The 5 Best Squarespace Plugin Stores [and Ways to Improve Your Site]
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One of the reasons so many users love Squarespace is because it works flawlessly out-of-the-box. Unlike some other website platforms (WordPress, Wix, Etc.) Squarespace doesn’t require you to do a bunch of third-party downloads. Their templates include most of the functionality you need, built-in SEO, and beautiful design.
However, there are times when you may want to take your Squarespace site just a little further. In this scenario, Squarespace plugins can be useful. And don’t worry— you won’t need a ton of coding or design knowledge to make them work. Similar to the rest of the Squarespace platform, adding and using plugins is simple.
In this blog, we’ll look at our top 5 favorite plugin resources for Squarespace, how to add them to your website, and what they can do for you!
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Why Should I Care About Squarespace Plugins?
Plugins are snippets of code you can add to your Squarespace website to create features you otherwise couldn’t — like custom sidebars or lightboxes. As we mentioned above, many Squarespace sites won’t require plugins. So, you may be wondering, ‘Why does Squarespace even have plugins?’
The answer is simple: Squarespace offers plugins for customers who want customization options that are beyond the scope of what Squarespace normally offers. If you’ve ever visited a Squarespace site and seen some sort of unique, interactive feature, odds are it was added via a plugin.
ProTip: Plugins are different from Squarespace Extensions. Extensions are third-party tools that allow you to connect Squarespace with other platforms (like Freshbooks for accounting or Shippo for shipping).
How Do I Add Plugins to my Squarespace Website?
To add plugins to your Squarespace site, you will need to have a business plan or higher.
If you do have a business plan or higher, adding plugins is pretty easy:
Choose or purchase the plugin you want
They will send you a code to copy and paste
From your Squarespace account, go to the Custom CSS Editor
Copy and paste the plugin code into the Custom CSS Editor box
And TA-DA! You are done.
What Are Some Common Uses for Plugins?
If you’re wondering what types of things you can do with plugins, here’s a list of some common uses:
Create the Parallax Effect
The parallax effect (also called parallax scrolling) is a technique where background images move more slowly than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth on a web page. This is a common reason for installing a plugin, and this one from Ghost plugins is free.
Change the Shape of your Buttons
You can use this cool plugin to make custom shapes for your buttons. This is a great branding tool or just a neat way to add some cool visual effect to your site.
Create Button Animations
If you want to draw some attention to your buttons or guide users of your website to take a specific button, try this free plugin for button animations.
Lightbox Anything
This is one of our personal favorites, the Lightbox Anything plugin. You can create attractive and functional lightboxes from a variety of content. Use it for newsletter sign-ups, video pop-ups, size and color options, etc.
This is a paid plugin, but it definitely delivers.
Accordion Tabs
Looking to create an attractive accordion style menu? This plugin from SQSP Themes can help. It’s a paid plugin, but it works flawlessly to create beautiful accordion tabs.
Our 5 Favorite Plugin Sources
When it comes to plugin sources, there are five that really stand out to us. These plugin sources have some of the best plugins available, are easy to use, and stand out for their quality. (We mentioned a few of them above.):
Ghost Plugins
Ghost plugins offers both paid and free plugins. Actually, they have more than 350 free plugins for you to choose from in their library! You can pull the code snippets straight from their archive to use in your custom CSS section. No (or very little) coding required. They also have top-notch customer support.
Square Studio
Square Studio offers around 150 different plugins for Squarespace users on version 7.0, and a wide variety of plugins for 7.1 as well. Most of their plugins are paid, but they give you a variety of styling options for some of Squarespace’s most common blocks like:
Buttons
Galleries
Image blocks
Summary blocks
Banners
Forms
Etc.
They offer some cool custom options as well, such as:
Age Verification pop-ups
Sales Proof pop-ups
Animated Counters (count-down clocks)
Back to Top buttons
Interactive banners
And more
SquareKicker
When it comes to plugin resources, SquareKicker is one of a kind. This (paid) plugin allows you to add styles to a variety of different Squarespace blocks directly from Squarespace, and automatically adds the CSS code for you. It’s like having built-in design extras at your fingertips for a super-custom look.
Will Meyers
Will Meyers offers a lot of affordable plugins to help you with little extras like sliding banners, split screen layout or secondary navigation.
SQSP Themes
Last but not least on our list is SQSP Themes. They make the awesome Lightbox Anything plugin we mentioned above along with hundreds of others that we love. The pricing is affordable, and you can work out a bundle deal if you’re looking to buy several. Definitely check them out!
Want to learn more cool Squarespace tips and tricks? Check out all our helpful guides here.
