As a member of Squarespace Circle and a Squarespace user myself - I use it for my site and recommend it to all my clients, the Cover Page feature is so handy.
Cover pages are super easy to set up (literally takes minutes), informative, effective and really beautiful, plus, you can keep them on brand too.

Squarespace has quite a few different layouts so it is definitely worth determining how and what you will use your cover page for before you start creating one.

That is why I wanted to show you 3 different ways that you can use Squarespace cover pages for your small business.

So what is a cover page?

Cover pages are single landing pages that are a part of your site but have their own design, style and layout.
There is no navigation bar attached to a cover page, but you can add links and buttons so you still have control over how your visitors can interact with you/your small business.
You can add video and audio to your cover page making it really unique, but just ensure it does distract away from the main purpose of the page.

2 awesome ways you can use cover pages

To be honest, there are quite a few different ways you can use cover pages, but these are primarily the top 2 ways.  Like I previously mentioned, it is definitely a good idea to work out the purpose of your cover page - What will you use it for? What do you want your visitors to do?

1 | Coming soon or under construction

Cover pages are widely used as coming soon or under construction pages to promote your new or redesigned website.  Whenever I design and create a client Squarespace website, the first thing I do is create a coming soon page.  This gives them a professional looking online presence whilst I set up the actual website.
If my client is collecting email subscribers (I definitely recommend they do!) or has a “notify me when ready” call to action, this is naturally included as part of the setup.

Did you know as a Squarespace Circle member I get 6 months trial period as opposed to 2 weeks if you sign up yourself as a new member.

Related:

• Why You Should Grow An Email List For Your Small Business

2 | Promotion page

Cover pages are great ways to promote a course, workshop, or a new service/product you have either launching in the future, or at present.
With the different layouts, you can add a short video to present the promotion making it even more engaging.
Don’t forget to add the fine details, like when the course or workshop starts, or when subscription closes, or details of any special offers related to the promotion.

Checklist of items to include on your Squarespace cover page

1 | Branding

You cover page should always be branded so don’t forget to use your:

• brand colours,

• fonts,

• logo,

• strapline (if you have one), and

• brand photos.

This should become instantly recognisable when any visitors land on your page.  It also gives them a sneak peek into what to expect on your website if you are using your cover page as a coming soon/under construction page.

2 | Call to action - buttons, sign up

Regardless of the purpose of your cover page, you must always include a call to action.  Whether this is a sign up to your newsletter/updates, or a “get in touch”, encouraging your visitor to make an action is better than sending them off on their way with no potential further interaction with your brand or business.  Here’s a quick list of the different call to actions to potentially include on your cover page:

• Get in touch button

• Sign up for updates button (button to a subscription form)

• Get the free course button

• Continue to the website (if the cover page is for a promotion)

• Read the blog button

• Save my seat (if the cover page if for an upcoming course/workshop)

3 | Social links

Always always add social links to your cover page.  It’s not only a really simple way to inform your visitors you are on social media, but it also gives them another way to keep in touch and connect with your business.
Note: Something to keep in mind though - in order for these to show up on your cover page, you need to ensure you have connected your social media accounts.  This is done via the main Squarespace website settings area.

Are you using the cover pages feature? Have you found it beneficial to your business?  I’d love to hear how other small businesses are getting creative with their cover pages!