Squarespace is a popular platform for artists, photographers, entrepreneurs, and more. While it’s very easy to make a nice-looking website, I’ve noticed that really make a site scream: “I made this on Squarespace!” Having your website seem more bespoke than it actually is will always seem more professional.
1. Change the Favicon
The biggest thing that makes a website stand out as a Squarespace website, for better or worse, is the little icon associated with your website in the tabs bar. Ever see a little gray square next to the website name when browsing? That’s what makes it stand out as a Squarespace website. Changing this is super easy. Just take your logo (or do what I did and just use your first initial in a small Photoshop document) and go into your home menu - Design - Logo & Title, and then scroll down to Browser Icon (Favicon) and drag your image inside and you’re done!
2. Explore Other Templates
When it comes to photography websites, there are two or three templates that most of us use, and they are gorgeous! However, they’re also very recognizable as Squarespace templates. Something I’ve noticed is that if you look into the store templates specifically, they have a lot of the same attributes that the portfolio templates have and features we as photographers want/need (albums/images that link to a page, etc.) By exploring these e-commerce templates, you can end up with something that can really stand out.
3. Remove the Login Screen
This one is more best practices than anything too obvious like the previous tips, but if you go onto a Squarespace website and hit the escape key, you will generally be presented with a log-in screen. This is one of those things that is super simple to change, but it’s buried in the settings, so few people actually change it. To change this, go into Settings - Advanced - Escape Key. Uncheck this, and you’re good to go!
As you can see, with just a few simple tweaks, you can make your website seem much more personalized than it actually is to truly stand out among other photographers!
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I've never used Squarespace. Do they offer customization like Wix or is it pretty much you've got your template and are stuck with it?
They both offer customization. I find that Wix has more customization on a surface level - but Squarespace allows direct access to the CSS if you're so inclined. To my knowledge Wix does not.
Both are very lacking in SEO ability. So what good does it do to create an great looking website, if nobody will ever find it?
Out of curious, what exactly do you mean by "lacking in SEO ability"?
What I mean it is harder when compared to say Wordpress.
From what I've read, a LOT of people say this, but there's little real evidence to back up those claims. At the end of the day, there are many very successful sites that use Squarespace and have no SEO issues to speak of... I'm definitely not an expert in this, but the SEO stuff does seem to be a bit overblown. At the end of the day, having good content and/or being popular is still the best way to get traffic to your site...and Google will reward you for that no matter what.
For clients that already know you or are looking for you by name, you are fine. Plus, I agree with you that quality content is critical. But if you are not worrying about SEO, you better make sure your competition isn't either. Yes if you Google Wordpress vs Squarespace best for SEO you will find all the proof you need.
that "little gray square" is called a hexagon. from a 3 dimensional perspective, it's attempting to be a cube. not a square.
since we're picking nits, i figured i'd add a freshly plucked nit.
This article feels so unfinished...
i don't use ss, but i have seen those folks who don't wish their japanese import sedans to seem so japanese import sedan-ish tho.... ha
Don't get square space.
Squarespace is awesome for people who don't want to fiddle with Wordpress. I like to take photos, not build websites... nor do I want to pay someone to build a website for me. For their flaws, services like Squarespace do offer an easy way to build something that looks decent without having to sit there and learn about coding, web design, or navigating through the options of a more flexible CMS.
Only 3?? I need more!
That escape key tip is a good one, I just logged in and changed that on mine. Overall I'm really happy with Squarespace, but I've never liked that function. Solved!