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Building Business Websites with Squarespace 7
Building Business Websites with Squarespace 7

Building Business Websites with Squarespace 7: Master the Squarespace platform to build professional websites that boost your businesses , Second Edition

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Building Business Websites with Squarespace 7

Chapter 2. Getting Started with Squarespace

Now that you have started preparing your Website Toolkit with all the essential ingredients you'll need for your website, let's get signed up with a Squarespace account so that you can start working on your site. In this chapter, you'll learn your way around Squarespace and be introduced to the main controls that you will use to create your website. We will cover the following topics:

  • Signing up and logging into Squarespace
  • Finding your way around Squarespace
  • Understanding the main site editing and management tools
  • Adjusting basic account and site settings

Signing up for a Squarespace account


All you need in to sign up for Squarespace is a valid email address. Squarespace includes a free trial period, so you don't even a credit card to get started—you can set up payment with your credit card.

To sign up for your Squarespace account, perform following steps:

  1. Go to https://www.squarespace.com/.
  2. Click on the Get Started button.

You will then be presented with a selection of templates to choose from. Don't worry too much about choosing the right template at this point, because we'll cover templates in the next chapter. Unless the primary purpose of your website is to sell goods or services online, I recommend you choose any template except those that appear in the Online Stores category. If you will have an e-commerce site, then you should pick any template from the Online Stores category.

Note

The templates in the Online Stores category have special e-commerce features that will change the way your interface menu appears when you are logged in....

Finding your way around Squarespace


In order to familiarize with the Squarespace tools, let's take a quick tour of the main Squarespace editing areas, starting with the Squarespace Site Manager. The Site Manager is where you perform all tasks to set up and manage your website, and the Site Manager home screen is where you will land whenever you log in to your site.

The Site Manager home screen is shown here and is split into two parts:

  • Side panel: This is present on the left-hand side of the screen. This is where the different control menus appear. The side panel in this screenshot shows you the Home menu, which allows you to navigate to the main areas of Squarespace. Each area gives you access to different sets of tools. The contents of the side panel will change depending on which area you are in.
  • Preview screen: This is present on the right-hand side of the screen. This large space is where you preview your website, edit content, make adjustments, and view the results. The Preview screen...

Adjusting basic site settings


Before you get too far down the line with your project, it's a good idea to set up some of the basic things related to your website. Have your website plan your Website Toolkit handy, and let's get started.

All of the items we'll set up are in your Settings area, so log in and navigate to that area.

Inputting your Business Information

Under the General subheading of the Settings menu, click on Business Information. You might have already input some of the information here, but if not, now is the time to fill in information, such as the legal business address that you want to appear on invoices from Squarespace, plus your contact details and/or opening hours if you want to display this information to the public. Once you've finished, you can save your changes using the Save button at the top of the panel, and then use the arrow to return to the main Settings menu.

Setting your site's language and region

Open the Regional panel to set your language and time zone...

Logging in and out of Squarespace


Now that we've gone through an of the main site management areas and configured your basic settings in Squarespace, it's a good time for one stop on our introductory tour: logging in to and out of the Squarespace Site Manager.

If you've followed this chapter up until this point, you should still be logged in, so we'll cover logging out first. You can log out by following these steps:

  1. Ensure you are in the Home Menu and click on the user icon at the bottom of the side panel. This will open the Squarespace Account Center.
  2. In the top-right corner, hover over your name and click on the Logout button.

You will now be logged out and automatically directed to the Squarespace login screen.

Note

If you have cookies enabled, Squarespace will keep you logged in whenever you visit your website, even if you close your browser or shut down your computer. Therefore, always ensure you log out if you are using a shared computer.

Logging in

There are three different to log in...

Summary


You've now completed all of the essential administration setup for your site, so you are ready to start constructing your site. As mentioned in Chapter 1, Setting Up for Success - Your Website Toolkit, we'll be following a similar process to constructing a building: first, we'll put together the framework, then we'll install the core elements that make the site do what it needs to do, and lastly, we'll apply the visual finishing touches that make the site unique to you.

The next chapter focuses on one of the most critical decisions you will make in this project: choosing the right site template. The site template is what determines the overall shape of your website and what functions and structural elements it can have. In our building analogy, the template is what dictates whether the building can be a single story house, a hospital, a high-rise office building, or other type of building.

Before choosing your template, it's essential that you understand the website concepts we talked...

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Key benefits

  • ? Discover time-saving tricks and best practices, and avoid common pitfalls while creating a website
  • ? Create visually stunning Responsive Design templates for your website with Squarespace 7
  • ? Understand how to monitor, measure, and manage your website after launching it

Description

Squarespace is a web-based tool that allows non-technical people to create and manage professional-looking websites quickly, without needing to write any code. It empowers business owners to take total control of their own websites, without needing to pay someone to design or maintain it. This book covers much more than just how to use Squarespace. It covers all aspects of creating a successful business website, from developing your brand identity, to writing and structuring content to match your target audience's needs, and dozens of other other valuable tips that will help your website shine. Most importantly, you'll learn the correct steps to follow in order to ensure your project is smooth and stress-free. The book starts by helping you plan your website project and gather all the raw materials you'll need. Next, you'll set up your account and become familiar with the terminology and tools that you'll be using. Once you've learned the basics of how the Squarespace interface, templates, and different page types operate, you will create the framework of your website, ready for you to insert content and functionality. Then, once all the core elements are in place, you'll apply the aesthetic fine-tuning needed to bring your website in line with your brand. After the aesthetics have been honed and all functions tested, you will launch your website and drive traffic to it, monitor it, and improve it.

Who is this book for?

This book is ideal for anyone who wants to learn how to use the latest version of Squarespace to create a website from scratch and take it through to go-live. You don't need any prior experience with Squarespace, HTML, or CSS, or building websites in general as everything is done using Squarespace's simple, browser-based interface.

What you will learn

  • ? Develop an essential Website Toolkit that will act as reference and materials for your entire project, ensuring you stay on-target to meet your objectives
  • ? Set up your Squarespace account, learn how the interface works, and select the correct template for your website s purpose and goals
  • ? Create your website framework, fill it with content, and arrange your pages using Squarespace s easy drag-and-drop tools
  • ? Customize your site s look and feel to match your brand, and create a stunning visual impact for your website on all types of devices, including mobiles and tablets
  • ? Configure the core functions your business needs, whether connecting to social media, promoting events, showcasing your work, or selling goods and services online
  • ? Learn time-saving tricks and how to avoid common pitfalls from an experienced professional with years of Squarespace experience
  • ? Gain valuable insights about search engine optimization, communicating effectively online, and other e-marketing advice
  • ? How to monitor, measure, and manage your website post-launch

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Oct 26, 2017
Length: 454 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788396714
Vendor :
Squarespace
Languages :
Concepts :

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Product Details

Publication date : Oct 26, 2017
Length: 454 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788396714
Vendor :
Squarespace
Languages :
Concepts :

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Table of Contents

14 Chapters
Setting Up for Success - Your Website Toolkit Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Getting Started with Squarespace Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Working with Squarespace Templates Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating Your Site Framework - Pages, Items, Collections, and Navigation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Adding, Editing, and Arranging Content in Your Web Pages Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using Blocks to Add Functionality, Rich Media, and Special Features Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Selling Online or Taking Donations with Squarespace Commerce Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Tailoring Your Site's Look and Feel Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Going Live with Your Website and Driving Traffic to It Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Managing Your Squarespace Website Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Moving Beyond Standard Squarespace Tools Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Getting Help with Squarespace Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Squarespace Templates in a Nutshell Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
List of Online Resources Used in This Book Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Top Reviews
Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.1
(9 Ratings)
5 star 66.7%
4 star 11.1%
3 star 0%
2 star 11.1%
1 star 11.1%
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Richard Vito Jun 17, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Exactly what i needed.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
ER Doc May 13, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Excellent and accurate information for building website.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Laura Perrotta Jul 21, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This is an excellent book. It's very nicely written and well organized (i.e., easy to read and follow). Prior to trying to launch my new business website, I had zero experience with web design. I know Squarespace is user friendly compared to many other platforms but I was still pretty overwhelmed. This book was a huge help. I read every page and followed all of the steps outlined by the author and I'm pretty happy with the results. Actually, I'm very happy with the result. Of course, it's always a work in progress but not too shabby for my first try (lauraperrotta.com). I highly recommend this book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
R. Johnson Sep 05, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I don't often write reviews, but I like this book so much I thought I'd put in a good word for it.I'm computer-confident, but making webpages is new to me. I'm taking over responsibility for our organization's webpage that someone else created in Squarespace.I don't like watching Squarespace's tutorials. It takes too long to find the material I want.I looked at the Squarespace for Dummies book, but found it confusing and - once again - hard to find the specific info I needed.Along came this book. A breath of fresh air. Well-organized, clear. I took a chance on buying it - I'm glad I did.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
C. Lebowitz Jun 09, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The book is an excellent companion to the website and the links to additional online materials are a bonus. It's probably easier to read in paper format but the ebook works well. (I like to annotate in my own handwriting and I would have to move it out of Kindle to do so.) It is helpful to go through the Squarespace videos, first.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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