Once you’ve logged into your website, four editing mode icons appear in the top-right. Use the Structure and Content modes to add and edit content on your site.
- In Structure mode, you can add pages and sidebar widgets, rearrange the order of navigation links, and move sidebar widgets within the sidebar.
- In Content mode, you can edit the content on your pages and sidebar widgets.
Note: To learn how to adjust the style of your site, visit Styling your site.
Tip: For more features and functionality, upgrade your site to Squarespace 7. To learn more about the benefits of upgrading, visit Squarespace 5 vs. newer versions.
Pages vs. sidebar widgets
Pages
Your website is made of different pages, each with its own dedicated URL. Links for each page can display in the site navigation to help your visitors navigate your site.
While in Structure Mode, you can add a page and choose a page type to create a new page for your website. Then move to Content Mode to add and adjust the page’s content.
Sidebars
A widget allows you to add certain types of content to your sidebar or sidebars, such as a login prompt, search bar, or block of text.
Note: If your sidebar is empty, click Insert New Section while in Structure mode to create a blank section. To learn more about sections, visit Organizing your site.
Watch a video
Add a page
To add a page to your site:
- Enter Structure mode.
- Click Add Page, which appears to the left of your navigation.
- Select a page type. For a basic blank page, select HTML.
- Click Select & Configure.
- Enter a page title in the New Page Configuration window. Your title can be up to 50 characters.
- Click Create Page.
- You page will appear in the navigation. Click and drag to change the order of the navigation links.
- Hover over the link in the navigation and click Enable to publish the page.
To adjust the page's settings in the future, hover over the page link in the navigation and click Configure.
For more help, visit Adding a page.
Tip: If you don't want your page's link to display in the top navigation, add the page to a sidebar or a hidden section in your site's Architecture area instead.
Editing page content
To add or edit content on your page while in Structure mode:
- Click Content in the top-right corner. Small edit buttons appear over areas with editable content.
- Click the button for the area you want to adjust. For example, on an HTML page, click Edit Page. On a Journal page, click Post New Entry, or click Modify, Remove, Organize, or Post Follow Up on an existing entry.
- Use the WYSIWYG editor that opens to add or adjust the content.
- Click Save & Close.
Adding a widget
To add a widget to a section of your sidebar while in Structure mode:
- Click Add Widget, which appears to the left of your sidebar section.
- Select a widget. For a block of text, select Text/HTML.
- Click Select & Configure.
- Enter an internal title in the New Widget Configuration window. Depending on the widget you’ve chosen, there may be additional configuration fields. When you’ve finished setting up your widget, click Create Widget.
- Hover over the widget and click Enable to publish it.
To adjust the widget’s settings in the future, hover over the widget and click Configure.
Tip: If your site doesn't have a sidebar, visit Editing sidebars to learn how to add one.
Editing widgets
To add or adjust the content of your widgets:
- Click Content in the top-right corner. Small edit buttons appear over areas with editable content.
- Click the Edit Widget button.
- Use the WYSIWYG editor that opens to add or adjust the content.
- Click Save & Close.
Note: Not all widgets have editable content.
Headers
In structure mode, click Edit Website Header to adjust the site title and add a subtitle. You can also change the Site Topic Title, which is the name that displays in browser tabs.
For certain page types, such as Journals, Forms, Galleries, and Send Email pages, you can insert additional page-specific content in the header.
To add a banner image to your site, use the Banner & Navigation tab of the Appearance Editor. To learn more, visit Styling your site.
Footers
In structure mode, click Edit Website Footer to adjust the text. Websites support HTML and XML. You can also generate a creative commons license or standard copyright.
Using WYSIWYG editors
Much of the content editing in Squarespace 5 is done in pop-up windows called WYSIWYG editors. WYSIWYG (pronounced wi-zee-wig) is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. WYSIWYG windows allow you to modify text and other content without using HTML code, and to see style changes as you make them.
WYSIWYG editors typically contain a content field and formatting options, similar to what you would see in Microsoft Word and other word processing programs. They also include controls to insert images and videos, perform spell check, undo or redo changes, and more.
WYSIWYG editors vary depending on what you’re editing. For example, here’s the WYSIWYG editor for an HTML page. Use the controls in the top-right corner to format the text and other content. Use the icons in the top-left corner to add a link, image, video, code block, or gallery slideshow.
Here’s the WYSIWYG editor for a blog post. Use the icons in the top-right corner to determine what type of blog post you’re creating.
Tip: To create a line break, press Shift + Enter (on a PC) or Shift + Return (on a Mac). To create a new paragraph, press Enter (on a PC) or Return (on a Mac).
To switch to editing the HTML directly, use the dropdown menu in the top-right.
Moving content
Adjust the layout of page content within the page editor.
Note: Squarespace 5 doesn’t support creating complex layouts such as columns or wrapped text with floated images. If you’re interested in more sophisticated page layouts, consider switching to a newer version.
Organize your site and sidebars by adjusting your site Architecture. To learn more, visit Organizing your site.
Removing pages and widgets
You can delete pages and widgets while in Structure mode. Hover over the page or widget, then click Remove and Confirm.
- To hide a page from visitors without deleting it, click Disable instead.
- To remove a page or widget from the navigation or sidebar without deleting it, move it to a section that doesn't display on your site.
Adding images
To add an image to a page, you need to upload it to your file storage. Learn more at Adding an image.
Preview mode
Click Preview to preview what your site will look like to visitors.
In Preview mode:
- Editing options disappear.
- Disabled navigation links, pages and widgets still display, but won’t be seen by the public.
Squarespace 7 comparison
In our current version of Squarespace, you can drag and drop content to build your own page structure or add pre-formatted, specialized pages. You can also add images and other content directly to the page.
To learn more, visit Squarespace 5 vs. newer versions.