New e-commerce entrepreneurs aren’t usually software engineers or graphic designers. Therefore, many online stores are similar because the founders, however skilled they are, rely on basic templates.
Content management systems and e-commerce platforms provide flexible and customizable theme options, but most require development or design expertise.
Some platforms — Shopify and others — allow users who can write code to manipulate themes to a single pixel. Conversely, exceptional web design tools like Webflow require no code, but still have a steep learning curve with complex interfaces similar to Figma or Photoshop.
Squarespace
Entrepreneurs might not think of Squarespace when starting an online store, but I’ve been working with the platform recently, and two useful features – Blueprint AI and a grid-based editor – make it just the right solution for founders with limited products who want a lot of visuals. management.
Blueprint AI
Squarespace launched Blueprint AI last year to help marketers build semi-custom websites. Artificial intelligence guides the user through a series of questions and designs the website as best it can.
The process is interactive, real-time and editable, creating attractive and branded pages.
Squarespace offers templates and a guided design option called Blueprint AI.
Here’s a look at the process.
First, Blueprint AI wants to know the name of the business and its personality. I named this example “Latin Quote Art Shop” and selected the brand personality as “Bold”, one of seven options.
- Professional
- Playful
- Sophisticated
- friendly
- Bold
- Special
- Innovative
Next, I selected sections for the home page and selected each layout. My Latin citation example will include an introduction and a product area, among other things.
Users can add pages during Blueprint AI guided design or later.
Once you’ve created your initial Blueprint AI design, it’s easy to add pages. For example, I could add a “shop” page containing a product catalog and pages for “info” and “contact”.
Blueprint AI offers a limited selection of color palettes organized with labels according to brand personality. This move was disappointing given the capabilities of generative AI, which could easily provide multiple colors and even suggest them based on text descriptions.
The color palette is limited but easy to use.
Next, I selected a font from a small list, reaffirming that Blueprint AI is a driven tool, not a generative one.
However, the tool becomes part of the Squarespace editor. For example, Blueprint AI outperformed my Latin Quotes Art Shop, which offered art supplies, because it recommended the headline “Unleash Your Inner Artist.” However, the store’s purpose was to sell wall art with Latin quotes.
Once in the editor, the user can ask Blueprint AI to generate text.
Then I challenged, “Write a report about a Latin quote store that sells framed wall art that features famous Latin quotes like “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam” and nine iterations. AI eventually created “Let Words Inspire”.
Squarespace editor
The other impressive feature was the Squarespace editor. In 2020, Squarespace updated the tool and released the Fluid Engine component.
Fluid Engine has many options for colors and layouts, but the most useful may be its grid system.
The user can select, drag and resize any element or part of the page and have it “snap” to the grid. The resulting layout will automatically match the desktop and mobile layouts and be accurately positioned.
The basic design grid is simple and useful.
I routinely work on multiple eCommerce platforms – Shopify, WordPress, Ghost, Wix and more. Squarespace’s editor is one of the best.
The Squarespace editor creates layouts that are both unique and conventional.
Exactly
In short, Squarespace can be “just right” for eCommerce startups that need a lot of visual control for a limited product catalog. The platform’s AI tool and snap-in-place grid are much simpler than code-based theme modifiers or complex editors.