Building Business Websites with Squarespace 7

Description

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