Best Blogging theme for V7

Site URL: https://skye-demo.squarespace.com/

Hey all!

I'm moving a blogging site across from WordPress.

Is there a theme that has 

• sidebar
• search
• author block
• Is the latest version (assume this is best practice - to always use latest versions?)

Skye family has these features, but not available in 7 .0 +.  Is it being updated?

If there is a theme in the pipeline I can hold off, otherwise might need to stick to WP for this one site.

Cheers,

Madeleine

7.0 is not being updated it is being added too, with 7.1 actually being only one template family, like Brine and its forty starting named designs is only one family. So you basically have to decide what look you want because there are many 7.0 templates that can provide what you are looking for including built in sidebar. Here is the list:

• Avenue (blog only) (I use it but I don't use a sidebar, I use a blog summary page) I am a big story teller, over 80 of them on my site. 
• Bedford, Anya, Bryant & Hayden (blog only)
• Five.
• Forte (blog only)
• Galapagos (blog only)
• Ishimoto (blog only)
• Montauk, Julia, Kent & Om (blog only)
• Skye, Foundry, Indigo, Ready & Tudor (blog only)
• Wexley (one of my Favorites, great for photographers and bloggers, classic looking)
•  
• all 7.0 templates have a search block function, 7.1 has a search page link, a bit different. 

7.1 does not have any kind of sidebar built in, some folks know how to build a Faux one or there are plugins. 

https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/206544967-Editing-sidebars

I have build six sites on Squarespace, three on Avenue, one on Wexley and two using Brine. For Blogging, I am partial to Avenue. 

my random views derrick Lee parker quite a bit of code to make it look a bit fun and different. 

https://christinegregoryphotography.com/   I am using a sidebar with this template or should I say the photographer is. There is no custom Css code on this site, its built using what comes by default. 

If you have any questions about any template or whatever just let me know if I can help.

Derrick. 

Hey Derrick,

That's awesome - thanks for the detailed info, I didn't actually realise 7.1 are essentially the same family. 

Based of your info >  it's 7.1 I'm after for the blog, so I'll stick to this family and look into faux sidebars to get around that as you suggest.

I enjoyed your site btw... photography lessons are great!  

Thanks again,

Mads

Glad to help, and thanks for the compliment!  Since you want to use 7.1, this should help you get the look you want. The Brine template family was the inspiration for 7.1 :

https://bigcatcreative.com/blog/create-a-sidebar-brine-squarespace

Great - thanks her blog is fantastic!