The Squarespace Template showcase page is a great starting point for many when trying to decide which Squarespace template is the right fit. The problem with this, as I mentioned in The Ultimate Guide to Squarespace Templates, is that it can be easy to pick a template based on how it looks on the preview page, and not how it actually functions.
Choosing the right Squarespace template for your business is all about functionality, and in this post I’ll dive deeper into some of the most popular Squarespace website templates for wedding photographers.
Since writing this post, I’ve actually switched entirely over to Showit, both for myself and my photographer clients. Showit templates make it easy to stand out, and the design process is a breeze. Head to my shop if you’d like to take a look at some incredible templates!
In this post I’ll showcase some of the recommended Squarespace templates for photographers and walk you through some of their unique features and who they would be great for! Stay tuned till the end and I’ll share my own favorite Squarespace template for wedding photographers as well!
Squarespace Templates for Photographers:
The Squarespace Template preview site is a great place to get started when choosing a new template for your website. In this post, I’ll take a look at some of the suggested Squarespace templates for photographers, but also add a couple of my personal favorites at the end!
Let’s break down the pros and cons of the functionalities of these Squarespace websites, so you can choose the Squarespace template that fits your business the best!
Wells
Wells is set up primarily as a portfolio template, which makes it a great template for photographers.
Unique features:
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Sidebar navigation – the wells navigation can be placed on either the right or left side, instead of at the top as with most other Squarespace templates.
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Gallery page options
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Blog sidebar
Who this is great for:
The Wells template is very much an online portfolio. Instead of website copy, the photos speak for themselves. This can be great for many photographers, but if you are in a saturated industry or depend on your website to tell a story using a combination of photography and copy, this might not be your best option!
Want to see the Wells template in real life?
Paige Brunton previously designed a photography website on the Wells Template, check it out here:
Wexley
The Wexley template is very similar to the Wells in how it creates a layout of imagery and video, almost like a mosaic.
Unique features:
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Page headers – to customize the top of each page
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Blog sidebar – both for the blog landing page and individual blogs
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Gallery grid – all images and videos are styled in a grid to show off us much as possible, when a photo is clicked it turns into a slideshow.
Who this is great for:
Similarly to the Wells template, the Wexley Squarespace template is best suited for photographers who want to showcase as much as possible of their photography skills or are looking for a simple portfolio style website.
Avenue
The Avenue template is another grid-based gallery template perfect for showcasing various galleries and portfolios.
Unique features:
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Index page grids – this feature sets up an index page of various galleries with thumbnails. This allows your site visitors to see your various galleries at a glance before exploring further.
Who this is great for:
If you’re a photographer that focuses heavily on the visuals, Avenue would be a great choice. The index page grids truly make this unique, so it would be a really cool feature to use for a website that helps you stand out.
Ishimoto
Ishimoto is one of my favorite Squarespace templates for wedding photographers (shhh – don’t tell anyone!). I’ll get to my all-time favorite template later, but Ishimoto really is a great option for many!
Unique features:
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Horizontally scrolling gallery pages – this feature allows you to create a very visually appealing website to show off your photos.
Who this is great for:
Ishimoto is the perfect Squarespace template for photographers who aren’t huge fans of super long scrolling pages. If you want everything above the fold, easy to navigate, the Ishimoto template is really a good way to go.
Tremont
Full-bleed and interactive feel are some of the key features of the Tremon Squarespace template family. With these unique features, you’re able to create a website that really invites your visitors in and makes them feel like a part of an experience.
Unique features:
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Slideshow portfolio – the slideshow portfolio on the Tremont template creates an interactive experience by allowing each large-scale image to link to a page on your site.
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Full-bleed galleries – this seems to be a common theme amongst the Unique features for these photographer templates, but the possibility to create full-bleed galleries is not something to take for granted when trying to show off your work.
Who this is great for:
Tremont is a great choice if you’re looking for sleek rotating photos for your hero image. It creates really pretty short home pages (not super long scrolling pages), which can be an excellent choice for guiding your website visitors through the journey of your site.
Flatiron
The flatiron is another example of a grid index website template. The Squarespace example template for Flatiron shows off a mosaic style homepage made up of several gallery features.
Unique features:
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Slideshow portfolio – the slideshow portfolio on the Tremont template creates an interactive experience by allowing each large-scale image to link to a page on your site.
Who this is great for:
Flatiron seems a little more user-friendly than some of the other grid style templates like Wexley and Avenue. With it’s sleek way of show off your galleries, it is again very well suited for photographers who’d like the images to do most, if not all, the talking.
Forte
The Forte is a more limited Squarespace template, but does have some nice features that are worth noting!
Unique features:
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Auto-detect color feature – y’all, this one is a game changer! Based on the color of your hero image, your nav items will change between light and dark colors so that your navigation is always visible!
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Blog sidebar – the Forte actually features a blog sidebar, which can be very nice if you’re trying to maximize the impact of your blog posts and don’t want to use a hack like this one to build your Squarespace blog sidebar.
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Social icons in nav – easily display icons for the social platforms you have connected in your navigation.
Who this is great for:
If you’re not a fan of long scrolling homepages, Forte is a
great option! The blog sidebar and auto-detect color features themselves could totally make this worth it, but do note that your other design flexibility is a little more limited with this template!
York
Jasper, in the York template family, is another Squarespace template suggested for photographers. This is another template family designed to work well for those needing a portfolio to showcase all their work.
Unique features:
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Project page layouts – these unique project page layouts let you showcase your work with both photos and copy in a seamless way.
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Stacked index pages – can be set up to showcase your portfolio at a high level with clickable banners or a grid setup.
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Page animations – fade-in effects and content sliding on scroll are a couple of the page animation features available in this template.
Who this is great for:
If you utilize a few specific sessions for your main portfolio and want to really show these off, the York template family would be a great option. With the project page layouts, you can easily add in details about the sessions to give more context for potential clients!
Brine
Brine is my own personal, all-time favorite Squarespace template. When in doubt (or any other time really) it is the template I tend to gravitate towards. Brine has the most flexibility out of any Squarespace templates, and is the easiest to work and grow with for most businesses.
Unique features:
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Parallax scrolling – this feature is only available on templates in the Brine template family. With parallax scrolling, your background image moves slower than the overlaying content, which creates a dynamic effect for your website.
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Index pages – the stacking index pages on the Brine template allow you to really create some amazing long-form pages for your website.
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Full-bleed banner images – along with the parallax scrolling, Brine allows for full-bleed images
Who this is great for:
If you’re looking for a super flexible site that has the most customization possible, Brine is for you. I’d also say if you’re not sure what you need in your Squarespace website, Brine is the best place to start.
Overall, Brine is one of the most loved Squarespace templates, and with good reason! It is my top choice for templates, and the only drawback is that Brine doesn’t come with a blog sidebar (but don’t worry, I’ve got a hack for that here).
Alright, friends! That was quite the post. In this post I walked you through some of the unique features of some of the most popular Squarespace templates for wedding photographers to help you pick the best template for your website.
If you’d rather get some help picking a Squarespace template and designing your site, you’re in the right place. As a Squarespace web designer, I’d love to work with you to bring your Squarespace website dreams come to life.
Head on over to the services page to learn more about what I do and how we can work together! I can’t wait to build you a website you love.
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