Squarespace for Artists + Musicians (why I never looked back)
I’m a musician with a camera who lives part-time in Tokyo and blogs. This post is why I use (and love) Squarespace for artists and musicians.
Because as creatives, we need a digital hub to stash all our stuff.
We need a place that caters to creative brands and not only supports our growth, but amplifies it.
So let’s wrap up this chit chat – let’s get to it.
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Squarespace for Artists + Musicians (7 reasons I use it)
My first website was with WordPress, which is great for bloggers, but can be cumbersome as an artist.
Then I tried Wix for a minute. This is an easier platform, but IMO, it’s more suitable for small local businesses.
Finally, I tried Squarespace – and I never looked back.
These are the top reasons why I love Squarespace.
1. Aesthetics
Squarespace is focused on its visuals and artistic presentation.
It’s probably the first thing you’ll notice when visiting their homepage or perusing templates.
It’s definitely what wooed me in the beginning. Their aesthetic is:
Sleek
Minimal
Visual
Brandable
I love the designs. There’s no fluff or clutter and customization is simple.
So let’s talk more about this simplicity.
2. Simplicity
Site simplicity means you can focus on what you do best.
Because spending time on advanced site management technicals isn’t helping your brand grow.
The Pareto Principle says that roughly 80% of our results come from just 20% of our actions. These 20% actions are the big-impact things (the things that actually bring us closer to our goals).
And well, we’re not trying to become technical SEO specialists. So Squarespace is a beginner-friendly option with a super intuitive user interface.
They take care of all that back office website stuff for us, so we can focus on the art – no coding or web design experience necessary here.
They have a simple editor with easy-to-use elements and color palette choices, making it nearly impossible to make a “bad” choice.
(although, as you know, creativity isn’t “good” or “bad”…but that’s a topic for another day)
3. It’s An All-In-One Solution
With Squarespace, you’ll have all your creative business bases covered.
Need to create an email campaign? Check.
Want access to marketing and sales tools? Double check.
Need traffic, audience and data analytics? Check check check.
Squarespace has a ton of noteworthy features helpful for artists and brand growth.
Here are some examples:
Free custom domain (for the first year, *if you buy an annual plan)
Add memberships to sell courses or exclusive content
Easily connect with your Etsy shop
Sell anything (prints, products, services…you name it)
Scheduler and calendar tools
Use the Unfold app for social media content management, NFTs and creating mini link in bio sites for your socials
Make logos with their logo maker
Recommended: Growing A Squarespace Blog (my 1-year review)
4. It’s Powerful
Squarespace can handle anything you throw at it.
It’s lightweight and it’s powerful.
I used to worry about its ability to grow a blog, but I’ve had zero issues.
I consistently rank at the top of page 1 on Google and things like site speed or plugin updates have never been an issue.
Squarespace has a strong reputation and has been in business for 20 years.
I like knowing that my brand’s digital home is built on a solid foundation.
5. Online Selling
So, is Squarespace good for selling art?
Definitely. The platform is built for growing a creative business and brand online.
They’re a fully functional ecommerce platform, offering everything you need to build a store and sell your stuff.
From prints and digital products to services and merch, you’re covered. You can also connect with popular marketplaces like Etsy.
I haven’t opened a store on my own site yet, but it’s definitely in the pipeline.
6. Artist-Centric Templates
This is the Beaumont template from Squarespace.
Whether you need the perfect portfolio or a slick store to sell stuff (or both), there’s a template for it.
I love Squarespace templates. They’re modern and easily customizable.
I’d recommend perusing their template library for more options, but here are a few examples:
This is the template I used
I like the strong visual focus
I like the big blocks and minimalism
I like the big text and wavy design
7. Customer Support
Finally, I need to mention Squarespace’s customer service.
I’ve reached out a few different times with questions and requests, and I always get super genuine and helpful responses (from a real human).
They respond quickly too, usually by the end of the day or the following one (in my experience).
It’s just nice knowing you have help readily available for any website quandaries or unexpected obstacles.
Using Squarespace for Creatives (4 tips)
If you’re ready to start with Squarespace, that’s rad.
So here are some quick tips to hit the ground running.
1. Know Your Goals (but stay adaptable)
Your first website iteration won’t be your last. Tweaks and pivots abound!
But having a goal or two is super helpful. For example, one core goal for this site is to grow a successful personal blog. So I focus a lot on things like keywords, content and post optimization.
Goals help me prioritize high-impact actions (things that bring me closer to my targets) and automate, delegate or delete low-impact ones.
But if you’re not sure what your goal is, no stress. It’s a journey and staying process-oriented is key.
Here are some site goal examples for ideas though:
Create a community with memberships or discussion forums
Have a main hub for professional purposes (like contact forms and EPKs)
Sell your products or services
Highlight your work with a portfolio site
Grow a blog (like me)
2. Create An Inspo List
As artists, we’re no strangers to drawing from our inspirations.
This is also a great way to design a website.
I like to explore how other musicians, filmmakers and artists set things up, sell their products and use their site.
I still do this as I evolve and grow my brand.
The next section includes some specific examples.
3. Be Mobile-First
Having a mobile-first mindset is important for running a great website. More than half of your visitors will be on their phones.
Mobile-first means optimizing your text, images and overall design to look great on mobile.
If you’re using Squarespace, most of this optimization will be done for you, so you don’t need to stress too much.
But it’s always worth double checking, because sometimes you’ll need to make small tweaks.
Whenever you publish a new page, post or content, just double check how things look on your phone.
Peruse your new posting and put yourself in the shoes of your audience.
4. Optimize Your Site
Optimizing your site means it gets found by search engines like Google.
This is how you get free, organic traffic.
Luckily, it’s not too difficult and Squarespace handles a lot of the technical ranking factors (like site speed or security certificates).
Here are some quick tips for optimizing your website:
Know your core brand keywords
These keywords relate to your brand image and goals
For example, one of my brand keywords is “traveling musician”
You can use Google’s autocomplete as a starting point for research
Learn more about keyword research here
Use your keywords in the right places
Your main titles (H1 and H2 headers)
In your page URLs
Within your page copy and text
Have good UX (user experience)
Make your navigation easy and obvious to use
Use white space (add spacing and keep clutter to a minimum)
Use shorter paragraphs and sentences
Squarespace already optimizes for UX, so just be sure to maintain it
Keep things active
Google loves an active site
One way I do this is through my personal blog
Learn the basics of SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization
This includes things like keyword research and use and content quality
You can learn more here
Recommended: How to Customize Your Squarespace Site
Squarespace Artist Website Examples (some inspiration)
This last section will give you a little more inspiration for how other artists are using Squarespace.
The first two examples are from a couple of my favorite creators.
Sorelle Amore (photographer, entrepreneur, traveler)
Sorelle Amore is incredibly talented and her videos are incredibly fun to watch.
She’s an expert in “advanced selfies”, finance for creatives and content strategy.
Jake Frew (filmmaker, van-lifer)
Jake Frew is amazing at creating solo films with strong storytelling and clever use of still shots.
He does a lot of narration style content and is definitely one of my top influences.
Mike Perry Studio
Mike Perry’s site is busier, but full of color. It’s a great example of what you can do with Squarespace.
That is, it’s not all minimalism and modernism – there's a lot of room for customization.
FUKT Magazine
FUKT Magazine highlights the scope of ways you can use Squarespace. For example, you could start a boutique magazine and sell your copies on your site.
They also have a cool design with an artsy look.
Want More? Check Out These Sweet Reads!
