Mastering Squarespace: Tips to Craft a Professional Website for Optimal UX and SEO Performance

A professional website can make or break your business in the digital age.

Here’s your guide to creating a standout website using Squarespace, with quick tips and tricks to optimise user experience and improve search engine performance.

Tip 1: Keep an Eye on URL Strings

More than just selecting a Squarespace Template

Creating an effective Squarespace website involves prioritising mobile-first design, maintaining consistent styles for enhanced usability, and integrating social media platforms for greater visibility and engagement.

Squarespace has a unique quirk: it adds ‘-1’ at the end of the URL slug if two pages are named the same (for example, ‘about-us-1’). It’s crucial to check your URL strings regularly to avoid any confusion for your visitors or search engines. Remember, precise and descriptive URLs are user-friendly and help improve your site’s SEO.

Tip 2: Let Your Design Breathe with White Space

White space isn’t just empty space - it’s a powerful design tool that can give your website a clean, professional look. White space helps to separate different sections of your site, making it easier for visitors to focus on your content. Don’t be afraid to let your design breathe; embrace the white space.

Tip 3: Prioritise Mobile-First Design

With the increasing number of mobile users, designing for mobile alongside desktop is no longer optional - it’s a must. Ensure your website looks great and functions smoothly on all devices. Squarespace offers responsive design templates that automatically adjust to any screen size.

Tip 4: Maintain Consistent Styles

Consistency is the cornerstone of any good design. Whether you prefer rounded corners or square corners, the key is to stick with one style throughout your website. Consistent styles make your site look more professional and enhance usability by making navigation more intuitive.

Tip 5: Use Design Features with Purpose

It’s easy to get carried away with all the flashy features on Squarespace. However, remember that every design element should serve a purpose. Avoid adding ‘shiny new things’ just because you can. Instead, focus on features that align with your brand and improve user experience.

Tip 6: Consider Page Load Speed

Page load speed is a critical factor in user experience and SEO. Large, unoptimised images can slow down your site significantly, leading to higher bounce rates. To optimise load speed, compress and reduce image sizes before uploading them to your site.

Tip 7: Use Squarespace’s Built-In Tools for Custom Fonts

Typography plays a significant role in your website’s overall aesthetics. Squarespace offers a variety of built-in fonts, but you can upload custom fonts that align better with your brand. Make sure the font you choose is visually appealing and readable across different devices.

Tip 8: Use Squarespace’s Cover Page Builder

A compelling landing page can significantly impact your site’s conversion rates. Squarespace’s Cover Page Builder allows you to create visually stunning and professional-looking landing pages. Ensure your landing page aligns with your brand and communicates what your site or business offers.

Tip 9: Integrate Social Media Platforms

In this digital era, social media integration is crucial for any website. Squarespace provides straightforward options for linking your website to various social media platforms. This increases your site's visibility and allows visitors to interact with your brand on different platforms.

Tip 10: Use Squarespace’s Announcement Bar

The announcement bar is a fantastic feature of Squarespace that allows you to display important messages at the top of your website. Whether you want to promote a new product, announce an event, or provide updates, the announcement bar effectively catches your visitors’ attention.

Building a professional website on Squarespace can feel like a daunting task, but with these tips in mind, you’re well on your way to creating a site that looks great and performs excellently in search engine rankings. Remember, keeping user experience at the forefront of your design decisions is key.