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With These New Tools From Squarespace, It’s Easier Than Ever To Create a Gorgeous Site

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11.23.21 | By
With These New Tools From Squarespace, It’s Easier Than Ever To Create a Gorgeous Site

The miracle of online shopping is that any independent retailer can go toe-to-toe with the biggest sellers – but only if they have a website that’s made for a seamless shopping experience. To do that, you’ll need a beautifully designed site that shows off your products or services at their absolute best. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and a new suite of design tools from Squarespace is here to ensure that it’s a winning one.

In the past, creating a standout site meant hiring a web developer (and a designer, too!). Squarespace can do all of that, right out of the box, with integrated tools for building a blog or portfolio, listing products and services, and scheduling appointments, if desired. Now, new design tools give you the power to create a site that’s super-stylish and true to your brand’s aesthetic without any professional training or experience.

animated gif of new tool functionality on screen

The new Background Art feature gives you more power than ever before to create a dynamic, on-brand experience for your visitors. In the past, backgrounds were generally limited to a solid color, a photo, or a video. Now Squarespace users can choose from a variety of more modern choices, like the gradient option that automatically creates a cool ombré effect. You’ll have all of the power here, with complete flexibility in choosing the color range presented, as well as the start and end positions of the gradient. Or select another, more sophisticated animated background, which subtly give a sense of movement to your site with an array of shape and motion designs. Colors are automatically pulled from your brand’s color palette, meaning you keep a consistent style across your site. The effect is both visually enticing and technologically advanced – a combination that used to require either a ton of money, a ton of time, or both. It’s as simple as a couple clicks, and all the hard work is done automatically to grab attention and stand out online.

samples of header options

Meanwhile, the new Stylized Header tool makes it simple to create a vibrant, on-brand navigation bar for your site. In the past, it could be tricky to get a cohesive look between your header and the rest of your site. Now, it’s easy: you’ll have more style options like custom colors, which you can select independently or choose from your brand colors. A new gradient effect adds a seamless color transition to the rest of the page, and the blur option creates a frosted-glass feeling – you can select the degree of blur for a range of transparency. If you want to make the header stand out from the rest of the page, do so easily by applying the new border tool; you’ll have the flexibility to choose the color and thickness you think best suits your brand. Plus, there’s a fully customizable drop shadow tool, allowing you to pick the specific effect you like best: choose the color of the shadow, its opacity, and its length.

collage of screen captures

Photos are a key design element on most websites: they instantly communicate your aesthetic, brand values, and if you’re a seller, your product or service details. Now, Squarespace’s enhanced suite of Image Masks make it easy to present images with a sophisticated, unique approach. Image Masks can be applied to your photos in three common aspect ratios: 1:1, 2:3, and 3:2. When using these standard sizes, it’s ultra-easy to apply an Image Mask in a dozen different shapes, including a square, diamond, hourglass, octagon, and more. You can think of them as a sort of cookie-cutter tool for your photos – easily cropping them to look more interesting. Want something simple but professional? You can also round individual corners of your image in a flash, adding a contemporary touch to your photos with no hassle.

A beautifully designed website is your calling card. Squarespace offers built-in chic animated backgrounds, customized headers, and creative image shapes that can now be easily integrated into your site’s design at no additional cost. Show the world what your brand has to offer – and look good doing it – with these powerful, flexible tools.

If you’re ready to share your own vision with the world, or building a new brand, take the first step today with Squarespace. Start your free two week trial and use coupon code DESIGNMILK when you’re ready to get 10% off your first domain.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.