Squarespace 7.1 Blog Styling
One of the best upgrades (in my opinion) with Squarespace 7.1 is the versatility of the blog. Previously on 7.0, even within the Brine family, there were quite a bit of limitations throughout the blog–especially on the main landing page. Today I’m dishing on a few of my favorite features that can help you start a unique Squarespace blog.
One.
Blog Page Layouts
With Squarespace 7.1 there are a handful of blog page layouts that can immediately create a big impact on your main blog page. Let’s quickly go through each of these. Keep in mind, each blog layout style has its own styling section to tweak and adjust to make it feel on brand.
A popular choice right now is the alternating side by side. It gives a fresh and unique look to the traditional blog. Previously styling like this would have been very hard to achieve, so it’s wonderful that with a click-of-a-button you can now have that styling on your Squarespace blog.
Basic Grid Blog - Grid layout with fixed featured image aspect ratio–very traditional style blog.
Masonry Blog - Grid layout where image ratios are not cropped, which offers a mosaic style look.
Single Column Grid - A stacked layout featuring a main image above the post title and description. Perfect for large impact and those who have stunning imagery to show off.
Side by Side Blog - A stacked layout where images display beside the post titles and descriptions on a fixed side.
Alternating Side by Side Blog – Similar to the side by side, but each blog posts image alternates sides to give an alternating/every-other look.
two.
Ability to Add Sections to Your Main Blog Page
With Squarespace 7.0 you were allowed an intro section at the top of your blog and that was about it. Now with Squarespace 7.1 you can add numerous sections throughout the main blog page–including above and below the blog content. So if you’re a content creator this gives you so much more freedom to showcase your blog posts, offerings and more. My pro tip is 1-3 sections before the blog posts–don’t let this get too long, as you want the posts to still be the focus on this page. And then possibly 1-2 sections after the main blog posts. I love the bottom sections to be a lead to a service offering or connecting on social accounts like Pinterest.
And if you feel like you want to have a bit more structure or a traditional blog layout with a blog sidebar, I highly recommend this plugin, it’s compatible with 7.0 and 7.1.
three.
Built In Formatting for Interior Blog Posts
The ability to adjust your blog post content with in 7.0 was only doable by css, so I’m happy to see this now as a built in option in the style settings panel for Squarespace 7.1. As many of us know, having the ability to bring in the content width for blogs is key for readability. There are also a slew of other style settings that you can play around with, like the ability to easily toggle on the author profile, categories, date, meta position and so on.
All three of these features require zero css, which is a game changer, especially for businesses that are just starting out or don’t have access to a Squarespace website designer to build out a beautiful custom blog. It’s fantastic that a lot of the functionality and foundation can be done right within the settings of Squarespace–and then custom code (css) can be layered on top to really give it that wow-factor and stand out from the norm.
recap.
Examples in Real Life
Searching for a bit of inspiration for your blog? Check out a few recently designed 7.1 blogs from my clients below. Each of these have custom code to feel unique.
Lexie Hand - Featuring Alternating side by side
Tayler Ashley Photo - Basic Grid Blog
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