The Benefits of Premium Squarespace Templates
Not all of us are passionate DIYers, and certainly there are times when investing in a custom site build isn’t possible. In this gap, premium Squarespace templates have emerged as a semi-DIY solution, lifting the burdens of website customisation.
But what exactly are the benefits of a premium template?
This post covers:
What is a Squarespace template?
First, let’s quickly clarify what a Squarespace template is.
A Squarespace template in version 7.1 is a website template consisting of pre-selected pages, design layouts, and styles that you can customise to suit your content and brand.
For those coming from a WordPress background, templates are like WordPress themes, but with all the technical aspects tucked away so you don’t have to deal with them.
SQSP defines a template as a “starting point” for your site:
In our newest version of Squarespace [7.1], the word ‘template’ refers to the design you chose as a starting point for your new Squarespace site … Regardless of your starting template, you can customise your new version 7.1 site in any way. Since all version 7.1 sites are part of the same template family, every site has the same features and style options.
There are two types of Squarespace templates: free and premium templates.
What is a free template?
All templates provided by Squarespace are free. At the moment, you can start a new website with a free template through 2 ways:
Browse Squarespace’s template shop ↗– each template is professionally-designed by SQSP designers.
Use Squarespace Blueprint ↗, which allows you to build a custom template step-by-step. Starting with your site title and Homepage, you’ll choose your pages, and pick a colour palette and font pack. A further step gives you the option to generate draft copy with A.I. If you have your own branding, you'll want to apply your brand’s colours and fonts after you’ve gone through the Blueprint process.
Squarespace Blueprint
Both options are meant to be used as starting points only. You can replace the dummy content with your own, or further customise the design to your liking.
Approximately 3.15 million live sites are hosted on Squarespace as of December 2023, according to BuildWith. Squarespace’s free templates are beautifully designed. But with the sheer number of freelancers using these common-place templates, they have become rather generic.
What is a premium template?
Premium Squarespace Templates are site templates for sale, sold by third-party sellers. A number of Squarespace web designers create and sell templates through their own online stores or via marketplaces, like Ghost Marketplace ↗.
Among premium templates, you can find a wider range of design styles, catering to different businesses, brands, and tastes.
A lot of these template designs will be more conversion-driven than free templates as well, helping small businesses convert visitors into leads.
Premium templates can be sold any number of times, just like how there’s no limit on who can use a free template. But because fewer people are purchasing templates, you’ll achieve a much more distinctive and personalised website design.
What sets premium Squarespace templates apart?
Clearly, if you’re reading this, you’re curious why it’d even be worth shelling out money to buy a template when you can easily get one for free.
I’d need convincing, too, what with having to be a frugal spender myself amid the financial ups and downs of working in the film/TV industry.
Here are 3 key benefits of premium templates to consider. First, let’s delve into the simplicity of plug-and-play design and branding that’s offered by premium templates.
Benefit #1: Plug-and-play designs and branding
EASY PLUG-AND-PLAY
It’s quite common for premium templates to be advertised as “fully customisable”.
While this is true, the real point of buying a premium template is to be able to plug in your own content while making minimal edits. If you want to have full control over the layout and style of your website, then you should save your money and build it off a free template.
Treat premium templates like a product that requires a bit of set up, but is essentially ready to use straight out of the box. Ideally, you shouldn’t have to do much more than replace the dummy text and graphics with your own, remove elements that you don’t need, and add your brand colours and fonts.
At Tempixel, we like to call it letting our templates do the heavy-lifting for you. Of course, this ideal scenario hinges on picking the right premium template for your needs.
EFFORTLESS BRANDING
Another advantage of premium templates over free ones has to do with brand identity. Your business or personal website — i.e. your online presence — brings your brand to life and allows audiences to experience it.
A well-designed website with a clear brand identity will make it easier for your audience to recognise and remember you in a sea of competitors.
A brand identity consists of various elements that define your brand, e.g. its name, personality, communication style, and tone of voice. It also encompasses your brand’s visual identity, including your logo (if you have one), colour palette, and typographies.
Now, you might be thinking that branding doesn’t apply to you if you’re a freelancer. Well, brands exist on a wide spectrum — from giant companies, like Apple and Nike, to personal brands that apply to individuals, like freelancers and sole traders.
Just by thinking about how you want to present yourself on social media and how you want your website to look, you are engaging in the process of creating a personal brand. Even if it’s not well-crafted…
If you’re reading this, the chances are high that you don’t have loads of $$$ to pour into hiring a design agency/studio to develop and craft your brand identity. From my experience, this isn’t necessary for most freelancers in the film and theatre scenes.
Yet branding remains important. Buying a premium template allows you to get a ready-made, branded visual identity with layouts, fonts, and colours selected by a professional designer — all at a fraction of the cost of hiring one.
Which leads me to…
Benefit #2: Budget-friendly solutions
Fully customised website projects sit in the thousands of $$$ range. Whereas you can get an elevated, custom look for only a few hundred dollars. Typically, Squarespace premium templates range from US $99 (NZ $161) to US $299 (NZ $483) when not discounted. Some templates price higher.
If web design is outside your wheelhouse, buying a professionally-designed premium template will be worth the investment. Not only are you paying for a professional design, but a visual identity, and expert knowledge and support.
Depending on which template provider you buy from, your purchase may include email support, guides, content planners, and even video courses that teach you the basics of Squarespace.
Premium templates are an excellent option for small businesses and freelancers who may have designed their first website in Squarespace, but are ready for a design ‘upgrade’ on a budget.
SHOP TEMPLATES
Benefit #3: Unlock well-designed functionality
A major aspect of web design is good functionality. This ensures your visitors have a great experience on your site, and don’t click away after failing to find what they want fast enough.
A lot of thought goes into making a website that’s both visually pleasing AND intuitive for visitors to use. Hence, why there are multiple fields within web design today, including UX (user experience), UI (user interface), interaction design, information architecture, and conversion rate optimisation.
When you buy a template, the template designer has already thought about how to optimise the site’s functionality for you. This includes:
good, clear navigation
well-organised content and categories
responsiveness: optimised for mobile devices
well-placed call-to-actions (CTAs)
ADDED FEATURES
Template designers have further thought about how to make the most of the Squarespace platform. SQSP is an excellent choice for freelancers and companies in film and theatre. But like all website builders, Squarespace has some limitations.
If a missing feature is required by the template to suit its specific audience, you can be sure the designer has found a workaround or added code to meet that need.
That means you can skip the trial and error (and stress!) of figuring this out yourself.
INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC ENHANCEMENTS
Premium templates are designed for specific audiences, often within the creative fields (photography, interior design, etc) and/or for solopreneurs and small businesses.
For instance, we’ve just opened the Tempixel template store this year, with plans to add more designs soon! Our templates are designed for freelancers and companies in film and theatre. Coming from that industry ourselves, we know the particular needs of these industries. So we can incorporate the functional features we know our clients will need.
In essence, premium templates do the heavy-lifting 🏋️♀️ for you in areas of design, branding, and functionality. If you’re on a budget, this semi-DIY option can give your website a premium, custom look and feel.
I hope this post has increased your knowledge about Squarespace templates. Until next time!
