Squarespace Free Trial — Everything You Need to Know

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Below you’ll find key information about the Squarespace free trial — a set of frequently asked questions on it, details on how to get an extension to your trial and resources to help you learn more about the platform. These include a video tutorial, a video review and more.

You’ll also learn about how you can avail of discounts when you upgrade to a premium Squarespace plan, and find out how to cancel your Squarespace trial.

Starting a trial (video guide and getting a 10% discount)

Squarespace free trial FAQ

How do I sign up for a Squarespace free trial?

You can sign up for a Squarespace free trial by clicking the ‘Get Started’ button on the Squarespace website.

How long does a Squarespace trial last?

The standard Squarespace trial period lasts 14 days, which is usually enough time to get started with Squarespace.

(Note: if you are Squarespace Circle member, the trial period lasts 6 months. Squarespace Circle is a program that designers with several Squarespace clients can sign up to; it provides members with additional resources to help them build Squarespace websites for clients, and incentives to do so.)

Can I extend a Squarespace trial?

You can request a one-time, seven-day extension to a Squarespace free trial.

How do I extend a Squarespace trial?

When your Squarespace trial expires, you’ll receive an email from the company’s customer care team ([email protected]) with the subject “Your trial has expired. Need more time?”

You can then extend your trial by following the instructions in this email. Alternatively, and if you have less than two days left in your trial, you can go to the Squarespace trial extension help page, and click the chat icon at the bottom right hand corner of the page to access an ‘extend trial’ option.

How many times can I extend a Squarespace free trial?

You can extend a Squarespace trial once — doing so will give you an additional seven days to build your website and/or try the platform out.

Do I need to submit my credit card details to start a Squarespace trial?

No, you don’t need to submit your credit card details to start your Squarespace trial. You will need to provide your email address, however, and consent to receiving marketing communications from Squarespace.

Can I change my template during my Squarespace trial?

You can try any Squarespace template you like out during your trial (at time of writing, 168 are available).

One thing to note however is that the latest version of Squarespace (7.1) technically doesn’t let you switch templates — so you will need to start an additional trial to try different templates out.

Can other people view my Squarespace website during my trial?

If you want to share your Squarespace website with other people while it’s on a trial, you can add a site-wide password to it. This will keep it hidden from search engines, but visitors can enter the password to access your site.

Alternatively, you can invite additional users (‘contributors’) to access your Squarespace account while it’s in trial mode. This will give them the ability not just to view your site, but edit it too.

What are the limitations of the Squarespace trial?

Although you can try out most Squarespace features whilst on a trial, the trial prevents you from publishing your site (it will remain password-protected until you purchase a plan); won’t let you accept payment for products; doesn’t let you license Getty images; doesn’t let you use podcast features; and stops Google indexing your site.

You should also note that if your trial has more than two contributors, you won’t be able to upgrade from a free trial to a ‘Personal’ Squarespace plan (you’ll need to upgrade to a ‘Business’ plan or higher).

How do I cancel my Squarespace trial?

If you don’t subscribe to a paid-for Squarespace plan during your trial, it will automatically expire at the end of it, and you won’t be charged anything. Alternatively, you can cancel a Squarespace trial by going to your account dashboard, clicking Settings > Billing > Subscriptions > Trial Subscriptions, selecting your trial and then clicking Cancel Trial.

Will Squarespace delete my website after the trial is over?

Yes. However, Squarespace states that it will send an email to the trial site’s owner seven days before deleting the content (containing a link to upgrade the trial). However, it may be better to err on the side of caution here — if you’ve added important content to your site during a trial, it’s best to make a copy of it before letting your it expire.

How much does Squarespace cost?

Squarespace fees vary from $16 to $72 per month, depending on the plan you choose and the way you pay (monthly, or upfront for a year). You can learn more about these fees and the differences between plans in our guide to Squarespace pricing.

Can I create a website on Squarespace for free?

You can build a website on Squarespace for free, but if you want to publish it, you’ll need to subscribe to a monthly or annual plan.

Can I publish content on a Squarespace free trial?

You can publish content on a Squarespace free trial — however, it will only be viewable if you are logged into Squarespace or have been given a password to access it.

Can I build a professional website with Squarespace?

Yes. Squarespace lets you build an online presence that looks entirely professional and provides a wide range of features that let you run a business effectively — a good CMS, ecommerce features, blogging tools etc. However, the platform does take a ‘walled garden’ approach to web design, meaning that it can be hard to configure everything exactly the way you want it. Accordingly, if you have very bespoke requirements or intend to scale your business significantly, there may be solutions that work better for you.

Are there any discounts available for Squarespace?

For a limited time only, you can avail of a 10% discount on your site for one year by starting a trial via this link and entering ‘STYLEFACTORY10’ when purchasing a plan. Additionally, paying upfront for a year brings further savings (of up to 30%, depending on plan).

Are Squarespace templates free?

Squarespace templates are included with your subscription — you don’t pay extra for them. You can browse the latest Squarespace templates here.

Does Squarespace offer free domains?

You get a free domain name for one year from Squarespace if you upgrade from your free trial to a paid-for plan, and pay for your subscription on an annual basis. There are over 390 domain extensions available from Squarespace, including the .com extension and many country-level ones (.co.uk, .au, .ca etc.).

What’s the best Squarespace plan?

If you’re building a content-focused or ‘brochure’ site, we generally recommend the ‘Business plan.’ This is because it gives you access to the bulk of website building features that you’ll need to create a professional website, and lets you access basic ecommerce features too. (The ‘Personal’ plan is really only suitable for very basic portfolio sites.)

As for the commerce plans, we recommend the ‘Advanced Commerce’ plan over the standard ‘Commerce’ one, because it gives you access to a really important feature, abandoned cart saving, which can dramatically increase conversion rates and revenue. For more detailed information about the pros and cons of Squarespace plans, check out our Squarespace pricing guide.

Do I need to install any software to use Squarespace?

No — Squarespace is a browser-based app and you don’t need to install any software to use it. You will need an Internet connection to access it however.

Can I extend the functionality of my Squarespace site?

Yes. An ‘extension store‘ lets you choose from a range of officially approved third-party integrations with Squarespace. 41 extensions are available, which include quite a few dropshipping apps (for example Spocket, Printful and Printique); accounting apps (Freshbooks and Quickbooks); and tax apps (Taxjar). You can also make use of third-party Squarespace plugins — snippets of code that add bespoke functionality to your site.

Can I dropship with Squarespace?

Yes. Several ‘extensions’ are available that let you do this. These connect to leading dropshipping suppliers like Spocket — but note that additional fees may apply to use the extensions.

Can I sell print-on-demand products with Squarespace?

Yes, you can do this via extensions and integrations that connect leading print-on-demand services like Printique, SPOD, Printful and Printify to your Squarespace site. Using some of these will involve additional fees, however.

What are the key alternatives to Squarespace?

Key alternative website builders include Shopify, Wix and BigCommerce. For more details on how these compare against Squarespace, please read our Shopify vs Squarespace, Wix vs Squarespace and BigCommerce vs Squarespace comparisons. Our Wix vs Shopify comparison and Wix vs Shopify vs Squarespace shootout are also worth investigating.

Do other website building platforms offer free trials?

Most of Squarespace’s competitors offer similar trials. You can learn more about alternative website builders and online store platforms in the ecommerce reviews section of the Style Factory website.

Videos about Squarespace