Speed Up Your Workflow as a Squarespace Designer with a Starter Template
As a web designer working with Squarespace, time is money everything. You don’t want to waste precious hours reinventing the wheel for every client project. That’s where a Squarespace starter template can really come in handy. When I kick off a custom build, I don’t start from scratch. Instead, I use my own personalized starter template.
In this post, I’ll show you how I’ve set up my template to save time and effort AND help clients with their website handoff. You can use these tips to create your own starter template — or if you want to save even more time, you can purchase a copy of mine. (SALE: get it for $77 $37 through September 30, 2024 with coupon code CIRCLE2024).
Streamlining Your Squarespace Workflow
When you manage multiple web design projects, the key to staying on schedule is having a solid foundation for each build. This is where starter templates come in. A Squarespace starter template lets you kick off each custom build with pre-configured design settings, helpful client resources, and key design elements already in place.
What Exactly Is a Starter Template?
A starter template is essentially a pre-built Squarespace site that you’ve set up for yourself (and can duplicate for each client). It includes your go-to sections, design settings, and placeholder content that you commonly use on all of your websites. Instead of starting fresh from a blank slate, you begin each project with a head start.
For me, my starter template includes everything I need to hit the ground running—from a “Help” page for clients, to pre-styled auto layout list sections, to a fully loaded style guide preview page.
Why a Starter Template Is a Must-Have
Here’s what makes using a starter template a no-brainer:
You save time on every project by not repeating setup steps.
Your clients get a smoother handoff, thanks to clear training resources and well-organized pages.
You reduce your mental load and can focus on the custom elements of the site rather than wondering if you already set up site spacing. 😉
A Deep Dive Into My Starter Template
When you open my starter template, it’s designed to be flexible enough to customize for each specific client. I like to refer to it as a “project toolbox” that’s fully equipped, so I never start empty-handed.
The Structure of the Template:
Client-Focused Pages: These are all about giving clients what they need when the project is done.
Designer-Focused Pages: These are ready for you to test out site styles, quickly build a link in bio page, and grab premade sections.
Essential Site Settings: Start with your preferred site spacing, animation setting, and no customizations in “assign styles.” I also strip away any unnecessary fonts, so only the fonts you’re using load for better performance.
Pre-Loaded Custom Code: My go-to snippets of CSS for Squarespace, all ready to use and adjust as needed.
Let’s walk through the key parts of the template that save me—and will save you—tons of time.
Essential Pages for Client Hand-Off
Help Page
The Help page is all about making life easier for your clients after they take control of the website. It lays out essential tips, tutorials, and resources, so they don’t feel lost.
Your client will mainly see sections like:
A quick message saying they can reach out to you if they’re feeling stuck. You can also add a link to book with you directly to cut down on emails.
Notes on how to maintain the site, like reminders to save sections before editing and always check the mobile version.
Custom walkthroughs linked for things they’ll likely tweak—not just one-size-fits-all help. Think tutorials on adding testimonials or uploading images correctly.
A heads-up about the emails they’ll get from Google Search Console after SEO setup. These can freak clients out, so I direct them to a blog post that helps them understand what’s normal.
I even provide an area showing the color palette and all the fonts used, so they have everything they need without digging into the design settings. I also store any custom code I’ve added to give them (or me) a quick backup if something goes wrong.
And it’s not just for them. As the designer, built-in offboarding steps free you from answering basic questions weeks after launch. You simply introduce them to this page and leave them with clear instructions, cutting down on emails to you when they need to replace an image or add a testimonial.
Sandbox Page
The Sandbox page is a safe space for your clients to practice. No tricks. No risks. I’ve created it without headers or footers, so clients can try their hand at editing sections without the fear of breaking the live site.
Clients love this page because they can mess around, test, and make changes without the pressure. They get to familiarize themselves with the Squarespace editor in a risk-free environment.
Later on, once they get the hang of it, they’ll feel confident to make changes on the live site.
Pages for Designer Convenience
Style Guide Page
This Squarespace style guide page is for designers only. I set it up as a visual playground to test fonts, buttons, and various color themes. In one glance, I can see how headings, paragraphs, and selected blocks look together. It’s my first stop when getting started with site customizations.
I’ve also built out primary, secondary, and tertiary buttons that you can style to make sure they look good next to each other.
Instagram Link in Bio Page
For clients who want a Link in Bio page for Instagram, I’ve got it ready to go. I’ve pre-set the structure with essential buttons and links. You just need to swap in the logo and tweak the links to point to the right sections.
Bonus points: the announcement bar and header and footer are hidden, thanks to some custom code, so it’s clean and streamlined for social media.
Extra Pages for You
Toolbox Page
The Toolbox page is a handy list of all the key services and products I use regularly on client projects. It also includes affiliate links and discount codes for services I recommend—like email marketing tools or privacy policy generators.
You can keep this page for your own use when working on projects and delete it after you duplicate the Starter Template to kick off a client’s site.
FAQ Page
You’ll also find an FAQ page that answers some questions about the starter template. If your client’s site needs an FAQ section, this pre-built page saves you time. Otherwise, delete it when you begin the design phase.
Site Settings and Custom Codes
Optimized Site Settings
I’m picky about site settings, and I have them pre-set in my starter template:
Animations are turned off by default because I rarely use them. If I do decide to add an animation, it’s easier to add them in manually as needed.
The page width max is set to 1440px, perfect for most laptop screens.
I use 6 view width margins—a subtle but effective trick to improve layout appearance on mobile devices.
Pre-Loaded Custom Code
Some common custom code snippets are included too. These snippets handle things like:
Adjusting margins on heading text so it plays neatly with other text.
Tweaking the nav hover and active states to remove default underlines and maintain clean, stylish links.
Wrapping code blocks to ensure their content is easy to read on smaller screens.
Favorite Layouts
One thing you can’t overlook is reusable sections. On the homepage, I’ve included a few of my favorite pre-built sections that I use on many client sites:
Fake headers paired with list sections make an easy way to style a header with a description underneath.
The Testimonial slider section is designed to highlight client reviews in a sleek layout, complete with headshots.
Whenever I find a design section I love and use regularly, I save it in my starter template for future use. You should, too!
Ready to Build Your Own Starter Template?
If you haven’t already, consider building your own starter template. Load it with sections you reuse often, tools you need for every project, and helpful client pages to eliminate common post-launch support questions.
Whether you design websites occasionally or manage multiple clients, having a starter template cuts out the repetitive setup work and saves you time on each builld.
Don’t Want to Start from Scratch? Purchase My Template
If creating your own starter template from scratch feels like too much work, you can always purchase my Squarespace starter template and get a head start. It’s ready for easy duplication. Once you add it to your Squarespace account, you can duplicate it as many times as you’d like to kick off your client work.
Go to my starter template shop to purchase and I’ll send you a copy to add to your Squarespace account.
Additional Resources for Squarespace Designers
Looking for more tips on how client handoffs work and how to use Help and Sandbox pages effectively? I shared detailed strategies in my 2023 Squarespace Circle Day talk. It outlines the entire process to offboard your clients with ease and turn them into Squarespace pros.
Conclusion: Scale Your Web Design Business
A Squarespace starter template is a real time-saver, helping you keep projects on track and eliminating unnecessary manual work. More than just a time-saving tool, it positions you to scale your web design business by improving the onboarding, design, and client offboarding processes.
So, what are you waiting for? Start building your custom template or get mine, and streamline your process from start to finish.
