If you’re starting your new Squarespace website then you will want to choose a Squarespace template. There are lots of free Squarespace templates to choose from because there are all free. If you pay for anything on a template, it is because you’re getting a developer to customise a theme.

How to Choose Between the Best Squarespace Templates

As all the Squarespace templates are free, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to your website’s design. However there are a few things to remember when you are coming over to Squarespace. The first thing is that once you’ve chosen your website’s theme, you must use that. If you want to change your template, you have to start again. You can switch the domain over to the new design, but you can’t move the content over, you have to manually move the content over to the new design.

Another thing to consider is that choosing a free Squarespace template is just the first step in building your website. You can customise the template to make it match your branding. This can be done easily with many of them and you shouldn’t need a developer to make those changes.

As all templates are free, you’re able to choose a template that has all the features that you want without the need to compromise on price.

However, you want to make sure that your website has several features that make it much more effective. For one, you want to make sure that you have website that will load quickly on a customer’s device. Speed is very important because for every second that it takes to load on a device, you will lose 7% of your revenue. Many websites take between 8 and 11 seconds to load, so a faster website will allow you to out compete your competitors and help you earn more revenue.

Speed is also important for ranking on Google, which is really important for your website. The higher you’re ranked the more traffic you will get. Research has found that those sites that are ranked in the top three of a search page will get 70% of the traffic. Those that are ranked in the bottom five of the search page will get 2.5% of the traffic. This is a big difference, so higher ranks are really important.

You also need to ensure that you can convert more of your website traffic. Conversion rates on a website can range between 1 and 5%. However, you can improve conversions by having a fast website. However, you can also increase conversions through different features on your website.

So what are the best free Squarespace templates available? Here are ten of the best.

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Bailard

Bailard is one of the most popular templates that is available on Squarspace. There are two call-to-actions buttons that are available to be placed on the homepage. One of these can be centered on a high-quality hero image which can help brand your website. There is another call-to-action that can be placed in the upper right corner of the menu. These call to actions can direct your visitors to any page on your website.

To aid with your site’s ranking, you’re able to have fast loading website pages. This can include using lazy loading on your images. This can be very important for those who have websites with lots of images. Lazy loading is where images that are located below the fold aren’t loaded onto the browser until after the user scrolls down to the position on the page.

The template has a bold design, this is minimalist, which again helps with ranking and speed. The minimal design also allows you to focus the attention of your audience to ensure that you can get customers to notice the main content.

Bailard Highlights:

  • You can use two call to actions on your website that can help you direct traffic to important pages on your website.
  • This template can be used by brands in any niche.
  • This is a perfect template for those who want to have fast loading website.
  • This is one of the most highly used templates.

Tremont

Tremont is another very popular template with Squarespace users and it has been for a long time. There are brands from numerous niches that have used this template and there are lots of reasons for this. There is a full-page image design that is perfect for brands to showcase their main brand imagery on the homepage. And you can add more images on your website to enforce your key messages and help customers to trust your brand. Each image that you add to your website can have multiple call to actions added to them.

The template can also be used take orders online with the ChowNow integration. This is a handy tool and has been used by those in the food industries a lot.

The site has also be optimized for mobile viewing, allowing you to have a responsive and fast template that will improve your rankings. It can also help with conversions and reduce loading times across devices.

Tremont Highlights:

  • One of the fastest Squarespace templates that can help you rank on Google and other search engines.
  • You can integrate your website with ChowNow that can help your business take online orders.
  • You’re able to add multiple call-to-actions that can help customers find the products/services they need.
  • This is a responsive template that allows your site to load quickly and look good on all browsers.

Alameda

Alameda is one of the best templates for those looking for a template for version 7.1 of Squarespace. It is perfect for lots of different niches and those who have eCommerce sites and blogs have used this template lots. You’re able to sell products, services and more. You can locate featured products on your homepage to sell them more and earn more revenue.

In addition to the eCommerce features that can help you sell there are other functions that can help you rank higher on Google. This is really important because you want to get the most traffic to improve your website’s revenues. Part of the ranking element is the speed of the template. There is lazy loading features that download the images on a page only when they’re needed.

There are also options to help you convert more on your website. For instance there is a ‘Quick View’ option that allows customers to see more information about a product without leaving the shop page. There are also ways that you can cross sell on your website with an area called ‘you might also like’ section.

Alameda Highlights:

  • There are lots of options to help you improve your website’s performance and speed.
  • You can use the ‘Quick View’ option to help your customers see a product without leaving their current page.
  • You can earn more revenue by cross selling on your website.
  • You can speed up the website with lazy loading features on the template.

Skye – Modern Blog Squarespace Template

Skye is one of the top Squarespace templates that can be used by many brands for any niche. It is perfect for those who want to have a lot of visual images on their website and these can be linked to other media like blog posts and pages. It has been used by many brands, but specifically by those who are travel writers or have food blogs. But the template can be used by any brands from any niche.

The minimalist design is very impressive and the design is perfect for faster loading times and higher rankings on Google. There are other ways that you can impress visitors. There is a fullscreen design that has grid-based content blocks that can help you customize your website with ease.

The template allows you to use blog posts to market your brand. The designs are beautiful and they can improve the experience of your visitors and ensure that you get the most of their visit to your website. In addition, there are navigation options that are really great for this template. There is a slide-out left-hand side menu, this can be hidden until it is needed by the user.

Skye – Modern Blog Squarespace Template Highlights:

  • This is a perfect blog template for those who are looking for a modern design.
  • Skye is a very impressive design that is perfect for those brands that want to blog have lots of videos and images on their site.
  • Is very responsive, allowing you to have your website viewed on any device.
  • There is a grid-based content block design that makes customizations very easy..

Harris – Minimal Corporate Squarespace Template

Harris can help you take your website to the next level. It is a minimalist Squarespace template that is perfect for lots of different niches. Some of the niches that it has been used by include bloggers and professional services. However, it can also be good for eCommerce stores and more.

There is a beautiful header that is perfectly placed and can be used to help you brand your website to your company. There are other customization options as well that can improve the professionalism of your website with better navigation and more. The menu is placed in the top right corner of the template’s design, which is perfectly located for helping customers find their way across your website.

There are numerous inner pages that you’re able to add to your website. You can add brand, about us, services, projects and more to your website with ease.

Harris – Minimal Corporate Squarespace Template Highlights:

  • This is one of the fastest Squarespace, minimalist website templates.
  • One of the top Squarespace templates for ranking on Google and other search engines.
  • The menu is located in the top right corner that is perfect for navigation.
  • You can use this template for numerous niches including bloggers and professional services.

Hayden – Agency Squarespace Template

Hayden is one of the best templates on Squarspace for those who are a design agency. It was specifically designed for this niche, however it has also been used in other industries, so you can use it even if you’re in another industry. Part of the appeal of this template is that it is modern and sleek and it can help you rank on Google with ease. There are lots of different pages that you can create on this template including services, clients, portfolio and case studies, so you can build a website with lots of great content.

The template also includes a scheduling system that you can use for events and other activities.

The design is very striking and looks professional. This can help you convert your website’s traffic with ease. There is a menu that is located in the top right that is beautiful and can be placed to help visitors to browse your website with ease. The navigation bar is also sticky, it will stay at the top of the page, visible at all times as the user scrolls down the page. Therefore, they are always free to visit other pages without having to scroll back to the top of your website.

The template also includes social media links that are located at the bottom of your template. And to help engage audiences even further, you can add a blog to your website.

Hayden – Agency Squarespace Template Highlights:

  • A highly customizable Squarespace template that is perfect for numerous niches.
  • A great sticky navigation bar that will allow customers to move around your website with ease.
  • There is an easy blogging section that can help you to create and publish content on your website for higher levels of traffic.
  • The sleek and professional design of the template will help you rank higher on Google and other search engines.

Ready – Freelancer Squarespace Template

Ready is one of the best templates for helping you to improve guests when they land on your website. Whether you’re a photographer, a blogger, an online shop or someone who wants to run a family website, Ready will be a great choice. The template allows you to showcase lots of images regardless of what they are in high quality. At the same time you can maintain that minimalist look that is impressive and helps with ranking and loading times.

The white background allows you to focus the attention of the audience and gives a clean look to your website. This is perfect for those brands that want to get the audience to pay more attention to products or services. And when the customer is ready to move onto the next phase of the process, you can get them to utilize a call to action button that can you customize. This can help you to sell, get appointments and more. You can also use the inbuilt scheduling system to set appointments if you want.

To help your visitors navigate across your website there are several options. The best is the hidden menu on the left-hand side of the page. This will only appear when a customer clicks on the icon and then it slide out from the side. It is a great way to maximize space on your website.

The template is completely mobile-friendly, allowing visitors to use any device they would like on your website. This is also good for ranking on Google and other search engines.

Ready – Freelancer Squarespace Template Highlights:

  • This is an aesthetically designed template that is perfect for almost any niche.
  • There is an inbuilt appointment setting system that can help you earn more revenue.
  • There is a minimalist design that is perfect for website loading times and getting your site to rank higher on Google.
  • Social media links can be connected to your website.

Carson – Portfolio Squarespace Template

Carson is the perfect portfolio Squarespace template. You can showcase all your work with ease and the unique design is so good that it can appeal to a wide audience without any problems. Unlike the traditional static homepage, this template allows you to showcase the best images you have for your brand. This can be don through standalone images or galleries. This can help you reduce your bounce rate with ease.

One of the best things about this template is that it can change. The background image of the website will change as the user moves their mouse over certain links on the page. This makes the design more unique than others and can help with the engagement between website and user.

The website template has been used to promote current and past projects on other user’s websites and it can help you to gain new clients/customers with ease. There is great navigational support through a hidden menu. There is also easy access to a contact page, about us and services pages.

Carson – Portfolio Squarespace Template Highlights:

  • One of the most unique Squarespace templates that is available to be used.
  • The background image will change whenever someone moves the mouse pointer over a link.
  • There is a hidden menu that can help customers find the pages they want to read.
  • Easy to customize with not need to have any developer experience.

Avenue – Portfolio Squarespace Template

Avenue is one of the best portfolio Squarespace website templates that allow you to showcase your work with ease. It is perfect for anyone who wants to display their creative work, like photography, artwork or something with ease. Those who don’t have a lot of experience on website designing will find this template really easy to use and they can concentrate more on building their business than managing their website.

There are lot of options to earn revenues as well. Avenue has eCommerce functionality that can help you make your website earn more money by selling products or services.

The basic design for avenue is really good. It can load quickly and rank high on Google. Therefore, you can have more traffic to your website and convert more of that traffic.

Avenue – Portfolio Squarespace Template Highlights:

  • A minimalist template that can load very fast on any device.
  • You can describe projects in great detail on your project pages.
  • The fast-loading website can rank high on Google and other search engines.
  • There is a grid-based layout that is easy to customize and use, even for those without any experience.

Wells

Wells is one of the best designs for those that want to showcase the latest of their brand in images. It takes very little time to manage this template, which makes it one of the best and you can impress guests with large images that are high-resolution and quality. You’re also able to use videos within the content to help convert more visitors.

Wells comes with eCommerce capabilities that can help you sell your products with ease. Or you can use a scheduling system to book appointments or tickets with your customers with ease.

This template is fast loading, helping you to rank on Google and other search engines with ease. And the speedy loading will impress guests who will be more likely to convert when they are on your website.

Wells Highlights:

  • Social media account engagement with integration that is made easy.
  • Use videos from YouTube to highlight your products/skills.
  • Sell your work/products/services online with ease.
  • High ranking potential with this template.

Final Word: The 10 Best Free Squarespace Templates

Every Squarespace template is free, however if you’re looking for the best free Squarespace template, then you have to look at the list above. These are perfect for taking your business to the next level. So which template will you use? Let us know in the comments below.