Squarespace 7.0 versus 7.1
True story, the first time I used Squarespace was about 9 years ago. A friend hired me to design a site for her new business and by "hire" I mean she was going to buy me dinner in exchange. At this point, I had been designing for fun for myself and friends and I had never worked with SS. Let's just say it did not go well. She "fired" me - though I still got a steak - and she hired a professional. It really hurt my ego but it also lit a fire and I've been obsessed with SS ever since.
If you've been on SS for a few years, you are most likely using version 7.0. If you haven't changed your them in awhile, I would recommend updating to any of the themes in the BRINE family as they offer more customization that others. You can see a list of benefits here. My go-to theme is Margot which I use for every project regardless of the subject.
When version 7.1 was launched it was like something in my brain broke and I had to relearn everything. Well, not everything but the interface and style editors are very different as well as the arrow to edit, one is on the left, the other on the right. I was so overwhelmed. I deleted the site and started over with 7.0.
After working with both of them now for awhile, I am equally comfortable with both and love them both for what makes them unique.
7.1 currently does not offer parallax scrolling on banner images. They offer other animations but not parallax. They offer slider galleries but not as full bleed banners with text.
What 7.1 offers that 7.0 does not is backgrounds color. I can't tell you how many times I had to do a screenshot of a hex color and upload it as a banner just to get a colored background. In 7.1 there are a variety of color palettes available so you have multiple options for backgrounds and of course you can still add an image as background.
The Style Editor in 7.0 allows you to click an item you want to inspect and shows you the adjustments that are available. For example, if I am in the editor and click on the logo it will take me to the style options to change the size. Same for text, padding, etc.
In 7.1 items are broken into categories: fonts, color palettes, image galleries, etc.
One important and sometimes overlooked feature is if you open a new SS account, you can still select one of the 7.0 themes by scrolling to the bottom of the list of themes and choosing older themes. And final note is that regardless of the look on the 7.1 theme, they are all the same with different interchangeable components so there are no wrong choices.
If you need help with your site or want training, book a Zoom session with me for $100 per hour through the HIRE ME link.
