best squarespace template for multiple creative projects?

July 25, 2020 5:32 AM

I would like to build a website as a repository for my creative work in three different areas. I own two domains through Squarespace. I'm decent with technology but am not sure what the best/easiest/most efficient/most flexible template would be for what I need. Squarespace-using Mefites, can you please help me pick a template (or templates) that would work for my needs?

There are three creative things I do that I would like to highlight:

1) Writing. I have published 11 articles in the past three years, with more forthcoming, and would like to put links to all of them in one place so they are easy to find. The domain I have purchased is [my name].com

2) Music. I have recorded a lot of music and am currently in the process of finishing an album, and also have another big music project coming up in the fall. I bought a separate domain many years ago specifically for music and I would like to link to that domain [mynamemusic].com from [myname].com. My music is mostly on Bandcamp but can also be found on YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, and Spotify. I'd like to make sure it's super easy for people to access my music through the platform of their choice.

3) Voiceover artist. I have done some voiceover work and appeared as a guest on a few podcasts and would like to feature links to these on [myname].com. I will have a demo for auditions done by the end of this year that I would also like to put here.

What is the best way to do this? As I think it through, it feels like I need two templates - one for writing and VO work at [myname].come and another one for music at [mynamemusic].come that I would link to from [myname].com. what template (s) should I pick in order to showcase everything properly and be able to update regularly with minimum hassle?

Thanks.

posted by nayantara to Technology (2 answers total)

I think Squarespace might have some music-oriented templates, which you might find useful, but unless things have changed I found their site all but unworkable for writing. It's really set up for small business owners: restaurants, small boutiques, photographers, things with lots of huge pictures, and almost no text.

Trying to change up Squarespace templates by hand is brutal and can require coding, which Squarespace offers no support for. They also don't offer 24-7 help, despite the advertisements. Instead, it's just an email exchange, and quite often they couldn't answer my questions. So I switched to Wix, and created my own templates through their platform, which was as easy to use as Adobe. When you have a problem, you can call them, on the phone, and actually get hold of real people. They even made some site changes as a result of some questions I had.

Wix costs about the same as Squarespace. Their platform is more versatile, and you can import in pre-existing web addresses. I can't recommend them highly enough.
posted by Violet Blue at 5:31 PM on July 25, 2020

I use squarespace for multiple things — freelance writing, art, and my books, all under my [myname].com homepage. it is still in progress & probably not ideal, but works for now. link is in my profile.

when I want to steer someone directly to my art, for example, I just share [myname].com/art. I own the domains for two of my novels’ titles and both redirect to my homepage, but I believe you can have [mynamemusic].com redirect to your [myname].com/music page or vice versa. if it is the latter, you’ll have to pay for hosting at both domains, though.
posted by changeling at 6:26 PM on July 25, 2020