Twelve Squarespace Sites Worth Studying Before You Redesign

A website redesign can be exciting, but it can also become expensive and complicated if you start changing things without a clear direction. Before choosing new colors, replacing your images, or searching through dozens of templates, it helps to study websites that already solve common design problems effectively.

Looking at the best Squarespace websites can give you useful ideas for navigation, typography, page structure, calls to action, content organization, and mobile layouts.

The goal is not to copy another website. Instead, use strong Squarespace examples to understand why certain design choices work and how you can adapt those ideas to your own brand.

Here are twelve types of Squarespace websites worth studying before beginning your redesign.

1. The Minimal Portfolio Website

Minimal portfolio websites are useful examples for anyone who wants to showcase creative work without overwhelming visitors.

These sites typically use:

• Large images
• Simple navigation
• Plenty of whitespace
• Short introductions
• Clear project categories
• Simple contact options

The important lesson is restraint.

When your work is the main selling point, the website should help visitors focus on the work rather than compete with it.

Photographers, designers, illustrators, architects, and artists can all learn from this approach.

2. The Photography Website With Strong Storytelling

Photography websites are some of the most visually driven Squarespace examples.

A strong photography site does more than display images. It creates a journey.

The homepage might introduce the photographer, show selected work, explain the style, and guide visitors toward galleries or booking information.

Instead of placing every photograph on the homepage, the site uses carefully selected images to create interest.

This is a useful lesson for any visual business: selection can be more powerful than quantity.

If your redesign includes a large portfolio, consider dividing work into meaningful categories rather than displaying everything at once.

3. The Service Business Website

Service businesses need to explain what they do clearly.

A strong service-based Squarespace website usually answers important questions quickly:

• What does the business offer?
• Who is it for?
• Why should someone care?
• How does the process work?
• What should the visitor do next?

The best designs often keep the homepage relatively focused.

Instead of writing a huge amount of text, they introduce the main services and then direct visitors toward dedicated pages.

This structure can work for consultants, agencies, coaches, studios, and professional service providers.

4. The Restaurant Website

Restaurant websites provide another useful source of inspiration.

A restaurant website has different priorities from a portfolio site. Visitors may want to know:

• What is on the menu?
• Where is the restaurant?
• When is it open?
• How can they make a reservation?
• What does the atmosphere look like?

Good restaurant designs make this information easy to find.

Photography is still important, but it supports the practical information rather than replacing it.

When studying restaurant Squarespace examples, pay attention to how quickly you can find important information.

That same principle applies to almost every business website.

5. The Personal Brand Website

Personal brand websites are useful for professionals who are selling their expertise rather than physical products.

Examples include:

• Consultants
• Speakers
• Coaches
• Authors
• Freelancers
• Educators

A strong personal brand site usually introduces the person early and establishes credibility without making the entire website feel like a biography.

The content should explain what the person does, who they help, and how visitors can work with them.

When redesigning your own website, think about whether your personal story supports your business goals or simply takes up space.

6. The Creative Studio Website

Creative studios often need to communicate personality while maintaining a professional appearance.

Their websites may use bold typography, unusual layouts, animation, or experimental imagery.

These are among the most interesting best Squarespace websites to study because they demonstrate how design can communicate a brand personality.

However, there is an important lesson here: creativity should still serve usability.

A visually unusual navigation system may look impressive, but if visitors cannot figure out where to click, the design becomes a problem.

Study the balance between originality and clarity.

7. The E-Commerce Website

Online stores have a different challenge.

They need to create an attractive brand experience while making shopping easy.

When studying e-commerce Squarespace websites, look at:

• Product photography
• Product categories
• Navigation
• Product descriptions
• Pricing visibility
• Calls to action
• Checkout flow
• Mobile product layouts

A beautiful product page is useful, but customers also need enough information to make a purchasing decision.

Your redesign should therefore consider both presentation and usability.

8. The Blog-Focused Website

Some businesses rely heavily on content marketing.

For these websites, the blog is not an afterthought. It is one of the main reasons visitors arrive.

A strong blog-focused design makes it easy to:

• Browse articles
• Search topics
• Discover related posts
• Read comfortably
• Move from informational content to relevant services

If organic traffic is part of your strategy, study how these sites organize categories and internal links.

You can also examine how headlines, featured images, author information, and article layouts work together.

9. The Architecture or Interior Design Website

Architecture and interior design websites demonstrate how imagery and information can work together.

These websites often need to showcase projects while providing enough context about each one.

A useful project page might include:

• Project name
• Location
• Description
• Images
• Services provided
• Design details
• Project results

The lesson is particularly valuable for businesses with case studies.

Instead of treating your portfolio as a gallery of images, turn individual projects into stories that demonstrate your expertise.

10. The Wedding Business Website

Wedding-related businesses often need an emotional visual style while still providing practical information.

A strong wedding website might include:

• Portfolio galleries
• Packages
• About information
• Testimonials
• Frequently asked questions
• Availability
• Contact or booking information

When studying these Squarespace examples, notice how emotional imagery is balanced with useful information.

Potential customers may fall in love with the visual style, but they still need answers about pricing, services, availability, and the booking process.

11. The Professional Consultant Website

Consultants have an interesting website challenge because their service may be difficult to photograph.

Instead of relying on visual portfolios, their websites need to communicate expertise through:

• Clear messaging
• Case studies
• Testimonials
• Credentials
• Service explanations
• Educational content

A strong consultant website usually answers the visitor’s main questions early.

Who is this for?

What problem does the consultant solve?

What makes the service different?

What happens after someone gets in touch?

This type of website is a useful reminder that good design cannot compensate for unclear messaging.

12. The Small Business Website That Keeps Things Simple

Not every successful website needs dozens of pages.

Some of the most effective small-business websites have only a handful of carefully planned pages.

For example:

Home → About → Services → Work → Contact

The simplicity works because every page has a clear purpose.

If your current website has too many pages, too many menu items, or too much repetitive information, studying simple Squarespace examples may help you decide what can be removed.

A redesign is not always about adding more.

Sometimes the biggest improvement comes from removing what is unnecessary.

What to Look for When Studying Squarespace Websites

Looking at websites randomly can provide inspiration, but studying them systematically is much more useful.

Create a list of things to observe.

Navigation

Can you immediately understand where to go?

Is the menu simple?

Are the most important pages easy to reach?

Homepage Structure

Look at what appears above the fold.

Does the website immediately explain what the business does?

Is there a clear next step?

Typography

Notice the relationship between:

• Headlines
• Subheadings
• Body text
• Buttons
• Navigation

Good typography creates hierarchy and makes content easier to scan.

Images

Ask yourself why particular images are being used.

Are they decorative, informative, emotional, or persuasive?

Do they support the brand?

Calls to Action

Look for the actions the website encourages.

Examples include:

• Book a consultation
• View the portfolio
• Shop now
• Get started
• Contact us
• Request a quote

The CTA should make sense based on what the visitor has just seen.

How Squarespace Website Templates Fit Into the Process

Studying existing websites is useful before choosing Squarespace website templates.

A template should be treated as a starting point rather than a finished website.

The design you select should support your content structure.

Before choosing a template, determine:

• Which pages you need
• What content you already have
• What content you will create
• How visitors should navigate the site
• Which actions matter most
• Whether you need a blog
• Whether you need e-commerce
• How your website should work on mobile

Once you know these things, it becomes easier to identify templates that actually fit your business.

Do not choose a template simply because its demo looks impressive.

Choose one whose structure can support your real content.

Do Not Copy the Best Squarespace Websites

Studying successful websites does not mean copying them.

Your business has different customers, goals, content, and personality.

Instead, break down what you like.

Maybe one website has excellent navigation.

Another has a great portfolio layout.

A third has an excellent service-page structure.

A fourth uses typography particularly well.

You can learn from all of them without creating a copy of any one website.

The most useful inspiration comes from understanding the reasoning behind a design.

Build a Redesign Checklist

Before beginning your redesign, create a simple checklist.

Content

• Is the messaging clear?
• Are important services explained?
• Are outdated pages removed?
• Are there useful supporting resources?

Design

• Is the visual style consistent?
• Are fonts easy to read?
• Do images support the brand?
• Is there enough whitespace?

Navigation

• Can visitors find important pages quickly?
• Is the menu too complicated?
• Are related pages connected?

Conversion

• Are calls to action clear?
• Can visitors easily contact or book?
• Are trust signals visible?

Mobile

• Does the layout work on small screens?
• Are buttons easy to use?
• Are images displayed correctly?
• Is important information still easy to find?

This checklist can prevent you from focusing only on visual changes.

Final Thoughts

The best Squarespace websites are not necessarily the ones with the most dramatic animations, the largest photographs, or the most unusual layouts.

The strongest examples usually understand their audience and make it easy for visitors to find information, understand the offer, trust the business, and take the next step.

Use Squarespace examples as a source of ideas for navigation, content structure, typography, imagery, and conversion.

Then use that knowledge when evaluating Squarespace website templates for your own redesign.

A successful redesign should not simply make your website look newer. It should make the website easier to understand, easier to navigate, and more useful to the people you want to reach.