Layout Trouble? This Squarespace Block Tin Salve Your Life

squarespace page layout tricks

As a Squarespace web designer for small businesses, I give thanks the Squarespace gods on a regular basis for how simple they make things — especially when it comes to adding content.

Website content comes in the form of many things; namely text (known as "copy") and photos, but a multifariousness of other elements likewise: forms, buttons, videos, calendars, maps, social media feeds and more! The manner you add these elements to Squarespace is in the course of "blocks," their drag-and-drop method of adding whatever you need to your small business organization website.

There happens to be one particular block in the Squarespace collection that I completely overlooked when I congenital my first Squarespace website for my vanlife travel blog dorsum in 2016:

The Spacer Block.

I think I used information technology a couple times to, ya know, create a little infinite when I idea my images were too close to the text nether or above it. Just mostly they irritated me; they were in random spots all over the template when I'd try to motion things around, they would do weird things to the sizes of my image blocks and text blocks! (Then annoying.)

I didn't really know what to make of them, so I didn't mess with them too much, and muddled my way through laying out my website, not deviating much from the template itself (aww, the early on days — if you're there now, I'm living proof that it get sooo much easier!).

And then 1 day, watching my 306th YouTube video on Squarespace layout tips, I saw a designer exercise something that changed the WHOLE layout game for me, and essentially saved my life (and sanity) when it came to DIY Squarespace web design.

I tin't for the life of me remember what the video was actually about, but what I saw was the designer using the spacer block to center a content cake. And that's when I realized: Spacer Blocks can be used to create entire layouts! And that'due south what I've used to pattern every single website I've made always since.

Past the mode, you can sign upward for a costless trial of Squarespace here , and I also snagged y'all a lil' deal and then use lawmaking PARTNER10 for 10% off your start twelvemonth of Squarespace!

Now I'm here to show you lot how so you don't have to muddle around like I did (here's to hoping you didn't come up across this weblog afterwards your 306th YouTube tutorial… 😉)

Apply it to: Eye CONTENT

Allow'southward say you lot want an image in the eye of the screen…without taking up the whole screen. Or possibly yous want a headline centered without taking upwards the full width of your desktop. Spacer Cake to the rescue, my friends.

STEP 1: Add a spacer that takes up the full width of the page.

STEP 2: Add together a 2d full-width space beneath information technology.

STEP 3: Click & drag the bottom spacer until the placement indicator (the dark line that appears effectually other blocks to point where dragged block volition be moved when released) lights up on the SHORT side of the top spacer.

Note: At the end of Step three, the two spacer blocks should exist adjacent to each other, indicated past a dashed line downward the middle of the spacers and new insert bespeak bubbling that appear in the middle of the ii spacers.

STEP 4: Click an insert point to add your Image Block, or Text Block or whatever block yous're attempting to center. (Annotation: if you've already added it on the page, that'southward okay! Simply click and drag it). Once you've added the contents of your block, click and drag it until the placement indicator lights upwards the brusque line in the middle of the two spacers — once this happens, release the block.

STEP 5: Voila! Your content is centered! At present you can click and drag the spacers on either side of your image cake to change the width of the picture (or text, etc.) until information technology takes up the amount of space you'd like.

Employ it to: LAYOUT COLUMNS OF CONTENT

This is the secret to creating killer custom layouts throughout your site! Once you've mastered this technique with your Squarespace spacer blocks, y'all'll never demand to use a pre-laid out page again — but your artistic vision.

Step one: Make up one's mind on your layout. For this example, we're going to apply TWO images above 3 columns of text.

Stride ii: Starting with the images, add together two full-width spacer blocks, ane on top of the other. Using the instructions in a higher place, elevate one of the spacer blocks next to the other and then that they're side by side.

How you tin tell they're next!

Step 3: Click the insert indicate bubble underneath the left spacer and add your image block. Do the aforementioned with the spacer on the correct, clicking the insert point bubble that appears below the mid-line that appears between the ii spacers.

Annotation: When ii spacers are next to each other, the placement indicator will requite you TWO options — to add a content block underneath the half-width sized spacer or underneath BOTH spacers, adding a full width block. If you accidentally add your block total-width instead of partial width, merely click and drag information technology until the placement indicator only lights up the partial width spacer block, so release.

STEP four: Underneath the images, click the insert bespeak bubble once the indicator lights up across the full width of the screen. Add Iii full-width spacer blocks, one on top of the other.

Step five: As you did in Footstep 2, click and drag the spacers until they are side by side in one line across the screen. They volition automatically size themselves to exist equal sizes.*

STEP 6: Click the insert point bubble underneath the far left spacer and add your text cake. Do the same with the spacer in the middle and on the right, clicking the insert signal bubble that appears to the left of each cake, below the small-scale vertical dashed lines.

STEP vii: If desired, one time the content blocks accept been added, you Tin delete the spacer blocks without messing upward the layout! Nonetheless, if you practice this and so later delete ane of the content blocks, the remaining content blocks will adapt themselves to have up the leftover infinite equally.

Do this with nigh Whatsoever layout y'all can think of — for instance, these blogs were created with a spacer that took upwards two-thirds of the screen (used by the text you're reading at present) while one-third of the screen is taken up by my newsletter sign up (ringlet up and you'll see information technology on the peak correct!).

*Note: All spacer blocks volition automatically size themselves to be equal sizes upward until 5 spacers are placed side by side. V or more than spacers will not automatically exist equidistant from one another, though an even number of spacers can be made into equal sizes past clicking and dragging.

Use it to: ADD PADDING TO YOUR SITE

Of course, you can always utilise Site Styles if you lot want to create uniform, site-wide padding — only if yous don't want a lot of padding throughout your site & just desire information technology on a page or two instead, you tin use Spacer Blocks to create that "padded" illusion!

Pace one: Ideally, start with a fresh, blank page. Using instructions for the examples above, layout THREE total-width spacer blocks on top of one some other, then drag them to identify them next until they make i line beyond the screen.

STEP 2: Elevate the edges of the centre spacer equally far to the left and right every bit you can (or as far the the left and right as you want your content to go — the less padding you want, the farther yous'll drag, and vice versa).

Stride 3: First laying out your folio content nether the centre spacer cake ONLY. You tin still use spacer blocks to create a layout under the middle spacer if desired.

STEP 4: That's it! When you lot salvage the page and open it in a browser, you'll encounter more than white infinite on either side of your content now.

Use it to: Construction YOUR MOBILE DESIGN

Hither'southward a piddling more advanced cognition for those of yous who desire to ensure that your mobile design is top notch (highly recommended for businesses who are pulling most of their leads from social media — people browse social feeds on their phones WAY more oft than on their laptops).

Did you know that the way your site is laid out on a desktop influences the order in which it shows upwardly on your phone? Yeah, it's part of Squarespace'south built-in mobile optimization (a characteristic that, past itself, would be enough to convince me to use Squarespace as my platform — no messy coding for mobile dazzler!)…and Spacers tin help you tell the internet gods what content to bring upwardly first.

Permit'south say you lot have a home construction business and this is on your Almost page:

When this page comes upwards on a mobile device, it looks like this:

Now, let'south say you desire to make sure that your clients read "Trusted Business concern" before they read "Custom Options" if they come beyond your website on their phone…WITHOUT changing the layout on the desktop view. How exercise y'all make that happen?

With this niggling Squarespace merchandise secret: if you have content blocks that are next in desktop view, the content blocks on the left will show upwards first on mobile devices.

And so how practice Spacer Blocks come into play hither?

Squarespace'south mobile robots (not a technical term, but hey, it'southward practiced enough for me) read from left to right until they attain the bottom of your page. However, the mobile robots run across spacer blocks as a "page break" of sorts — a full-width spacer basically tells Squarespace's mobile robots that the folio has ended, which means it volition display everything above the spacer before it moves on to the content below it.

So, referring to our example in a higher place, to ensure that folks curlicue past "Trusted Business" before "Custom Options" (without having to rearrange your entire desktop view), follow these steps…

STEP one: Add a full-width spacer in a higher place or below your content (we're going with 'above' for this example, but either is fine as long every bit it's full-width).

Stride 2: If y'all have any spacers acting as padding (similar this instance does), layout the spacers in the verbal same way above.

NOTE: In this example, that means adding four full width spacers and dragging them so they're all side past side, then dragging the middle spacers towards the border of the screen until they friction match the spacers below.

Pace 3: Drag the content you desire to evidence up get-go on mobile To a higher place ALL OF THE SPACERS into the same location where they were below.

STEP 4: Adjacent we'll kickoff deleting some spacers, Merely before y'all delete whatsoever spacers, add together ONE MORE full-width spacer between the others.

trick to changing squarespace mobile layout

squarespace edit mobile layout

STEP 5: Now, delete the extra spacers!

NOTE: Do NOT delete the spacers on the sides if you are using them for padding — this will cause your content to widen, throwing off your layout.

Now your content volition look similar this on your edit screen:

And it will still wait like this on your desktop…

…just it volition look like THIS on mobile devices! Wahoo!

how to use squarespace spacer bar

how to change squarespace layout mobile

Web Design

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