3 Reasons I Don't Like Squarespace Version 7.1 (Updated!)
Here are my top three reasons that I prefer version 7.0 to 7.1.
Templates
Perhaps the biggest change in version 7.1 is getting rid of templates. While this may seem nice to give yourself a fresh slate and completely clear board without any parameters, it makes it much more difficult to switch things up. With 7.0, you can test out a new template behind the scenes, and then make the transfer all at once. The templates provide an easy way for just about anyone to quickly build a website, not to mention how beautiful and well designed 7.0 templates are. To me, it seems silly to have taken them away.
Feels less user friendly
In my opinion, Squarespace opted for a cleaner, crisper, more minimalist software development here, and I personally don’t think it was the right move. Sure, you can do just about everything you wanted to with 7.1 (see #3), but it feels like the edits, the menus, the changes, even the content blocks, are less user friendly because everything is a bit more hidden.
It’s less developed
Obviously, version 7.1 is new. So while it may seem fresh, clean, and cutting edge, there is much less written online about it. That means that if you encounter an issue with it, it’s harder to find an answer. In my experience, it feels less fleshed out and thoughtfully checked. I have found minor glitches, which Squarespace has quickly fixed, but in 7.0, you know that there are years of research, codes, and testing that have gone into it.
By all means, test version 7.1 out, prove me wrong, and tell me what you discover! :)
UPDATE: 6/29/2022
Ironically, this website is now on Squarespace 7.1
When I wrote the above blog, Squarespace 7.1 was new, not fully flushed out, and posed some major issues for some e-commerce folks.
I am incredibly impressed by how much work Squarespace has done to improve 7.1, and have found that overall, it’s a quicker, more seamless experience.
One of the most important features is that Squarespace of 7.1 took the best feature of Brine 7.0 (Index Pages) and incorporated it into the entire site. The other great part about this change is the color profiles which make it super easy to add a background color to a section. Something that previously required CSS.
So now, I build all my websites on 7.1.
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