Squarespace Tutorial: The Complete Guide to Building Your First Website

Let's skip the preamble. You want to build a website on Squarespace, and you want to know exactly how to do it without wasting time. This tutorial covers everything from signing up for your trial to launching a live site—with specific steps, not vague advice.

I've built dozens of sites on Squarespace. It's genuinely one of the easiest website builders out there, but there are still plenty of places where people get stuck. This guide will help you avoid those pitfalls.

Step 1: Start Your Free Trial (No Credit Card Required)

Head to Squarespace.com and click "Get Started." You'll get a 14-day free trial to build your entire site before paying anything. No credit card required upfront.

Before you dive in, have these things ready:

Having your content ready before you start building will cut your build time in half. Trust me on this one.

Step 2: Choose Your Template

After clicking "Get Started," Squarespace will ask you a few questions about what kind of site you're building. Answer these honestly—they determine which templates appear first.

Here's what most people don't realize: all Squarespace 7.1 templates have the same functionality. The template you choose is purely aesthetic. You can change layouts, add any feature, and customize everything regardless of which template you start with.

So pick one that:

Don't stress about this decision too much. You can completely transform any template through customization. Squarespace currently offers around 180+ templates across different industries.

Once you find one you like, click "Start with this design." Give your site a name (you can change this later), and you're in.

Step 3: Understand the Squarespace Editor

You're now looking at the Squarespace editor. Here's the quick orientation:

Left Sidebar: This is your main navigation. You'll find:

The Main Canvas: This is where you edit your actual pages. Click "Edit" on any page to start making changes.

Step 4: Set Up Your Site Styles

Before touching individual pages, set your global styles first. This saves you from making the same change 50 times across your site.

Go to Design > Site Styles and configure:

Fonts: Pick a heading font and a body font. Stick to 2 fonts max. Squarespace has a solid library of web-safe fonts, and you can also upload custom fonts if needed.

Colors: Set your primary color palette. Squarespace uses a system of "color themes" that apply across your site. Pick colors that match your brand, then tweak the individual sections that need different colors.

Buttons: Choose your button style (rounded, square, outline, solid) and default colors. These apply to all buttons site-wide.

Getting these right upfront means your whole site will feel cohesive from the start.

Step 5: Build Your Pages Using Sections and Blocks

Squarespace 7.1 uses a section-based layout system. Every page is made up of stacked sections, and each section contains blocks (text, images, buttons, etc.).

To add content to a page:

  1. Click on the page you want to edit
  2. Click "Edit" in the preview
  3. Hover over an existing section to edit it, or click "+" between sections to add new ones

The Fluid Engine: This is Squarespace's drag-and-drop content editor. You can click and drag any element to reposition it anywhere within a section. You can resize elements, overlap them, and create unique layouts without touching code.

Available blocks include:

To add a block, click the "Add Block" button when editing a section, then pick your block type.

Step 6: Create Your Essential Pages

At minimum, most business sites need:

Homepage: Your first impression. Include a clear headline, brief value proposition, and obvious calls-to-action. Don't try to cram everything here—just enough to get visitors to explore further.

About Page: Who you are, what you do, why you do it. People buy from people, so make this personable.

Services/Products Page: What you're selling, with clear pricing if possible.

Contact Page: A contact form, your email, phone number, and location if relevant. Squarespace's built-in forms work well and can send submissions directly to your email.

To add new pages, go to Pages in the left sidebar and click the "+" icon. Choose from blank pages, pre-built layouts, or collection pages (for blogs, portfolios, products, or events).

Step 7: Set Up Navigation

Your navigation structure determines how visitors move through your site. Keep it simple—5-7 main navigation items maximum.

To organize your navigation:

  1. Go to Pages
  2. Drag pages up and down to reorder them
  3. Drag a page onto another to create a dropdown
  4. Pages in "Not Linked" won't appear in your navigation but are still accessible via direct URL

Your navigation updates automatically when you add new pages—just drag them to the right position.

Step 8: Add Your Logo and Favicon

Go to Design > Site Identity to upload:

If you don't have a logo, Squarespace has a logo maker tool, or you can use Canva to create one quickly.

Step 9: Set Up Your Blog (If You Need One)

Go to Pages > + > Blog to add a blog section. Squarespace's blogging system is solid—better than most website builders.

Key blog settings to configure:

Each blog post gets its own page with a featured image, title, content area, and SEO settings. You can schedule posts in advance and save drafts.

Step 10: Set Up E-commerce (If You're Selling)

Squarespace can handle e-commerce on any plan now—even the Basic plan lets you sell unlimited products. The main difference between plans is transaction fees and advanced features.

To add products:

  1. Go to Commerce > Products
  2. Click "Add Product"
  3. Choose your product type: Physical, Digital, Service, or Gift Card
  4. Add images, descriptions, pricing, and variants

You'll also need to connect a payment processor. Go to Commerce > Payments to set up Squarespace Payments, Stripe, or PayPal.

For more on e-commerce pricing and features, check out our Squarespace pricing breakdown.

Step 11: Configure Your SEO Settings

Squarespace has solid built-in SEO tools. For each page, you can customize:

To access these, edit a page, click the gear icon, and go to the SEO tab.

Squarespace also generates a sitemap automatically and handles technical SEO basics like clean HTML markup. For site-wide SEO settings, go to Marketing > SEO.

The platform also includes AI tools that can help generate SEO-friendly copy and image alt text if you're stuck.

Step 12: Connect Your Domain

You have two options:

Option A: Register a new domain through Squarespace. Annual plans include a free domain for the first year. After that, renewals typically cost $20-70/year depending on the extension.

Option B: Connect an existing domain. Go to Settings > Domains > Use a Domain I Own and follow the instructions to update your DNS settings.

If you're not ready to connect a custom domain, your site will be accessible at yoursite.squarespace.com until you upgrade.

Step 13: Launch Your Site

Before launching, run through this checklist:

To make your site live, go to Settings > Site Availability and switch from Private to Public.

If you're still on your trial, you'll be prompted to choose a paid plan. Squarespace's pricing ranges from $16 to $99/month when billed annually:

For most business websites, the Core plan is the right choice. You only need Plus or Advanced if you're selling enough that the reduced transaction fees offset the higher plan cost.

Common Squarespace Problems (And How to Fix Them)

"My site looks different on mobile" – Squarespace is mobile-responsive by default, but you should always preview your pages on mobile (click the device icons in the editor). Some layouts that look great on desktop get cramped on mobile.

"I want to add custom code but can't" – Custom CSS and JavaScript require the Core plan or higher. The Basic plan doesn't support it.

"My images are loading slowly" – Squarespace automatically compresses images, but if you're uploading huge files, resize them first. Aim for under 2MB per image for most uses.

"I accidentally deleted something" – Squarespace doesn't have an undo button, but it does have page versioning. You can restore previous versions of pages from the page settings.

Is Squarespace Right for You?

Squarespace is excellent for:

It's probably not the best choice if you:

If you're deciding between platforms, check out our comparisons: Squarespace vs Wix, Squarespace vs WordPress, and Squarespace vs Shopify.

Ready to Build?

Squarespace genuinely is one of the easiest website builders to use. The learning curve is minimal, the templates are beautiful, and you can have a professional-looking site live in a day or two if you have your content ready.

Start your free 14-day Squarespace trial here and follow this tutorial step by step. No credit card required to start.

If you want to see how much you'll actually pay once your trial ends, our Squarespace cost guide breaks down all the pricing details and hidden fees to watch for.