Before you start: Is Squarespace right for you?
Squarespace is an excellent fit for service providers, creatives, and SMEs who want a professional online presence with minimal technical overhead. If you're still weighing up whether the platform suits your specific situation — shop requirements, multilingual needs, scalability — the detailed Squarespace evaluation for Swiss SMEs covers all of that before you dive into setup.
Step 1: Register and find the perfect template
Browse the template shop: Use the preview function to get a feel for the layout and structure of the different designs.
Focus on the layout, not the content: Ignore the demo images, colors and texts. After that, depending on the domain ending, costs between around CHF 20 and around CHF 70 per year will be incurred.
Step 2: The Squarespace Cockpit – The editor in detail
Squarespace's modern editor is called «Fluid Engine» and is a significant advance over older versions.
Step 3: The basic framework – create pages and build navigation
1.
- All pages here automatically appear in the main menu of your website (e.g. “Home”, “About us”, “Services”, “Contact”)
2. To create a drop-down menu, simply drag a page slightly to the right under another page.
- Pages are live and accessible with a direct link, but do not appear in the navigation <p>Each page of your website consists of horizontal sections, which in turn are filled with blocks.
- Ideal for: legal pages, campaign landing pages, “thank you” pages or pages in progress
3.
- Blank page: Completely blank canvas Click “Add Block” in a section to open the block menu.
- Page layouts: Predefined layouts for “Contact”, “About us” or “Team” The most important blocks are:
- Collection Pages: Blog or portfolio pages that organize subpages
You can change the order of the pages using drag-and-drop.
Step 4: Bring content to life with sections and blocks
Sections: In edit mode, click on «Add Section» between two sections to create a new section. You create these in the side panel.
- Text: For paragraphs, headings and lists
- Image: For uploading individual images
- Gallery: For attractive presentations of several images
- Button: For clear calls to action (call-to-actions)
- Form: To collect contact requests and registrations
- Video & Audio: For embedding media from YouTube or for podcasts Main navigation Add pages Each section can have its own background (color, image or video) and layout.<p><strong>Blocks: Blocks are the building blocks of your content. This panel is divided into two crucial areas whose function you should definitely know:
- Overview block: A powerful block that summarizes content from other sites
Step 5: Your design, your brand – adjust colors, fonts and styles
A records: Creates four new A records that point to the IP addresses specified by Squarespace. After saving, it may take 24 to 48 hours for the connection to be active worldwide.
1. <p>The final step is the most exciting: presenting your website to the world.
- Your central tool for a consistent and professional look - under Design > Website Styles colors
2.
- Choose a font pack that suits your brand
- Adjusts the font, size and weight for each text layer individually More global styles This is often the cheaper and more flexible option. The design panel
- For maximum brand consistency, you can upload your own font files
3. After uploading, you need to add a small CSS code to assign the font to the desired elements.
- Choose a predefined color palette or create your own with branded colors <p>Having your own domain is essential for a professional appearance.
- Assigns different “themes” (light, dark, accent) to individual sections You have two options:<p><strong>Option 1 – Register domain with Squarespace: This is the easiest way - but unfortunately this is not yet possible for Swiss domains with the .ch or .swiss ending.
4. If you take out an annual plan, the domain is free for the first year.<p><strong>Option 2 - Connect external domain: If you already have a domain with another provider such as Hostpoint, Infomaniak or Green, you can connect it to your Squarespace website.
- Animations for loading elements
- Globally set spacing between elements and button design
Upload your own fonts: For maximum brand consistency, you can upload your own font files (e.g. .ttf, .woff) via Design > Custom CSS > Custom Files.
Step 6: Connect the domain - your address on the network
First CNAME entry: A unique code that points to verify.squarespace.com - for verification.
Second CNAME entry: The host «www» must be on ext-cust.squarespace.com
Step 7: Go Live — Publish Your Website
The last step is the most exciting: presenting your website to the world.
Pre-launch checklist
- Checks every page on mobile devices (smartphone, tablet)
- Click on every link and button to make sure they work
- Fill out your contact form as a test
- Proofread all texts again
Switch from “Private” to “Public”.
- Navigates to Settings > Site Availability
- Private: The default for test websites - only invited contributors see the page
- Password protected: Ideal for showing to selected people before launch
- Public: Your website is visible to everyone and is indexed by search engines
To select “Public”, you must first take out a paid subscription. Select “Public” and click “Save”. Congratulations, your website is now live.
You want to put your new Squarespace website online? This ultimate go-live checklist for Swiss SMEs helps you ensure that the launch goes smoothly.
In-depth: Mastering popular use cases
With the basics you can already create an impressive website. Here are two detailed guides for the most popular use cases.
Excursus 1: Creating a professional blog with Squarespace
Squarespace is an excellent platform for bloggers who value design.
- Add Blog Page: Creates a new Blog page from the Pages menu as your blog overview page
- Create posts: Click on your blog page in the page panel and use the + button for new posts. Each post is like its own little page
- Organization with categories & tags: Uses categories for rough classification (e.g. “Marketing”, “Design”) and tags for specific keywords (e.g. “SEO”, “Color Theory”)
- Customize blog design: Click on «Edit section» to configure layout (grid, list), excerpts and «Read more» links
Excursus 2: Set up an online shop and sell products
With the business and e-commerce tariffs, your website becomes a powerful online shop.
- Basics: Make sure you have chosen at least the business tariff. An e-commerce plan is required for commission-free sales
- Add Shop Page and Products: Adds a Shop page and creates physical products, digital downloads, services, or gift cards
- Connect payment provider: Connect your account to Stripe (credit cards, Apple Pay) and/oder PayPal under Settings > Payments
- Set up shipping and taxes: Defines shipping zones and costs, stores VAT rates for different countries
- The first sale: Draw attention to your products via social media or discount campaigns
After the launch: How your website will be found on Google (SEO checklist)
A common myth is that modular systems like Squarespace are bad for search engine optimization (SEO). This is outdated and simply wrong. In fact, Squarespace offers an excellent technical foundation for SEO and integrates all the important tools directly into the user interface - without any additional plugins like WordPress. The platform automatically takes care of a clean HTML structure, the creation of a sitemap.xml, SSL encryption and mobile-friendly designs.
Squarespace's integrated approach is a conscious design decision. Instead of overwhelming you with selecting and configuring dozens of SEO plugins, the 80% of the functions that 90% of users need are already available and easily accessible.
Global site settings
- Set page title and SEO description under Marketing > SEO Checklist
- Connect Google Search Console to see how Google perceives your site
- Favicon under Design > Upload browser icon
Optimization of each individual page
- Enter SEO title and description per page in the gear symbol > SEO tab
- Upload social sharing images in the social media tab
Optimizing your content
- Keyword strategy: Research which terms your target group enters into Google
- Heading structure: Uses H1, H2, H3 hierarchically - only one H1 per page
- Alt text for images: Briefly describes what can be seen in the image
Local SEO for local businesses
- Connect to the Google Business Profile under Marketing > Location Management
- Synchronize address and opening times for better visibility in local searches
How does Squarespace compare to other platforms?
If you've followed this guide to the end, you're ready to build. But if you're still weighing Squarespace against Wix, WordPress, or a custom build, the Squarespace evaluation for Swiss SMEs covers the full comparison — costs, TWINT, multilingual, and when another platform is the smarter choice.
Prefer to have it built professionally?
Prefer to have your Squarespace site built professionally? A brief conversation will clarify which approach fits your situation — DIY, agency-built, or a hybrid where you handle content and we handle the technical setup.
- <a href='/en/contact'>Get in touch for a free consultation</a> — no sales pressure, just an honest assessment of what makes sense for your project
Conclusion: Your Squarespace website is ready to build
This guide has walked you through every step from registration to go-live: template selection, the Fluid Engine editor, page structure, design customisation, domain connection, and the SEO checklist that keeps your site findable after launch.
Squarespace removes the technical hurdles without removing your creative control. The Fluid Engine, Blueprint AI, and built-in SEO tools give you a professional starting point — whether you're building a portfolio, a service site, or a small shop. The 14-day free trial is the best way to test whether the workflow fits how you think.
For additional support, Noevu's Squarespace team is available for everything from a one-time review to a full professional build.
Not sure if everything is set up correctly? Book a free online consultation for a professional review of your website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Squarespace really free?
No. Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial to try everything out. However, to publish your website and get it online, you need a paid subscription. There is no permanent free plan.
Can I use my domain from another provider (e.g. Hostpoint, Infomaniak) with Squarespace?
Yes, absolutely. You don't have to buy your domain from Squarespace. You can connect an existing domain from any provider to your Squarespace website via DNS settings.
Do I get an email address for my domain?
No, a professional email address (e.g. [email protected]) is not included in Squarespace plans. However, you can purchase it as an add-on through a partnership with Google Workspace, which incurs an additional monthly cost.
How good is Squarespace's customer service?
Squarespace's customer service has a good reputation. He is available 24/7 via live chat (English) and email. Email support is also offered in German.
Can I change my template later?
In the current version 7.1, “changing” the template is no longer necessary, as all designs have the same functions and are completely customizable. You can completely change the look of your site at any time using the Website Styles panel.
Is Squarespace GDPR compliant?
Squarespace as a US company provides the technical tools to operate a GDPR-compliant website (e.g. cookie banners, SSL encryption). However, the responsibility for the correct implementation - such as creating a correct legal notice and a data protection declaration - lies with you as the website operator.
Can I switch from Squarespace to WordPress?
Yes, a change is possible in principle. However, Squarespace's export capabilities are limited. You can export your blog posts, pages and comments as an XML file, but elements such as products, theme settings or special blocks must be recreated manually. But this is the case with practically every CMS change.
