Let’s revisit Squarespace! I’ve already wrestled with it once before; if you’re interested in reading about that Gong Show, I wrote a post about it.
Login to LinkedIn Learning
Today, I will report on the most up-to-date Squarespace course for beginners available on LinkedIn Learning. Your best bet for finding it is to use the search bar at the top of the page and type in “Squarespace”, then filter the search results for “Courses”. There will only be a handful of results. The one you want is titled Squarespace Essential Training: The Basics by Jen Kramer. Or, you can simply follow this link.
Version 7.1 Released In 2020
This course was released in March 2023 and teaches everything you need to know to get started on Squarespace version 7.1. This version was rolled out in 2020 and is still the most current version of Squarespace as of this writing in 2024.
A Hands-on Course For Beginners
Before we get started, let’s make sure you are in the right place. If you are brand new to Squarespace then just jump right into this course. The course is designed for beginners like you! Squarespace is a no-code website builder, which means you do not need to know a lick of HTML, CSS or any other acronyms to create a visually stunning website.
Version 7.0 Prior to 2020
If you dabbled in Squarespace prior to 2020 then be aware that things will look quite a bit different now. You would most likely have been using version 7.0, which was launched in 2014. See my previous blog post, Spaced Out With Squarespace, to read my ramblings about being lost and confused about Squarespace versions (completely optional reading!).
In spite of the differences, I think you will find that most of the basics have remained the same and you will get up to speed in no time.
What If I Already Have A Squarespace Website?
If you already have a Squarespace website that was created using version 7.0 (i.e. before 2020), then you might want to carefully read through this guide on Squarespace’s blog about updating your site from version 7.0 to 7.1. They have an update tool to help you with this process.
Course Summary
I love LinkedIn Learning courses! They have top-notch instructors and well-constructed courses. This course is hands-on, so you will need to sign up with Squarespace and follow along as the instructor walks you step-by-step through building a website for an imaginary photography business.
Create a Squarespace Account
If you are not yet signed up with Squarespace, don’t worry; after a brief introduction and overview of the project, the instructor will walk you through the sign-up process.
Note: Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial, so I highly recommend NOT signing up until you are ready to set some solid, uninterrupted time aside to work through the course. The course is only about two and a half hours long but you might not want to plow through the whole thing in one sitting. It covers a lot of information so you might prefer to complete it over the course of several days.
Download Text and Images
Another thing that’s great about LinkedIn Learning courses is that they often provide “Exercise Files” that you can download as a supplement to the course. In this case, you are provided with the text and images you will need to create your imaginary photography business website. So you don’t need to worry about creating your own content; it’s all provided for you. You can just focus on learning how to use the platform.
Build a Website Step By Step
By the end of the course, you will know how to:
- choose fonts and colours
- set up your site’s header and footer
- add pages
- work with page sections
- add text and images
- design both desktop and mobile views
- add links, buttons and videos
- add a contact form
- choose the right payment plan for your needs and publish your website
- share your website in trial mode before publishing
Next Steps
So now that’s two website builders under our belts: first Wix, and now Squarespace. A third builder I’d like to learn how to use is WordPress. I’ll start exploring that in a future post. Stay tuned!
Feature image credit: Dhruv on Unsplash