What's New in Squarespace Refresh 2025
The Biggest Platform Update in Years, Explained for Business Owners
Every fall, Squarespace announces its major product updates at Refresh, their annual release event. Refresh 2025 was one of the most significant updates in years, introducing AI-powered tools, professional-grade design features, and a whole new approach to search visibility.
If you're a business owner on Squarespace (or considering the platform), here's what actually matters from this release and how it affects your website.
The Big Picture
Squarespace has always been known for beautiful design. With Refresh 2025, they're pushing hard into two new territories: AI-powered business tools and visibility in AI-driven search.
The theme of this release is "Built to Stand Out, Ready to Scale." Translation: they want Squarespace to be more than a website builder. They want it to be a full business platform that helps you get discovered, manage operations, and grow.
Here's what's new and worth paying attention to.
Finish Layer: Professional Design Tools
This is the update that Squarespace designers have been waiting for. Finish Layer is a suite of design capabilities that bring professional-grade customization to the platform without requiring custom code.
Block Animations. You can now add animations to individual blocks, including rotate, scale, skew, and offset effects. Elements can fade in, slide up, or transform as visitors scroll. This was previously only possible with custom CSS or JavaScript.
Block Transforms. More control over how blocks display and position on the page. You can create layered, overlapping layouts and add depth that wasn't possible before.
Responsive Mobile Editing. You can now create different layouts for mobile versus desktop, and hide specific elements on mobile without using code. This is huge for creating clean mobile experiences that don't just shrink the desktop version.
Custom Font Uploads. You can now upload your own fonts directly through the Site Styles panel instead of using code injection. If you have brand fonts that aren't in Squarespace's library, you can now use them easily.
Section Saving for Circle Members. Designers can save and reuse section layouts across multiple projects, speeding up the design process significantly.
For business owners, this means your designer can create more polished, custom-looking sites without the complexity and cost of extensive custom code. For DIYers, it means more creative control without needing to learn CSS.
AI Optimization (AIO) Tools
This is where Squarespace is ahead of almost every other website platform. They've recognized that search is changing. More people are using AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews to find businesses, and they've built tools specifically to help you show up in those results.
AIO Scanner. This tool tracks how your website appears across AI-powered search platforms. It monitors mentions in tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, gives you a visibility score, and provides specific recommendations for improving your chances of being cited by AI.
SEO Scanner. This audits your page titles, meta descriptions, and image alt text, then generates optimized copy with one click. It's like having an SEO consultant built into your dashboard.
AI Site Scanner. This detects broken links, missing elements, and other issues that could hurt your search visibility or user experience. It provides quick-fix recommendations so you can address problems before they impact your site.
AI FAQ Generator. AI models love FAQ content because it mirrors how people ask questions. This tool generates FAQ content based on your business that you can customize and add to your site.
If you're not thinking about AI search visibility yet, you should be. The businesses that optimize for AIO now will have a significant advantage as more consumers shift to AI-powered discovery.
Squarespace Beacon AI
Beacon AI is positioned as an "AI-powered business partner" that provides guidance across the platform. Think of it as a smart assistant that helps you with tasks you'd otherwise have to figure out yourself.
AI Product Composer. Generate detailed product and service descriptions from a short description or even just an image. Useful for ecommerce stores or service providers with lots of offerings to describe.
AI Discount Composer. Get smart discount recommendations based on your products and pricing. The tool suggests discounts that can drive sales without hurting your margins.
Guided Setup and Optimization. Beacon AI provides step-by-step guidance for setting up and optimizing your site, helping you avoid common mistakes and missed opportunities.
These tools won't replace strategic thinking, but they can speed up tedious tasks and help you make better decisions with less guesswork.
Blueprint AI Expansion
Blueprint AI is Squarespace's AI-powered website builder that helps you create a site from scratch. With Refresh 2025, it's gotten smarter.
Adaptive Templates. New designer-made templates include embedded content that automatically adapts to your industry and goals. Instead of starting with placeholder text, you get a foundation that's already relevant to your business.
Chat-Based Design. Coming soon, you'll be able to describe your vision in a chat interface and have Blueprint AI generate tailored imagery, copy, and design recommendations. It's like having a conversation with a designer who builds as you talk.
Squarespace GPT Integration. You can now build and customize Squarespace sites directly inside ChatGPT using conversational prompts. This is a niche feature, but it signals where things are headed.
For most established businesses, Blueprint AI is more relevant for starting a new site than updating an existing one. But the adaptive templates could be useful if you're launching a new section or microsite.
Scheduling and Acuity Updates
If you use Acuity Scheduling (owned by Squarespace), there are meaningful improvements.
Style Editor for Scheduling Pages. Your Acuity booking pages can now automatically inherit your website's design, including fonts, colors, and styling. This creates a seamless brand experience from website to booking.
Improved Integration. Tighter connections between your website and scheduling mean better workflows for service-based businesses.
For healthcare practices, consultants, and anyone who relies on appointment booking, this makes the client experience more professional and cohesive.
Email and Marketing Updates
Squarespace Email Campaigns got a refresh too.
Improved Automations. More options for triggered email sequences based on customer behavior.
Seasonal Templates. New templates for holiday and seasonal campaigns.
AI Writing Assistance. Help writing on-brand email copy that matches your existing content.
Deeper Acuity Integration. Connect your scheduling with your email marketing for appointment reminders and follow-up sequences.
If you're using Squarespace for email marketing, these updates make it more competitive with dedicated email platforms.
Domain and Security Updates
Some practical improvements for domain management:
Enhanced Security. Better protection for your domain against unauthorized transfers and hijacking.
Improved Collaboration. Easier to manage domains when working with agencies or team members.
These are behind-the-scenes improvements, but they matter for keeping your web presence secure.
What This Means for Your Business
If you're already on Squarespace, Refresh 2025 gives you access to tools that were previously only available through expensive custom development or third-party services. The AIO tools alone put you ahead of most competitors who haven't even heard of AI search optimization.
If you're considering Squarespace, this release makes the platform significantly more capable for businesses that want to grow. It's no longer just a pretty website builder. It's a business platform with real tools for visibility, operations, and scale.
The businesses that take advantage of these updates, especially the AIO tools, will be better positioned as search continues to evolve. The ones that ignore them will wonder why their traffic is declining even though their Google rankings look the same.
Need Help Implementing These Updates?
At Agave Studio, we stay on top of every Squarespace release so our clients don't have to. If you want to take advantage of Finish Layer design tools, set up AIO optimization, or just make sure your site is using the platform to its full potential, we can help.
Agave Studio is a Denver-based Squarespace website design agency and Squarespace Circle Member with over 10 years of platform expertise and 100+ websites launched. We offer SEO and AIO services for healthcare practices, real estate professionals, service-based businesses, and more. Schedule a consultation to talk about your site.
