7.1 Update tool (Circle Beta)

Thanks for being part of our Circle beta test for the version update tool, which updates your website from version 7.0 to 7.1 without affecting your data. Site structure and information like SEO, orders, sales, customer data, members, domains, and subscriptions will remain intact. This tool is in beta, meaning it’s still being developed by our team.

This guide covers what to consider before you update your site, how to use the version update tool, and the feature differences between version 7.0 and 7.1.

Note: Please keep this guide confidential.

Before you begin

There are a few important things to know before you use the version update tool.

• This is a permanent update - After completing the steps in this guide, you can’t revert to version 7.0. Take your time previewing and ensure that you’re happy with your updated site before you click Publish. Keep in mind that you can cancel the preview at any time.
• Your site might look different after updating - Not all version 7.0 pages and features exist in version 7.1. Carefully review the differences between the two versions in this guide.
• You should set time aside to preview the changes - Before you update your site, you can preview how it will appear in version 7.1 and make design changes. If your website has many pages, this may take a significant amount of time.

Should I update from version 7.0 to 7.1?

Squarespace version 7.1 is the most recent version of Squarespace. It has powerful new features and added flexibility such as site-wide animations, auto-layouts that arrange sets of content, and Fluid Engine, our latest content editing experience.

Any site on version 7.0 site can update to version 7.1, but the update tool is especially helpful for sites that have a lot of content, orders, settings, or domains. For sites without a lot of content or inactive sites, it might be faster to start over with a new site.

Not all version 7.0 pages and features exist in version 7.1. Before you update your site, review the differences between the two versions.

Step 1 - Prepare for the update

Before you start the update:

• Ensure your site is using a template in the Brine or Bedford family. You can switch to either of those templates from any of other version 7.0 templates. If you're unsure which template you're using, visit What's my site's version and template?

• Disable developer mode by opening the Settings panel, then clicking Developer Tools, clicking Developer Mode, and switching the toggle off. Note that any changes you've made on the Developer Platform will disappear. We recommend saving your site files and your Developer Platform code locally on your computer before you disable developer mode.

• We recommend duplicating your version 7.0 site in case you want a visual reference of your original design.
• Cover pages and album pages aren’t supported in version 7.1 and will disappear after the update. To keep the content on these pages, ensure you have images, text, and audio files saved locally to your computer. You can re-add audio to your version 7.1 site using audio blocks. If you use either page type as your homepage, set a new homepage.

Step 2 - Start the update process

You'll start the update process to version 7.1 with a preview that can be canceled at any time. To start:

1. In the Home menu, click Website, then click Design, and then click Update to Version 7.1.
2. If you don't see the option to update, this means you're using an unsupported template or developer mode is still active.
3. Click Get Started and read through the information provided about the update. If your current homepage isn't supported in version 7.1, you'll be asked to select a new homepage.
4. Click Preview site in 7.1 to start your preview.

Step 3 - Preview your version 7.0 site in version 7.1

While previewing, you can only add content and make style changes to your website. All other site functions are disabled until you publish or end the preview.

To compare your version 7.1 and version 7.0 sites, click 7.0 site in the top-right corner. This opens your live site in a new window. To cancel the preview and discard your design changes, click Cancel update.

To make most style changes in version 7.1, you'll use site styles rather than specific template styles. As you're trying out design changes, visit Making style changes to learn more about the differences.

Note: Keep in mind that while you're in preview mode, all contributors to the site will see the preview content and editing restrictions while logged in. You can cancel the preview and discard your design changes at any time by clicking Cancel update.

Step 4 - Permanently update your site to version 7.1

When you’re ready to update your site to version 7.1, click Publish update. This can’t be undone.

Note: By clicking Publish update, you acknowledge and understand that Squarespace will update your site from version 7.0 to 7.1 and that you’ll no longer have access to the version of your site on 7.0.

Check your custom CSS

Custom CSS may be commented out after the update. To add it back in, remove the comment tags in the CSS editor:

1. Open the Design panel and click Custom CSS. 
2. If comment tags display, remove them. 
3. Click Save. 

Keep in mind, if the custom CSS applies to elements that only exist in version 7.0, they won’t affect your version 7.1 site.

Step 5 - Start using version 7.1

After you update your site, try out these version 7.1 exclusive features:

• Page sections - You'll build your site's pages and footers with customizable sections stacked vertically. You can add, delete, and move sections to arrange your content.
• Fluid Engine - Use our latest content editing experience, which offers more flexibility for placing blocks in page sections on your site.
• Auto layouts - Use these layouts to automatically arrange sets of content in columns and rows, carousels, or slideshows.
• Site-wide animations - Try out new styling effects for images.
• Section background images - Add background images to most page sections, and choose from a handful of image effects to create a visually striking website. 
• More powerful Commerce features - Add product waitlists, nested categories, and up to 10,000 products. Display Afterpay on product details pages and choose from several new product detail page layouts. Customize your store page with sections to create a visually striking store.
• Digital Products - Generate passive income by selling access to content like classes and seminars, audio or visual media, or community pages. Your visitors sign up for exclusive access to your gated content by creating an account and purchasing a pricing plan.
• Portfolio pages - Create stylized landing pages that link visitors to sub-pages. This is a great way to organize and showcase galleries, projects, portfolio highlights, and other content in one place.
• Create a multilingual site - Translate your site into multiple languages via our Weglot integration.

Review these guides to learn how to use version 7.1: 

• Make style changes
• Find features

• Find information in the help center
• Contact Squarepsace Customer Support

Differences between version 7.0 and 7.1

Some version 7.0 blocks, pages, and features don’t exist in version 7.1. Wherever possible, the update tool creates a similar design by moving your site content to version 7.1 equivalent content areas. Review this section carefully before completing the update.

Commerce

These commerce features have differences between versions.

• Store pages - In version 7.1, product collections have:
  • Nested categories
  • New product detail page layouts
  • The option to add content blocks to the product details page
  • The option to place an Add to Cart button on the store page
• Products - In version 7.1, products have:
  • A limit of 10000 per page  (vs. 200 on version 7.0)
  • A limit of 250 variants (vs. 100 on version 7.0)
  • The ability to import product tags and categories
• Waitlists - In version 7.1, waitlists are available on all sites. In version 7.0, they were only available on some templates.
• Afterpay - In version 7.1, Afterpay is shown on the product details page as well as checkout (vs. only at checkout in version 7.0).

Store pages

These store page features have design differences between versions.

• Category navigation - In version 7.1, the category navigation: 
  • Can’t be hidden.
  • Always displays vertical lines between categories.
  • Doesn’t display breadcrumb links.
  • Doesn’t automatically include an “all” link. Instead, you can add a category called All to all products.
  • Scrolls horizontally on mobile devices when the text is too long, instead of appearing in a drop-down menu.
• On sale and sold out labels - In version 7.1, these display as text beneath the product’s price. There’s no way to change their shape.
• Product hover effects - The fade and product info overlay hover effects aren’t supported in version 7.1. Review store page special features by version here.
• Share buttons - These aren’t supported in version 7.1.

Blogs

These blog page features have design differences between versions.

• Share buttons - These aren’t supported in version 7.1.

• Sidebar navigation - Some version 7.0 sites support a sidebar navigation. This isn’t supported in version 7.1.
• Some engagement features - In version 7.0, visitors can like, share, and comment while authenticated. In version 7.1, visitors can only comment anonymously. You can add Disqus comments to your site for more flexibility.

Website headers

The website header has design differences between versions. To learn more about version 7.1 headers, visit Building a site header.

• Taglines - Header taglines aren’t supported in version 7.1 and will disappear after the update.
• Call to action - If you have a header CTA, you may ned to recreate it by adding a button in version 7.1.
• Search bar - Header search bars aren’t supported in version 7.1 You can add search blocks to other areas of your site instead.
• Fixed headers - Fixed headers and other template-specific features aren’t supported in version 7.1.
• Page banners - Version 7.1 doesn’t have page banners. Images from version 7.0 banners will display in a gallery section at the top of the page in version 7.1. If you had a slideshow banner, the gallery section will use the Slideshow: Full layout. You can also make the version 7.1 header transparent so it displays over the image at the top of the page.

Navigation

The secondary navigation isn’t supported in version 7.1. Pages in the secondary navigation will display at the end of the main navigation after the update. You can turn them into a drop-down menu by moving them into a folder.

Pages and blocks that aren’t supported in version 7.1

These version 7.0 pages and blocks aren’t supported in version 7.1. Wherever possible, your content will display in version 7.1 equivalent content areas after the update. However, content from album pages and cover pages will disappear during the update and you’ll need to take steps to rebuild them. Review the table for more details.

 

Other feature differences between versions

These features aren’t supported in version 7.1. Wherever possible, we’ve noted similar options you can use in version 7.1.

 

FAQ

Do I have to move to version 7.1?

No. Updating your site from version 7.0 to 7.1 is optional, and you can stop at any time before you click Publish update. After you click Publish update, you can’t undo your changes or revert to version 7.0.

Can I undo the update?

No. After you click Publish update, your site will update to version 7.1 permanently.

Can I back up my version 7.0 site?

Before you start this process, we recommend duplicating your version 7.0 site. This creates a new version 7.0 website with the same site content and an identical design, which you can reference as you preview how your site will display in version 7.1.

Keep in mind, the duplicated site is a new Squarespace trial site. It won’t have any order data or analytics, and it won’t have the same domain. For more details about what doesn’t duplicate, visit Duplicating a site.  After you complete the update, you should delete the duplicated site.

Do I have to complete the update in a certain amount of time?

There's no time limit to the preview, but we recommend completing the update in one sitting so that you can access the site functions that are disabled while previewing version 7.1. If you cancel the preview without updating, any design changes you made during the preview will be discarded.

Will my commerce business be affected?

No. All SEO, products, subscriptions, settings, orders, analytics, and customer accounts will remain intact. Updating your site to version 7.1 using this tool won’t disrupt your business. While you edit your version 7.1 preview in the version update tool, your version 7.0 site remains live and can continue to accept orders. After you click Publish update, your version 7.1 site is immediately live. There’s no downtime.