Squarespace 7.0 vs 7.1 - What's Different?
Well, Squarespace 7.1 is here. And it’s here to stay. After a recent soft launch, Squarespace announced that it will move all new Squarespace users to start on 7.1 before the end of 2019. This means that in 2020, all new Squarespace sites will begin on the uni-template that is 7.1.
If you’re a Squarespace Circle member, or your website designer is, then you will be able to create a site with either 7.0 or 7.1 for the foreseeable, according to the team at Squarespace. This is a good thing as the quick turnaround could have left designers scrabbling around trying to learn a new system which has some new features - but also some that have been lost along the way.
I know when I first opened up the new 7.1 I felt very overwhelmed. But if this is the direction Squarespace are moving in, it certainly pays to keep up with it.
So, I’ve taken some time to really dig into the new system and take a nosy at what’s changed. Here’s my table of the key differences between Squarespace 7.0 and the new 7.1…
| Feature | Notes | Squarespace 7.0? | Squarespace 7.1? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary Navigation | A popular feature that enables a 'split' menu in the header. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Parallax | Creates moving section background on scroll. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Anchor Links | Jump to linked sections within a longer page | ✔ | ✘ |
| Blog editing - in page | Allows for much easier editing of blogs. A definite for regular bloggers. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Gallery Blocks | Reduced functionality for images in 7.1 with no gallery blocks = fewer fancy features such as slideshows. This also means there is no gallery overlays such as titles, buttons and descriptions like those in Brine (7.0). | ✔ | ✘ |
| Cover Pages | Single landing pages. This function can be mocked with some quick code on a normal code for both 7.0 and 7.1. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Developer Mode | Popular for web developers although not necessary for many sites. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Search in the Navigation | Search icon in the menu. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Mobile Editing | Brine template in 7.0 allows editing of lots of different aspects such as the breakpoint. This is limited to logo editing in 7.1. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Sidebar | Bedford template in 7.0 allows beautiful sidebars perfect for keen bloggers. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Page Builder | Squarespace 7.1 offers a much improved and varied page builder. Watch out though - no duplicates or anchor links! | ✔ | ✔ |
| Duplicate Sections | Easily replicate page sections for speed and ease. | ✔ | ✘ |
| Buttons | Style buttons to match your branding. 7.1 allows only one option whereas 7.0 makes room for up to three different options for various places on your website. | Up to three | One |
| Styling Groups | Easily bulk edit. Although easier, this is limited in 7.1. 7.0 does the same functions (and more) - just not all wrapped up neatly with a bow. | ✘ | ✔ |
| Templates | The foundation of your Squarespace website. | Multiple | One |
| Portfolio Animation | 7.1 introduces portfolio pages to replace gallery pages. In these pages you can now add hover effects - there's only a couple of options available at the moment though! | ✘ | ✔ |
| Simple Section Styling | We see 7.1 adds in editable height, colour backgrounds and widths to sections. To achieve the same functions in 7.0 you would have to play around with custom code, the style editor and spacing blocks. | ✘ | ✔ |
Squarespace is continuing to update 7.1 with some of our favourite features that are currently missing - so watch out for changes over the coming weeks and months. I’ll be sure to update this table as and when these come in. Please do comment below or drop me a message if there is anything I have missed, I would really appreciate it!
In the meantime, I hope this brings some clarity to any confusion you might be having about the new update.
Here’s to the future, Squarespace 7.1 🔮🥂
