10 Squarespace Plugins to Take Your Business Website to the Next Level
Designing a high-converting website can be tricky if you don’t have a strategy in place. One very important aspect of a well-crafted website is function and attractive design. Why? Because websites that are easy to use, smooth to navigate, and appealing to look at get website visitors to stay longer — which boosts your SEO ranking and increases your overall website conversion rate. Squarespace plugins can help you to stand out online, catching a visitor’s eye, and keeping their attention longer.
Why not just use all native Squarespace features? Well, you absolutely can and still have a very attractive-looking website. That said, sometimes you want a specific feature that just doesn’t exist on Squarespace and that’s where a plugin can come in handy.
What are Squarespace Plugins?
We’re all used to the kinds of plugins available on platforms like Wordpress. They are separate tools that literally “plug in” to the Wordpress platform.
But plugins used on Squarespace don’t work the same way (but we still call them plugins for linguistic simplicity). In reality, they are bits of code that you copy and paste onto your site using tutorials. They can be very easy to use and implement into your site (and some of them can be more challenging and oriented toward designers).
Here are 10 plugins that you might want to use on your Squarespace website design for extra beautiful, custom-looking design.
Image credit: SQSPTHEMES
COMPATIBILITY: 7.0 & 7.1
PRICE: $59
Several templates on the older Squarespace 7.0 platform version had built-in sidebars. Unfortunately, the template family that’s the favorite of web designers (the Brine family) doesn’t offer a built-in sidebar. And the new 7.1 version of Squarespace doesn’t offer sidebars at all.
Whether you’re on team sidebar or not, sometimes there’s just a good reason to have one on your blog (they do convert quite effectively). There are a few design hacks out there that create pretend sidebars. But if you want a *real* sidebar, this is the plugin to get. You’ll have a fully functional blog sidebar that works no matter which template you’re using or version (7.0 & 7.1) your website is built on.
Compatibility: 7.0 & 7.1
Price: $59
One frustrating thing not built into Squarespace is the ability to have tabs on a page that displays selected information. There are a few ways to deal with this natively, but none that look quite as sleek as actual tabs.
This plugin solves that problem and more. You can also set up custom-looking accordions on your pages that go waaaay beyond the native accordion block. Add more easy-to-navigate information on your pages with this simple, yet powerful plugin.
Compatibility: 7.0 & 7.1
Price: $75
Animated text can be a fun way to make your website more eye-catching and dynamic. When used in strategic ways, you can communicate your message with a sense of intrigue and playfulness. SquareRefresh offers a collection of fun text animations to choose from in this bundle.
While it’s important not to go crazy adding animated text all over your website (much too busy), it is important to find those unique touches that add a bit of personality to your brand. This could be the plugin to do that for your website.
4. Squarespace Blog Footer Plugin
Image credit: Heather Tovey
Compatibility: 7.0 & 7.1
Price: CAD $60
This wonderful plugin allows you to automatically show a specific collection of content at the bottom of a blog post. It was developed by my friend and colleague Heather Tovey, who is a brilliant developer and lovely person.
Show a category of additional blog posts (use it to keep people reading on your blog) or feature author bios on a multi-author blog. Leveraging your blog to build your audience is a very effective strategy, and this plugin can help you do just that!
Image credit: Ghost Plugins
Compatibility: 7.0 (Brine) & 7.1
Price: $40
Without a native testimonial block, designers have gotten very creative over the years in how they display testimonials on Squarespace websites! Luckily, developers have answered this need with plenty of plugins to help expand the possibilities.
This testimonial slider plugin is classy and can be customized with your own brand colors and fonts. Display those hard-earned rave reviews with style!
(Pssst… you can get 10% off any product that Ghost Plugins sells with the code SARAHBRAUN at checkout.)
Plugin in-use on a client’s website: kiriwestby.com
Compatibility: 7.0 & 7.1
Price: $40
Do you have a physical office location (or multiple) and want a more advanced way to show that on a map? Or perhaps you’re headed out for a tour and want to put multiple stops along the way on an interactive map.
The native Squarespace map block is a pretty simple affair, which works great for most people. But if you’re one of those that needs more flexibility and customization, this plugin is for you.
Compatibility: 7.0 & 7.1
Price: $35
They say in the business world “show, don’t tell” and there’s no better way to do that than by placing your content into an easy-to-understand format like a timeline. This plugin will allow you to do just that, leading your website visitors through a story journey of your making.
With a customizable interface and the ability to add content beyond text to your timeline, you’ll get visitors to read every last word…all the way to the bottom of the page (great for conversions and SEO).
Image credit: Elfsight
Compatibility: 7.0 & 7.1
Price: Free - $25/mo.
There’s nothing quite as effective for building trust with your website visitors as proudly displaying your business’ social proof. What does that mean? It means integrating third-party reviews into your website so others can see how awesome you are.
This plugin (called a widget in this case) allows you to share your Google reviews right on your website. This can be a very effective way to integrate your Google business profile with your Squarespace website.
Image credit: Elfsight
Compatibility: 7.0 & 7.1
Price: Free - $25/mo.
Sometimes your services come in different packages and you’d like a shorthand way to display them. Pricing tables make for a very easy, quick-start guide for your website visitors. But this isn’t something you can natively add in Squarespace. Yes, there are workarounds, but they’re not quite as pretty or easy to create.
This pricing table widget is easy to customize and then insert right into your website without needing to understand code. Just embed it into a code block after designing in the Elfsight app, and you’re ready to go.
Compatibility: 7.0 (Brine) & 7.1
Price: $20
This is probably one of the coolest ways to customize your website. If you’ve seen sites with full-bleed side-by-side sections and wished you could replicate that on your Squarespace site, look no further.
This plugin allows you to do the basic version of this style, as well as variations (including a sticky scrolling section that looks pretty stand-out). You’ll enjoy this custom look on your site and how easy it is to implement.
Should You Use Plugins on Your Website?
The answer to this question depends on multiple factors.
Are you generally tech savvy and can figure out how to implement things on your site? If so, then plugins are probably a great fit for you.
Is there something that you can’t easily create with the native Squarespace settings and it would make a big difference in how well your website converts visitors into clients? Then a plugin would likely be very helpful.
Do you *need* plugins for your site? Probably not. I’m a big fan of minimal website design and simplicity. That said, a strategically selected and placed plugin can truly add some sparkle and function to your site that can make a big difference for your business.