15 Things You Should Do on Your Squarespace Website Before Launching It (Checklist)

One of the advantages of using Squarespace as a platform for your website is that you can do a lot on your own in DIY mode. If you're just starting out with your project and can't afford to invest in a professional design yet, you can still create a functional website with a decent design if you put in a little time.

Now then… after working with several websites on this platform, I’ve come to realize that in every case, there’s a set of adjustments that always need to be made to get the website ready. Since I’m pretty absent-minded, and I like to streamline my work and save time, I’ve created a checklist with these adjustments so I don’t forget them when I’m in the process of finishing a client’s website. This way, I can automate the process a bit and don’t have to rely on my memory; instead, I have everything laid out in front of me and just need to check each item off as completed.

And since I think this checklist could be a useful resource for anyone just starting out on Squarespace, building their first website, or who’s been using it for a while and wants to give their site a quick review and optimize it a bit better, I decided to share it on the blog, so here it is.

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Since I like to keep everything well organized, I’ve grouped the different items on this checklist into categories based on the type of adjustment they involve. This also makes it easier to work through them, since you can move from one group to the next, rather than having to tackle everything on the list all at once.

General site settings in Squarespace

1. Remove the Squarespace credit

Squarespace includes a credit for itself in all its templates, and it does so in two ways:

• With the text “Powered by Squarespace” in the template’s footer.

• Or with a logo that generally appears at the bottom of the site as well.

Personally, I don't like to leave this on the websites I design. Even if I want to give credit to Squarespace—as you can see I did in the footer of this very website—I do so using different text and a different design, so this is something I always remove. Since there are two types of references to Squarespace that you might come across, there are two ways to remove them:

1. As for the text in the footer, it's just a block of text that we can delete with a couple of clicks.

2. To remove the badge, go to Design > Squarespace Badge and select “Turn off the Squarespace badge.”

2. Upload a favicon and a profile picture for social media

We usually remember to add a logo to our site because it’s very noticeable when we’re designing the website header, but we often forget to upload a favicon. This looks very unprofessional because you’re basically saying you don’t pay attention to the details.

In addition to the favicon, Squarespace lets you upload an image to appear as your avatar when you share on social media, especially on Facebook. Here you can add your logo, a variation of your logo such as a sub-brand, or a profile photo of yourself. On Facebook, for example, if you share a link to a post to which you’ve assigned a thumbnail image (because your blog is properly configured and optimized), that’s the image that will appear next to the link. But if you share your site’s main URL, for instance, the image you define here as “Logo for sharing on social media” will be displayed instead.

To add these two elements, go to Design > Logo and Title, and upload the images you've chosen for each.

3. Add a description of the site

That’s something you should always do to improve your website’s search engine rankings. And while I have another post about the key adjustments you should make in Squarespace to improve your website’s SEO, this is one of the most important steps you can take.

To add a description to your Squarespace site, go to Settings > SEO, and write a brief description of your business or project, making sure to include relevant keywords you want to rank for.

4. Connect to Google Analytics and Google Search Console

Squarespace includes an analytics dashboard that’s great for getting started or for keeping an eye on things day-to-day. However, if you want a bit more information about your site’s statistics, we recommend linking your website to Google Analytics.

To do this, go to your Google Analytics account and copy the tracking code provided for your site (here’s how). Once you have this code, go to Settings > Advanced > External Services > Google Analytics Account ID, , and enter your tracking code in the field that appears.

On the other hand, one really great feature Squarespace recently added is the ability to link your Google Search Console account to the Squarespace analytics dashboard. What’s the benefit of this? Well, it lets you see, right within Squarespace, data on the keywords people are searching for on Google that are driving traffic to your site. This can help you create more relevant content for your audience; in fact, it was what gave me the idea to write this post about Squarespace, which is currently on the first page (and in the top spot) on Google for its target keywords.

So, to enable this, you first need a Google Search Console account and to have added your site (here’s how to do it, or you can ask your web designer to set it up for you). Once you’ve set this up, all you have to do is verify your Squarespace site with Google Search Console: go to Settings > Connected Accounts > Connect Account > Search Console, and follow the steps to authenticate yourself just as you would with a social media account.

General blog settings in Squarespace

5. Set the blog's default URL

By default, Squarespace blogs are configured so that post URLs appear as: www.tusitio.com/blog/fecha/titulo-del-post.

For SEO purposes, it’s best to set this up without the date because it results in a cleaner, clearer URL, so this is one of the things I always change. To do this, go to Settings > Blog > Post URL Format. Here, select only %t, so that the format is set to www.tusitio.com/blog/titulo-del-post.

6. Enable blog comments

By default, blog comments are also disabled, so this is another thing you’ll need to take care of. To enable them, go to Settings > Blog > Comment Settings, and select your preferred options. If you have a Disqus account and prefer to use that commenting system instead of Squarespace’s native one (Disqus has some features that are superior to Squarespace’s commenting system), you can link it there as well.

7. Enable AMP for your site

I also mentioned this in my post about SEO on Squarespace, and it’s another adjustment I always recommend making. AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, a format that creates lightweight versions of web pages with minimal design that load faster on mobile devices.

Google prioritizes pages that have this format enabled in its search results, so if Squarespace gives you the option to enable it, it’s a good idea to take advantage of it. To enable it in Squarespace, go to Settings > Blog > Accelerated Mobile Pages, and check the box.

8. Create a template for posts

This isn't strictly necessary, but it's something I always like to do because it saves a lot of time in the long run. Basically, it involves creating a post and formatting it with everything you might need to include in your posts. Things like:

• cover image,

• an opt-in form or subscription box at the end of the post,

• call to action for sharing on social media,

• post categories,

• a summary block with related posts at the end of the post, etc.

If you use all these elements in your posts without creating a template, every time you publish a new blog post, you’ll have to add (and format) each of those elements. On the other hand, if you create a post that serves as a template, you just have to duplicate it and add the specific content for each post. For example, in my case, I currently have three categories of topics on my blog:

1. branding and design,

2. creative photography,

3. and web design on Squarespace.

Depending on the category, each post includes summary blocks at the bottom with different related posts, different subscription forms, and different assigned categories and tags. To save time, what I do is keep three different post drafts, formatted for each topic. When it came time to create this post, for example, I simply duplicated the draft for posts about Squarespace, added the text and images, changed the title and the post URL, and that was it.

So, to create your post template (or templates), all you have to do is create a new post, format it, and save it as a draft. When you need to use that template, just duplicate the post, and voilà!

9. Enable the "Share on Pinterest" option

One of the easiest things to set up on a Squarespace website is Pinterest.

There are many things you can optimize on your site for this search engine, but one of the first steps you should take is to enable the Pinterest share button. To do this, go to Marketing > Pinterest Save Buttons, and enable it for your website.

You have several options when it comes to the button's design and what content you want to allow to be "pinned."

10. Set up the social media platforms where you want your posts to be shared

This setting lets you choose the social media platforms where you want your content to be shared. In my case, for example, I’ve only enabled Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest, but there are many more options you can use.

To see all the social media platforms you can enable, go to Marketing > Share Buttons, and select the ones you think best suit your audience and your content.

11. Connect your social media accounts

In addition to the social media platforms where you want your readers to share your content, you can link any number of social media profiles you have. These linked accounts will appear as links whenever you add your social media icons anywhere on the website, or they’ll let you add your Instagram gallery with just a couple of clicks, for example.

There are many platforms available to connect to Squarespace, ranging from Spotify and iTunes accounts to VSCO and the most popular social media platforms we use. To connect the accounts where you have an online presence, go to Settings > Connected Accounts > Connect Account, and select from the list all the accounts you want to connect to your Squarespace site.

General settings for GDPR compliance on Squarespace

12. Configure the Cookie Banner

To be honest, until recently the cookie notice banner on Squarespace was a mess, but fortunately they updated it recently and now it offers more configuration options. To enable this cookie notice banner on your site, go to Settings > Cookies & Visitor Data, and select the “Enable cookie header” option .

When you check this box, the options in the toolbar will appear: Squarespace provides default text that you can change, add a link to your privacy policy, and customize various aspects of the banner's design.

13. Disable Squarespace cookies

When you enable the cookie notification bar, you'll see new options appear in the same place, a little further down, under the " Squarespace Analytics" section,

Here, I recommend that you enable “Disable Squarespace Analytics cookies” and leave “Always” unchecked . This way, non-essential cookies will be disabled until the visitor accepts your site’s cookies. If, on the other hand, you prefer to disable them permanently—regardless of whether visitors accept them or not—select “Always” as well.

14. Disable Squarespace visitor tracking

Finally, you need to disable Squarespace’s activity tracking. This cookie determines the visitor’s IP address (and thus their location) and the pages they visit, and it remains active in the browser for seven days.

To disable it, go to the same section under Settings > Cookies and Site Data and uncheck the box.

15. Add the legal notices to your website

Finally, one of the things you should always do since the GDPR took effect is to update the legal notices on your website and add a brief text to every form on your site. On Squarespace, by default, you can only do this with the Newsletter block (the newsletter subscription box), which lets you add text and links to your privacy policy. But you should also add these texts to your contact forms, for example, and here I explain in detail how to do it, because there’s a bit of a trick to it.

In addition to these short informational texts that you should include on every form on your website, keep in mind that your site must also include “Legal Notice” and “Privacy Policy” pages. And if you need help with your Squarespace website, I offer a web design service that might interest you.

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