This process details how you should go about setting up a Squarespace site and styling the site correctly BEFORE you populate it with any content.
1. Design - Starting off
When first setting up a website on Squarespace, AFTER you choose the template and have the brand guidelines in front of you:
1. Go through and make sure that every element that you require across the site (blog, gallery, etc) is published and accessible.
2. Go to the Squarespace homepage so you can see "Pages, Design, Commerce, Marketing," etc down the left hand side of the page.
- Once there, click "Design." Then select "Site Styles"
2. Site Styles customising
Once in Site Styles, go through EVERY SINGLE OPTION
- You will need to adjust all of the styles in here to match what is specified in the brand guidelines
-Ensure that everything is consistent and that where line-height and fonts are concerned that you use ems (this is more accurate on the web). Ideally, the em spacing should be either 1em, or 1.2em
- Make sure that all spacing is updated and consistent across here, as well as colours, fonts, etc
Note: ONLY manually adjust individual pages if there are any obvious errors, bad placement, font sizes, etc.
3. Go through key pages (e.g. 404, not found pages)
Once you've updated each of the site styles, go back to the previous section titled "Design."
- When you're there, click on "Not found/404 page"
-Check that the content here is relevant, that things make sense, that everything is consistent and make the best call where necessary.
4. Last checks & QA
When you've completed everything and made sure that everything is correct, consistent and up to date across the board, it's time to QA and do a deep dive of the site.
-Go through EVERY SINGLE PAGE and make sure that everything is correct and aligned to what the brand guidelines details.