Squarespace Fluid Engine: A New Way to Build Websites
Elwyn introduces us to the Squarespace fluid engine, a humongous website builder update.
It is July 2022, and Squarespace have launched a considerable, potentially game-changing update in the form of their new fluid engine, but it might not all be good news.
Squarespace’s new design tool brings a number of significant advancements to the website building process. With a focus on better collaboration, increased performance, and a more intuitive user experience, designers and developers can expect to spend less time fiddling with code and more time building beautiful websites.
Today, more than ever before, creative professionals are looking for ways to make the website-building process faster and more enjoyable. With so many different tools available — each with their own learning curve — most designers and developers find themselves spending more time on setup and maintenance than they would like, and the results can vary wildly.
In response to some considerable steps forward by Wix and Editor X, Squarespace has introduced its own new flexible design tool, the Fluid Engine. The fluid engine is a brand new way of building websites with Squarespace that streamlines the production process while making it even more fun (depending on your particular viewpoint on what 'fun' is!). Squarespace claims that by building the fluid engine from the ground up with a focus on performance and user experience, Fluid Engine is their latest innovation designed to empower creators at every level.
We shall see.
What is the Squarespace Fluid Engine?
Fluid Engine is Squarespace’s new web design tool built from the ground up. It offers a new way to build websites that is faster, easier, and more enjoyable than ever before. Fluid Engine is a complete redesign of Squarespace’s web design tool, built with a focus on performance and user experience. It features a completely revamped visual editor, a new code editor, and a completely revamped website building process. The new design tool has been in development for almost two years and is Squarespace’s biggest investment in the web design process to date.
“Pandora’s box has been opened, and the shackles have been loosened. Our designers are going to love this.”
How does it work?
The new design tool brings together Squarespace’s technology with a fresh new UX (User Experience). The code editor has been re-imagined from the ground up with a focus on removing friction from the code building process. Fluid Engine uses a live code editor that automatically updates as you build, no longer requiring designers and developers to refresh the page to see changes constantly. This allows you to see your changes as you make them, and no longer have to click save and go back to your computer to reload the page. Fluid Engine also features a completely revamped visual editor. The visual editor has been rebuilt to provide designers with better control over their designs. Squarespace’s engineers have also focused on improving performance while creating the visual editor, allowing web designers to create more without breaking a sweat.
Why a new design tool?
Squarespace’s old web design tool was built for a time when the internet was very different than it is today. Over the past 15 years, Squarespace has emerged as a leading website creation tool for creatives, with more than 10 million websites built on the Squarespace platform. With such momentum behind Squarespace and a much more sophisticated internet landscape, the company realised it was time to take a fresh approach to build a design tool that would allow more people to build websites. This new design tool has been in development for almost two years and is Squarespace’s biggest investment in the web design process to date.
Key features of the Fluid Engine
New visual editor - The visual editor has been completely rebuilt to provide designers with better control over their designs. Squarespace’s engineers have also focused on improving performance while creating the visual editor, allowing web designers to create more without breaking a sweat. Squarespace’s engineers have focused on simplifying the website building process with the new design tool. Squarespace has built the Fluid Engine to make collaboration easier than ever.
Final Words
Squarespace’s new design tool brings a number of significant advancements to the website building process. With a focus on better collaboration, increased performance, and a more intuitive user experience, designers and developers can expect to spend less time fiddling with code and more time building beautiful websites. On the flip side, losing its predecessors’ tight grip on design structure could mean that results from DIY website builders and enthusiasts may vary.
Pandora’s box has been opened, and the shackles have been loosened. Our designers are going to love this. At the same time, this is going to increase the duration of our training courses as more flexibility often means more legwork to get up to speed. So whilst the creatives rejoice, this isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea.
Before we get too carried away, I thought I would leave you with a Jeff Goldblum line from Jurassic Park:
“Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
I guess we’ll see if this new life will find a way…
