template that almost matches your vibe. Ignore colours and fonts for now, focus on structure.
  • Use the Style Editor to rewrite colours, switch typography, and adjust padding. Take risks here. If you feel like you’ve wrecked it, hit “Reset.” No harm done.
  • Drag and drop sections rather than endlessly scrolling through settings menus.
  • Save time with Site Styles. Set your heading and body fonts or brand colours globally so you aren’t styling every heading by hand.

Pixelhaze Tip: When picking a template, look at the portfolio ones first (Brine, York, Paloma, etc.). These layouts are “quiet” by default, so your work isn’t pushed aside by gimmicky design.
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2. Add Custom Fonts: Show Personality, Not Just Stock Choices

You can upload your own fonts, but Squarespace buries this feature so deep that even seasoned designers miss it.

How to do it:

  • Prepare your font files (best: .woff, .woff2). Legally, you need to own the license for anything you upload.
  • Go to Design > Custom CSS. Scroll down and find Manage Custom Files.
  • Upload your font under “Fonts.” Squarespace will give you a reference link.
  • Use a short CSS snippet to assign the font to headings/body. Example:
@font-face {
  font-family: "MyCustomFont";
  src: url("MyCustomFont.woff2") format("woff2");
}
h1, h2, h3 {
  font-family: "MyCustomFont", sans-serif;
}
  • Refresh your front-end and enjoy your unique typography, feeling confident that most of your peers are still stuck in Open Sans land.

Pixelhaze Tip: Test your font on a phone. Some desktop-only fonts render terribly on iOS. If it looks weird, swap for a web-optimised version or try a different weight.
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3. Tame Multimedia: Embed with Confidence

Your static images look great, but adding video reels or animation can be tricky.

How to do it:

  • For video, use Squarespace’s built-in video blocks. Paste a YouTube/Vimeo URL for immediate embedding or upload MP4s directly (be mindful of upload size limits).
  • Audio? There’s a dedicated Audio Block. Supports MP3s.
  • Animations: Upload animated GIFs or short video loops. For slick SVG animations, use a Code Block and paste your SVG code.
  • If you want more interactive embeds (Figma, Dribbble, Behance), use Code Blocks cautiously. Sometimes you’ll need to tweak embed code for mobile friendliness.

Pixelhaze Tip: Keep embedded videos below 25MB. Anything larger often results in playback issues or failures on some browsers.
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4. Get Under the Hood: Advanced CSS & HTML Customisations

For designers with coding skills, Squarespace quietly opens up possibilities.

How to do it:

  • Access Custom CSS from the main Design menu. Here, tweak everything from button hover states to grid layouts.
  • HTML: Use Code Blocks to insert custom HTML anywhere (great for unique CTA banners or widgets).
  • Be careful—rogue code breaks mobile layouts quickly. Always check your changes on at least two screen sizes.
  • Frequent glitch: embedding code in headers or footers that conflicts with built-in scripts. If something looks off, check if your custom CSS isn’t overruling “Site Styles” settings by accident.

Pixelhaze Tip: Set up a password-protected “staging” page for code experiments. Once it looks perfect, copy tweaks over to your real portfolio.
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5. Image Optimisation: Get Fast Load Times without Fuzzy Photos

Nothing says “amateur” like a palm-sized gallery that takes 10 seconds to load.

How to do it:

  • Resize your images outside Squarespace first. Aim for 1500px wide for portfolio shots, under 500KB where possible.
  • Use .jpg for photography, .png for graphics and logos. Avoid .tiff or .bmp entirely.
  • Compress files with free tools (TinyPNG, ImageOptim, Squoosh).
  • Upload, then preview your site incognito on a mobile to check real speed.

Pixelhaze Tip: Ignore the myth that “Squarespace crunches everything automatically.” It does compress, but not perfectly. Bad uploads still mean slow sites.
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6. Keep the Portfolio Fresh: Blogging, Scheduling, and E-Com Integration

Your website can showcase articles, new projects, and sell digital downloads.

How to do it:

  • Use the Blog Page to post behind-the-scenes processes, design rants, or client case studies.
  • Schedule posts and product launches, making it easier to run pre-planned campaigns or tease a print drop.
  • Set up a basic store (or digital-only listings) for design assets, prints, or illustration commissions. All payment goes through Stripe or PayPal.
  • Add a custom form to the Contact page to attract real business leads, not just polite admirers.

Pixelhaze Tip: Use categories and tags ruthlessly. When you organise your work, Squarespace pulls these into site menus, which makes it easier for clients to browse specific styles or project types.
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7. Analyse, Grow, and Stay Protected

Measuring performance helps you improve, and proper protection prevents unauthorized use.

How to do it:

  • Switch on built-in Analytics. Learn which portfolio pieces attract longest views.
  • Set up Google Analytics for more detailed data, such as bounce rates, search keywords, and referral sites.
  • Display watermarked thumbnails if you’re worried about theft; alternatively, disable right-click with a little custom code.
  • Register copyright for your work. While web tricks are useful, legal protection comes from official registration. Still, a polite copyright footer can help.

Pixelhaze Tip: Avoid locking everything down too aggressively. Prospective clients often need to save and reference your work, so a 400px wide, watermarked teaser usually deters casual thieves without frustrating serious buyers.
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8. The Essentials: Domains, Email, Accessibility, and Multilingual Tricks

Small setup details help your website feel professional rather than temporary.

How to do it:

  • Buy a Squarespace domain for simplicity, or connect your own if you’ve nabbed a .co.uk or .design elsewhere. The process is essentially copy-paste, but allow 24 to 72 hours for domains to propagate.
  • Link custom email via Google Workspace. This lets you use yourname@yourdomain.com, which looks far more professional.
  • Accessibility: Add alt text to every image, check for strong colour contrast (use online contrast checkers), and avoid tiny, wispy fonts.
  • Multilingual? You can manually duplicate pages in different languages or use a translation plugin like Weglot. Squarespace does not have as smooth a process as some platforms, but these options allow you to offer versions for both, say, Welsh and English audiences.

Pixelhaze Tip: Even if your main focus is not global visitors, proper headings (H1, H2) and accessible navigation make your site friendlier to everyone, including search engines.
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9. Backups, Imports, and the (Honestly, Limited) Event & Animation Features

If you break your website or just want a fresh start, it’s important to know what Squarespace can and can’t do.

How to do it:

  • Manual backup: export your blog and basic pages as .xml files. No full site download, but at least you’re covered for copy and post titles.
  • Import content from WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr: use the built-in import tool, but always check formatting because things rarely survive the journey completely untouched.
  • Events: The built-in Events Page handles basic schedules. For more advanced calendars, you can embed Google Calendar.
  • Site animations: Squarespace lacks a true “motion builder.” For subtle fade-ins or hovers, use custom CSS with restraint. Keep effects to a minimum to maintain a professional look.

Pixelhaze Tip: Develop the habit of copying raw page text and storing original image files off the platform. If you ever need to rebuild, you’ll be glad you kept your own backup.
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What Most People Miss

Mastering every menu or shortcut is less important than developing the mindset that every default is just a starting point. The designers who get noticed are the ones who make flexibility a habit.

A website that evolves with your work and your skillset always outpaces those built and never touched again. As a designer, continual improvement is expected and can become your greatest advantage.

The Bigger Picture

Fixing these Squarespace challenges increases your credibility, improves your workflow, and actually saves time over the long term. A well-organized, optimised site is less likely to break, more likely to convert leads, and much easier to update when your style or product line changes.

When your own website creates fewer bottlenecks, you have more headspace for your actual creative work.

Wrap-Up

With the right approach, Squarespace works as a distinctive, fast, and client-ready platform for your portfolio. You get the best results when you avoid playing it too safe and also refrain from jumping to code before learning the built-in tools. Stay in the middle ground, use what the platform gives you, and you’ll spend less time stuck and more time designing what matters to you.

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

Squarespace Jargon Buster

Term Meaning
CSS A code language used to style webpages (colours, spacing, fonts)
HTML The basic structure of a webpage (headings, paragraphs, links)
CDN Network of servers that deliver your site faster to users, wherever they are
SEO Tweaks and strategies to help your site appear in Google searches

Got your own Squarespace headache? Drop your question in the comments or email us. I’ve fixed it before (or at least broken it worse). See you at the Academy.

Elwyn, Founder @ Pixelhaze Academy

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