Squarespace 7.0 vs 7.1

May 11

Only a few years ago, Squarespace version 7.1 was released. If you’ve used Squarespace from 2014 to now, you’re likely familiar with Squarespace 7.0.

About Squarespace

Many things are remarkable about Squarespace 7.1, but with anything new, there are things that players won't be a massive fan of. Some features are put “different,” but the recent changes make working in the platform faster and easier.

Squarespace is intended to be a DIY website builder, but if your goal is to look unique, you'll need to work with custom CSS styling and other code injection. You’ll find yourself going through many tutorials or needing to hire a professional.

If you’re a new Squarespace user, you probably won’t notice these things as unfavorable since you won’t have anything to compare the latest version to! In this post, I walk you through the differences between Squarespace 7.0 and 7.1.

Pros of Squarespace 7.1

1. There are no template options to worry about. Everything is the same across the board in 7.1; there is no need to choose a template and then feel the need to switch later.

2. Because there are no templates, you can add banner images to each section and add whatever content to each banner section. There are no more limitations to choosing a “less flexible” template. This has plagued Squarespace users who don’t have a developer to help.

3. You can now edit all of your pages at once. Instead of having ‘stacked’ index sections with different sections, you can layer different page sections inside one page and edit the entire page at once. This also helps with the cluttered feeling of stacked index sections. Instead of seeing a whole string of sections on top of each other, you only see one page in the left-hand navigation.

4. The header and footer options are easier to edit. Everything is in one place and you don’t have to navigate into the older ‘site styles’ section to edit. The downside is that the header has fewer customization options, but most people probably won’t notice this.

5. You can access the design styles/themes from the ‘edit’ page. Click the pencil ‘edit’ button on any page and change the styles immediately. Navigating to the ‘Design > site styles’ section is unnecessary, like in version 7.0.

6. There is a new version of portfolio pages in version 7.1. You can no longer use gallery blocks; however, a new type of portfolio page is available. Some people will love this, and others who are used to using summary/gallery blocks inside a 7.0 website might be frustrated by this.

7. The site styles are different, and some changes are excellent. There is an advantage to grouping design features based on category INSTEAD of by page. You have to get used to whichever version of Squarespace you’re using.

8. The ability to change all site styles with one click. So, if you want to change brand fonts, select your font styles, and the system will change EVERYTHING for you. From mobile fonts and site fonts to button fonts and image block fonts. This is convenient. In Squarespace 7.0, you had to go into the SITE STYLES and change each font style one by one.

10. You can now add multiple color and font themes to your site to quickly change each page section based on your needs. It’s easy to set up many different theme options, so when you build different sections (i.e., One section with a dark background and light text versus a section with a light background and dark text), you can easily switch between different pre-set theme options. It’s certainly a pro and looks excellent and straightforward across all devices.

Cons for Squarespace 7.1

1. You can’t link a gallery or use gallery blocks within a page (possible in Squarespace 7.0). It may be helpful for visitors to see a highlight of ‘recent work’ or a ‘portfolio’ section within a page; however, you can’t do this within 7.1. Instead, they have a new portfolio page option but cannot embed a preview into a different page, such as a homepage section.

2. You can’t use parallax scrolling. (I think that website design trend is dated anyway.)

3. You can’t create a cover page in version 7.1. Cover pages are great ways to create landing pages or quick, accessible pages without a header and footer. You can achieve something similar in 7.1 by creating a page with a single section and hiding the header and footer.

4. You don’t have as many mobile customization options. With version 7.0, if you were on a template in the Brine family (which I recommend), you had a lot of mobile customization options. If you wanted to make your logo larger or smaller, change how your mobile menu appeared, etc., you could do all that through the site styles section. Now, you can still change the icon that shows up for the menu and the layout of the header on mobile, but you can’t precisely edit the mobile menu colors and fonts separate from your entire site. Instead, it will pull the same colors and options used on the desktop version of your site.

5. The site styles are different. We may be familiar with the ‘site styles’ section in 7.0. You won't notice this issue if you’re new to Squarespace and start on 7.1. There are some ways that this is a little easier… they have grouped styles by fonts, colors, buttons, etc., instead of by page. In some ways, this is easier and in some ways, you have less control. But overall, it’s not too hard once you get used to it.

For example, when you want to change a button, you have to change the button font in one section of the design panel… and then go to a different section to change the colors. In version 7.0, you could change ALL design aspects of a button in one place.

6. Secondary navigations are gone. This is big for customizing a navigation bar. In 7.0, you could add a secondary navigation option to allow you to have two bars of links at the top of your page. Maybe your logo is centered between the nav, or your site has a central CTA to begin using a product or sign up for an appointment. This is missing in 7.1 and can be a considerable disadvantage.

7. Color themes can feel overwhelming. You have the option to set up a handful of different color themes to use throughout your site. Again, this is kind of a pro and a con. Once you know how to use this feature, it’s excellent… but many find it so confusing to get started with and it’s overwhelming to know how and why to use so many different options within one site.

8. No ability to set different font styles for each heading and paragraph option. This means that when you select your “heading font,” … all 4 heading options will be the EXACT SAME font; however, you can change the colors and size of each heading. The same goes for your paragraph fonts.

This means you could only have two different fonts throughout your site. If you want more fonts, add CSS to custom code them. This may be okay, but it’s limiting compared to 7.0.

9. There’s no ability to add a search bar in the site header.

10. There’s no developer mode. Most people won’t be bothered by this, but some might notice that this is not a feature in version 7.1.

11. Squarespace 7.1 sites are not compatible with the Squarespace app (yet). Why release a new version and not make it available to edit or maintain in the new mobile app?

Final Consensus

>> You can’t transfer content from 7.0 to 7.1. Or vice versa. You must recreate your site to move from version 7.0 to 7.1. For example, if you sell products from your site, you’ll lose all your inventory and customer info if you move to the new version. Major headache.

>> Your SEO will temporarily take a hit if you move from 7.0 to 7.1. If you are already established on 7.0 and want to move to 7.1, you must start a new website and recreate your content on that new site. Because of this, you will take an SEO hit while Google re-indexes your site. You can expect to eventually return to where you started on your 7.0 site, but it may take a little while—at least 30 days.

>> Squarespace continues to roll out updates and new features in Squarespace 7.1, so that’s great!

>> I’m currently building sites in Squarespace 7.0 and 7.1.

>> Squarespace 7.1 looks impressive on any device. Squarespace 7.0 will take more knowledge and CSS to compare with the latest web design trends, but if simplicity is the ticker and you’re up for the new updates, choose 7.1!

So, should you choose 7.0 or 7.1?

7.1

If you’re new to Squarespace and haven’t started your site yet, you won’t notice any of the ‘cons’ I mentioned. Squarespace is actively working to roll out new features, and I believe using 7.1 is your best choice!

7.0

If you have been selling products, I recommend staying with version 7.0 until you can “create a website from scratch” since you can’t transfer data into version 7.1 yet. If your site is set up and running in version 7.0, there’s little reason to switch to 7.1. Squarespace will continue supporting 7.0 users indefinitely, so that won’t be a problem.