Squarespace Features: Everything You Get (and Don't Get) on Each Plan

Squarespace markets itself as an all-in-one website builder for entrepreneurs and creatives. But what do you actually get? Here's a no-BS breakdown of every Squarespace feature worth knowing about—and the limitations nobody tells you upfront.

If you're still on the fence about whether Squarespace is right for you, check out our Squarespace reviews or compare it against alternatives in our Squarespace vs Wix and Squarespace vs WordPress guides.

Website Building Features

Let's start with what Squarespace does best: making websites look good.

Templates and Design

Squarespace gives you access to around 190 mobile-optimized templates across all plans. These aren't cheap-looking WordPress themes—they're genuinely well-designed templates that work for portfolios, restaurants, ecommerce stores, and service businesses.

The Fluid Engine is Squarespace's drag-and-drop editor that replaced the older block system. It gives you more control over layouts without touching code. Recent template additions include Fletcher, Sidney, Byron, Minoru, Achromatic, Looped, and Radian—all solid options depending on your aesthetic.

Here's what's included in the design toolkit:

The catch? Blog posts still use the classic editor—you can't use Fluid Engine on blog content. This limits design flexibility for content-heavy sites.

Blueprint AI and Design Intelligence

Squarespace launched Design Intelligence—a suite of AI-powered tools that generate personalized website designs and content based on your brand personality. Blueprint AI is the centerpiece: answer a few questions about your business, and it creates a starting website populated with curated imagery and copy.

Additional AI features include:

Is it perfect? No. The AI copywriting options are vague compared to Shopify Magic, but the Brand Identity feature stores your brand description and tone of voice to maintain consistency across generated content.

Ecommerce Features

Squarespace has been pushing hard into ecommerce. You can now sell on all four pricing plans, though features vary significantly by tier.

What You Can Sell

Squarespace handles digital products and subscriptions better than Shopify—it's geared toward creators selling courses, memberships, and downloadable content rather than massive product catalogs.

Commerce Features by Plan

Here's where it gets confusing. Not all ecommerce features are available on every plan:

FeatureBasic ($16/mo)Core ($23/mo)Plus ($39/mo)Advanced ($99/mo)
Sell productsYesYesYesYes
Transaction fee2%0%0%0%
Customer accountsYesYesYesYes
Abandoned cart recoveryNoNoYesYes
SubscriptionsNoNoNoYes
Real-time carrier shippingNoYesYesYes
Advanced shipping rulesNoNoNoYes
Commerce APIsNoNoNoYes

For the full pricing breakdown, see our Squarespace pricing guide.

Point of Sale

Squarespace offers POS features through integration with Square. Connect a Square card reader to accept payments in person and keep your inventory synced with your online store. There's also Tap to Pay for contactless payments on iPhone and NFC-enabled Android phones.

The limitation: POS is only available in the US.

Ecommerce Limitations

Here's where Squarespace falls short compared to Shopify or BigCommerce:

If you're planning to scale massively or sell internationally, Squarespace probably isn't your best choice. For a detailed comparison, check our Squarespace vs Shopify guide.

Blogging and Content Features

Squarespace has strong blogging roots, and it shows. The blogging features are legitimately good for content creators.

Blog Management

Scheduling posts is straightforward: create your post, click Draft, select Scheduled, pick your date and time, and you're done. Posts automatically publish at the scheduled time.

Content Blocks

Squarespace uses a block-based system for adding content. Available blocks include:

SEO Features

Squarespace includes built-in SEO tools, though they're more basic than what you'd get with dedicated SEO plugins on WordPress.

What's Included

The SEO Checklist feature scans your site's metadata and alt text, then suggests improvements you can implement in seconds. No SEO expertise required for the basics.

SEO Limitations

If you're serious about SEO, Squarespace's tools are adequate but not exceptional. You can't customize URL structures beyond the basics, and there's no built-in schema markup. For advanced SEO, you'll need third-party tools or manual code injection.

Marketing and Analytics Features

Email Marketing

Squarespace Email Campaigns is a separate add-on (not included in website plans) that lets you send newsletters and promotional emails. It integrates with your site's contact list and product catalog.

You can also integrate with third-party email tools like Mailchimp and AWeber. For email marketing options, see our email marketing for small business guide.

Analytics

Built-in analytics cover the basics:

Advanced commerce analytics—like sales by product—are only available on Commerce plans. You can also integrate Google Analytics for deeper insights.

Social Media Integration

Domain and Hosting Features

Every Squarespace plan includes:

Domain renewals run $20-70/year depending on the extension (.com vs .studio, etc.). Squarespace became one of the world's largest domain registrars after acquiring Google Domains, so domain management is solid.

The Domains Dashboard lets you manage DNS settings, email forwarding, and domain permissions from one place. If you already had a Google Domains account, your domains now live in Squarespace.

For current pricing details and discounts, check our Squarespace cost breakdown or grab a Squarespace coupon.

Scheduling and Appointments (Acuity)

Squarespace acquired Acuity Scheduling, and it's now a separate subscription that integrates with your site. Features include:

Acuity is a separate cost from your website plan, but it's a strong option for service businesses. The streamlined interface makes it easy to contact clients, reschedule bookings, or initiate checkout directly from the appointment details page.

Bio Sites (Link in Bio)

Bio Sites is Squarespace's link-in-bio feature for social media profiles. It's separate from the main website plans and includes:

You can sell guides, sheets, and digital downloads directly on your Bio Site—useful for creators who drive traffic from Instagram or TikTok.

Member Areas and Gated Content

Member Areas lets you create members-only pages with subscription access. Useful for:

Pricing plans for members can be recurring subscriptions or one-time payments. You can create multiple tiers to offer different access levels.

Integrations and Extensions

Squarespace integrates with third-party services through Extensions:

The extension ecosystem is smaller than Shopify's app store. You won't find AliExpress, Amazon Fulfillment, or eBay integrations. If you need dropshipping beyond Printful, consider Shopify instead.

Custom Code Access

The Basic plan doesn't allow custom CSS or JavaScript. You need the Core plan or higher to:

If you're planning any customization beyond what the visual editor offers, skip the Basic plan.

What's Missing from Squarespace

No platform does everything. Here's what Squarespace doesn't have:

Bottom Line: Who Should Use Squarespace?

Squarespace is excellent for:

Look elsewhere if you need:

Ready to try it? Start your Squarespace free trial and test the features yourself. You can also check if there's a Squarespace free trial extension or discount available before committing.