The Evolution of the Squarespace 6 Template Landscape

When Squarespace 6 launched four months ago, they went to market with about 16 new templates, mostly geared towards portfolios and blogs. Since then they've rolled out 10 more, mostly focused on small businesses and portfolios.

At this point Squarespace has developed over 2 dozen templates that break down like this:

  • Blog Templates: Squarespace offers 8 superb blogging templates including Native, Dovetail, Takk, Particle, Boutique, Peak, Amelie, and Five.
  • Portfolio Templates: 11 Squarespace templates facilitate vibrant portfolio websites including Jensen, Frontrow, Wexley, Ishimoto, Wells, Jirick, Qubert, Avenue, Flatiron, Atelier, and Minsk
  • Business Templates: 7 Squarespace templates provide helpful options for entrepreneurs and small businesses. These templates include Devlin, Dovetail, Peak, Aviator, Hudson, Montauk, and Five.

Some templates can function as a template for more than one type of website, which is a testament to how versatile and practical the templates of Squarespace 6 can be. One has to wonder, what's next?

What's Next for Squarespace Templates?

Personally, I think e-commerce is the next big move for Squarespace templates. They've released 10 templates since July, and most of them have been suited for businesses. They've focused on highly organized templates with deeper information architectures (e.g., Dovetail and Five), which are classic features of e-commerce websites.

The other big change for Squarespace templates has been simmering under the radar for months now. Developers who have been using Squarespace v5 for years are on the move to Squarespace 6.

Soon you'll see custom Squarespace websites developed from the ground up using the new Squarespace 6 architecture in addition to over two dozen existing Squarespace templates today.

What do you think about the templates on Squarespace 6 so far? Are you able to do everything you've wanted to do? What's lacking? What have they nailed so far?