Why aren’t there many great Squarespace developers?
Squarespace has a reputation for being “easy.” And it is—if your goal is a clean site with standard sections, good typography, and a simple funnel.
But that “easy” label is also the reason genuinely great Squarespace developers feel rare: Squarespace attracts a lot of designers and builders, but it doesn’t naturally produce many people who can engineer custom behavior, integrations, and complex UI logic.
To understand why, we need to define terms first—because this is where most confusion starts.
Designer vs developer (and why clients get misled)
A Squarespace designer is usually someone who:
builds pages with the Squarespace UI (Fluid Engine, blocks, style settings),
focuses on layout, spacing, fonts, and visuals,
may add some Custom CSS,
understands the platform well from a visual and content perspective.
A Squarespace developer, in the real technical sense, is someone who:
writes and debugs JavaScript,
builds custom logic and interactions,
integrates third-party services,
understands browser behavior and performance,
and knows how Squarespace’s technical customization layers work.
Both roles are valuable—but they are not the same.
Why many designers say “that’s not possible on Squarespace”
When businesses ask for advanced features—custom logic, dynamic filtering, complex forms, integrations, membership-like behavior, or app-style interactions—they often hear:
“That’s not possible on Squarespace.”
What this usually means is one of the following:
It’s not possible using only the drag-and-drop interface.
It’s possible, but fragile if done incorrectly.
It’s possible, but difficult to maintain long-term.
It’s outside the designer’s technical skillset.
Squarespace allows custom code, but it must be used carefully. Without a solid technical foundation, custom solutions can break during redesigns, platform updates, or even small layout changes.
Knowing some CSS and HTML is not the same as being a developer
Many Squarespace designers know a bit of HTML and CSS. That’s helpful—but it’s not enough for complex functionality.
HTML defines structure: sections, headings, buttons, forms.
CSS controls appearance: layout, spacing, colors, responsiveness.
JavaScript controls behavior: logic, interactivity, dynamic content, events, and state.
If you want:
interactive calculators,
dynamic filtering or sorting,
conditional form logic,
custom animations tied to user actions,
advanced tracking,
external data integrations,
then JavaScript is unavoidable.
This is where most Squarespace designers stop—and where developers begin.
What APIs are (in simple terms)
An API allows different software systems to talk to each other.
Examples:
Sending form submissions to a CRM.
Syncing data with external tools.
Triggering automations after purchases.
Connecting a website to internal systems.
This kind of work is invisible to users—but critical for real business workflows. Designers who haven’t worked with APIs usually rely on limited third-party widgets or manual processes.
What Web APIs are (and why they matter)
Web APIs are browser-level capabilities that JavaScript can use to create advanced behavior directly in the browser.
Examples include:
loading data dynamically,
reacting to scroll position,
storing temporary data locally,
managing navigation behavior,
handling user interactions efficiently.
This is how modern websites feel fast, interactive, and “alive”—even when built on a hosted platform like Squarespace.
Understanding Web APIs is a core skill of front-end developers and software engineers, not something learned by copying snippets.
Why great Squarespace developers are rare
1. Squarespace doesn’t require coding
Most successful Squarespace sites can be built without writing a single line of JavaScript. There’s no pressure to learn deeper technical skills.
2. The technical path is optional—and niche
Squarespace supports advanced customization, but most of the ecosystem lives in no-code and low-code workflows.
3. Custom code comes with responsibility
Once you add code, you’re responsible for:
performance,
browser compatibility,
mobile behavior,
long-term stability,
debugging edge cases.
A snippet that “works today” is not the same as a solution that survives months or years.
4. Debugging is harder on a hosted platform
On Squarespace, developers work within constraints:
limited control over script loading,
platform-owned HTML structure,
theme changes they don’t fully control.
This requires experience—not trial and error.
5. Strong engineers often choose other platforms
Developers who specialize in front-end engineering often gravitate toward environments where engineering is the primary focus. Squarespace becomes a specialization, not a default choice.
How to spot a real Squarespace developer
If you need more than visual polish, ask questions like:
“Can you show a Squarespace project with custom JavaScript logic?”
“How do you prevent custom code from breaking during redesigns?”
“How do you handle performance and mobile issues?”
“Have you built integrations with external systems?”
“What happens to the custom logic if the layout changes?”
A simple red flag:
If the plan relies mainly on copy-pasting code found online, you’re not hiring a developer—you’re taking a risk.
Final thought: this is about clarity, not criticism
Squarespace designers deliver huge value—and many projects need exactly that.
But when a business needs advanced functionality, integrations, and long-term reliability, it requires someone who understands:
front-end development,
JavaScript logic,
APIs and browser capabilities,
and how to work safely within Squarespace’s technical boundaries.
That skill combination is uncommon.
That’s why great Squarespace developers feel rare.