Maximizing Your Squarespace Site with Extensions, Plugins, and Code Snippets: A Comprehensive Guide
If you're using Squarespace to create your website, you're probably aware that extensions, plugins, code snippets, and apps can help you do so much more with your site. But, do you know the differences between them and how to use them effectively?
In this post, I’ll go over everything you need to know about Squarespace extensions, plugins, code snippets, and apps. I'll explain the differences between them and provide useful tips for using them in the most effective way possible.
I'll also give you a rundown of every single Squarespace extension currently available. That's right, every.single.one! We’re talking extensions for shipping and fulfillment, finance, inventory and products, sales and marketing, and more. You'll get a comprehensive list of all the add-ons that integrate seamlessly with Squarespace, and to help you get to the bottom of things quickly I'll even highlight my favorite ones.
And, since I know that finding the right plugin or code snippet can be a daunting task, I’ve got some trusted plugin and code resources to check out. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced Squarespace user, you'll find something useful in this post.
So, if you're ready to take your Squarespace site to the next level, keep reading! I'll help you make the most of Squarespace extensions, plugins, code snippets, and apps.
Extensions, Plugins, Code Snippets, Apps - what’s the difference?
Plugins can be anything from short code snippets to more complex code solutions. Most Squarespace plugins allow you to change the look of something on your site with CSS or to do something that isn’t necessarily possible by Squarespace right out of the box using JavaScript. These are all written and created by third-party developers outside of Squarespace.
Extensions are third-party apps or programs to help you manage, optimize, and expand your site’s functionality or help you in some tangentially related aspect of business (such as with accounting, taxes or shipping). Think of these as “official” Squarespace plugins or Squarespace apps if Squarespace had an app store.
3 Squarespace Code & Plugin Tips
Less is More - I usually advise that extra code and plugins are added sparingly. Consider these the “accessories” to a really great outfit instead of the main show. You’re always best off doing as much as possible sans code (and that’s actually quite a lot, thanks to Squarespace 7.1’s Fluid Engine!) and then peppering in a few impactful code tweaks just to personalize things a touch. This not only makes it a lot easier (less custom code to sort through!) but can also help ensure that your site loads quickly which is great for SEO.
Know Your Platform - There’s a lot of legacy code floating around out there for Squarespace 7.0 but all new sites are built on Squarespace 7.1 and the code is often not applicable to both platforms! A good code developer will make sure to indicate which platforms (or themes for 7.0 sites) their code works on but if you find something out there that’s not working the first thing I would check is that you’ve found code that applies to the platform you’re currently on.
Test Thoroughly - It’s easy on Squarespace to add in some code and just walk away but you always want to be sure to to test that things are working as expected when you’re not in edit mode. View your site in an incognito window and on different screen sizes. Does everything look and act as it should? Is your code having any unintended impact on other areas of your site? Even well-written code snippets and plugins can have some negative interactions with other customizations you may have added so test, test and test again just to be on the safe side.
What doesn’t require an extension on Squarespace?
There are so many different things that don’t require any additional add-ons or extras on Squarespace that I think they’re worth mentioning! These are all things that often require extra third-party apps or add-ons on other platforms but that are just built right in on Squarespace.
Social Media - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest
Content - YouTube, Vimeo, Spotify, SoundCloud
Payments - Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Afterpay
Shipping - USPS, FedEx, UPS
Files - Google Sheets, Dropbox
Google Things - Google Search Console, Google Analytics
To connect any of the things above, you can do so right from within Squarespace!
A Brief Rundown of Every Single Squarespace Extension Currently Available
As mentioned above, consider this list of Squarespace Extensions like the “Squarespace App Store.” All of these add-ons integrate seamlessly with Squarespace - they have the official Squarespace stamp of approval! (p.s. This is a looooong list so I’ve highlighted my faves 😉)
Shipping & Fulfillment
Aftership - Boost sales with branded tracking pages, proactive notifications, and actionable shipping insights (Related post: How to Send Delivery Confirmation Messages with Squarespace)
Easyship - Save up to 91% on shipping across 550+ courier services & boost global revenue growth 56% with this feature-rich platform (Related post: How To Set Up a Profitable Shipping Strategy on Squarespace)
Order Desk - Order management app that helps you automate your order fulfillment process
Returns Center by Aftership - Frictionless self-service returns management portal to give smooth returns experiences (Related post: How to Manage eCommerce Returns on Your Small Business Website)
ShipBob - Simple, fast, affordable two-day fulfillment from a global fulfillment network
Shippo - Save time and money on shipping
ShipStation - Import, organize, and ship orders from over 180 channels, carriers, and fulfillment providers
Finance
Avalara - Create ready-to-file sales tax returns
Dext - Simplify, standardize and streamline your digital sales accounting with Dext Commerce (formerly Greenback)
FreshBooks - Generate reports and automatically sync clients, items, and orders from all your sales channels
MYOB - Automate the flow of your Squarespace sales, payment and tax information into your MYOB file through a daily sync.
Quickbooks Online - Connect Squarespace to QuickBooks Online to automate accounting of your sales data
TaxJar - Automated sales tax calculations, reporting, and filing (Related post: The Definitive Guide to Squarespace Sales Tax)
Xero - Automate the flow of your Squarespace sales, payment and tax information into your Xero file through a daily sync.
Inventory & Products
Art of Where - Design your custom printed products made on-demand. Leggings, silk scarves, t-shirts, handbags, notebooks & more
Candid Wholesale - A better way to buy, sell, and pay for wholesale (Related post: How to Set up a Wholesale Shop on Squarespace)
Printful - Print on demand for your Squarespace site powered by Printful (Related post: 3 Ways to Crush This Holiday Selling Season with Your Squarespace eCommerce Website)
inFlow Cloud - A complete inventory management system (Related post: A Minimalist’s Guide to Squarespace Inventory & Product Extensions)
LitCommerce - Enable Multichannel Selling: Bulk List Products & Sync Orders with the top-global marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, TikTok Shop, etc.
Printify - Create, sell, and ship custom products anywhere in the world (Related post: Creating a Custom Print-on-Demand Store with Squarespace)
Printique - Professional photo lab delivering high quality fine art prints, frames, canvas, acrylic, and metal
Soona - Meet Soona. The virtual content studio for e-commerce product photography and video. Over 15k brands love Soona. Only pay for the content you love. $39/photo and $93/video. (Related post: 6 Simple Tips for eCommerce Photography that Converts)
Spocket - Add dropshipping products from US & EU suppliers directly to your store
SPOD - Design & sell custom products
Syncee - Find products for your dropshipping business
Trunk - Multi-channel real-time stock syncing and bundling (Related post: How to Sell Bundles & Kits on Squarespace)
Sales & Marketing
Channable - Empowering your eCommerce growth
Delighted - Automate post-purchase customer feedback surveys
EZ Texting - Send Smarter text promotions and automated SMS campaigns to your customers
GoDataFeed - Transform static product catalogs into dynamic product feeds for hundreds of channels like Google, Facebook, and Amazon
Judge.me - Product reviews with free photos & videos for social proof
LiveChat - Delight your customers and fuel your sales with a complete customer service platform (Related post: How to Add LiveChat to Squarespace)
MailChimp for Commerce - Drive traffic and sales with personalized marketing
Outfy - Create stunning social media graphics and automate social media posts
Progressier - Transform your Squarespace site into a mobile app and deliver push notifications
Sprout - Use Sprout to easily plant trees, become more sustainable, and reach eco-conscious customers.
Weglot Translate - Translate your website into multiple languages
Want to connect something not on the list above? Don’t worry - it’s probably still possible through the use of the Squarespace Commerce API + Zapier!
My Most Trusted Plugin & Code Resources
Will Myers’ Curious Coder Membership - If you’d like to learn a little behind how code works (or even how to write some yourself), I highly recommend Will’s Curious Code Membership! There are some code snippets you can just copy and paste which is nice when you’re in a hurry to just solve a problem but the real magic is in Will’s super easy-to-understand videos where he explains how and why things work the way they do.
Inside The Square - Becca’s YouTube is filled with answers to all of your most frequently asked Squarespace code questions and she always keeps it fun and high energy.
Chris Schwartz-Edmisten - Chris has a really great way of explaining things that I also really enjoy.
Beatriz Caraballo - Beatriz has a ton of great code resources, especially if you’re a fellow Squarespace web designer.
Ghost Plugins - My favorite all-around source for plugins is Ghost because I trust that they’ll all work well and they’re curated and sourced from the best Squarespace pros around (including yours truly).
For specific plugins that I use & recommend, check out one of these round-up posts:
Bottom Line
You now know all the basic ins and outs on Squarespace extensions, plugins, code snippets, and apps! With this knowledge, you can now explore the vast world of Squarespace customization and know when and how you can get the most out of your Squarespace website. By experimenting with different plugins, code snippets, and apps, you can add exciting new features and functionalities to your site and make it even more effective and impressive. Whether you want to optimize your site for search engines, enhance its performance, or simply make it look more beautiful, Squarespace has everything you need to achieve your goals. So go ahead and try new things and experiment with different tools and techniques. With Squarespace, the sky's the limit!
