Finest Squarespace templates for writers, authors, and journalists

On this gig financial system day and web age, no author is only a author anymore. A author can be an concept collector, a pitcher, a negotiator, an web optimization specialist, a proofreader, a self-promoter, and an expert invoice-sender. They may even be a full-on model at this level, relying on whether or not they purchase into the Twitter discourse. They’re positively a seasoned caffeine snob.

That being stated, you’d most likely wrestle to discover a handful of writers who consider themselves as particularly adept builders. English, journalism, and inventive writing coursework is not precisely rife with alternatives to discover ways to construct web sites, and self-led bootcamps are intimidating if you do not have a lick of coding or HTML expertise. This could really feel like an enormous hurdle when it comes time to needing a private web site, whether or not you are attempting to showcase a portfolio, appeal to new purchasers, promote a e book, or simply merely weblog.

Enter: Squarespace, a preferred web site constructing platform that presents itself as an all-in-one resolution for designing and managing a web site (with plans beginning as little as $14 a month). Going stay is as simple as selecting certainly one of its fashionable, mobile-optimized templates and customizing it together with your branding; technical chores like web site metrics, SSL safety, video storage, and updates are all dealt with by the platform itself. Plus, it maintains a full-featured app that permits you to edit your web site on the go, together with updating pages, including new photos, writing weblog posts, reviewing web site analytics, and managing the stock of an internet retailer.

With a pair hundred templates accessible as of 2022, it may be powerful to resolve which is able to greatest fit your wants as a freelancer, creator, journalist, copywriter, and/or poet. Maintain scrolling for a complete information and a listing of our present favorites.

What’s a Squarespace template?

A Squarespace template (or theme) is a pre-built demo web site that is meant to function a “start line to assist encourage your web site’s design,” to cite its assist web site. Each can be utilized completely as-is or fleshed out with totally different colours, font packs, format pages, and content material blocks.

Templates work otherwise relying on whether or not you are operating Squarespace model 7.Zero or 7.1, the 2 iterations of the platform it at present helps. Model 7.0 (launched in 2014) incorporates 91 templates it categorizes into “households” that share the identical underlying construction and elegance settings, which may’t be modified, whereas model 7.1 (launched in early 2020) has 143 templates which have all been merged right into a single household — which means they share the identical options and formatting choices. (It is manner simpler to change between templates that manner.)

Some skilled Squarespace designers nonetheless use model 7.Zero as a result of a handful of its superior functionalities have not but migrated over, however we might suggest beginning with model 7.1 when you’re new to the platform: It is rather more versatile.

Regardless of which one you resolve to make use of, understand that transferring between variations typically requires a whole rebuild and carries a threat of affecting your web site’s search rating. Happily, Squarespace gives a free 14-day trial so you will have the prospect to mess around with each variations earlier than formally constructing your web site.

Is Squarespace good for writers?

Squarespace has a ton of helpful options that author sorts can make the most of, together with pre-made Portfolio and Weblog format pages, cellular modifying, publication blocks, social media integration, e-mail marketing campaign integration, tag and class assist, a number of creator assist, Google Analytics assist, the flexibility to schedule posts, and a built-in commenting system that features content material moderation and abuse filters (plus Disqus integration). It additionally not too long ago added a device known as Members Areas, which helps you to gate and monetize content material in your web site.

Briefly, Squarespace is very good for writers — once more, even when you have no prior coding expertise.

How do you select the suitable Squarespace template?

Squarespace’s Templates library offers you the choice of sorting them by kind (On-line Retailer, Portfolio, Memberships, Weblog, Scheduling, and One Web page) and matter (e.g., Media & Podcasts, Skilled Providers, and Private & CV). You may click on on any template’s “Preview” button to take a look at its demo content material, which provides you with an concept of the way it appears within the wild.

Squarespace recommends focusing primarily on the “particular colours and layouts that attraction to you” relatively than the content material you see there, however provides that “you could discover it simpler to begin with a design that is already near the way you need your web site to look.” We’ll use the Suhama and Devoe templates for instance:

Credit score: Squarespace

Credit score: Squarespace

Each are one-page Private & CV templates, however Suhama (left) is already pre-built as a portfolio web site for a author with sections for clips and work expertise; in the meantime, Devoe’s demo content material options little greater than a full-bleed banner picture and call data. That is to not say that Devoe would not or could not be good for a author, too, nevertheless it’ll take much more tinkering to get it to that time.

Overwhelmed by all your choices? Under, you will discover a listing of six templates we expect would make nice websites for writers with minimal effort.

Notice: Most of our suggestions are from Squarespace model 7.1, however we have sprinkled in a number of choices from model 7.Zero that proceed to face out. Templates have been labeled accordingly.