Squarespace, one of the best website builders around today, has announced Refresh 2024 — its latest annual release bundle of new products, features, and updates.
This year’s launch comes with a focus on helping entrepreneurs tap into the potential of AI, streamline their business operations, and elevate their creativity.
Harnessing the power of AI
Taking center stage was a new approach to web design powered, of course, by a suite of AI tools.
The new Design Intelligence initiative combines two decades of design expertise with AI, and looks to support and amplify human creativity, rather than replacing it.
The main feature in this regard is Blueprint AI, Squarespace’s AI-powered website builder, which will guide users in building customized websites, offering curated design and content recommendations tailored to each brand's unique identity.
The Design Intelligence suite also includes Layout Switcher, which allows users to experiment with different design compositions quickly, alongside Site Themes, a one-click styling tool offering various font pairings, color palettes, and button styles, and a Brand Identity Management feature which acts as a central hub, helping users manage and deploy their brand identity across multiple digital platforms.
Refresh 2024 introduces tools that help entrepreneurs to streamline business operations, particularly in client invoicing, where a new update lets users generate professional documents, including invoices, proposals, and contracts, all customized with their brand identity. Additionally, entrepreneurs can automate invoice delivery and enjoy low-fee Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments, allowing clients to pay directly from US bank accounts.
Squarespace has also expanded its payment solutions, meaning users can offer payment options like Klarna in more countries. Squarespace Payments is available in the US, Canada, and the UK, with expanded availability in Europe on the horizon.
In addition, there is a new mobile app which helps users to manage finances and track payment activity, and a monetization option introducing the ability to charge for access to blog posts and videos, as well as an enhanced donations system to collect funds, manage recurring donations, and monitor progress through a streamlined dashboard.
Squarespace also introduced new marketing tools that simplify customer engagement, allowing for the creation of automated email flows, allowing users to structure email campaigns based on customer behaviors and custom rules. The tool can also design campaigns that send thank-you notes to first-time buyers or offer discounts to new subscribers..
The latest update also includes dynamic dashboards, detailed analytics, and step-by-step guides that offer personalized insights based on the user’s business type.
There's also a modernized Domains Dashboard, which gives users greater control over domain settings, including DNS configurations, email forwarding, and domain rules — all from one location, and a new reseller API allows partners to earn commissions on domain registrations.
The company also upgraded its Acuity Scheduling feature to streamline appointment management, with the new interface allowing users to reschedule bookings, contact clients, and generate automated invoices all the appointment details page.
Bio Sites, a social-friendly "link-in-bio" solution, has been expanded to let users organize and share content across platforms. Entrepreneurs can now connect Bio Sites to their Squarespace stores or manually import products from other storefronts, turning social media followers into customers more effectively.
“Squarespace amplifies creative potential with an unmatched digital presence, tools to streamline business management, and support as users grow and scale,” said Paul Gubbay, Chief Product Officer. “As we enter this new era of entrepreneurship, we are excited to launch these tools that will transform how entrepreneurs build, manage, and scale their businesses."
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