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Building a website with Squarespace offers a balance of best-in-class design and flexibility to your needs, no matter how you start. Whether you rely on Squarespace’s designer website templates, want upfront personalization and guidance with the Blueprint AI builder, or prefer the happy medium you get with Blueprint AI templates, each option gives you a visually rich foundation that’s easy to customize. The end result is a beautiful, professional site built your way.
How to start your site ultimately comes down to what's most important to you. Below we explain the three ways you can start your website using Squarespace, reasons why you might prefer each, and what you can consider as you create and publish your new site.
Overview: How to start a Squarespace website
| Option | How it works | Best for | ||||||||
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| Designer website templates | Choose from a library of premade website templates, then transform one into your own in the Squarespace website editor. |
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| Blueprint AI builder | Answer a few guided questions about your goals, brand, and content to get tailored design recommendations and premium-quality AI content. |
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| AI templates | Share the focus of your site and get a lineup of curated template options that instantly match your industry and goals. |
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Within each option, you’ll get access to the same powerful editing tools to customize and publish your Squarespace website. Drag-and-drop on a responsive grid with Fluid Engine, refine styling choices, add visual effects, use AI features to improve your content, and more.
If you’re not sure where to start, you can always pick what feels right for now and switch if it doesn’t work out.
AI website builder
The Blueprint AI builder is an interactive, AI site-building experience that guides you through creating a fully customized website in minutes. You answer a few simple prompts about your brand personality, content needs, and style preferences and the builder generates a tailored website with your preferred layouts, color palette, and fonts—plus placeholder content that perfectly matches your unique topic.
The design system is powered by AI but informed by Squarespace’s decades of design expertise to ensure you get personalized recommendations and beautiful results every time. You’ll see previews and style options throughout the onboarding process, so you can feel confident in your choices.
Key features
Collaborative design system to stay in control
Premium-quality AI copy and imagery
Personalized layout and style recommendations
Benefits
Built around your goals through a step-by-step process
Eliminates guesswork without giving up creative control
Delivers a ready-to-customize website that reflects your brand
Squarespace GPT
Squarespace GPT is a custom GPT (generative pre-trained transformer) within ChatGPT that kicks off the Blueprint AI builder process via chatbot experience. After a short conversation with Squarespace GPT, you’ll instantly see a customized site preview based on your initial responses.
From there, you’ll be seamlessly directed into the Blueprint AI builder system, where you can review and adjust your design and layout choices before producing your personalized, professionally designed website. Squarespace GPT is like having a creative partner built into your chat window, so you can start building as soon as inspiration strikes.
Blueprint AI templates
Blueprint AI templates are generated just for you to jumpstart your website design, applying Blueprint AI-powered personalization to Squarespace's award-winning website templates. Instead of choosing from a library of predesigned templates filled with placeholder content, you get a set of templates instantly filled with relevant content based on your inputs.
You can browse a variety of layouts, styles, and site structures for your needs, with starter copy and imagery that fits your vision and helps you get a head start.
Key features
Designer-made, modern website template and layouts
Dynamic, premium-quality AI content based on your industry
Dedicated set of template options to choose from
Benefits
Personalized to you from the start
Range of website styles and structures to choose from
Quick path to start editing
Designer website templates
Squarespace’s designer website templates offer a proven way to build a site, starting with beautifully crafted, professionally designed layouts. You choose from a full library of options with different uses, aesthetics, features, and pages, then completely make one into your own.
Templates have placeholder content to get you started, but you can customize them however you want—from layout to fonts and colors to effects, images, and copy—to match your personal style and professional needs.
Key features
Library of options for every topic and site type
Fully customizable in the Squarespace editor
Color and font previews before you start
Benefits
Award-winning design quality
Fast and convenient to browse, choose, and start from
Easy to transform into your own
Tips for creating and publishing your website
No matter how you choose to start your website, a little bit of preparation can make the experience much easier. Run through these best practices before you get started to simplify your decision making when it comes time to edit and publish your site.
Set clear goals. Define what you want your website to achieve, whether it’s selling products, showcasing a portfolio, or sharing information. Having clear objectives keeps your site focused and effective.
Plan your pages. Decide which pages you need, such as Home, About, Services/Products, Blog, Contact, or Portfolio pages. Consider the flow and organization of content to make navigation intuitive.
Define your brand personality. Think about your brand’s voice, colors, typography, and imagery. Consistency in branding helps create recognition and trust with visitors.
Follow design best practices. Prioritize usability with clean layouts, readable fonts, responsive design for mobile devices, and fast-loading visuals. Use whitespace thoughtfully and avoid clutter.
Focus on the visitor experience. Make navigation simple, calls-to-action clear, and interactions intuitive. Test the site from a visitor’s perspective to ensure it’s easy to use.
Optimize for SEO and AI search. Include relevant keywords, meta descriptions, alt text for images, positive reviews, and structured headings to increase visibility.
Plan for growth and updates. Build a site that can adapt as your business or content expands. Keep content fresh and design elements flexible for future changes.
Test before launch. Preview your site on multiple devices and browsers, check links, forms, and functionality, and gather feedback to ensure everything works as you planned.
Paired with Squarespace’s industry-leading website building tools, these tips will help you lay a strong foundation for a professional website that meets your goals and resonates with your audience.