WHY I ONLY USE BRINE TEMPLATES FOR WEB DESIGN IN SQUARESPACE
I’ve been designing websites on Squarespace for over a year now, and during this time I’ve learned a thing or two about choosing the best template in Squarespace.
Firstly, I want to say that every client I’ve worked with has been different and everyone’s needs are unique. So choosing a template that’s best for you may depend on your type of business.
However, after the first six months of using Squarespace, I realized that any template from the Brine family is pretty much the best choice for just about anyone.
The reason I say this is because Brine templates are the most customizable templates of all of them available in Squarespace.
Before I go any further, I want to clarify one thing as it tends to create confusion. There is an actual template called Brine and there are a whole bunch of other templates that belong to the Brine template family. So I’m not just talking about one template here, I’m talking about all of them within the family.
Here is the full list of active templates that belong to the Brine family:
*There is even one called Marta, but no, I did not create it. 😆
You may be wondering why there are so many options in the same template family. Well, the simple reason for that is because most people choose their templates based on the demo content that Squarespace has put together. This includes the layout of the site, site colours and font styles.
In order for you to be able to view the different styles and options of site design, Squarespace has created multiple templates within one family to show different demo content. This is purely created for those who are not designers, so they can get ideas of what their site could look like.
As a side note, since I am a web designer, I delete all of the demo content from the template I choose for my client and start the design from scratch using my own creative process. I do this to make sure each of the sites I create has a completely personalized design that’s unique to my client.
But, if you want to do it yourself and create your own website, you can definitely stick to the layout of a template that you choose and work with that.
Moving on, here are the actual reasons why I only work with Brine templates now for any site designs.
1. MODERN DESIGN WITH THE NEWEST FEATURES
After working with a bunch of different templates, I quickly discovered that Brine templates are by far the most customizable ones. In fact, Squarespace actually said this to Circle members:
"When in doubt, pick a template from the Brine family. Brine is our newest and most customizable template family. Since Brine has our newest codebase, you’ll also benefit from the most support from Squarespace. While we fix bugs in all templates, bugs in newer and more popular templates like Brine are usually prioritized over others."
2. INDEX PAGES & PARALLAX SCROLLING
At first, I didn’t understand what index pages were, but once I learned, I refuse to build a web page any other way!
Simply put, this feature allows you to build your pages in sections, which makes it super easy for moving content around if you change your mind about where to place something, for example.
Plus, this means you can add parallax scrolling in any section of the page (as opposed to just having it in your top banner).
3. ABILITY TO ADD ANY BLOCK OVER BANNER IMAGES
This one is simply amazing and no other template can do this! With any Brine template, you can have a banner image or video with any block on top. This means you can add a moving background to your banner, and then add a still image on top of text or any other block you wish to add. The only limitation is your imagination.
4. MORE STYLE OPTIONS IN THE STYLE EDITOR
Brine has way more style options in the Style Editor than any other template. That means you’re less likely to need to add special CSS codes in order to customize your website to suit your style.
Okay, these are some of the main best features of Brine template that easily make it the best choice when building your Squarespace website.
Before closing off though, I want to mention a few reasons why a Brine template might not be for you.
You prefer a vertical page navigation
You absolutely need infinite scroll, author profiles and auto-populated related posts in your blog
A built-in sidebar is a must for you
Even though these features are not technically part of the Brine templates, I still believe you can get around it with a custom design that works very similarly. I believe the pros most definitely outweigh the cons here. But hey, that’s just my opinion.
What are your thoughts? Comment below.
P.S. If you’d like to explore other templates or need more guidance on choosing the right one for you, check out this guide from Squarespace on choosing the right template. Or you may also check out their details template comparison charts.