Why is it so hard to create a simple image carousel?

As per the title, I'm curious as to why simple image carousels are so difficult to make in 7.1. There are many times where I want to add one alongside some text blocks to make my page more dynamic, but there is no way to just simply upload a series of images and create one. Instead, it seems one has to create a Summary block which only allows carousels that point to other sections of your website, then create a separate non-linked blog page hosting those images, which THEN requires some code to not have the carousel be clickable so as not to navigate guests towards those non-linked blog pages? 

WHY can I not just create a simple carousel of images? 

The above method I described was derived from this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oCMV3FsIuk&ab_channel=RebeccaGraceDesigns-SquarespaceCodingExpert

As a beginner I would have had no idea how to get that carousel to work that way if not for this tutorial. But more frustratingly, I can't fathom why the Summary carousel option can't just allow for a regular series of images to be uploaded directly to it?   

I'm not sure I understood the obstacle exactly. But if you want an image gallery in the "Carousel" format next to the text blocks and upload pictures directly there, you can do it by adding a gallery block next to the text block and selecting the desired format under the Design.

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If you want a slideshow in a section you choose section gallery and the option reel. You don't need to have those images click thru, that is an option. A gallery block in a blog on on a page or in a section can auto change the images. The video covers a lot of different options but the gallery block with the carousel is simple to add just about anywhere in your site. 

Gallery blocks are unfortunately not supported for portfolio sub-pages, which is what I'm trying to add the carousel to. Per the gallery block support page: 

https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/206543407-Gallery-blocks

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You can add gallery blocks to areas of your site where gallery sections aren't supported, including:

• Blog posts
• Individual events
• Product items' Additional Info

It's not possible to add gallery blocks to any area with page sections, including:

• Layout pages
• Collection landing pages (blog pages, events pages, portfolio pages, store pages)
• Portfolio sub-pages
• Footers

 

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I have to assume it's some backend restriction, otherwise I cannot understand why image carousels would not be available to someone trying to create a nice visual portfolio of work. Again there is a workout but it requires making a "Summary" block carousel which can only point to other sections of your site. 

@derricksrandomviews appreciate the advice but unfortunately gallery sections are too clunky for the visual layout I'm aiming for. I'm looking for a carousel that can fit directly into an existing section, as demonstrated by the video's "Testimonial Carousel" example. Gallery sections are too much of a separate entity and make the images disjointed from the text I'm trying to connect it to. It's like when you're making a slideshow deck; I don't want the text and images on separate slides, I want them on the same slide to convey a specific narrative. 

Per my above post it seems gallery blocks are not supported on portfolio sub-pages, which then requires a roundabout solution like the "Testimonial Carousel" way. It's just so unintuitive that I was wondering why it had to be that way. 

You can create a blog in your unlinked section, use the content in a summay block placed where you want it, set it for carousel then the images and text will be in the same item, disable read more in summary block settings and use this code to disable the click-thru to the blog. Put this in the header of the blog unless it it the only summary block you will be using then it can go into custom css. 

<style>
  .summary-thumbnail-container { pointer-events: none !important; }
</style>

Much appreciated, and yes this seems to be the only way to do so in non-gallery block pages. Still quite an unintuitive solution as opposed to dropping in a gallery block and uploading images directly. Here's hoping someone on the dev team is working on this. 

@paul2009 thanks for clarifying. I did bring up the issue with someone on a live chat session, but who knows if/when the issue will actually make it to someone on the dev team. Perhaps I can email someone to get Gallery Block access sooner rather than later. 

Last update to this post - after emailing the support team, they confirmed what we already know that Gallery Blocks are not allowed on certain pages like portfolio sub-pages. 

The final kicker, though, is that they told me "Circle members can add gallery blocks to all content areas in 7.1. This is one of the benefits to being a Circle Member." So this functionality exists AND is capable on 7.1....but only if you're a superuser. I am not interested, especially after how frustrating it was to format my portfolio properly, in becoming a Circle Member. Ironically, not having access to tiny features like this is making me look elsewhere for a website builder once my subscription is up. Disappointing all around.  

Has anyone else found a clean simple method for adding a carousel block within a section, not AS the entire section. I'd like to do the same thing with several projects in a section shown in multiple carousels with multiple images each complemented with text about the project.

These massive slideshow sections only serve a broad purpose to feature general images, and the portfolio pages are garbage with terrible options for showcasing multiple projects.

I am also waiting for updates and support related to customizing carousels. Following this Q&A

What a disappointing misstep from Square Space. I haven't paid/gone live with my new client's page but may now be searching for a different solution due to this nonsense. And $40s for a third party plugin to fix what should be available generally should be the biggest red flag.

Same here. This is really, really aggravating. This design capability is critical to developing my site. Unfortunately, due to this tiny issue, I am forced to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution.

DEV TEAM: HELP US.

hi everyone - i am also extremely frustrated about this but just found a workaround! you can create a gallery layout on a page that DOES support galleries (in Version 7.1) and then click "Save Layout." then when you add a new section to a page (even one that doesn't support galleries, you can select the one you just saved and edit/adjust the photos and information. 

Hey guys, I stumbled across this thread earlier this year and decided to just go and build out a carousel myself. I've packaged it together and it's up for sale on my website. If you want to check it out, feel free to have a geez.
 

Here's the page I built it for: https://creativerentals.com.au/gear/camera/sony-fx6

Carousel plugin: https://www.levidance.com.au/shop/p/image-carousel

Hope it helps you out!

On 1/11/2024 at 3:58 AM, CoorlasArchitecture said:

Has anyone else found a clean simple method for adding a carousel block within a section, not AS the entire section. I'd like to do the same thing with several projects in a section shown in multiple carousels with multiple images each complemented with text about the project.

These massive slideshow sections only serve a broad purpose to feature general images, and the portfolio pages are garbage with terrible options for showcasing multiple projects.

I created this freebie to unblock the gallery block for users, check Classic Gallery block. For those who are using Personal plan, the script is available as Tampermonkey script, too

@CoorlasArchitecture @nparkdesigns

I cannot believe no one has fixed this yet. I went to redesign my page to shorted the scroll length and now I cant? We need the Gallery block back. This is ridiculous. Thanks Beyondspace for giving us something.

On 3/14/2024 at 9:11 PM, Beyondspace said:

I created this freebie to unblock the gallery block for users, check Classic Gallery block. For those who are using Personal plan, the script is available as Tampermonkey script, too

@CoorlasArchitecture @nparkdesigns

 

 

This is a great option - thanks for your efforts on this one - I will be giving it a try in the near future.