Effective design is the foundation of a strong website and can help you attract your ideal customers, demonstrate your professionalism, and showcase your personality. Using award-winning, professionally designed templates for your website makes it easier to create a polished, compelling online presence.
When you’re ready to choose a template for your site, it’s essential to determine the primary functions you need for your brand. Read on to learn the six core template categories for web design, from blog and portfolio website templates to website designs for small business and freelancers, and which one is right for you.
Portfolio website templates and themes
Recommended for: Photographers, artists & designers, videographers, and other creatives
If you’re working in a visual medium, a portfolio website template displays your best work in an image-first format. With an emphasis on bold layouts and clean designs, these themes emphasize graphics, typically with minimal marketing language. Since you can add individual projects to showcase the pieces you’re most proud of, online portfolio templates also keep your website organized and easy to navigate for your potential clients, even as your collection of work continues to grow.
Ecommerce website templates and themes
Recommended for: All digital or physical product-based businesses
Present your products with a website theme that makes your online store stand out. The right ecommerce website template brings your products to life, and a website builder with built-in ecommerce functionality and plugins will have tools to help you run your business smoothly and find opportunities to grow.
Beyond organizing and managing an unlimited number of sortable products, Squarespace’s ecommerce websites ensure shoppers receive a polished browsing experience through rich product descriptions and embedded videos, plus unique images for each product variant. You’ll also have a responsive website design, which means shoppers can easily view your site on any device.
Blog website templates and themes
Recommended for: Marketers, storytellers, creators, business owners
A blog helps you share your viewpoints with the world. Squarespace’s blog website templates come with built-in marketing tools to help you increase your reach, attract new followers, and help your messaging gain traction with the people who want it most.
Whether you’re looking to schedule and sort posts, track engagement with analytics, or drive traffic with built-in search engine optimization (SEO) and email campaigns, blog website templates let you take charge of the stories you tell.
Small business website templates and themes
Recommended for: Restaurants, coffee shops, wellness studios, real estate agents
Small business templates provide the look, feel, and functionality that help local companies run better. Each one emphasizes the key website elements that can help you attract ideal customers and clients. You’ll have an opportunity to highlight who you are, who you serve, where you’re located, when you’re open, and how customers can contact you.
The primary focus of our small business website templates is an easy-to-navigate user experience that clearly communicates why customers should choose you. You’ll be able to add a contact form, link your social media accounts, and offer appointments for business consulting or other services.
Professional website templates and themes
Recommended for: Entrepreneurs, service providers, working professionals, freelancers
When you’re ready to put your professional experience front and center, resume website templates can help you visually organize the information so your skills are the highlight of your online presence.
Customize your CV template to present your skills with a look and feel that reflects your personality or personal brand. If it’s time to enhance your job search, CV website templates add a level of professionalism that’s sure to impress.
Personal website templates and themes
Recommended for: Wedding news, event planning, media & podcast promotions
Add a personal touch to your website with personal website templates. Whether you’re planning a wedding, coordinating a family reunion, or simply pursuing a personal podcast, these themes are broad enough to adapt to your needs—and specifically designed to do it beautifully. When it’s time to share about a new life endeavor, personal website templates add a polished touch.
Custom website templates and themes
Recommended for: Additional design control, users who don’t fit into categories above
Maybe your project doesn’t fit into just one bucket. Or maybe you want a little bit of everything in your website template. Squarespace offers a template design experience that walks you through creating a custom template based on your unique needs. Just answer a few questions and walk away with a personalized template to publish or add to.
No matter which design templates you choose, you can adjust the features to make the best website for your project, personality, and brand with our intuitive, flexible grid editor, Fluid Engine. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the options, just start with one page. Choose a landing page template and start playing with the different fonts, colors, and design styles to get a sense of what you like. From there, you can take any free website templates and make them your own. Just use the built-in editor, or flex your web development skills and bring in custom CSS code to add extra features.
This post was updated on February 1, 2023.