BY NATHANIEL MOTT
ON DECEMBER 14, 2012
Squarespace, a website platform builder challenging WordPress for the CMS throne, has released a new app called Squarespace Portfolio. The app, which is free on the App Store and available for iPhone and iPad, allows Squarespace users to create a cloud-based portfolio (which makes sense, given the name) by connecting their devices to their Squarespace account.
Portfolio allows users to adjust their photos’ border, shape, alignment, and shade, but does so without offering a dizzying number of options or a cluttered interface. The app fits well with Squarespace’s branding and design language, choosing subtle greys and clean lines over loud colors and a “busy” interface.
This is Squarespace’s third iOS app – the company ships a site management app for iPhone and iPad, Portfolio, and Note, an iPhone-only note-taking app that takes the concept of simplified thought capture and runs with it. All of the company’s apps are free, but Note is the only one that doesn’t require a Squarespace account (which costs at least $8 per month). Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena says that both Portfolio and Note are meant to show that Squarespace is more than “just” a blogging platform.
With Portfolio, he says, “You could open a Squarespace basic account, put galleries in it, and sync it to your portfolio app and never end up using Squarespace.” This would transform Squarespace from a strict WordPress competitor to something more akin to Dropbox or a photo-sharing service, allowing users to access their files with the company’s back-end.
Ultimately, that’s the goal. Not competing with Dropbox or the like – not that I heard, anyway – but showing that Squarespace is a true cloud solution meant to serve anyone who wants a stable, cloud-based platform to share their stuff.
“Squarespace is about your content living anywhere,” Casalena says. Whether it’s via a Squarespace-powered website, a dedicated application like Portfolio, or a simple mind-capture app like Note, Squarespace wants to make your photos and images and thoughts and blog posts accessible no matter where you are.