This content originally appeared on Mashable for US audiences and has been tailored for UK audiences.
Looking to take your filmmaking, video editing, or streaming talents beyond YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, or Twitch? A personal website filled with your best work is a potential client. Think virtual classes and behind-the-scenes exclusives that are ripe for monetization.
As far as website builders go, Squarespace takes a streamlined approach to site management and design, which makes it popular with creatives. Includes 24/7 customer support, unlimited bandwidth, performance metrics, SEO features, ecommerce tools, and SSL security(opens in new tab)It also maintains a huge library of stylish mobile-optimized templates that can be easily customized using drag-and-drop page elements. No coding experience is required to create a visually appealing site that runs smoothly.
Even better, all of these templates support videos.
Honestly (depending on your determination) this can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, there are so many templates to choose from — more than 230 to be specific.On the other hand you have so many Choosing from several templates can be difficult. Especially if you don’t know exactly what your site will look like.
Here’s Mashable’s guide to choosing the right Squarespace template for your video, along with a roundup of our current favorites.
What are Squarespace Templates?
Squarespace’s templates or themes are pre-built demo websites that, according to their support center, serve as “starting points to inspire your site design.”(opens in new tab)You can leave that website mostly as is, repackage the demo content with your own branding, or remake it entirely with different colors, font packs, layouts, and content blocks. What your site should look like (and how much time and effort you want to put into it).
Templates behave differently depending on which version of Squarespace you’re running. As of 2023, here are his two options:
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Squarespace version 7.0 Contains 91 templates grouped into different “families” that share the same fixed structure and formatting options. Some experienced Squarespace designers prefer to use this version. The reason is that some advanced features are not yet available in the new version (for example the parallax scroll effect in the Brine template family). However, it feels inflexible because you can’t mix and match features from different families.
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Squarespace version 7.1 has consolidated all 140+ templates into one family, so they all share the same features and style elements. The demo’s design looks a bit uniform, but the trade-off is being able to easily switch between templates without risking losing content. You can also build with the Fluid Engine (new from mid-2022 onwards). It offers more flexibility in block placement and layout options compared to the platform’s classic editor.
Side note: It’s technically possible to migrate from version 7.0 to version 7.1, but it’s usually a manual rebuild and impacts your site’s search rankings. If you’re not sure which version to go with, launch Squarespace’s free 14-day trial. This allows you to explore both before pinning yourself to a paid plan.
How do I add videos to my Squarespace site?
You can add videos to your site in three different ways, which also depends on which version of Squarespace you’re running.
Embed videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Animoto, or Wistia using URLs or embed codes — This is version 7.0 of the video block, embed block, gallery block, gallery page, cover page, lock screen background, and some banners and product pages (depending on template family), as well as video pages, video blocks, Works with embedded blocks. Version 7.1 includes section backgrounds, lock screen backgrounds and some gallery blocks (depending on site area). You can also include a live stream from YouTube or Vimeo, but be aware that depending on your settings this may not work after the stream ends.
Upload .mp4, .m4v or .mov File — With version 7.1 you can also add clips directly to the background of any video page or section (up to 5GB or 500MB respectively). They play in the platform’s custom video player and feature editable titles, descriptions, URLs, thumbnails, and metadata. All Squarespace plans come standard with just 30 minutes of high-definition video storage, but can be upgraded by activating the Members Area feature for an additional fee.
Swap still images for animated .gif files — Silent GIFs that play and loop automatically can be moved anywhere images are supported, including image blocks, banners, and gallery blocks. Both versions of Squarespace offer this option.
There is also an important caveat to this. Squarespace’s analytics tab doesn’t include video metrics. Plays of embedded videos may count toward your total view count, but you should contact the host (e.g. YouTube) for details.
What other video tools does Squarespace offer?
Squarespace has launched some cool new video-related tools over the last few years. One of them is the aforementioned member his area function. Add to your plan for just £6 a month and unlock more video storage and the ability to gate specific content on your site, such as virtual workshops, tutorials, packages and newsletters. This makes a great in-house alternative (or supplement) to Patreon or YouTube channel memberships. Users can be charged a one-time fee or a recurring subscription for access.
Squarespace enriched its free Unfold app for social content in 2022 with additional video features and added a slideshow tool that lets you stitch together a series of images and clips for TikTok or Instagram Reels (custom templates, filters and effects). Available for both iOS and Android.
Users can also take advantage of Squarespace Video Studio, an app to create premium videos that can be shared directly on your site or social media. (This is for iOS only.) With professionally designed video templates that auto-populate with your site’s branding style and product imagery, AI narration tools, and a built-in teleprompter (with script length suggestions!), Easy to create clips. Fly. Full access is unlocked for Business and Commerce subscribers and is a free download with any Squarespace plan or trial.
How do I choose the right Squarespace template?
Squarespace’s Templates tab lets you filter its library by type and topic. This allows the pool of candidates to be fairly condensed. After clicking on the template[デモ サイトを表示]Click the button to see what the live version looks like. Unfortunately, very few include videos, but keep in mind that you can easily add them almost anywhere on your site. That said, we’ll focus primarily on eye-catching colors and layouts.
What are the best Squarespace templates for videos?
To make things a little easier, we’ve rounded up some of the best options on Squarespace.
These are the best Squarespace templates for videos in 2023.
