What Is the Image Size for Squarespace?

When working with Squarespace, understanding the optimal image sizes is crucial for achieving high-quality visuals and maintaining smooth website performance. Here is a detailed guide to help you determine the right image sizes for different uses on Squarespace.

General Guidelines for Image Sizes

1. Background Images and Banners:
2. Recommended Size: 1500 pixels on the shortest edge.
3. Maximum File Size: 500 KB to 1 MB to ensure fast loading times.

4. Optimal Aspect Ratio: Usually depends on your design but common ratios are 16:9.

5. Gallery Images:

6. Recommended Size: At least 1500 pixels on the longest edge.
7. Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG for standard images, and GIF for animations.

8. Maximum File Size: 500 KB to 1 MB.

9. Product Images (eCommerce):

10. Recommended Size: At least 1000 pixels on the longest edge.
11. Maximum File Size: 500 KB to 1 MB.

12. Consistency is key for creating a professional look so try to use the same aspect ratio for all product images.

13. Blog Post Images:

14. Recommended Size: Between 1500 to 2500 pixels wide.

15. These images can also be scaled automatically by Squarespace but starting with high-resolution versions will ensure clarity.

16. Header or Cover Page Images:

17. Recommended Size: Approximately 2000 pixels wide.
18. Optimal Aspect Ratio: This can vary considerably, but a common aspect ratio is around 16:9 or 21:9.

Specific Considerations

1. Retina Displays: For high-resolution Retina displays, double the pixel dimensions mentioned above to maintain quality. This means:
2. Background images: 3000 pixels on the shortest edge.
3. Gallery images: 3000 pixels on the longest edge.
4. Product images: 2000 pixels on the longest edge.
5. Blog post images: 3000 to 5000 pixels wide.

6. Header/Cover images: 4000 pixels wide.

7. Compression:

8. Use tools like TinyPNG, JPEGmini, or Adobe Photoshop's "Save for Web" feature to compress images without losing quality. This step is crucial to speed up load times and improve overall site performance.

9. File Formats:

10. JPEG: Ideal for photographs.
11. PNG: Best for images requiring transparency or when a higher quality is needed for graphics.
12. GIF: Use for animations but be cautious of file size, as GIFs can be quite large and slow to load.

Practical Steps

1. Optimize Images before Uploading:

2. Resize your images to the recommended dimensions and compress them using the tools mentioned earlier.

3. Test Different Sizes:

4. Upload the images to a test page first to see how they render on various devices. Adjust as necessary.

5. Use Responsive Image Settings:

6. Squarespace automatically creates multiple sizes of each image you upload to serve the appropriate size based on the user's device and screen resolution. Make sure this feature is enabled.

7. Monitor Performance:

8. Regularly check your website’s performance metrics using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to ensure your images are not negatively impacting load times.

Limitations

1. Oversized Images:

2. Avoid uploading images larger than 20MB to prevent upload issues and ensure smoother site performance.

3. Image Cropping:

4. Be aware that Squarespace may crop images to fit certain blocks or designs, so always preview your site on multiple devices.

5. Consistency Across Devices:

6. While Squarespace does a good job of responsiveness, always test your images on different devices to ensure they look great everywhere.

By adhering to these guidelines and considerations, you can ensure that your Squarespace site is visually appealing and performant.