What You Need To Know About Squarespace 7.1
Squarespace 7.1 - Early Access
Are you excited to try the new Squarespace 7.1 version but have questions?
Are you thinking of moving from version 7.0 to 7.1?
Do you use the Developer Mode?
Do you need parallax scrolling for your site?
Yes, Squarespace has a brand new operating system and it looks very different to 7.0!
It’s mainly about flexibility when building out your pages and the good news, is that the price is staying the same. There won’t be various templates like previously but rather, just one template. This will surely help Squarespace streamline its business whilst giving lots of flexibility in one template.
There’s a lot to get used to but I’ve been playing around with it and feel more than capable of building websites using 7.1. Anyway, I know you have questions and I’m going to answer the above questions and more…
Here is a breakdown of the main features:
Style Options - You can now make global style changes to your site ie. colour palette, banners, buttons, and font pairings - these can be styled individually too.
Header and Footer Layouts - You can customise your layouts with a variety of options such as moving your logo to the left, right or middle etc.
Banners - Add video or background music to your banners - nice feature, although the Bedford Template already allows for video in banners.
Gif files - you can add files with this format within 7.1
Portfolios - A great addition to the existing Regular Pages, Gallery Pages and Product Pages, you can now add Portfolio Pages which act as landing pages and can include galleries and other content too - really flexible.
What Won’t Work With Version 7.1
Importing and exporting content - you can only do this with 7.0. In addition, if you are wanting to migrate to Squarespace from WordPress, you would not be able to import blog posts or image blocks.
Developer Mode - I haven’t used this previously, so this isn’t a problem for me.
Image Block Styles
Parallax Scrolling - for me, this is a real disappointment and I think for many others.
Squarespace App - I don’t use this very often, so don’t think I’ll miss this capability.
Cover pages - I don’t use cover pages but maybe this might affect you.
Mobile Style Options - there won’t be this feature but that’s because it’s supported automatically. Update: Squarespace upgraded to Fluid Engine.
Album and Gallery Pages - you will need to add Audio blocks and Gallery sections instead.
Shopping Cart - there is only one icon compared to choices in some templates using 7.0. Update: Squarespace 7.1 does come with the capability for changing shopping cart icons.
Link Anchoring. Update: Squarespace 7.1 does now come with the capability for link anchoring.
If you have an existing 7.0 site, there is no way to ‘automatically’ switch your content over to 7.1.
So overall, there are some potential challenges for users but at the same time, some amazing features in 7.1. When I have more time and have seen subsequent changes evolving, I’m sure I’ll take the plunge and create a new website using 7.1 but for now, I’m more than happy with my current site. Update: I did change over to Squarespace 7.1 and I’ve never looked back - I absolutely love it!
Remember, 7.0 is here for the long haul and so there’s no urgency to move over to 7.1. I use the Bedford template and the Brine template is also amazing - I think with these two templates especially, you’ll be fine for quite some time.
For new accounts, I think it’s a great opportunity to dive into 7.1 and after having given things good testing, I’m excited to offer 7.1 website design, together with the set-up and launch of courses using 7.1.
And, if you need help with your business, I offer website design, and marketing support services. Please contact me to book a free discovery call. We can chat through your needs and goals and check if we’re a good fit.
Update: After working on client websites using Squarespace 7.1 exclusively, I just love it and would heartily recommend upgrading your 7.0 site to 7.1. If you need help with this, please get in touch.
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