Template guidelines

We may update these guidelines from time to time as we deem appropriate and will endeavour to inform Creators of relevant changes in our regular communication.

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Quality Criteria

SquareKicker is proud to present high-quality templates to the Squarespace community. Each template submission we receive is individually assessed by a SquareKicker team member using the criteria below. Successful template submissions will be those that present a high standard of design and meet the criteria laid out below.

Template Categories

Select up to 3 categories that best describe your template. This will be the main way users will search for your template. Ex: Choose "Professional Services" if it's a template for a law office. If you cannot find a category that suits your template, contact Creator support.

Art & Design
Interior Design & Home
Baby & Kids
Education
Technology
Entertainment & Media
Marketing & Advertising
Professional Services
Small Business
Personal & CV
Community & Nonprofit
Medical
Nature & Animals
Photography
Fashion & Beauty
Retail
Fitness & Wellness
Food & Drink
Restaurants
Travel
Events
Weddings
Music
Real Estate & Properties
Other

Template name

Choose a name that is not the same as or does not include a Template category.
Template names cannot include the word ‘Template’, ‘Theme’ or similar.
Make sure the template name isn't already in use in the Template Store.
Preferably, choose a single word to name your template. Max of 2 words.
Think about a name that will appeal to your template's target market.

Layout

Website layout should follow consistent spacing and not appear crammed or cluttered.
The entire template should have a cohesive style.

Content

Content and layouts should fit your chosen category or categories. For example: a Fitness template should have content and layout that is best suited for use in a fitness website. Do some research to find out what kind of content that type of website usually has.
Content and design should fit a single set of related template categories. For example you should not attempt to target multiple industries with one template as this reduces the efficacy of the template.
When creating content for a template, ensure that the tone remains professional and realistic, without breaking the 4th wall or directly addressing the viewer. Content should be written from the perspective of the website's persona rather than referencing the template itself. For example, instead of a heading like "This is where your blog post goes," use something that reflects the intended content, such as "Our Fitness Journey" for a fitness template or "Exclusive Offers for Subscribers" for a retail template. This applies to all aspects, including images, headings, logos, and blogs, to maintain a cohesive and authentic look.
Template navigation (Main navigation) should include all pages in the template, either as pages or within drop-downs.
Legal Pages (e.g., Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and Cookie Policy) should use Lorem Ipsum for the body text. This ensures SquareKicker is not liable for offering incorrect legal advice and encourages users to perform their own legal diligence.

Pages & Collections

Pages and Blog collections are compatible with templates. However, the following collection types are not currently supported: Stores, Portfolios, Events, Videos, and Courses.
Page titles and urls should match the type of content that would normally exist in that template category. Ex: a Fashion website may have a page called Clothing, Accessories, New Arrivals, or Sale.
Page names should be written in Title Case and should be consistent with navigation link names for those pages.
All pages should be accessible from your Main Navigation or CTA button in the header. Your Home page can be in the Not Linked area since it is linked to the logo.
Additional layout pages and service pages (e.g., privacy policy, terms and conditions, and 404) should be added to a Dropdown in the Main Navigation called 'Pages'. This will ensure they are visible in the preview site without cluttering the navigation menu.
Collection items should match the type of content that would normally exist in that template category. For example, for a blog in an Art & Design template, title the blog “Journal” with a post name called “How design transforms lives” rather than “Blog-1”. This will help make the demo site feel real as well as guide the end-user with ideas for how to create their own content.
Collections should have at least 2 items and a maximum of 8 items per collection (if your require more items please contact Creator support). These items should have demo content that makes sense for the category of your template.
Each page included in the template should have unique layouts (avoid multiple page designs with little structural differences). This does not apply to collection items.

Sections

The following are Squarespace sections that are currently compatible with Templates: Fluid Engine, Auto Layouts and Gallery Sections.
Sections using the classic editor will not be accepted, with the exception of blogs which can be included.
Sections that are selected with a category to be added to the template section layouts cannot also have SquareKicker Horizontal Scrolling or Sticky Split enabled. If you want to include Horizontal Scrolling or Sticky Split in your templates these will need to be in a page template.

Ecommerce

Currently, SquareKicker Templates are not compatible with Squarespace Ecommerce Products, including, Stores, Courses, Scheduling, and Member Areas.

Typography

Fonts in templates should only be set with Squarespace. Do not include font families set with SquareKicker, to avoid a poor user experience for the template user.
All text should have correct US spelling and grammar.
Headings need unique wording (not "lorem ipsum”) appropriate for the type of website it is made for.
Paragraphs can use “lorem ipsum” or AI generated content.
Text needs to be legible.
- Font size should be large enough to easily read. No text should be smaller than 9pt (12 px).
- Background and font colors should have enough contrast on all device screens. You can use a contrast ratio tool to check the contrast of the different parts of your template.
Text line-height should avoid text crashing in on itself on all devices. Test line heights using longer titles and multiple screen sizes.
Custom font families will not be allowed in templates.

Best SEO Practices

Use H1 heading elements once on the page for the most important heading.
You can use H1s in a template section layout if the section is designed to be the leading H1 on the page.
Use H2-H4 subheading elements in a correct hierarchy on the page. These subheading elements rank in importance according to the number in their name, so assign correct subheadings for importance of content.
All SEO metadata in template pages should be blank.
Templates should include "Designed by (Template Creators name) | Built with SquareKicker" in the footer and link to the SquareKicker homepage. https://squarekicker.com

Responsive Behavior

Designers should test their layouts with SquareKicker’s device toggles and test the published site on mobile devices.
Generally, layout spacing should be tighter on mobile devices.

Instagram

If you would like to use an instagram block, place your block on your site and connect it to an account to configure the correct design settings.
The instagram block on the preview site will be connected to a SquareKicker account. End users will receive a instagram block without a connected account.

Forms

Form fields should have correctly assigned settings. Ex: email fields should not be text fields
Input fields text and placeholders should be legible.
Give appropriate names to the Forms and Field elements (in form settings). These names will appear in form email notifications and form reports.
SquareKicker will also re-ensure that form email addresses will be reset to the site owner's email upon install.
Form Storage settings should be clear.

Colors

Any custom color used in SquareKicker must be added to the SquareKicker color palette so template users can easily update these colors sitewide. No Custom SK Colors; please use the SK or SQSP Palette.
All text color and background contrast needs to be accessible to users who are colorblind or otherwise visually impaired using a minimum contrast ratio of 2.1.
You can use an online contrast ratio tool to check the contrast of the different parts of your template.

Logo

All templates require a logo or site title that matches the name of the template.
Logos must include the template name.
Logos will only show on the preview listing and will not be included in the template install.
For a good example of this approach, check out Shopify's Theme Store.

Images, Video, and Licensed Assets

Images should be crisp on retina devices and cropped nicely.
Icons and other assets used in the template are only allowed if created by the Creator or are free assets allowed for free redistribution.
The use of premium or trademarked graphic assets are not allowed. Include only free assets that are allowed for free redistribution or CC0-licensed graphics from sources like:
- Stock Up
- Pexels
- Unsplash
We will ask about the licenses of the images and assets used in the template.
Images and graphics must not include or allude to any illegal or unethical activity, spread harmful or misleading information, or promote hate speech or discrimination.
Videos must be added as Vimeo or YouTube Links. Videos uploaded to Squarespace storage will not be exported.

Included in template

Squarespace
- Page content and settings: General & navigation
- Sections and settings
- Blocks and settings
- Collection pages and settings: General (blog only)
- Collection item content and settings: Content & options (blog only)
- Site styles settings: Fonts, colors, animations, spacing, buttons, forms, and image blocks
- Header: Elements & design (logo for demo only)
- Footer: Sections and blocks
SquareKicker Customisations
- Site
- Page
- Sections
- Blocks
- Color Palette
Creator Studio
- Page categories
- Section categories

Not included in template

SquareKicker Preset names: The use of SK Presets is recommended for ease of use and consistency when creating your template but these presets, along with all your SquareKicker edits will be merged into a Preset called "Template Preset".
Excluded blocks: gallery blocks (as these are only available for Circle members), code blocks, embed blocks.
Website pages and sections that are not selected with a category in the Creator Studio.
Classic Editor sections
Page, collection, collection item settings: SEO, social image, share, feeds location, advanced
Additional Squarespace website settings that are not included in list “included in the template” ie: Squarespace settings, selling, marketing, contacts, analytics, scheduling, and invoicing settings.
Website Tools: Messages (announcement bar, promotional popup, mobile information bar, cookies & visitor data)
Squarespace saved sections list

Custom code

No custom code is allowed in templates. This includes additional custom code in the code injection area that is not SquareKicker, header and footer code injection, custom CSS, code blocks, embed blocks, and markdown blocks.

Feedback and Revisions

SquareKicker will partner with Creators to assist in achieving the highest quality templates for listing. Feedback and revision requests may be given before a template is listed. If more than 2 rounds of feedback are required SquareKicker may reject the template.

Final checklist before exporting & submitting for review

Here are some common oversights to address before submitting your work to minimize the need for revisions:

All page titles are spelled using "Title Case."
Check EVERY link/button to ensure there are no broken links and every link goes somewhere
Ensure every page & blog item URL is correct, without "-1' or "blog-post-one"
All pages can be accessed by the main navigation, with a dropdown called "Pages" if additional pages needed
Don't break the 4th wall. All Content should be written from the perspective of the website's persona, rather than referencing the template itself. ie "Graphic Design, Web Design" rather than "Service 1, Service 2" or "An experience you won't forget" rather than "Your website headline here."
Videos must be added as Vimeo or YouTube Links. Videos uploaded to Squarespace storage will not be accepted.