5 Squarespace Design Mistakes That Scream 'Amateur' (And How to Avoid Them)
After 25+ years in design and countless Squarespace sites later, I can spot these mistakes from a mile away. The good news? They're all fixable, and none of them require coding skills.
1. Using Too Many Fonts (The Typography Disaster)
I see this constantly: headlines in one fancy script font, body text in another, buttons in a third, and suddenly your website looks like a ransom note.
The fix: Stick to two fonts maximum. One for headings, one for body text. Squarespace's font pairings are actually quite good—trust them. If you must add personality, do it through color and spacing, not more fonts.
Resource: Google Fonts has a "Popular Pairings" feature that shows you proven combinations, or use FontJoy to generate balanced font pairings automatically.
2. Centering Everything
Yes, centered text looks "designed." But entire pages of centered text? That's hard to read and screams "I used a template and didn't know what else to do."
The fix: Center your hero section if you want, but switch to left-aligned text for anything longer than two lines. Your visitors' eyes will thank you, and they'll actually read your content.
3. Stock Photos That Look Like Stock Photos
You know the ones: the woman laughing at her salad, the diverse team high-fiving in a glass office, the perfectly styled desk with a latte and succulent.
The fix: If you're using stock photos, choose candid, less obviously staged ones. Or better yet—use simple graphics, patterns, or solid color blocks. Sometimes no image is better than a bad stock photo.
Resources for better (free) stock photos:
Unsplash - Search for specific, authentic moments rather than generic business terms
Pexels - Great for natural, less staged photography
Rawpixel - Offers unique illustrations and vintage graphics alongside photos
Pro tip: Search for specific scenes ("woman working at cafe" vs "business woman") to find more authentic-looking images.
4. Ignoring Mobile (The Biggest Sin)
Over 60% of web traffic is mobile, yet I see sites that look gorgeous on desktop and completely broken on phones. Text overlapping images, buttons you can't tap, tiny unreadable fonts.
The fix: Edit in mobile view in Squarespace. Literally switch to mobile preview and adjust everything. Hide elements that don't work on small screens. Make your buttons bigger. Your mobile site doesn't need to be identical to desktop—it needs to be usable.
Tool: Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to see how Google sees your mobile site - because that affects your SEO ranking.
5. Every Section Screaming for Attention
Bright colors everywhere. Every headline a different size. Buttons in neon. Animation on everything. It's exhausting, and visitors don't know where to look first.
The fix: Create visual hierarchy. One main call-to-action per page. Use white space like the luxury tool it is. Not everything needs to be bold, bright, or animated. Let your design breathe.
Resource: Coolors helps you generate cohesive color palettes - stick to 3-4 colors maximum across your entire site.
The Bottom Line
Good design isn't about using every feature Squarespace offers—it's about restraint, hierarchy, and making it easy for visitors to do what you want them to do.
Want a head start? My Squarespace templates are designed with these principles baked in, so you can skip the amateur mistakes and launch with a site that looks professionally designed—because it is.
Need help choosing the right template for your business?
