Squarespace
Written By Bailey Nicole Eidahl
With over a billion websites on the internet today, you might be trying to figure out how the heck to stand out when marketing your business online. It can be especially hard if you are starting off with a template that thousands of other businesses have used as a starting point in a website builder such a Squarespace.
The thing is, there are thousands of other businesses just like yours out there and one important thing to think about when building your business is how you will stand out from the crowd.
Now, my goal is not to overwhelm you with those horrible imposter syndrome thoughts. I’m not telling you to reinvent the wheel. You don’t have to come up with something that no one has ever done before. Chances are if you do that your niche will take a long time to gain traction anyway. What I’m saying is - there is a happy medium. Don’t be afraid to be trendy but also don’t forget to add your own personal touch! When using a website template don’t just plug in all your info and call it a day.
Don’t forget to personalize and customize.
Luckily, there are tons of simple ways to make your Squarespace website look just a little bit less like the template and more like you!
Even more luckily, I am about to tell you exactly how to customize five things on your Squarespace website that will wow your visitors. If you need a little extra help with content creation, feel free to download the free website workbook!
Color palette
One thing that will leave your website looking cookie-cutter is not implementing a cohesive color palette for your website. The first thing you want to do when building a website is to decide on a color palette. Once you have decided on a color palette follow it! Implement it in every single element on your website. If you are using blues and purples, don’t leave your buttons black unless black is part of your color palette!
If you already have branding, great, you already have your color palette laid out for you. If you don’t have full branding and just have a logo, be sure to decide on colors that go well with or complement your logo.
If you are starting from scratch, be sure to use colors that represent your service or product. There are many different ways to decide on a color palette. You can choose from color palettes that are trending such as neutrals and beiges. You can get into the meaning behind certain colors to decide which ones tell a story about your service or product. You can also simply just choose colors that you like, that work together.
There are also tools to help you pick a color palette. One thing I like to do is just simply hop on Pinterest and decide on the main color or a type of color palette I’m looking for and just search it. for instance, if you want to go trendy with the neutrals - simply search neutral color palettes on Pinterest and you will have tons of options to chose from.
Another really amazing and more precise tool for choosing a color palette is,Adobe Color WheelThe Adobe Color Wheel helps guide your color pallet choice based on the color wheel. With the Adobe Color Wheel, you will be a color theory pro in no time!
Buttons
In my opinion, buttons can make or break a Squarespace website. I know it sounds dramatic but if someone has built a Squarespace site and left their buttons completely untouched, this just screams cookie-cutter, to me. You would think it is such a small detail but in reality, buttons are the most important part of your site because more often than not, buttons are your call to action. Whether or not a visitor clicks “Work With Me” or “Buy Now” decides whether or not someone is buying or booking from you. In reality, buttons are the whole point of a website. With that being said, let’s not leave those buttons neglected. Make those buttons scream “click me!”
One reason buttons don’t get customized is that sometimes people can’t figure out how to customize them. They think that the options in the actual link editor are the only options for button customization but that is not the case. To customize your buttons go under the design tab in the toolbar, then under site styles, you can just click your button and the customization options will appear in the toolbar. There you can change the color, the font, the size, and the shape of the button! Super easy!
In Squarespace 7.1 there is a whole tab for buttons under the design tab in the toolbar!
Maybe you feel like taking it to the next level with your buttons? You can also add custom code if you are feeling up for a challenge (adding custom code really isn’t that challenging). Feel free to check out my post How To Customize Buttons in Squarespace for a really fun and unique way to transform your call to action buttons.
Images
Another thing to think about when customizing your Squarespace website is how you are displaying your images and which images you are going to use. Here are a few tips for using imagery on your site.
When trying to figure out which images to use, make sure the images you are using are high-quality. I would say it is better to use high-quality stock imagery versus using photos you took yourself that aren’t the best quality. Here are some great places to find stock imagery -
-Adobe Stock
-Canva
-Unsplash
-Creative Market
-Pixabay
-Pexels
-StockSnap
I know what you are thinking - Bailey won’t using stock images make my website look cookie-cutter though? Honestly, I really don’t think so. There are some absolutely gorgeous free images to chose from. If you want to go the extra mile, you can also edit the photos or buy stock photos. At the end of the day, it is better to have high-quality photos with the chance that someone else out there is using the same photo than to have cheesy selfies all over your site.
Squarespace also offers many different options for designing your images and creative image blocks. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the different layouts. Once you have found a layout you like, don’t forget to go into your site styles to customize that image block! To switch between different image layouts, hover over your image, and click edit. Under the design tab, you will see six different options for image layouts. Check out this image collage layout example from a website I designed. With the use of photoshop and customization through Squarespace, this image layout looks unique and far from the original template look.
Want to take your images to the next level by creating your own image layouts? Feel free to check out my post How To Layer Images in Squarespace Using Custom CSS. This post provides a super simple code snippet for creating a super unique layout for multiple images!
Font
Yep, you guessed it, another super important part of creating a unique, standout Squarespace website is choosing a font. Again, if you already have branding, you might already have your font(s) decided for you. On the other hand, you may need to choose a font that compliments your logo. Either way, choosing a font is something you will not want to rush. Believe it or not, a font says a lot about the personality of your brand.
Choosing a font can definitely be overwhelming. There are so many to choose from just on Squarespace let alone all the custom fonts you could upload to your Squarespace site, but that's a blog post for a different time. Let’s stick with the fonts Squarespace has to offer for now. Feel free to check out my post5 Unique Font Pairings For Your Squarespace Siteto learn more about choosing a typeface. Here are some font pairing ideas to get you started!
Graphics
Last but not least, to add a little extra zest to your Squarespace website, I would recommend playing around with graphics such as patterns and illustrations. Before you are like -Woah Woah Woah Bailey, I’m no artist and I don’t want to hire one -Don’t worry. You don’t have to! Luckily,Canvahas a ton of free graphics and tools to make your own simple patterns. It’s super easy and free to sign up!
If you do decide you want to level up and add custom illustration, you are in the right place, I offer full custom digital illustrations to complement any web design! It can really take your site and your brand to the next level by telling your story in a unique and attention-grabbing way.
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Adding these extra elements will really take your website to the next level when it comes to customization and personalization of your website. When done right, It will make your visitors go wow! Below is a great example of a website with really easy organic graphics and patterns that worked perfectly with the concept of the website.
That’s all she wrote folks! I hope you find these 5 tips for making your Squarespace website drop-dead gorgeous helpful. If you want to dive in deeper, feel free to check out my otherSquarespaceposts! In no time, you’ll have your very own jaw-dropping Squarespace website.
If you are thinking that even with these tips you’ll never be able to pull it off, I get it. It can be overwhelming and it’s okay! Or maybe you are super tech-savvy and just cannot find the time. That’s what web designers are for. Feel free to check out my services page to see how I might be able to help you while you are kicking a** at building and running your business!
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Hey I’m Bailey!
I'm a graphic designer with a major passion for illustration and web design. I am here to provide you with free information and resources about design, business, and Squarespace! If You don’t see what you are looking for, feel free to suggest new blog topics, or ask questions! Don’t be afraid to leave a comment. This will help me improve my content and provide the answers you are looking for.
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