Squarespace 6 Beta FAQ

Overview

Squarespace 6 is more than an evolution — it is a new way of managing content. Built from the ground up with the knowledge gained from seven years of creating a content management system, Squarespace 6 is the result of more than a year and a half of incredible work by our team. We have created an environment where you can quickly make and manage a beautiful website through a beautiful, intuitive interface.

Why the new approach with Squarespace 6?

Squarespace 6 splits interfaces that are for developers from interfaces that are for consumers to provide a great user experience for both. Our consumer interfaces are focused on getting our customers as close to their finished website as quickly as possible, insulating them from complex details -- no more complicated pages full of infrequently changed options. Our new developer Template Development Kit (TDK), on the other hand, allows direct access to code, the libraries we’ve built, and complete site customization. This is a distinct departure from how Squarespace operates today.

What does this mean for me?

More choice, more variety and more creativity. Squarespace 6 designs do not have limits. Whereas today Squarespace is primarily centered around one master design with multiple skins and tweaks, Squarespace 6 supports multiple master designs with multiple styles. Each of these master designs will have tweaks defined by the design author, no longer constraining great new ideas because of the need to support the plethora of tweaks that are available in today's product. This will enable a great amount of diversity in the websites on our system.

How do I get an invite? How many are there?

You can sign up for the beta invite list via the form at the end of this post. We will be slowly issuing invitations as we feel the system is stable and can support them. We will be publicly announcing feature updates and major invite releases periodically.

How long is this beta period?

Our primary focus in the beta period is to learn from your feedback and build a high quality product. Once we feel that the quality is up to par, we will move it out of beta.

Will my site be visible to the public if I build it using the beta?

Yes. You will have a fully functioning, live site. You should expect some availability issues and quirks as the system stabilizes. If you require 100% uptime, we do not recommend you participate in the beta.

What types of websites can I build with Squarespace 6?

We have spent our time optimizing the core parts of the system: blogs, pages, galleries, and widgets (now called blocks). We are initially launching the beta with a set of portfolio designs. The media requirements of portfolios are the toughest set of content management and delivery challenges we can address, so we wanted to start there. We will open up more design types as the beta proceeds, including designs specific to blogging, as well other categories.

How will Squarespace 6 be priced?

We have not yet finalized pricing for Squarespace 6.

Will you charge for the beta?

No, but Squarespace will remain a paid product, and sites will have to be purchased at the end of the beta. To show our appreciation for helping out, you will receive a significant discount for participating in the beta period if you choose to continue with your site. We thank you for your assistance in helping us build a great platform.

Will Squarespace mobile apps work with Squarespace 6?

No, not during the initial beta period. We will announce mobile app availability towards the end of the beta.

What browsers does Squarespace 6 support for its management interface?

Squarespace 6’s back-end interface only supports the latest web browsers, as we take advantage of very new browser features to provide an exceptional experience. Safari 5, Chrome and Firefox will be required during the beta. Some form of support for IE will be available upon general availability.

What browsers will Squarespace 6 support for its designs?

Squarespace 6 will push the compatibility question to the site owner. Many Squarespace 6 designs will support all browsers, but we also plan on launching designs that do not. As a site owner, the choice is yours. Many of our customers do not care about old browser support given the demographic their sites serve and have a desire to choose a modern design with an advanced, beautiful experience. For those customers, ensuring that 80% of their visitors have an incredible experience is more important than having 99% of their visitors have an average one.

Current Customers

If I have a Squarespace site, what changes can I expect?

You will have uninterrupted service during the launch of Squarespace 6, and well beyond. This is a critical point to us. Squarespace 6 is on an entirely new and separate infrastructure, and is not an in-place version upgrade. We learned a lesson during our last major release, and it's of critical importance to us that our big changes don't affect the way that you work.

Do I have to move my site to Squarespace 6?

No, you do not. You can continue to use your Squarespace site as you always have. Squarespace 6 is template based. If you do not see a design you like and you are happy with your website, there is no immediate reason to move over to Squarespace 6.

What features from Squarespace 6 will be made available within the current Squarespace?

Wherever possible, features that can be used by both platforms are being developed. You can expect development on the current Squarespace product line to continue and be continuously refined. We have internal teams committed to an exceptional experience all around.

What will happen to my Squarespace site? Will it ever become unsupported?

Your site will be supported indefinitely. Much as we still support versions of Squarespace sites that are upwards of 7 years old (V4 system), we will continue to support all Squarespace sites on our infrastructure.

How do I move my site to Squarespace 6?

At some point in the beta, we will provide data transition services that will let you run your current Squarespace site and a Squarespace 6 site in parallel to test it out and compare. You will be able to move compatible data to Squarespace 6 and preview your site before deciding to switch over your domain or make any permanent changes. If you don’t like what you see, or things don’t feel right, you can deactivate your Squarespace 6 site and stay with what you already have.

What is meant by “compatible data”?

Most data from your current Squarespace site will work quite well within Squarespace 6. There may be some features, however, that will not have a counterpart in Squarespace 6 for some time, so those types of data will not port over. Squarespace’s most popular content types (blogs, galleries, etc.) will be portable.

Will Squarespace 6 have feature parity with the current Squarespace?

Not initially. Certain features that Squarespace has developed (forums, member permissions, etc.) will be in different states during the early beta period of Squarespace 6. The point of the beta is to make sure that each feature and interface are not simply working, but properly thought out and executed.

Can I still sign up for the current Squarespace after Squarespace 6 is released?

Yes. We envision having signups to both products available simultaneously for some time.

Will someone else be able to get my *.squarespace.com username in Squarespace 6?

No. The URL is yours and is reserved in both systems.

Designers and Developers

When can I build templates on Squarespace 6?

The Squarespace 6 developer platform alpha test has been underway for many months. At the time of beta release, the developer platform will remain in alpha and we will continue to make significant changes. We do not have a public release date for the developer platform at this time.

What will it be like to make a website for a client with Squarespace 6?

Squarespace has always been used by creatives to make websites for clients. Today, Squarespace offers no control over the underlying HTML code, which limits the ability to create certain site designs on the platform. We have removed this restriction with Squarespace 6 by providing developers access to all the underlying code. They can now build custom websites from scratch. Like today's platform, Squarespace 6 still gives you the same access to custom CSS that can tweak any design in our library. But if you want to dig deeper, you now can.

I'm a designer (not a developer) on Squarespace today. What's going to change for me?

Nothing. You can keep using our current platform. If and when you want to try Squarespace 6, it will include custom CSS and injection points. You will not need to edit template code if you don't need to -- there will be a great set of base designs.

What are some of the included features for developers?

Some of the features included in the TDK (Template Developer Kit) are:

Complete Control - You will have control over the entire HTML output of your site right down to the beginning and ending <html> tag.

JSON Everywhere - V6 stores every URL on your site as JSON objects. JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a lightweight text-based open standard designed for data-interchange. This means that your entire data set, just by being hosted on Squarespace, becomes accessible in a structured fashion. In other words, third party developers: go have fun.

Simple Templating Language- V6 templates are written using JSON Template. It is a minimal but powerful templating language that fits naturally with the native JSON output of V6. Template files use simple and readable syntax that is logical and editable by non-programmers.

Smarter CSS - All V6 CSS is processed using LESS CSS. LESS extends CSS with dynamic behavior such as variables, mixins, operations and functions. Variables allow you to specify widely used values in a single place and re-use them. Mixins allow you to embed all the properties of a class into another class by simply including the class name as one of its properties. You can also nest selectors inside other selectors, making inheritance clear. Lastly, operations let you add, subtract, divide and multiply property values and colors, giving you the power to create complex relationships between properties.

Desktop Development - You can edit Squarespace templates using your favorite code editor, right from your local machine. All files and resources are saved locally, and can be synchronized with Squarespace's cloud via SFTP. Images will be conditionally uploaded to the server when changes are made, keeping everything speedy during development.

Single Template > Multiple Sites - Templates can be synchronized with a master site, then installed on multiple client sites. You can now update a single site and push changes to any number of sub-sites automatically with a single click.

Automatic Fonts - Need to use a Google font? Just use it. Squarespace automatically parses all CSS stylesheets and generates the appropriate headers to pull the fonts you use from Google's font directory. No coding required.

How can I join the developer testing program?

We are currently inviting select web designers and developers to test the developer tools built into Squarespace 6. Use the link below if you would like to be considered.

Click here to apply for developer access. Please include the subject "Squarespace 6 Developer" in the form so we can easily identify you as a developer.