All 234 Squarespace templates can accommodate video, but these choices are excellent for anyone interested in streaming, content creation, or filmmaking.
Want to use your skills in streaming, video editing, or filmmaking on platforms other than YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, or Twitch? Your best work showcased on a personal website can draw in new customers, expand your audience, and strengthen your brand. It can even be used as a secondary source of income, such as virtual courses or monetizable behind-the-scenes content.
Because it adopts a streamlined approach to site maintenance and design, Squarespace(opens in an new tab) is a popular pick for creatives when it comes to website builders. All of its plans(open in a new tab) come with 24/7 customer service, unlimited bandwidth, performance analytics, SEO capabilities, ecommerce tools, and SSL security for a low month that starts at just $14. Additionally, it maintains a sizable library(opens in a new tab) of chic, mobile-friendly templates that can be quickly altered using drag-and-drop page elements; no coding knowledge is necessary to produce an aesthetically pleasing site that functions flawlessly.
Did we also mention that each and every one of those templates supports video?
Actually, this might be a blessing or a curse, depending on how definite you are. On the one hand, you can choose from a huge selection of templates – 234 to be exact. However, there are
many templates available that it might be difficult to choose just a handful, particularly if you’re still unsure of how you wants your site to look.
You can find Mashable’s advice on picking the best Squarespace video template below, along with a list of our current top picks.
A Squarespace template: what is it?
According to its support centre, a Squarespace template or theme is a pre-built demo website that will act as “an starting point to help inspire your site’s design.” Depending on how new you want your site to be, you could leave that website mostly untouched and simply repackage the demo content with your own branding, or you could give it a new makeover with new colours, font sets, layouts, and content blocks (& how much time and efforts you feel like spending on it).
Depending on the versions of Squarespace(opens in a new tab) you’re using, templates work differently. As of June 2022, you have two choices:
- The 91 templates in Squarespace version 7.0 are organised into several “families” that all have the same set layout and formatting options. Some new Squarespace designers prefer using this version because a few of its more new functionalities are still missing from the newer one (the parallax scrolling effect from the Brine template family, for example), but the inability to combine features from different families can make it feel rigid.
- All 143 of Squarespace’s templates(opens in a new tab) were combined into one family in version 7.1 so that they all share the same functionalities and aesthetic components. The trade-off is that you can quickly move between templates without running the risk of content loss, albeit the demo designs do end up looking a little more uniform. Fluid Engine(opens in an new tab) (new as of July-2022), Squarespace’s cutting-edge, grid-based content editor, may also be used to create templates for version 7.1. Compared to the platform’s Classic Editor, Fluid Engine gives more freedom for block placements and layout possibilities.
Some stipulations: Technically, switching from version 7.0 to version 7.1 is doable (opens in a new tab), but doing so typically necessitates a manual rebuild and lowers your site’s search engine score. Launch Squarespace free 14-day trials(opens in an new tab) if you’re unsure which version to select. You may then compare the two before committing to a paying plan.
How does one add video into a Squarespace site?
Depending on the version of Squarespace you’re using, there are three different methods you can add videos to your site(opens in an new tab).
- Use an embed code or URL to include videos from Wistia, Vimeo, Animoto, or YouTube. This works in version 7.0 with videos pages (opens in an new tab), video blocks, embed blocks, section backgrounds (opens in an new tab), gallery blocks, gallery pages, cover pages, and some banners and product pages (depends on the template family). It also works with video blocks, embed blocks, section backgrounds, lock screen backgrounds, gallery blocks, and some banners and product pages. Even live feeds from Vimeo and YouTube can be used, but depending on your settings, they might not note to work after the stream has ended.
- Submit.mov,.mp4, or.m4v files. Additionally, you can add clips directly to any videos page or section backdrop with version 7.1. (up to 5GB or 500MB, respectively). Their names, descriptions, URLs, thumbnails, and metadata are all editable and play on the platform’s own video player. Note in mind that all Squarespace plans only include 30 minutes of high-resolution video storage as standard; however, you may increase for a cost by turning on the Member Areas option. (More to follow on that.)
- Replace animated.gif files with static pictures. Anywhere on your site where photos are supported, such as image blocks(opens in a new tab), banners, and gallery blocks, you can place soundless GIFs that play and loop automatically. You have this choice with Squarespace’s two versions.
Squarespace doesn’t provide any video stats in its analytics(opens in a new tab) tab, which is a significant issue for this one as well. Plays of embedded videos may increase your overall view count, but for further information, get in touch with your host (such as YouTube).
What more video resources does Squarespace provide?
One of the great new video-related capabilities Squarespace introduced in the last few years is the aforementioned Member Areas(opens in an new tab) feature. For as little as $9 a month, you may add it to your plan to gain access to low video storage and the capability to gate particular site content, such as virtual workshops, tutorials, packages, and newsletters. As you may charge users a one-time fee or a regular subscription for access, it makes a fantastic internal substitute (or supplement) to Patreon or YouTube channel memberships.
Squarespace Videos Studio(opens in a new tab), a mobile app that makes it very easy to creates premium videos you can share directly to your website and/or on social media, is the second new addition to its suite. With its AI voiceover tool, built-in teleprompter, and professionally created video templates that you can autofill with your website’s brand designs and product photos, it’s easy to make clips on the go. It may be downloaded for free with any Squarespace plan or trial, while Business and Commerce subscribers get full access.
How can I choose the best Squarespace template?
Filtering Squarespace’s template library by Type and Topic in the templates tab (lets in a new tab) should greatly reduce the number of potential candidates. There are very few templates that feature video, but keep in mind that they’re rather simple to add practically anywhere on a site. To view what a live version would look like, click the “View Demo Site” button after selecting any template. Focus mostly on the colours and layouts that appeal to you because Squarespace advises(opens in a new tab) that “you may finds it easier to start with a design that’s already near to how you want your site to appear.”
Do you need some better guidance? Scroll down to see six Squarespace templates that are extremely effective for video right away.
Lange
Information: Squarespace version: 7.0
Despite being a Squarespace version 7.0 template, Lange (opens in a new tab) stands out thanks to its gorgeous homepage, which has full-bleed banner photos for various projects that you can simply replace with GIFs or videos. The links for each of those projects live in the top navigation menu, along with connections to a straightforward one-column blog, a contact page, and a “about” page (“Studio Info”) where you may add credits and provide more information about your process. Other than that, it’s a perfect video portfolio site right out of the gate, but it could probably use some social media icons someplace.
Oranssi
Specifications Squarespace 7.1
Need a website that is incredibly user-easy and jam-packed with information, especially on mobile devices? Pick the stylish Professional Services template Oranassi(opens in a new tab), which includes all of the information you require on a single page. A list of your services, additional project teasers, a statement about your company’s mission, some team members’ headshots, and a rotating gallery of client testimonials are all included in the demo version of the website. Up top, however, is a scrolling carousel of visuals that could hold a collection of GIFs. Even better, there are numerous call-to-action buttons throughout the entire thing that go to your email. Squarespace used a typewriter-style font for its body text, which seems strange and somewhat distracting, but you can change that with a click or two.
Laurie
Laurie Squarespace version: 7.1, best for freelancers
Luminous and welcoming, The retro-inspired Laurie(opens in a new tab) Portfolio/Professional Services template excels at two things: showing your work and introducing you to potential clients. In between sections for your bio, a list of services, client testimonials, and a collection of recent blog entries, its vast webpage smears a tonne of visuals; changing colours and some interesting fade-in animation effects prevent it from seeming like an information overload. On a separate contact page, there is a nice pre-made form that visitors can use to make enquiries. Alternatively, visitors can click the red “Free consultation” button at the top of the page to find a time to meet using an integrated Acuity Scheduling block (opens in a new tab).
Nolan
Specifications Squarespace 7.1
Another templates from the Portfolio/Professional Services categories with a standout one-stop homepage is Nolan(opens in a new tab). It opens with a prompt to view your full portfolio, a featured project with a cool collage-like layout, and a list of your previous clients before giving visitors your mission statement, a featured image, and a link to a list of your services. You can introduce the personnel and/or the company’s mission and values on a “about” page (“Company”) in the top navigation menu. Anyone who uses Dark Mode will appreciate the demo version’s mobile-friendly typography and dark, elegant white-on-black colour palette. Its lone significant flaw? Social media buttons are mysteriously absent from the site. You will have to add those by yourself.
Passero
Specifications Version of Squarespace: 7.1 Purchasing Options
Not well-known enough to hold a MasterClass? No issue: It’s easy to publish and sell your tutorials and workshops with a Squarespace template like Passero(opens in a new tab) that makes pre-enabled with its Member Areas(opens in a new tab) feature (or any kind of videos, honestly). One of the few templates with a demo site that actually uses video, this one has a participant testimonial on the very short homepage as well as full-bleed visuals and many calls to action. The top menu includes a “Contact” page with a simple form, a “About” page with instructor biographies, a “Classes” page with course information, and a “Login” link for subscribers. Additionally, Squarespace did a terrific job with the soothing neutral colour scheme.
Otroquest
Specifications Version of Squarespace: 7.1 Purchasing Options
Otroquest(opens in a new tab), a unique template with video in the demo, is already set up for someone who publishes a steady stream of content. A grid of your VODs, an store page for merchandise, and a terrific “Support” page with prompts for tipping, subscribing, buying Twitch Bits, and joining a community are just a few of the highlights (hello again, Member Areas). Visitors will always be able to find the social icons for your Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram sites in the top and bottom navigation menus. The featured blog post at the top of the homepage makes Otroquest’s homepage the impression that it is a news site, but that is the only thing we dislike about it. Fortunately, it is easy to remove.
