Building Business Websites with Squarespace 7

Cover
Copyright
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Setting Up for Success - Your Website Toolkit
	Understanding the process of making a website
	Understanding website concepts
		Structure
		Functions
		Content
		Aesthetics
	Writing a website plan
		About your business
			Business overview (the "elevator pitch")
			Slogan (also known as, tagline or strapline)
			Brand image
		About your audience
			Your customers (the site's target audience)
			Primary purpose
		About your website
			Goals
			Functions
			Content
			Integration
			Site management
		About this project
			Project team
			Project timelines
			Project budget
	Gathering materials, ideas, and inspiration
		Creating idea boards
			Website inspiration
			Other resources for inspiration
	Creating a sitemap
		Don't make your customers work hard
		Break it down
		Keep it simple
		Consider action words
		Include notes or wireframes
	Gathering raw materials
		Branding
			Logo
			Colors
			Fonts
		Text content
		Photos
		Downloads
		Videos or audio streams
	Summary
Chapter 2: Getting Started with Squarespace
	Signing up for a Squarespace account
	Finding your way around Squarespace
		Understanding the Site Manager interface
			Understanding annotations
			Using the Home Menu
		Using the Pages area
		Using the Design area
		Using the Commerce area
		Using the Analytics area
		Settings
	Adjusting basic site settings
		Inputting your Business Information
		Setting your site's language and region
		Changing the built-in domain
			Setting up the SEO options
		Keeping your site private until its launch
		Setting up your subscription plan and billing
			Choosing the right subscription plan
				The Personal plan - the cheapest Website plan
				The Business plan - the higher Website plan
				The Basic Commerce plan
				The Advanced Commerce plan
			Setting up your billing information
	Logging in and out of Squarespace
		Logging in
			Logging in by pressing Esc
			Accessing your site's login page
			Logging in via the Squarespace site
	Summary
Chapter 3: Working with Squarespace Templates
	Understanding Squarespace templates
		Characteristics of a Squarespace template
			Page structure
				Canvas
				Header
				Body
				Footer
				Sidebar(s)
			Visual style
			Special features
				Different homepage
				Secondary navigation area
				Index page
				Variable banner images
				Promoted Blocks in blog posts
				Navigation customization
	Choosing the right Squarespace template for your site
		Selecting the best template for your needs
			Step 1: Consider the site's primary purpose and important functions
			Step 2: List the special features that you want
			Step 3: Identify the page structure you like best
			Step 4: Refer back to your brand and content
		An overview of the different Squarespace templates
		Understanding template families
			Comparing templates
		Browsing templates and their example sites
			Important points to remember when browsing templates
			Using the template's Read Me page
		Trying out a new template for your site
			Installing and previewing a new template
		Narrowing down your template choices
			Fullscreen preview
			The Style Editor
			The Pages panel
		Getting stuck on choosing a template
		Applying your chosen template to your site
			Making a template live
	Summary
Chapter 4: Creating Your Site Framework - Pages, Items, Collections, and Navigation
	Understanding Squarespace pages
		Standard page
		Collection Page
		Cover Page
		Page cluster
		Special properties of Collection Pages
	Adding pages to your site
		Using the Pages panel
		Understanding your template's unique way of displaying page elements
		Using demo pages to create new pages
		Standard Page Settings
			Navigation Title
			Page Title
			The Enabled checkbox
			Page Layout
			Page Description
			URL Slug
			Password
			Page Controls
			Media Settings - Banner/Thumbnail Image or Video
			Page Settings action buttons
	Creating new pages
		Using Starter Layouts and blank standard pages
		Creating Collection Pages
		Collection Page Settings
			Blog Page Settings
			Gallery/Project Page Settings
			Events Page Settings
			Index Page Settings
			Products Page Settings
			Album Page Settings
		Adding items to Collection Pages
			Configuring the item settings
				Blog post settings
				Event settings
				Gallery image settings
				Gallery video settings
				Product settings
				Album track settings
			Organizing items in Gallery, Products, or Album Pages
			Moving Blog posts
			Deleting items
		Creating a Cover Page
			Setting up your Cover Page
	Organizing your site's navigation
		Folder settings
		Creating an Index
			Index settings
		Rearranging pages
			Adding pages to a Folder or Index
			Opening and closing Folders or Indexes
			Adding pages to a secondary navigation area
		Removing pages from your site
			Disabling pages
			Storing pages for later
			Deleting pages
				Moving pages to the Recycle Bin
				Restoring a page from the Recycle Bin
		Adding external site links to your site navigation
			Adding social media profile links
			Adding links to third-party sites
	Summary
Chapter 5: Adding, Editing, and Arranging Content in Your Web Pages
	Understanding blocks
	Adding and removing blocks
		Adding a block
		Removing blocks
	Adding basic content to your pages
		Adding and formatting text using Text Blocks
		Adding images using Image Blocks
			Using stock images from Getty Images
	Arranging blocks on the page
		Moving a block to another position on the page
		Canceling a move or other adjustment
		Understanding fluid layouts and responsive design
			Responsive design, image sizes, and screen resolutions
		Adjusting the size of blocks and columns
			Adjusting the width of columns, adjacent blocks, or wrapping blocks
			Using Spacer and Line Blocks to fine-tune layouts
				Adjusting the height of a Spacer Block
	Adjusting images in Squarespace
		Cropping and zooming images with LayoutEngine
		Adjusting the Focal Point of images
		Using the Adobe Creative Cloud Image Editor
	Adding content to sidebars or footers
		Adding or editing content in a footer
		Adding or editing content in a sidebar
			Enabling a sidebar
	Adding links that point to web pages or files
		Assigning a link to word(s) in a Text Block
		Assigning a link to an image
		Creating a Button on your page
	Summary
Chapter 6: Using Blocks to Add Functionality, Rich Media, and Special Features
	Adding images - beyond the standard Image Block
		Gallery Blocks
			Adding a Gallery Block
		Adding galleries from external photo-sharing websites
			Adding a gallery from Flickr, Instagram, or 500px
	Embedding video into your pages
	Adding a Google Map to your site
	Capturing data and handling enquiries on your website
		Using forms
			Adding a form to your page
				Using the Build section in the Form Editor
				Setting the Storage preferences in the Form Editor
				Customizing the Advanced settings in the Form Editor
		Using Newsletter Blocks
	Using content blocks to improve internal navigation and highlight content
		Adding a search box
		Displaying sorted lists of items
			Displaying a list of tags or categories as a cloud
			Displaying date-based lists in a calendar format
		Using Content Link Blocks
		Using Summary Blocks - the most powerful of blocks
			Creative ways to use Summary Blocks
				Featuring and filtering content
				Bypassing template design restrictions
			Summary Block design options
				Grid
				List
				Carousel
				Wall
			Summary Block filtering and display options
	Inserting sales or donation blocks to make transactions fast and easy
		Using Amazon Blocks
	Displaying a price list
		Using Menu Blocks
	Adding audio to your website
		Using the Audio Block
			Additional settings for podcasting
		Using the Soundcloud Block
	Adding a Twitter feed
	Displaying charts and graphs
	Other types of block
	Summary
Chapter 7: Selling Online or Taking Donations with Squarespace Commerce
	Setting up Squarespace Commerce
		Restrictions on Squarespace Commerce
			The currency and location of your business
			The right Squarespace subscription plan
		Gathering your store content
		Configuring your store
			General Settings
			Payments
			Connecting to Stripe
			Connecting to PayPal
			Checkout
			Notifications
			Shipping
			Taxes
				Setting up a new country tax rule
				Setting up a new state/province tax rule
				Setting up a local area tax based on postal/zip codes
			Accounting
			Donations
	Creating and managing products
		Product types
		Adding product items
		Duplicating products
		Removing or rearranging products
		Importing products from Big Cartel, Etsy, or Shopify
		Managing products using Inventory
	Testing your store
	Handling orders
		Processing orders quickly or in bulk
		Using Order Summary
	Customers
	Promoting products and offering discounts
		Using Product Blocks to enable quick purchases from anywhere on your site
		Using Summary Blocks to showcase featured products
		Offering and promoting discounts
			Discounts
			Using the Announcement Bar to highlight discount codes
	Setting up and managing donations
		Adding a Donation Block
		Testing donations
		Viewing and exporting donations received
	Handling transactions without Squarespace Commerce
	Summary
Chapter 8: Tailoring Your Site's Look and Feel
	Understanding Squarespace template customization
		Finding your way around the Style Editor
			Selecting an element for adjustment
			Saving changes in the Style Editor
			Testing your template customizations
			Resetting the template
			Switching templates with customizations applied
	Working with fonts and typography
		Choosing fonts
		Using fonts on your website
		Other typography settings
		Applying typography changes to your template
		Easier ways to find, compare, or match fonts
			Using Google or Adobe Typekit font-finders
				Google Fonts
				Adobe Typekit
			Finding fonts that are similar to other fonts
	Adding or creating a logo in Squarespace
		Creating a text-based logo in Squarespace
		Designing your own logo using Squarespace Logo
		Adding an image-based logo to your site
			Adjusting logo size and positioning
	Adjusting your website's color scheme
		Tools and resources for choosing colors
			Color picker tools
			Resources for color schemes and color inspiration
		Controlling the color and opacity of page elements
	Using background or header images
		Adding a sitewide background or banner image
		Adding banner images or videos to individual pages
			Adding a banner image to a page
			Using a video as a page banner
	Adjusting an element's size, position, visibility, or other options
		Controlling element visibility and other options
	Adjusting Cover Page styles
	Summary
Chapter 9: Going Live with Your Website and Driving Traffic to It
	Connecting to social media accounts
		Setting up Connected Accounts
		Displaying social icons
			Using a Social Links Block
			Showing or hiding individual social icons
	Enabling social sharing on your website
	Making Pinterest social sharing easier
	Adjusting the final details in your site settings
		Adding a Browser Icon (Favicon)
		Adding a Social Sharing Logo
		Using Google Analytics with your Squarespace site
		Adjusting SEO settings: description, title, and URL formats
			Configuring blog settings
	Testing your site before launch
		Verify that your site works at all sizes
		Fine-tune your site and page elements with SEO in mind
		Thoroughly test all of your site functions
		Ensure your media files look the way they should
		Look out for broken links
		Double-check your tags and categories
			Verify that your social blocks are automatically pulling in fresh content
	Making your website live to the public
		Removing site-wide password protection
		Setting up a custom domain
			Registering a new domain through Squarespace
			Pointing an existing domain name
			Transferring an existing domain name
				Moving from an existing website to Squarespace
			Using custom email addresses with your custom domain
			Managing your domain and URLs
	Driving traffic to your website
		Making your website visible to Google and other search engines
		Using social media to drive traffic to your site
			Automatically promoting news or blog posts
				Enabling the push option
				Pushing a blog post to a social site
			Displaying a Squarespace page or Gallery in your Facebook page
	Summary
Chapter 10: Managing Your Squarespace Website
	Monitoring visitors and activity on your website
		Understanding your website traffic
		Finding out where your visitors came from
		Finding out what's popular on your website
		Commerce Analytics reports
		Gaining insight into your website sales
		Getting an overview of missed sales
		Other Analytics reports
	Managing comments on your blog
		Approving comments
		Replying to comments
		Deleting comments
		Handling flagged comments
	Giving other people access to edit, monitor, or administer your website
		Adding a Contributor
			Modifying, canceling, or resending a contributor's invitation
		Adding a Basic Author
		Setting up contributor or author Profiles
		Modifying or removing an author or contributor's permissions
	Using floating bars on your website
		Using an Announcement Bar to highlight important information
		Making it easier for mobile site visitors to reach you
	Using Squarespace mobile apps
		Blog
		Analytics
		Commerce
		Portfolio
		Note
	Summary
Chapter 11: Moving Beyond Standard Squarespace Tools
	Understanding advanced customization options
		Learning the basics and finding code to use
			Using the Squarespace Help Center
			Using the Squarespace Answers forum
		Types of code customization
			Code Block
			CSS Editor
		Sitewide code injection
			Per-page code injection
	Accessing more advanced resources
		Joining the Squarespace Circle
		Gaining total control with the Squarespace Developer Platform
		Finding Squarespace experts, designers, and developers
	Summary
Appendix A: Getting Help with Squarespace
	Knowledge Base
	Community Answers
	Open a support ticket for 24/7 email support
	Live chat
	Twitter
	Squarespace Authorized Trainers
Appendix B: Squarespace Templates in a Nutshell
Appendix C: List of Online Resources Used in This Book
Index