Do You Need Coding Skills for Squarespace?

Squarespace does not require you to have any coding skills in order to create and design functional and breathtaking websites. Although it is a code-free builder, both Squarespace platforms (7.0 & 7.1) allow you to customize the platform with CSS, HTML, and even JS if you’re coding skills are more advanced. There are also a wide variety of third-party Squarespace plugins on the market that you can install onto your site if you want to add more advanced functionality that is not already there.

In this article, I’ll be walking you through how Squarespace 7.1 allows you to create websites without writing any code, and I’ll show you the various ways you can add custom CSS, HTML, and JS to your site using code blocks, the custom CSS editor, and header and footer code injections.

1. Building Pages with No Code

The Classic Editor

The classic editor in Squarespace allows users to add various and repeatable blocks to your site’s pages. The blocks include pre-coded HTML and CSS which makes it much easier for non-developers to create page designs to their liking. The classic editor is available on both Squarespace 7.0 and 7.1 sites, although they work slightly differently on each platform.

There are a total of 42 individual blocks that you can add to page sections, including buttons, text, accordion blocks, forms, images, code blocks, and more.

Unlike Squarespace 7.0, Squarespace 7.1 gives you a plethora of pre-made page section layouts to choose from, including testimonial sliders, contact forms, calendars, services, video & audio layouts, and more.

The Fluid Engine - A 2022 Addition to Squarespace

In 2022, Squarespace 7.1 released the Fluid Engine, which is the first major Squarespace 7.1 update in 10 years. The Fluid Engine gives users much more flexibility and options for placing blocks, resizing page sections, overlapping content, and overall creating layouts that were not possible with the Classic Editor.

The Fluid Engine works by dragging and placing each code block into the place you want it to be on both desktop and mobile views. With this addition to Squarespace 7.1, it is now more than ever easier to create page layouts without custom code.

Dragging and placing blocks into the layout using the Fluid Engine

InsideTheSquare has a great YouTube video that walks you through everything you need to know about using the Fluid Engine.

2. Customizing with Custom Code

Here is an overview of how and where to add custom code to your Squarespace site, but if you need a much more in-depth explanation of the various ways Squarespace allows you to add custom code, you might enjoy my other article, How and Where to Add Custom Code in Squarespace (CSS, HTML, and JavaScript), where I include descriptive examples and screenshots.

How and Where to Add Custom Code

There are 6 places where you can add custom code in Squarespace

1. Page header code injection

   If you only want to add CSS or JS code or files to a single page, you can add it to the page header code injection.

2. Site header code injection

   If you want to add CSS or JS code or files to the header of every page on your site, you can add it to the site header code injection.

3. Site footer code injection

   If you want to add CSS or JS code or files to the footer of every page on your site, you can add it to the site footer code injection.

4. Custom CSS editor

   If you want to add CSS code that applies to every page on your site, you can add it to the Custom CSS editor.

5. Code blocks

   If you want to add custom HTML, CSS, and/or JS to only one page on your site, you can add the code into a code block.

   Code blocks are the only way to add custom HTML to your Squarespace site.

6. Embed Blocks

   Embed blocks are used to add external content to your site, including links to tweets, Facebook posts, Spotify playlists or songs, and much more.

Third-Party Squarespace Plugins

If you don’t know how to code, but need some functionality that Squarespace does not offer by default, you might consider using a plugin for your Squarespace site.

Plugins are any kind of custom code addition that extends the functionality of the Squarespace platform beyond its base functionality. Plugins can be anything from a few lines of CSS to advanced JavaScript, CSS, and/or HTML solutions. As flexible and versatile as the Squarespace platform is, there is still some advanced functionality that the platform does not offer that some users and designers may require. This is a problem that third-party plugins can solve.

Most if not all plugins will come with installation instructions or an installation guide video that will walk you through how to install it on your site. Some Squarespace plugins are only compatible with the 7.0 or 7.1 platforms, and some can even be compatible with both platforms.

There are a large variety of Squarespace plugins from many different creators, including both free and paid plugins. Here are a few different plugin creators to try out:

Launch Hub Studio: Premium and Practical Squarespace Plugins & Tutorials

SQSP Themes: Premium Plugins and Trusted Support

SquareWebsites: Squarespace plugins that are powerful, beautiful, and easy to install

SquarePaste: Creative Codes for Squarespace

GhostPlugins: A Marketplace of 400+ Free and Paid Squarespace Plugins

Spark Plugin: Turn any static Squarespace website into a modern, engaging website.

Related Resources:

1. How and Where to Add Custom Code in Squarespace (CSS, HTML, and JavaScript)

2. A Complete Guide to CSS Selectors in Squarespace 7.1

3. 7 Proven Ways to Clean Up and Speed Up Custom Code - Squarespace

4. 6 Helpful Squarespace 7.1 Code Snippets and Plugins

5. How to Add, Update, and Delete jQuery in Squarespace

6. 3 Ways to Use Code Blocks in Squarespace 7.1 (with Examples)