8 tips to troubleshoot issues with your DIY Squarespace website
Why isn’t my Squarespace website working???
In the online world, there will always be times when a website goes “down” or has “downtime”. There will be glitches and tech issues that arise. Every company and every hosting platform will experience problems at some point or another.
Back when I ran a Wordpress website, my website host would send emails at least 2-3 times a month letting us know that our sites were experiencing issues that would be resolved soon. Typically, these issues would resolve within 10-20 minutes, but sometimes (rarely) it was longer. Sometimes quite a bit longer.
And the truth is that Squarespace is no different.
Over the past 90 days (at the time of writing this in 2020), Squarespace has had a 99.97% up time, which is right up there with all the other ‘big names’ in the website hosting industry.
But I do get quite a few messages on occasion from previous clients or amazing fans who are having problems with something seemingly ‘easy’ that’s not working correctly. And the question is usually “What am I doing wrong??”... “I swear this seems like it should be so easy!”… and “Can you help!?”.
So, in this blog post, I’m going to walk you through the top 8 tips that I recommend to every client who is experiencing issues to troubleshoot problems they are having with their Squarespace website. So let’s dive in...
Here’s my top 8 tips to troubleshoot problems you are having with your Squarespace website…
Tip 1: Refresh your page.
I know you might roll your eyes at this one, but it seriously is the best first thing to try when you’re experiencing issues. My dad is an IT guy, and I can’t tell you how many times he’s told me stories about how restarting a computer has solved an issue that someone had spent hours in frustration over.
It could totally just be a tech glitch that you’re experiencing… whether it’s trying to get a content block in just the right spot or an image just looks a bit wonky. Sometimes, just simply refreshing your page can completely fix the problem.
Tip 2: Log out and log back in.
Again, this is a silly little thing, but sometimes just logging out of your Squarespace account and then logging back in to give it a try again can fix the problem.
Tip 3: Scrap it and try again.
Ok, stick with me here and hear me out. This one is along the lines of the previous two tips, but a lot of the time it’s the one thing that is never thought of. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client hire me to fix a problem after spending hours trying to figure it out on their own… and when I step in, one of the first things I do is work backwards and start an aspect of their project over… and HALLELUJAH, it’s fixed in a matter of minutes.
Now, here’s what I mean…
There have been times when I’ve had an index section or page that should be working but something on it just isn’t loading properly or showing up the way it should. Maybe it was working fine last night or last week, and all of a sudden it’s having issues today. What I will do is create a new page/index section/content block and type the content into the new block. A lot of the times, I find that there may just be something a bit funky with the previous page/section/block/etc. And starting a new one resolves the issues.
Here’s some examples from actual past clients:
Example 1: ConvertKit form not showing up properly in Squarespace
Problem: A ConvertKit form isn’t loading correctly on a website. They are pasting the embed code properly, but no matter what, it just isn’t showing up on the page. HELP!
Solution: I went into their page and made sure the code block was formatted properly. I went back into ConvertKit and selected the code again and pasted it into the block in Squarespace. No luck. We tried a few more things and then I finally just created a new form in ConvertKit and linked it to the page and WHAM. Everything worked totally fine. Sometimes we don’t know why, but there was just something wrong with that form in ConvertKit (probably a simple glitch) and recreating the form and embedding the new form into the site took about 5 minutes and the issue was taken care of.
Example 2: Squarespace page not showing up in an index section
Problem: One page isn’t showing up in an index section, but all the other pages are showing up fine.
Solution: I had a client who had a lineup of pages inside an index section (this is what gives the really cool ‘stacked’ page effect)... but the problem was that one of their sections/pages wasn’t showing up at all. It’s like it just wasn’t there. So, when I stepped into their site with them, I simply duplicated the pages, created a new index section, and put the duplicate pages into the new index section and it worked perfectly! 5 minute fix for the win!
Tip 4: Check Squarespace status report to see if Squarespace is down.
Sometimes, we’re experiencing issues and there’s literally nothing we can do about it. We can work and rework ourselves into the ground, banging our head against the wall… only to realize that Squarespace is having a tech issue that they are working on resolving.
So, the next thing I want you to do is to go to https://status.squarespace.com/ and see if there are any issues reported at the top of the page. If they are having issues with something it will be listed there along with their status of fixing said issue.
I’ve found that issues typically last 5-10 minutes, but sometimes (rarely), it can take a bit longer. The best thing to do during this time is just to close that task down and work on something else for a few minutes.
Give yourself a little breather!
Tip 5: Google the problem you’re having with Squarespace.
Some people just might think I know everything about everything (ha! That was a joke)... but in all seriousness, I can’t even tell you how many times I have Googled something to find a fix for the Squarespace website issue I’m facing.
It’s as simple as opening up Google and typing in something like… “How do I get text to wrap around my image in Squarespace”... or “How do I add online scheduling to my Squarespace website?”… or “How do I change the font size of only one paragraph in Squarespace?” (Actually, I've answered that one for you here.) … But you get the idea! Just Google your problem and you’ll be surprised what you can find.
Tip 6: Search for your issue in my blog.
I release weekly helpful tips, info, and best practices for people wanting to build, launch, and grow a Squarespace website that works really well for your business. Just head here and use the search bar at the top of the page.
Tip 7: Join a Squarespace Facebook group and ask your question there.
If I can’t find my answer on Google, then I typically turn to a Facebook group. There are a lot of Squarespace specific groups full of Squarespace designers, developers, coders, etc. (basically, really amazing Squarespace experts), who are happy to help you find the answer to your question. Here’s a few of my favorite groups for the everyday Squarespace user…
So go check out those groups and get learning!
Tip 8: Fill out this form and submit your question straight to me and my team.
I LOVE to write blog posts and do Facebook lives about your actual Squarespace questions. So, if you have a question that you just can’t seem to find the best or FULL answer to, then click here and fill out the form. My team will get back with you within 24-48 business hours and if we don’t have a resource about this topic/question already, we’ll see how we can help! (I typically add these questions to my blog lineup and would love to help you out).
Well there you go! Remember to bookmark this page and come back to it anytime you’re having any issues with your Squarespace website. Troubleshooting issues can be a total pain in the neck, but most of the time, simple actions like the tips listed above can help you breeze through any issues you’re having with your site!
And while you’re here, here are some other posts you might enjoy reading:
>> 5 reasons NOT to hire a website designer (yes, you read that right)
>> What you need to know to properly format images for your Squarespace website
>> Best tips to blog for SEO in Squarespace
>> Why your website NEEDS a footer and what to put there
Always cheering you on,