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8 of the best Squarespace templates for artists, painters, photographers, and other creatives

Spruce up your portfolio or online shop with one of these modern, mobile-friendly themes.
By Haley Henschel  on 
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Our Top 8 Picks

Quincy (opens in a new tab)

Best for photographers

Helmed by a stunning full-bleed landing page, Quincy is an elegant template for working photographers that lets you showcase your work and book shoots.

The Good

  • Full-bleed images across the site
  • Easy-to-find social icons
  • Pre-enabled Acuity Scheduling block on contact page

The Bad

  • Title overlay on featured portfolio images can affect readability

The Bottom Line

Professional and polished.
Pros & Cons

Wells (opens in a new tab)

Best for painters

Wells is a perennial favorite pick that's been around for the better part of a decade, with a simple design that's geared toward scrollable galleries.

The Good

  • Supports store pages
  • Supports sidebar navigation
  • Thumbnails open up to larger images with titles/captions

The Bad

  • Harder to change themes since it's from Squarespace version 7.0
  • No pre-formatted social icons

The Bottom Line

Clean and classic.
Pros & Cons

Novo (opens in a new tab)

Best for graphic designers

Novo is a modern portfolio template with a grid-style layout and a black-and-white theme that won't distract from the logos and branding concepts you're showing off.

The Good

  • Project pages get captions and full-bleed images
  • Dribbble, Vimeo, and Instagram icons in both navigation bars
  • Hover-over effect on homepage thumbnails

The Bad

  • Might seem overly simplistic or boring for some users

The Bottom Line

Cool and uncomplicated.
Pros & Cons

Nolan (opens in a new tab)

Best for web designers

Nolan can effortlessly organize and emphasize a ton of information and imagery; the demo version was actually formatted with a web design agency in mind.

The Good

  • Very mobile-friendly typefaces
  • Could make a nice one-page site
  • Anyone who browses in Dark Mode will like its color scheme
  • Fade-in effect as you scroll

The Bad

  • A little heavy on white space

The Bottom Line

Slick and sophisticated.
Pros & Cons

Sundew (opens in a new tab)

Best for podcasters

Sundew is a funky template built specifically for podcasts than has a retro-inspired color scheme, neat animation effects, and individual episode pages with audio blocks.

The Good

  • Every dedicated episode page has an audio block
  • Could work well as a one-page site
  • Lower navigation contains links to Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts listings

The Bad

  • Typefaces are a little overly modern/hard to read on mobile

The Bottom Line

Fun and fully fleshed-out.
Pros & Cons

Kitui (opens in a new tab)

Best for musicians

This ready-made template for musicians puts your latest release, merch, and upcoming tour dates front and center.

The Good

  • Pre-made store and event/tour pages
  • Instagram, Twitter, SoundCloud, and YouTube links in the top navigation
  • Very mobile-friendly typefaces

The Bad

  • Would be nice if there were some pre-made audio blocks

The Bottom Line

Modern and moody.
Pros & Cons

Spotted (opens in a new tab)

Best for selling prints

Packed with large visuals and cool animation effects, Spotted is a stylish ecommerce template that puts your artwork in the spotlight.

The Good

  • Greets visitors with your work and artist statement
  • Fade-in animation effect as you scroll
  • Zoom-in effect on product images
  • Pre-made page for Framing & Mounting options, too (which you can delete if unneeded)

The Bad

  • Text overlays look a little tight on mobile

The Bottom Line

Chic and dramatic.
Pros & Cons

Passero (opens in a new tab)

Best for selling virtual art classes

Passero is an inviting and informative template with lots of calls-to-action and tools for selling digital content, like art classes.

The Good

  • Demo homepage has a GIF at the top (which is rare for Squarespace templates)
  • Pre-enabled with Squarespace's Member Areas feature
  • Tons of calls-to-action
  • Rise effect as you scroll

The Bad

  • Kerning in some of the body copy looks off

The Bottom Line

Dynamic and elegant.
Pros & Cons

Whether you dabble in drawing, painting, graphic design, podcasting, or music-making, staking out an online presence is key to getting your name out there as an artist. But therein lies an important question: How do you make a website packed with different forms of multimedia without getting bogged down in annoying technical drudgery?

Out of all the website builders out there, Squarespace is a preferred choice for many creatives because of its all-in-one subscription model(opens in a new tab) (starting as low as $16 a month) and extensive library of modern, and visually rich templates. These pre-made, plug-and-play demo sites (called themes) make it easy to whip up an online portfolio that makes your work accessible to potential clients, with layout presets, font packs, professional color schemes, and drag-and-drop element blocks that make minimal coding experience a non-issue.

Squarespace currently maintains more than 230 different templates, making the decision of choosing one just a tad overwhelming. That being said, there are several ways of narrowing down your pool of applicants and depending on the version of the platform you're using, you don't necessarily have to bind yourself to any single one. Below, you'll find our guide to choosing the best Squarespace template for an artist's website.

Squarespace templates 101: A quick primer

There are two versions of Squarespace in use, and each has its own special way of handling templates.

Version 7.0(opens in a new tab) was launched in 2014 with 91 templates that it groups into "families." Every template in a given family is coded similarly to have the same underlying structure and unique formatting rules. This type of categorization makes it harder to switch between templates without risking content loss, but many longtime Squarespace users have stuck with version 7.0 to this day because some templates offer advanced style options that never migrated to version 7.1. (Parallax scrolling(opens in a new tab), infinite scrolling(opens in a new tab), and sidebars(opens in a new tab) are just a few examples.)

Version 7.1(opens in a new tab) came out in 2020 with some 140 templates (and counting) that aren't categorized or grouped in any way; they all offer the same structural, formatting, and design options. This homogenization might be off-putting to more experienced users who want to do extensive customizing, but it comes with the huge benefit of being able to change templates without a hefty rebuild.

We highly recommend version 7.1 if you're a new Squarespace user simply because it's more flexible and future-ready, especially since last summer's release of Fluid Engine(opens in a new tab), the platform's latest content editor with more fine-tuned block arrangements and setup options. (Version 7.0 sites still rely on its classic editor.) You can try both versions during Squarespace's 14-day trial, but keep in mind that once you pick a version, you're basically stuck with it(opens in a new tab).

What makes Squarespace's templates so great for artists?

While some Squarespace templates make nice blogs and writing portfolio sites, the vast majority of them (across both versions of the platform) lean heavily on visuals. Artists can load them with full-bleed backgrounds, banners, galleries, grids of thumbnails, stylized landing pages(opens in a new tab), and other imagery without overcrowding or cluttering up their site. Better yet, all Squarespace templates come mobile-optimized from the get-go so these visuals look stellar on any platform.

All templates across both versions of Squarespace support its full suite of features(opens in a new tab), including ecommerce tools you can use to schedule appointments and build a simple online shop (say, if you want to sell prints). Here are some that will be especially relevant to creatives:

Squarespace also maintains three mobile apps that work with its entire template library, which are all free with your subscription or trial. The main Squarespace app(opens in a new tab) (available for iOS(opens in a new tab) and Android(opens in a new tab)) lets you upload new images, review site analytics, and manage your store's inventory on the go, while the Squarespace Video Studio app(opens in a new tab) (available for iOS(opens in a new tab)) offers tools for creating professional-looking videos out of photos and clips. Its newest app offering, Squarespace Unfold(opens in a new tab) (available for iOS and Android), makes it easy to create stylized social content that's designed to get more eyeballs on your website.

What's the best Squarespace template for artists?

There's no definitive best Squarespace template for artists — and realistically, any Squarespace template can be turned into your dream site with enough fiddling — but many work better for artists than some of their peers.

You can begin to narrow your search by visiting Squarespace's "Templates" tab and sorting its library by "Type" and "Topic"; a Portfolio geared toward Art & Design or Photography is probably a safe bet for your purposes. From there, Squarespace's Help Center(opens in a new tab) suggests "[looking] for specific colors and layouts that appeal to you." You can preview any template to see what it would look like as a live site before you begin customizing it.

Need some extra guidance? Below, we dive into eight of our favorite Squarespace templates for artists in 2023.

Note: Most of our recommendations are from Squarespace version 7.1, but we've sprinkled in a few options from version 7.0 that continue to stand out. 

Best for photographers
Credit: Squarespace
Specs
  • Squarespace version: 7.1

Helmed by a stunning full-bleed landing page, Quincy(opens in a new tab) is an elegant template for working photographers that lets you showcase your work and book shoots. After clicking through to your portfolio, visitors can hover over project titles to see featured full-bleed images that link out to scrollable galleries. Its demo site also comes with About and Bookings pages; the latter has a pre-formatted Acuity Scheduling block(opens in a new tab) that lets clients request different kinds of sessions on your calendar and submit contact information.

Honorable mentions: Elliot(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Forte(opens in a new tab) (7.0), Laurie(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Ortiz(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Reseda(opens in a new tab) (7.1), and Tepito(opens in a new tab) (7.1).

Best for painters
Credit: Squarespace
Specs
  • Squarespace version: 7,0

Wells(opens in a new tab) is a portfolio template that's been around for the better part of a decade, and it's a perennial favorite(opens in a new tab) among painters and other creatives for good reason: It's simple and great for scrollable galleries, with clickable thumbnails that pull up larger images with titles and captions. It is built on Squarespace version 7.0 (with no 7.1 counterpart), which might deter some users. But to it's credit, its still quite flexible: You get support for store pages, events pages, and blogs (with sidebars!) to flesh out your site further.

Honorable mentions: Beaumont(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Flatiron(opens in a new tab) (7.0), Matsuya(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Minetta(opens in a new tab) (7.1), and Pazari(opens in a new tab) (7.1).

Best for graphic designers
Credit: Squarespace
Specs
  • Squarespace version: 7.1

Featuring a similar (but bolder) black-and-white color scheme, Novo(opens in a new tab) is a more modern portfolio template with grid of individual project thumbnails on its homepage. Each of those thumbnails populates a title when hovered over, and link out to separate blog-style pages where you can go deeper on your creative processes and add full-width images. Social icons for your Dribbble, Vimeo, and Instagram have already been placed in the top and bottom navigation menus. It's a fairly basic template overall, but that's a good thing: It won't distract from the logos and branding concepts you're trying to show off.

Honorable mentions: Jasper(opens in a new tab) (7.0), Kester(opens in a new tab) (7.1) and York(opens in a new tab) (7.0).

Best for web designers
Credit: Squarespace
Specs
  • Squarespace version: 7.1

Web designers who need an online home for their work can get a site up and running in no time with Nolan(opens in a new tab), a portfolio template that makes it easy to organize and emphasize a ton of information and imagery. (The demo version was actually formatted with a web design agency in mind.) Its scrollable homepage features calls-to-action for a services list, work samples, a featured case study (with a cool full-bleed photo background), and a contact form, plus a quick overview of past clients you've worked with. You also get a pre-made bio page, which is linked to in the top navigation menu. Bonus points for its chic black-on-white color scheme, which will appeal to Dark Mode users.

Honorable mentions: Bergen(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Cami(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Hawley(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Henson(opens in a new tab) (7.0), and Utica(opens in a new tab) (7.1).

Best for podcasters
Credit: Squarespace
Specs
  • Squarespace version: 7.1

Sundew(opens in a new tab) is a funky template built specifically for podcasts that has an ombre, retro-inspired color scheme and fun rise animation effects. Its comprehensive homepage starts off with a featured section for your latest episode and a banner with your tagline, followed by a grid of past episodes with thumbnails, a newsletter sign-up block on top of a full-bleed photo banner, and a brief bio that links out to your contact info. Each episode gets its own separate page, complete with a pre-formatted audio block (though you could easily scrap those and turn it into a one-pager, if you felt so inclined). Links to Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts listings have already been added to the lower navigation.

Honorable mention: Paloma(opens in a new tab) (7.1).

Best for musicians
Credit: Squarespace
Specs
  • Squarespace version: 7.1

Another dark and moody theme, Kitsui(opens in a new tab) is a ready-made template for musicians that puts your latest release front and center on its homepage. Scrolling down a ways brings visitors to a handful of upcoming show/event dates, with more found under the "Tour" tab, plus a prompt to subscribe to your newsletter. You can list your merch in its pre-made store page (see also: Squarespace's new on-demand custom merch tool(opens in a new tab)) and link out to your Instagram, Twitter, SoundCloud, and YouTube in the top navigation.

Honorable mentions: Cruz(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Horizon(opens in a new tab) (7.0), Jasonwild(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Juke(opens in a new tab) (7.0), Polaris(opens in a new tab) (7.0), Vandam(opens in a new tab) (7.1), and Waverly(opens in a new tab) (7.1).

Best for selling prints
Credit: Squarespace
Specs
  • Squarespace version: 7.1

Platforms like Etsy, Society6, and Redbubble make it easy to sell prints online, but their high seller fees and steep competition are two excellent reasons to look into a self-managed site on Squarespace as an alternative. Spotted(opens in a new tab) is a chic, visual-heavy ecommerce template that's pre-designed for selling artwork and taking commissions: Its homepage has a striking full-bleed banner image overlaid with your artist statement, followed by featured images of pieces from different series, thumbnails of popular work, a prompt to visit your About page, and a newsletter sign-up block. Other highlights include a cool zoom-in effect on product images and a page with Framing & Mounting options (which you can simply delete if you don't offer those services).

Honorable mentions: Indigo(opens in a new tab) (7.0), Jotterpress(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Maru(opens in a new tab) (7.1), and Montclaire(opens in a new tab) (7.1).

Best for selling virtual art classes
Credit: Squarespace
Specs
  • Squarespace version: 7.1

Informative and inviting, Passero(opens in a new tab) is one of the few Squarespace templates that comes pre-enabled with the platform's premium Member Areas feature, which lets you put some of your site's content behind a paywall (as subscriptions or one-time payments). This makes it incredibly easy to offer virtual art classes and other digital content that involves visual instructions or demonstrations. Also of note: Passero is one of the only Squarespace templates that includes video in its demo, which is a dynamic and engaging effect. Beyond that, it earns points for its inclusion of full-bleed visuals, earthy color scheme, and plethora of calls-to-action.

Honorable mentions: Alignflow(opens in a new tab) (7.1), Comet(opens in a new tab) (7.1), and Growwell(opens in a new tab) (7.1). Check out our dedicated guide to Squarespace templates for video to learn more.

More in Squarespace

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Haley Henschel

Haley is a Mashable shopping reporter based in Chicago. Before joining the team, she covered politics for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, wrote about exotic pet ownership for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and blogged for several Jersey Shore stars. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games and hanging out with her parrot (Melon) and dog (Pierogi). You can follow her on Twitter at @haleyhenschel(opens in a new tab) or reach her via email at [email protected](opens in a new tab).


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