Which Version of Squarespace Should I Use for My Therapy Website, 7.0 or 7.1?
You plan to create a beautiful new website for your therapy practice, and you’re thinking of using Squarespace.
First of all, hooray! Making a new website for your practice is such a huge step, and using Squarespace will ensure that it is not just informative but also thoughtfully designed.
Squarespace switched to a new version called 7.1 in 2020 (and then in August 2023 it updated it’s editor to one called Fluid Engine).
Perhaps you already have a 7.0 site in Squarespace, and you are considering updating to 7.1.
Today I will give you a brief overview of the differences and the pros and cons of choosing one version over the other.
A little background
In 2020 Squarespace didn’t just add new templates. It introduced a completely new version of its website building platform. The new one is called Version 7.1, and the old one is 7.0. If you were familiar with using Version 7.0 and logged into a 7.1 site, you would have a fair amount of relearning to do because it’s that different.
So what is the difference between the two?
The major differences are:
1) They did away with different “template families” where each template family had different design capabilities and limitations.
2) They made it easier to apply design changes to your whole website to create a more consistent look across the board.
There are other differences, but those are the biggies.
If you’re still scratching your head a little bit, don’t worry, I’m going to get into more detail below. And if you came here looking for some help on how to choose the best Squarespace template for your therapy website, then check out the article I’ve linked.
“How do I choose one version of Squarespace over the other?”
Pros of Switching to 7.1
If you are new to Squarespace or new to building your own website, this version is WAY EASIER and more intuitive to use.
They continue to add new features and updates (such as Fluid Engine)that make this version more and more user-friendly.
Adding content to your site and changing the design is much more streamlined.
Your site will have a much more professional look because the colors, fonts, spacing, and animations are uniform across the website. It’s almost like guardrails for design-it makes the process foolproof.
Even with the "design guardrails,” it’s still easy to customize and make it your own! You can use section styles to give sections their own distinct look.
Pros of Sticking with 7.0
If you made a website in Squarespace anytime since 2014 and are already really agile with using 7.0, it will be a little clunky when you make the switch. Stick with 7.0, and you can just hit the ground running!
If you already have a site on Squarespace with a lot of content (say you have a blog or something) and want to keep most of it, it’s a pain to move it over to the new site.
Squarespace recently (Nov 2023) released a feature to migrate from 7.0 to 7.1 but it’s not foolproof!
This version is still widely in use and is still well-supported and debugged by Squarespace and it’s not going away any time soon. Just be aware that they are no longer making any improvements or updates to it, and you can’t use Fluid Engine with it.
To sum up, the version you should choose depends a lot on your history using Squarespace.
But if you’re completely new to Squarespace or building a website yourself, then the newest version is the way to go because this is the version that will be improved upon going forward (and why not use it since you’ll be learning anyhow!)
