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Struggling to settle on a Squarespace template? We’ve got you covered with 10 recommendations that’ll turn any idea into a gorgeous website.

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BEST FOR BLOGGING

Five

An oldie *and* a goodie for bloggers who value versatility and a sidebar (or two).

BEST FOR E-COMMERCE

Galapagos

Sometimes basic isn’t a bad thing, especially if it takes the fuss out of incorporating interactive design elements.

By Haley Henschel

If you’ve listened to , you already know the spiel: Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder that makes it easy to create a beautiful online presence. Numbers-wise, it’s the out there, supporting more than 1.8 million websites across the internet. 

One of the primary reasons why Squarespace has seen this — well, aside from all of those Ira Glass-narrated ad slots — is that it’s inherently all-inclusive. For $12 to $40 per month, Squarespace plans offer access to hosting, 24/7 customer support, website metrics, mobile optimization, SSL security, unlimited storage and bandwidth, an intuitive drag-and-drop page builder (read: no coding required), and dozens of original, modern templates.

Most of those features are self-explanatory, although the latter could benefit from a bit more elaboration: A Squarespace template determines how your site looks and works. Users have more than 90 different options to choose from, each of which has been designed and coded exclusively for Squarespace (which means you won’t find them on WordPress, Wix, or other site-building platforms). 

Every Squarespace template belongs to a so-called template family, or a group of similarly coded templates that are alike in their basic structure, functionality, and customization options. (More on the latter in a sec.) Squarespace categorizes its templates this way, per its , “to showcase their versatility and to help you find the layout and pre-set style options that work best as a start pointing for your site.” Poking around within a family can be helpful if you want to see how Squarespace’s tools can be used to make websites look different, it adds, pointing to Brine and Thorne (below) as good examples of two templates that are in the same family of template, but styled differently:

Same family, different sites.

Same family, different sites.

What’s great about Squarespace is that it caters to users of all web design skill levels, with each template falling somewhere on a customization spectrum. Some templates give you the tools to go all-out with fonts, colors, image effects, border sizes, landing pages, and more, letting you fine-tune every detail, whereas others offer only a few style options to eliminate any potential hassles. It’s up to you to decide how much time and effort you’ll dedicate to designing your site. (And if you ever feel like switching things up, Squarespace lets you easily swap out templates without losing any of your content.)

At this point, you’re probably wondering: How do these features set Squarespace apart from, say, WordPress, another popular platform? The short of it is this: You get what you pay for. With WordPress, you’ve got virtually unlimited customization options if you cough up some dough for hosting services, , and reputable plugins. (You may also have to hire a developer if your coding skills aren’t up to par, or if you want to switch themes without risking content loss.) Squarespace offers far less flexibility in comparison, but all of its templates are ultra-reliable and mobile-ready. And while they’re not as prolific as WordPress plugins, Squarespace supports the of certain services, including Acuity Scheduling (to let visitors schedule an appointment), Apple News (to cross-publish your content), and Paypal (to let your site accept PayPal payments from customers), among a few dozen others. Plus, most of the technical drudgery for your site — i.e., security and hosting — is handled by Squarespace’s team of experts so you can direct your focus elsewhere. 

If Squarespace sounds like the right solution for you, know this: You really can’t go wrong with any of their templates. Like, it’s almost impossible to make an ugly Squarespace site. But just in case you need a little help to get the ball rolling on the site of your dreams, save yourself a Google search and just keep reading: Below, you’ll find our picks for the 10 best template options for all sort of purposes, from podcasts to portfolios and beyond.


Sidebars, sidebars everywhere • Highly flexible

An oldie *and* a goodie for bloggers who value versatility and a sidebar (or two).

1. Five

An oldie *and* a goodie for bloggers who value versatility and a sidebar (or two).

Five may be one of the older Squarespace templates out there, but it’s anything but washed up. One of its main draws is its support for sidebars, which can play an important role on one’s blog. (For example, you can use a sidebar to highlight promotions, house a call-to-action, or plug your bio and social media handles to build your brand.) Every page on a Five site can feature up to two sidebars; in fact, Five is the only Squarespace template that features a two-sidebar design. 
With Five, you’ve also got options to showcase your content in the form of full-width banners and videos, tweak your navigation menu, style galleries as grids or slideshows, create events, and much more. Plus, Five supports Squarespace’s integrated Commerce feature so you can set up an online store once your blog takes off. 


Interactive shopping experience • Clean layout

Few opportunities for customization

Sometimes basic isn’t a bad thing, especially if it takes the fuss out of incorporating interactive design elements.

2. Galapagos

Sometimes basic isn’t a bad thing, especially if it takes the fuss out of incorporating interactive design elements.

For an elegant online shop that requires minimal effort on your part, Galapagos is where it’s at. Its customization options are pretty limited compared to most other ecommerce Squarespace templates, but that means you can spend less time designing your site and more time selling your stuff. Your customers won’t even know the difference, either, because the final result will look and work as if you spent hours perfecting its design: With a Quick View feature, Product Image Zoom, and several product layouts and special on-hover effects to choose from, Galapagos can make your shop fully interactive in just a few clicks and drags. 
Besides your Products page, the Galapagos theme can also support list-style blogs with one sidebar; galleries styled as slideshows or grids; calendars or lists of events; an album page with playable music; and a unique landing page. 


Adaptive grid layout • Tools for online shop • Single sidebar can be added to blog

Non-landing pages are pretty unexciting

A simple yet beautiful way to showcase your best creative work that facilitates visitor exploration.

3. Wexley

A simple yet beautiful way to showcase your best creative work that facilitates visitor exploration.

Wexley is another older template that’s stuck around for a reason: Its “adaptive mosaic” layout for visuals — that’s Squarespace’s of saying “fancy grid” — has proven to be a compelling way to flaunt one’s artwork and photography. It works like this: You’ll put together a landing page that features the best of your portfolio, wherein every image will be optimized to best fit your screen width. Whenever a visitor clicks on an image, Wexley will open a slideshow overlay that the user can further peruse at their leisure. 
In addition to your landing page, Wexley will let you build a list-style blog, a playable album page, a calendar or list of events, and a products page for your artistic services and creations. Just know that these other pages’ layout options are somewhat bare, as Wexley intends for your landing page to be the focal point of your site. 

Striking index pages • Supports single-page sites

Main navigation isn’t displayed on index pages unless they’re set as the homepage

Your one-stop shop for an eye-catching, one-page website that helps your clips shine.

Although it’s technically intended for bands to use, Horizon is a template that videographers will fall in love with, too. “[let] your content take center stage like never before,” its biggest pull is its sleek scrolling index page, which stacks full-bleed banner videos and images consecutively. If you set this index page as your homepage, it’ll create a long, single-page site that stacks the content from multiple pages vertically, a seamless layout that makes for quite the bold impression. (Setting an index page as the homepage also gives you the option of locking your main navigation so that it stays at the top of the browser window as you scroll.)
Aside from the index page, this Pacific family template supports list-style blogs, playable album pages, event pages, and sellable products pages with a customizable shopping cart button.

Extremely versatile • Virtually endless customization options

Doesn’t support a sidebar on any page

It’s not just the best Squarespace template for a business, but one of the best templates overall.

This bad boy is the parent template of the Brine family, the biggest and one of the most popular template families on Squarespace, and the one that gives you the most style control for both desktop and mobile. ‘round for its flexibility and functionality, Brine was specifically designed for brands and companies who want a top-notch web presence with an active blog, some sophisticated ecommerce features, and a stellar balance of text and images.
Brine gives you tons of options to play around with design-wise, including — are you ready for this? — a stacked, parallax-scrolling index page, which can add intriguing depth to your site; advanced commerce features like on-hover effects, which give your store an interactive feel; a content inset feature that can be used to draw attention to special announcements; multiple navigation areas; multiple blog layouts; custom share buttons; full-width banners and headers; and so much more. (One of the only features it doesn’t support is a sidebar, although users have found some .) 

Soundcloud integration • Parallax effect available

Range of customizable features can be a little overwhelming

An intricate, stylish template that just makes sense for a growing podcast.

Named after the audio file format, Wav is a newer template featuring a statement-making, grid-style layout that’s fresh and modern. Most notably, it’s capable of integrating with Soundcloud, a perk that makes publishing your latest episodes a cinch.
For more on the features available within the Brine family, check out our write-up of the eponymous template (No. 5, above). 


Professional look that doesn’t require lots of effort • Prominent calls-to-action

A refined template featuring bold calls-to-action that encourages potential employers to get in touch.

Templates within the Brine family are designed to sell things — and yes, that includes yourself. 
What we’re trying to say is this: You can create a contemporary, attention-grabbing online resume with Pursuit, a text-focused, CV-style template with colorful call-to-action buttons that pop off the page. Be sure to take advantage of its stacked index page feature, which puts your skills graphs, experience, awards, and other pertinent information all in one polished place. That way, hiring managers don’t have to hunt it down across different pages.
For more on the features available within the Brine family, check out our write-up of the eponymous template (No. 5, above). 


Acuity Scheduling integration is easily set up • Mobile styles can’t be disabled

With a fun design and thoughtful functionality, Ready will ensure you’ll be, well, ready to take on all sorts of exciting new freelance projects. (Sorry, we had to.)

Ready’s chic, minimalist design is accentuated with “[vivid] headlines and bright pops of color,” per Squarespace, creating a welcoming web presence that’ll attract all sorts of potential clients to your main and/or side hustle(s). Structure-wise, it’s a multi-page template that highlights your service(s) on its homepage, then dedicates separate pages to tidbits like pricing, contact information, testimonials, and appointment requests. 
As a member of the Skye template family, Ready is unique in that it doesn’t give users the option to disable mobile styles, which guarantees your site is always mobile-friendly. 


Neat design • Headlines cleanly divide sections • So many opportunities for mobile

Relies heavily on imagery

Any Brine family template is great for mobile, realistically, although we’re partial to this one for its simple layout with long, scrolling pages and bold headlines.

All of Squarespace’s templates are mobile-optimized with a responsive design. But for a mobile experience that goes above and beyond, we really like Nueva, a template that features an uncluttered and highly scrollable layout with mosaic-style galleries and prominent headlines. Plus, as a member of the Brine template family, it comes with the biggest set of , which basically means you can tinker with its structure for mobile in almost all of its entirety. 
For more on the features available within the Brine family, check out our write-up of the eponymous template (No. 5, above). 

Lots of opportunities to show off photos of you and your spouse-to-be • Puts all of your most important info in one place • More customizable than wedding websites offered by sites like The Knot

Squarespace plans cost money, whereas The Knot, et al. will set up your site for free

A playful, photo-filled template that’s so easy to navigate, even your Great Aunt Edna will be able to find her way around it.

Help your guests get organized in preparation for your big day with Charlotte, another template from the Pacific family. Its layout’s focal point is a scrolling index page that supports full-bleed images with text overlays, which you could use to tell the story of your relationship, share highlights from your engagement photoshoot, recommend accommodations, and/or drop some gift registry ideas. Plus, if you set that index page as your homepage, your main navigation will be pinned to the top of your browser as viewers scroll. (Hey, anything that makes the site easier for your technology-challenged relatives to use.)
For more on the features available within the Pacific family, check out our write-up of the Horizon template (No. 4, above). 

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