Squarespace 8.0 Release Date: Everything You Need to Know

Recently, a few clients have contacted me about Squarespace 8.0. Given the launch of Squarespace's Fluid Engine in Q1 2022, Squarespace 8.0 may not be released until 2024. Let me explain where I am coming from.

Before going any further it needs to be explained that what follows is purely speculative, I have no insider knowledge at all on this but I am providing some educated guesswork from my seven years of being a Squarespace developer.

A comparison that over the years I have always been able to make with Squarespace is that of the approach from "Apple". In a sense they announce a product the absolute moment it is ready for prime time, with absolutely no notice to the developer community (which includes me). In a night, it’s something that wasn’t before.

This lack of information ahead of product releases or corporate announcements annoys me, especially when my clients have questions. It’s discouraging when I am incapable of supplying them with the requested details.

That being said, there are signs of distinct improvement in developer communication from the developer community throughout this 12 months, of 2022. Such progress includes early access to new features and a broader roadmap for future improvements. While there are no exact dates, it has been helpful to gain insight on what is progressing. Just to clarify, I am a Squarespace Circle Member working under NDA, so I can't always divulge everything.

Update from 7 to 7.1

Back in 2014, Squarespace released 7.0, which was a game changer and brought them into the forefront for the do-it-yourself (DIY) crowd. It just so happens this corresponds with when I first came across Squarespace. As far as I can tell, after their creation of 7.0, they remained dormant for a long time, without making any significant improvements. I'm not criticizing the quality of their output, particularly by modern-day media standards, but this "strategy" could have consequences—from my perspective as a consumer in those days. So it became a meditation on what was just over the hill.

Jump forward to the chaotic year of 2020 and Squarespace released v7.1 with comprehensive changes. This release was divisive in the Squarespace community, generating either fierce love or anger in the same breath. The scale of the change was such that an effortless upgrade from 7.0 to 7.1 was impossible. To switch to 7.1, you had to rebuild your website from scratch.

The novel update brought several great features, it also mysteriously rescinded features users had become accustomed to in the last iteration which left them frustrated. When 2020 came around, and 7.1 was well into it I was all in, I had made the jump to go back to the beta days of 2019 as I was really in for the long haul. To be sure, it threw a wrench in the well-established cadence of my building process. That said, I quickly adapted, playing the system to get as much utility as I could out of its upgrades while sidestepping its shortcomings.

How 7.1 Release

Looking back at the rollout of 7.1, it certainly left a lot to be desired and was a source of community-wide frustration. In my opinion, 7.1 was an alpha version at best when it launched. As such, the landscape was marred with numerous bugs and glaring omissions of features we expected but hadn't found there yet. And when combined with the above concerns, it darkens many an experience.

I have a suspicion that external factors in the competitive landscape forced Squarespace to accelerate the launch of 7.1. This outside pressure may be partially responsible for the very real urgency to see it get made sooner rather than later.

But, as time went on, it led to an upward trend that had seen some improvements over the year, and their interactions with the dev community have seen some improvement into 2022. One thing that became clear was that the features were being refined, and small, yet significant, additions were rolled out gradually.

The erstwhile tentative release now metamorphosed into a more robust and stable iteration, instilling a sense of solidity.

Fluid Engine Update

On July 21, 2022, Squarespace introduced yet another major update to its platform with the arrival of the Fluid Engine. This game-changing update was met with both praise and contempt similar as to what the 7.1 release commanded, and it was something that I felt most could relate to. From my perspective, my first reaction was to go between awesome and fear, internally screaming, "They did it again," which a ton of people expressed.

But in the early days of getting under the hood during beta and discovering its powers, my feelings changed to one of appreciation, if not without caveats. So while the Fluid Engine has its strong points, in my view, those strengths come with their challenges. This more subtle view needs its treatment, however, in a separate post.

My Thinking About Squarespace 8.0

And given the extreme evolution from the original released 7.0 back in 2014, Squarespace's platform has more closely morphed into a new creature. Which begs the question: why not call it 8.0? It felt like it could nicely revert 7.1 to being a new 8.0, especially considering how much transformation had occurred within the platform. But the failure of 7.1 suggests a strategic choice to avoid the airy heights of something called 8.0 suggesting they realize they were not ready for such a high jump.

The very naming decision of 7.1 was odd to me — effectively, a new version disguised as a feature. It shows some red flags, at least as far as I am concerned, when an upcoming release that big hinders the ability to perform a seamless upgrade.

For all the trends, tears, rips, and developments (and there have been many) from what initially felt like a departure, to what seems more like a 7.1 to 8.0 (the feeling I get when I see the gradual evolution) It's a smart move which buys them time to release the shiny new toy without being under too much pressure.

Though many features are in beta and others are yet to be developed, the writing is on the wall. So, whilst I am speculating, I suspect that they will wrap up a pretty big roadmap that covers 2023, and end it with something impactful in 2024. And maybe even the long-desired 8.0 will occur, although I have my doubts that a 7.2 will take the title—a result that would sure be frustrating.