There are a multitude of Squarespace Templates to choose from. So how do you choose the right one?
It can be a daunting task -- after all, your template is the foundation upon which you will build your website.
But don’t worry! We'll simplify the process and ease some of your concerns. Remember, you can switch your template at any time.
Navigation
- Overview - Template Designs and Considerations
- Squarespace Templates
- For Bloggers
- For Businesses
- For Online Stores
- For Photographers
- For Restaurants
- Considerations
- SEO
- Web Design
- Navigation
- Social Media
Template Designs and Considerations
It's helpful to have a general idea of your website goals.
Website Types
Ecommerce - Will you be selling products online? If so, consider the layouts of product pages and product category pages
Creativity - Are you sharing images, podcasts, or other art forms? Consider how to best display your creativity online, and how you want people to navigate your website.
Information - Will you have a blog? How will your information display? How will you keep users interested and engaged with your site's content?
Templates for Bloggers
If blogging will be a large portion of your website, choose one that speaks to your taste in design and style.
Some blogs have customizable features, but if blogging is at the heart of your site, it's important to know the built-in features that affect your blog’s style.
Consider the Navigation between blog posts. Some templates have categories that help users find blogs in the topic of their choosing.
Tudor Template
Example Blog Template: Tudor
Tudor has an excellent layout. The image/text balance is just right, it's simple, and the navigation bar offers filtering options for blog categories.
If you're creating a food blog, consider Farro.
Some templates (like Tudor) are solely for blogs. Before settling on a "blog template" consider the other templates that feature blogs as part of a bigger website.
Templates for Businesses
Businesses need to find templates that suit their style. Consider each template's navigation. How will your users move through your site?
If you have products, how will users find them? How will they engage with your products? Will you sell products online? If so, read the e-commerce section below.
Will you have a blog? Make sure it fits your brand.
When browsing templates, remember — colors, images and fonts will all change. Evaluate the template’s layout as opposed to its specific design.
Hayden Template
Example Template: Hayden
This is Logical's template. Overall, it's been great for our purposes.
It features a call-to-action in the navigation bar (the yellow contact button).
Most templates are customizable. You can re-arrange blocks to get the right amount images and text on your pages.
Some templates, however, are built for images. I like the image to text balance presented in Hayden's template. Text provides informational content. Images spice up the content to keep users engaged.
Templates for Online Stores / E-Commerce
If you're going to sell products online, browse product pages to find the ones that suit your needs.
Also consider product category pages. For instance, if you sell sunglasses, look at the layout of the page that displays all of your sunglasses.
For SEO purposes, these category pages often rank for valuable keywords.
If you sell t-shirts, sunglasses, and suitcases, if possible, you should have a category page for each. This gives you a chance to rank for keywords in each category.
Scroll down for more information about templates and SEO.
Example E-commerce Template: Fulton
Fulton Template
Browse Fulton's product pages. Do you like their layout?
What about the hidden navigation bar? Will your target market know how to navigate the site?
Personally, I like the layout of the product pages, but if I were selling a broader variety of products I would make sure this template allows for product category pages.
Templates for Photographers
Artists should consider their medium the most important factor in choosing the right template.
Find the layout that speaks to your style in photography. An image-based template is likely your best bet. There are a variety of templates that suit photography.
Flatiron Template
Example Photographer Template: Flatiron
Flatiron boasts imagery at it's core -- perfect for creative work like photography or other art forms.
The images on the homepage have a dark layover with text -- a nifty feature for browsing. Consider the effects and layouts of other similar templates.
Templates for Restaurants
Restaurants likely want images at the center of their template.
Consider a one-page template for simplicity. There are downsides to content marketing, but there is value in simplicity.
Example Restaurant Template: Pacific
Pacific Template
A great choice for restaurants, Pacific boasts a full-width, one-page template.
It's a slimmed-down website with all important content fit into one page.
For websites that intend to use content marketing, you'll want more pages.
Full width imagery. Some templates won't let you have full-width images below the banner. My template, Hayden, does not. For a website with great imagery, consider this feature.
Fixed navigation. I'm a fan. On Pacific, when you scroll below the banner image, the navigation links appear. This provides seamless navigation for users browsing your site, and it could increase key metrics like pages per session, and time on site.
SEO
Each Squarespace theme is SEO-ready. That doesn't mean that when you publish your site you'll get traffic automatically. But each template offers custom title tags, beautiful design, and a platform to build content.
Learn how to nail SEO for your Squarespace website.
Web Design
The template you choose will dictate your site's structure. Images are important, but remember, your images will differ from the images you see when browsing templates.
Ultimately, you're choosing a layout that you will customize with images, text, and other types of content.
Navigation
Navigation bar
There are a few different styles to choose from. Some have your logo on the top left and your links on the top right. Others have your logo centered between links on either side.
Do you want a fixed navigation bar? Meaning, do you want it to display at the top of the page even when users scroll down? Learn more about Squarespace's navigation bar.
Sidebar
Some templates have sidebar navigations. Sidebars are typically a matter of personal preference, and can enhance navigation.
Footers
For local businesses, consider adding your contact information (business name, email, phone, and address) in the footer. This validates your business's location and contact information with search engines.
Social Media
Many templates offer a built-in social icons feature. For templates without this feature, consider adding the social media block to your template.
Conclusion
Choosing your template is important, but don’t let this process bog you down or get in the way of website production. Spend some time finding the right one. Maybe sleep on it and take some time to decide.
Ultimately the beauty and success of your website will be dependent on the steps you take after you choose your template. The template is your foundation, but as with anything else, it’s important to get started!
