Squarespace 7.0 to 7.1: Use the Update Tool or Rebuild?
For a long time, moving a Squarespace 7.0 site to 7.1 meant rebuilding it page by page. That's no longer the only way. Squarespace now has a version update tool that converts a 7.0 site in place, and for plenty of sites it's the sensible choice.
For others it's a trap. The update is permanent, and some features don't come out the other side.
It's a conversation we have with past clients whose sites are still on 7.0. The site works, so it's easy to leave alone. But newer Squarespace features only run on 7.1, including the Fluid Engine editor and the AI Visibility tool, so a 7.0 site is already missing out. We haven't seen Squarespace announce an end date for 7.0, which makes this a question of opportunity rather than panic.
The decision comes down to what your 7.0 site relies on. The update tool converts a site in place, keeps your content and lets you preview the result before anything goes live, so for a simple brochure site the work is mostly checking rather than rebuilding. It refuses to run if the site uses a discontinued template, has Developer Mode switched on, runs to more than 150 pages, or has a store page holding more than 200 products. It removes album pages, audio cover pages and custom Adobe Fonts outright. It converts index pages into layout or portfolio pages and drops their sub-page SEO settings, turns gallery pages into layout pages without their videos, and leaves behind several header features including fixed headers, header search and secondary navigation. If the parts it breaks are parts you depend on, a rebuild is the cheaper route, even though it sounds like the bigger job.
How the update tool works
The process itself is short:
Open the Design panel and click Update to Version 7.1.
Click Get Started and read the summary of what will change.
Click Preview site in 7.1. You can make design changes while you preview.
When you're happy, click Publish update.
Until you publish, you can cancel the preview and throw away your changes. Once you publish, there's no route back to 7.0.
That one-way door is the reason to prepare properly rather than clicking through on a quiet Friday. Take screenshots of every page as it looks now, on desktop and on a phone. Copy your SEO titles and descriptions into a document, particularly for index pages, since their sub-page settings are lost in the conversion. Save a copy of your custom CSS somewhere outside Squarespace, because the update may comment it out. Note any fonts you're using, as custom Adobe Fonts don't come across. Ten minutes of that beforehand turns a nervous afternoon into a checklist you can work through, and gives you something to compare against when you're deciding whether the new version actually looks right.
What stops the tool running
The update tool won't work if:
the site uses a discontinued 7.0 template
Developer Mode is switched on (it needs turning off first)
the site has more than 150 pages, with certain page types counting towards that limit
a store page has more than 200 products
Those thresholds are tighter than the platform's own. A 7.1 site can hold up to 1,000 pages, though Squarespace recommends staying under 400, and a 7.1 store page can list up to 10,000 products against 200 on 7.0. The update tool works to stricter limits because it has to map every old page type onto a new one.
What doesn't survive the move
Some things are removed completely:
album pages and their content
cover pages that use audio layouts
custom Adobe Fonts, which you'll swap for 7.1's built-in fonts
Other things change in ways you'll notice:
index pages become layout or portfolio pages, and sub-page settings, including SEO data, are lost
gallery pages become layout pages with gallery sections, and videos don't transfer
fixed headers, search bars in the header, taglines and secondary navigation aren't supported
share buttons disappear from blog and store pages, and blog likes and shares go too
custom CSS may be commented out after the update, so it needs checking before you switch it back on
Pay particular attention to index pages. If a 7.0 index page has sub-pages that bring in search traffic, record their SEO titles and descriptions before you update, then add them back afterwards.
When the update tool is the right choice
The tool makes sense when:
the site's structure still suits the business
you don't rely on album pages, audio cover pages or index pages with important SEO settings
custom code is light, or someone can check it afterwards
the goal is getting onto 7.1 rather than a redesign
When a rebuild is the better call
A rebuild makes more sense when:
the site depends on index pages, video galleries or a heavily customised header
there's a lot of custom CSS written for a 7.0 template, which rarely maps neatly onto 7.1
the brand or the services have moved on, so the content needs rethinking anyway
the site is over the 150 page limit
A rebuild isn't the same as starting from nothing, which is the part people tend to dread unnecessarily. Your copy, images, blog posts and product data all come with you, and the URLs that matter can stay exactly as they are, so the rankings attached to them stay too. Anything that does have to move is handled with URL mappings, one redirect per line, and Squarespace allows roughly 2,500 lines of them, which is more than any small site will ever need. A rebuild is also the moment to clear out the things that accumulate on a site over five or six years: the tracking code nobody recognises, the pages that no longer get visited, the CSS written for a template you're about to leave behind. Those are the same issues we list in our Squarespace audits.
A sensible way to approach it
List your index pages, galleries, custom fonts and custom CSS before you start.
Record the SEO titles and descriptions of any pages the tool will change.
Run the preview. Nothing changes on your live site until you publish.
Check the preview properly, including on a phone.
If you want to test a published result first, duplicate the site (it needs to be under 150 pages) and run the full update on the copy.
After publishing, re-enable custom CSS carefully and test every form.
If you've inherited a 7.0 site, work through the basics first, so you're not updating a site whose forms still email a former colleague.
Getting help with the move
Not sure which route suits your site? An audit and review gives you an independent view before you commit, and if a rebuild turns out to be the answer, it's work we do as part of our website design service.
FAQs
Can I upgrade my Squarespace 7.0 site to 7.1?
Yes. Squarespace's version update tool, in the Design panel, converts a 7.0 site to 7.1 in place, keeping your content rather than requiring a rebuild. You click Update to Version 7.1, then Get Started, then Preview site in 7.1, make any design changes you want in the preview, and publish when you're happy. Until you publish you can cancel and discard everything. Once you publish, the update is permanent and there is no route back to 7.0. The tool won't run at all on sites using a discontinued template, with Developer Mode switched on, over 150 pages, or with a store page holding more than 200 products.
What doesn't carry over when updating Squarespace 7.0 to 7.1?
Album pages, audio cover pages and custom Adobe Fonts are removed. Index pages become layout or portfolio pages and lose sub-page SEO settings, gallery pages lose videos, several header features aren't supported and custom CSS may be commented out.
Can I undo a Squarespace 7.1 update?
No. You can cancel the preview and discard your changes at any point before publishing, but after you publish the update you can't go back to version 7.0.
Is Squarespace 7.0 being discontinued?
As of September 2026 we haven't seen Squarespace announce an end date for version 7.0. Newer features such as the Fluid Engine editor and the AI Visibility tool only work on 7.1, though.
