What is the difference between a free versus premium Squarespace website template?
We discuss the merits of Premium Squarespace website Templates and the free templates you get from Squarespace.
The biggest difference is not necessarily the quality of the design. It’s usually about how much customisation, functionality, and design flexibility you need.
At a glance
Free templates v. Premium templates
Cost Included with Squarespace usually an additional purchase or third-party cost
Design quality Professional. Often more distinctive or niche
Customisation Good. Often more extensive
Best for Beginners, simple sites, portfolios, Brands, businesses, creators wanting a unique look
Setup Generally easier. May require more configuration
Support Squarespace support applies. Depends on whether it's Squarespace or third-party
SEO Can be perfectly adequate. Not automatically better
Performance Usually solid. Depends on how the template is built
What you actually get with a premium template
Premium templates can give you a more finished visual identity out of the box—particularly useful if you want a sophisticated portfolio, agency site, online store, restaurant site, or personal brand. The following are three of our best selling premium designs.
A lovely design with split backgrounds. Would suit any business where style and presentation is important. Just swap over the images and the text.
View this design
This template is a really easy one to make your own. The design is easy to adapt to your own business. It's very slick and contemporary and looks great on mobile.
View this design
Bold layout. This layout would compliment a brand. If you have a strong message, a set of colours and logos.
View this design
Our premium designs include things such as:
More elaborate page layouts
Custom typography and visual effects
More distinctive navigation
Pre-designed sections for specific industries
More polished conversion-focused layouts
A design that requires less work to make look "finished"
But there's an important consideration: paying for a template doesn't automatically give you better SEO, faster loading, or better business results. Squarespace websites need to be optimised for SEO. We’ll help you optimise your new website.
A well-built free template with strong content can outperform an expensive template with poor copy and confusing navigation.
When a free template is the better choice
Choose free if you're:
Building your first website. Understanding how a Squarespace website works is an advantage going forward.
Creating a personal portfolio
Starting a small business with a straightforward website
Testing an idea before investing heavily
Comfortable making some design adjustments yourself
For many users, free is more than enough.
When premium makes sense
A premium template becomes more attractive when the website itself is an important part of your brand.
For example, if you're a photographer, designer, consultant, agency, coach, or creative business, a distinctive template can save you hours of trying to recreate a particular aesthetic.
Consider paying for one when:
The template saves you significant design time or gives you a look that's difficult to achieve yourself.
The templates below are our designs that are scrolling websites. The Clouds and the Scrolling designs have backgrounds that work independently from the foreground text.
Very cool scrolling website where the backgrounds move independently from the page foreground. Would suit a business that needs a gorgeous design.
View this design
Looking for something a little bit quirky but not too 'out there’. This design would suit any business. Lots of choices for page layouts and customisable design.
View this design
Similar design to The Cloud template. This is a scrolling design. Would suit any business that needs to stand out in a crowded market.
View this design
Our recommendation
If you have all of your content and you’re struggling with a design a premium template may be the solution.
First identify your website's goals, pages, content, and brand style. Then look at templates. If a free option gets you 80–90% of the way there, use it. If a premium template gets you much closer to the finished site you want—and saves substantial time—the extra cost can be worthwhile.
In other words:
Free = best value for most beginners.
Premium = worth it when design differentiation and saved time have real business value.
The following templates are designs on the left would suit a business in the food industry and the design on the right would suit a business in the fitness industry.
