Squarespace • 2020
Starting your website before you sign up
In early 2020, Squarespace was seeing a rise in mobile-only sign-ups, which was new for a desktop-led company. Metrics consistently showed that customers who completed a shortlist of core actions were significantly more likely to retain. Essentially, making a site look and feel like your own got people to stick around and commit. The following is work on how I developed a native-first approach to getting people to love their site before they even get started.
Get started on homepage
Personalizing a site—choosing a template, refining its style, or adding a logo—was a key driver of retention. I replaced a static preview with a lightweight widget that deep-linked into the editor, turning inspiration into action.
old home screen
home tab widget
The audit
But there was a bigger problem: few customers made it to the home screen. The largest drop-off happened in the Template Store—ironically, one of the highest-converting experiences on desktop. I conducted an extensive audit of the mobile onboarding flow, and quickly realized several things were working against customers as they tried to get started.
The template store reborn
Categories were important to new site builders because they let people easily identify with a purpose. I fixed the category picker so it was obvious and wouldn’t take you away from seeing the beautiful templates. Next, I experimented with the template presentation, making it more interactive, easier to navigate between, and easier to appreciate on a mobile device.
old audited design
you can see the beautiful templates at all times!
live site demos in mobile videos
swipe between demos
Build the site as you go
After the Template Store iterations, I had another thought. What if the templates you were looking through already had your name on them? What if we could combine the core personalization actions with onboarding, so that by the time you sign up, you already have a site completed?
your goals
your identity
make it your own
Closing thoughts
I ended up pitching this idea company-wide, and it was well received! It showed the org how broken the mobile experience was. But at the same time, COVID was in full swing, mobile usage was drastically changing, and a lot of efforts were shifting. I ended up joining another company, because the reason I had joined Squarespace was no longer pressing. This is still one of my most exciting projects, because as a young designer I had the agency to bring it all together.