Upgrading Your Squarespace Website from 7.0 to 7.1 – What You Need to Know
Like anything else in tech, what was current for a website a couple of years ago may now be lagging behind in terms of features and functionality. Squarespace released version 7.1 in 2020, and many studio owners are now wondering if a redesign is in order.
While updating your website by doing a light clean-up is an option, one of the primary reasons to strongly consider investing in a complete redesign project is that your website can be moved to the new version of Squarespace, which is where Squarespace is putting all the new features.
Here are some FAQs that break down these changes to help you decide if now is the right time for a redesign.
What is Squarespace Version 7.1?
Squarespace released v 7.1 in 2020 with more robust design capabilities. This means less custom code to get things looking the way you want, and it will be faster for you to add pages and make changes in the future!
Most 7.0 sites rely heavily on index pages, which can get clunky and make it hard to keep up with modern design layouts. In v. 7.1, there are no more index pages, and you can add alternating colored sections to the same page. If you’re already comfortable with editing on version 7.0, you’ll be able to learn the differences in 7.1 easily.
Find out what version of Squarespace you're currently on by navigating to Website / Pages / and scroll to the bottom.
How do I know what version I’m on?
To check your site's version, open the Pages panel for your site and scroll to the bottom of the panel.
Is It Worth the Hassle to upgrade to 7.1?
The short answer is yes—it definitely is. Although Squarespace has no plans to sunset version 7.0, new features are only being added to 7.1. You’ll find that you can build and update pages much faster, saving time every time you change a website for years to come.
Here are a few of my favorite Squarespace 7.1 features:
#1. Saved Sections
Do you like a current layout and want to use it on a different page? You can save that section to your favorites library and add it to any other spot on your website as a starting point for your new content. This saves a ton of time and also helps keep your site design consistent.
#2. List Sections
List sections allow you to build and manage organized content grids (think team pages or pricing cards) and create carousels of content groups (think testimonials + photos). Having large groups of content built as list sections makes it much easier to maintain design formatting as you add and remove content.
#3. Section Color Themes
Do you want a dark background with white text, a white background with grey text, and a blue background with white text? In v. 7.1 you can do this with just a couple clicks. Your brand colors are set site-wide, and then Squarespace creates various colorways you can apply to different sections to suit your design. (don’t worry, you can also manually over-ride them to get them exactly right!) This saves a lot of custom code that was needed to do this in v 7.0.
Also, as technologies, services, brand goals and design trends change and your business evolves, most businesses need a website refresh or redesign every three to five years. If you plan to upgrade to the latest version of Squarespace, this is the perfect time to do some housekeeping and evaluate whether your website still supports your business goals.
Here’s how to do that review:
Analyze which pages still serve your business and which are just digital clutter.
Clarify (and possibly simplify) your sitemap and customer flow.
Refresh your website look and update photos throughout.
Evaluate how your SEO is performing and re-optimize your content for search.
How Do I Upgrade My Current 7.0 Site?
Yes, you can upgrade your existing 7.0 site to 7.1 in just a few clicks!
An important note when upgrading: Be aware that your design on every page must be adjusted!
This means going page by page and cleaning things up. Additionally, if you have a lot of custom code on your current site, that will not translate to the new site so custom styling or elements will break.
If you hit the upgrade button, be sure to set aside some time to work on your site. You’ll need to fine-tune things and simultaneously learn how editing works on the new version.
Squarespace 7.0 to 7.1 upgrade demo
Wondering exactly what will happen if you hit the upgrade button? Watch the video to see me upgrade a Pilates studio website from 7.0 to 7.1. You’ll see how the design changes and what needs to be done to clean up the new site before publishing.
Ready to Get Started?
Working with a Squarespace designer is a great way to go through all these updates and give new life to your website so it’s ready to serve you for years to come.
Pixality Design offers a full suite of website design services. Learn more about how we can help with your Squarespace upgrade and more here.
