Speed Up Website Development with Squarespace and Square Forge

Elwyn Davies reveals how Square Forge enhances Squarespace site creation.

As the founder of Pixelhaze Academy and the creator of over 500 websites using Squarespace, I've found several ways to streamline the web development process significantly.

Over the years, Squarespace has evolved, allowing for rapid assembly of both full websites and unique pages on individual sites. At Pixelhaze, we've developed an extension of this ease with our new built-in system, Square Forge.

Square Forge is a compilation of over 250 Squarespace starter templates that integrate seamlessly with Squarespace's native templates. This boilerplate allows you or your team to spin up new sections or complete sites from scratch quickly.

Today, I'll share some practical tips that can help speed up Squarespace website construction, either by integrating Square Forge into your workflow or starting from the ground up on the standard Squarespace platform. These time-savers include saving favourites, duplicating entire websites and changing development domain names for easy future access.

"We designed Square Forge based on 20 years of web design experience to massively speed up the editing process within Squarespace, allowing users to focus more on customization and less on repetitive tasks." - Elwyn Davies

Efficient Website Duplication

Duplicating existing sites is a game-changer when it comes to building websites quickly. Using Square Forge, we duplicate every Squarespace site we build. This allows us to reuse page layouts, designs, and structures while retaining the original as a template. This is especially useful for smaller sites without heavy visual assets, which can be duplicated in under two minutes.

Here are the steps to duplicate a Squarespace Website:

1. Access the Duplicate Function: Navigate to the Home Menu, then to "Settings," and select "Duplicate Site." This option lets you create a copy of your site, including all pages, content, and design elements.

2. Select the Site to Duplicate: Choose the site you want to duplicate. You must have administrative permissions to perform this action.

3. Customize the Duplicated Site: After duplication, the new site will have a development domain you can rename for easier identification and management. Go to the "Settings" menu, then "Domains" to update the domain name.

4. Modify Content as Necessary: Change the content, design, or structure to suit a new purpose. This includes updating text, images, and other design elements.

5. Review and Finalize the New Site: Check all the changes, ensure all links are functional, and confirm that the site displays correctly on different devices.

6. Launch the New Website: Connect a live domain name if it hasn't been done during the duplication process, and adjust the site visibility settings from private to public to make the site accessible to all users.

Simplified Domain Management

Changing the development domain name is crucial for easier future access and management. In Squarespace, this involves a few simple steps in the settings menu, allowing the site to reflect a more personalized and professional web address. This setup is essential for transitioning a site from development to live status.

To change the development domain name in Squarespace (also known as the built-in domain name), follow these steps:

1. Access Settings: Log into your Squarespace account and navigate to 'Settings'.

2. Select Domains: Find and click on 'Domains' in the Settings menu. This section lists all domain names associated with your account.

3. Identify the Built-in Domain: Look for the domain ending with ".squarespace.com", your built-in or development domain.

4. Modify the Domain Name: Click on the built-in domain name to edit it. You will be given the option to enter a new domain name. Input the desired name.

5. Save Changes: After entering the new domain name, click 'Rename'. You may be prompted to confirm the change. Confirm and save.

6. Verify the Change: Check that the new domain name with the ".squarespace.com" suffix is now displaying correctly in your browser.

This development domain name is crucial during the site-building phase as it serves as a default URL where your site can be accessed before connecting a custom domain. It’s provided free as part of your Squarespace plan, unlike a custom domain that usually involves an additional cost and often offers a cleaner, more professional-looking URL without the ".squarespace.com" suffix. A custom domain also contributes to stronger branding and easier recall for your visitors​.

If you are considering a custom domain, purchase one directly through Squarespace or connect one you already own from another registrar. Custom domains typically enhance the credibility of your website and can be more SEO-friendly by providing a clear, memorable address related to your brand or business.

Streamlining Page Customization

One of the best features in Fluid Engine (launched by Squarespace in late 2022) is the ability to save any section of a Squarespace website as a favourite, which can be reused on any page. This drastically reduces the time it takes to add and customize sections across your website. These saved sections are invaluable, whether adjusting images or tweaking layout grids.

Here are some key advantages of using Saved Sections in Squarespace:

1. Time Efficiency: Previously, replicating a specific layout or section across different pages involved duplicating the entire page and deleting unwanted sections, or rebuilding the section from scratch. With Saved Sections, you can simply save and reuse any section across your website, reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks​​.

2. Consistency Across Pages: This feature ensures that any section that works well on one part of your site can be consistently applied elsewhere. This is particularly useful for maintaining uniformity in design elements like headers, footers, call-to-action buttons, or testimonial carousels​.

3. Ease of Use: Users click the heart icon in the section control panel to save a section. To reuse a saved section, they select "Add Section" on the desired page and choose from their list of saved sections. This process is intuitive and streamlined, making it accessible even to users with minimal technical skills​​.

4. Enhanced Creative Options: By saving complex sections like those designed with the Fluid Engine or customized auto layouts, designers can experiment more freely with layout and styling without losing their work. This encourages creativity and innovation in design​.

5. Limitations and Management: Users can save up to 50 sections per website, encouraging thoughtful curation of reusable elements. However, saved sections cannot be moved across different websites, and changes to one instance of a saved section do not affect others, allowing for customized tweaks without affecting the original template​.

By utilizing Saved Sections, Squarespace users can significantly reduce development time, ensure design consistency, and enhance the overall aesthetic and functional quality of their websites. This feature represents a significant advancement in the Squarespace platform, making it an even more powerful tool for web designers and content managers.

Practical Takeaways from the Post

• Leverage templates and saved sections: Utilizing Square Forge’s templates saves considerable time.

• Duplicate efficiently: Use website duplication to maintain consistency while scaling.

• Manage domains effectively: Simplify the transition from development to live by setting custom domain names early.

• Customize with flexibility: Adapt saved sections to fit new content needs quickly and effectively.

Wrapping up

Square Forge enhances and enriches Squarespace's already user-friendly platform and website building experience by allowing more time for creative and strategic endeavors. For anyone looking to expedite their web development process on Squarespace, adopting these practices and tools is highly advisable.