Squarespace settings to leave alone
The handful of Squarespace settings that can break your whole site, take it offline, or cut off your email, and what to do instead when one needs changing.
Most of a Squarespace site is safe to edit freely: your words, your images, your blog posts, your events. A short list of settings is different. They either change every page at once, or they sit underneath the site, so a small slip breaks things on pages you aren't looking at. This page is that list.
The general version of this list, for any platform, is what not to touch on your website. This page is the Squarespace detail.
The short list
| Setting | What can go wrong | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Custom CSS and Code Injection | Code here runs on every page, and a single mistake can break your layout, especially on phones. Squarespace's own support team won't troubleshoot custom code. Code Injection can also hold tracking or verification code that other services rely on, and code deleted from either panel can't be restored. | Ask us. If we added code for you, leave it exactly where it is. |
| Code blocks you didn't add | The same risk, on a single page. Deleted code can't be restored. | Edit the text around a code block freely. Leave the block itself alone. |
| Your domain's DNS settings and nameservers | A wrong or deleted record can take your site offline or stop your email. Switching to custom nameservers disconnects the domain from your site, and your email records stop working until they're added again with the new provider. Changes can take up to 48 hours to show, sometimes longer, so a mistake isn't obvious straight away. | Ask us first, every time. Background: connecting a domain. |
| Site styles and Themes | Both change fonts, colors, and buttons on every page at once. A Theme swaps the whole set in one click. Style changes, including resets, can't be undone once you've saved. | Change one thing, check a few pages, then save. See changing fonts, colors & site styles. |
| A published page's web address | Squarespace doesn't redirect the old address for you. Bookmarks, links from other sites, printed QR codes, and Google results all land on an error page. | Leave published addresses alone. If one has to change, ask us to set up a redirect at the same time. |
| Your billing plan and payment method | A failed payment that isn't fixed within 15 days takes the site offline. Some features, Code Injection among them, only exist on certain plans. | Keep the payment method current, and talk to us before changing plan. See plans & billing. |
| Who has Administrator access | An Administrator can do almost everything the owner can, including changing every setting on this page and deleting the site. | Give each person the smallest role that does the job. See contributors & permissions. |
| Connecting a new tool | A tool that sends email on your behalf needs its own DNS records, or its mail starts landing in spam. | Tell us before you connect anything that sends email for you. |
Deleting pages: recoverable, for a while
Squarespace keeps a deleted page for 30 days. After that it's gone for good.
Open the Pages panel and scroll to the bottom.
Click Deleted Pages.
Hover over the page, click Restore, and confirm. It comes back in the Not linked section, so drag it back into your navigation afterwards.
Some things can't be brought back, even inside the 30 days:
- A section or block you deleted, once you've closed the editor
- Most individual items in a collection, such as events, products, and gallery images (blog posts are the exception, and come back as drafts)
- Code deleted from a code block, Code Injection, or Custom CSS
Hide, don't delete
If you only want a page out of your menu, drag it to Not linked instead. The page keeps working, nothing is lost, and there's no 30-day clock. How: pages & navigation explained.
What about changing the template?
On Squarespace version 7.1, the current version, there is no template to switch. The template you started from was only a starting point. The site-wide change that remains possible is a new Theme or new site styles, which are in the list above.
On an older version 7.0 site, switching templates is possible and can undo custom design work. Ask us first. Not sure which version you're on? Ask us, or check Squarespace's guide: What's my site's version and template?
If you already changed something
Stop, and don't try to fix it by changing more things.
- Haven't saved yet? Click the undo arrow in the top-left corner, or press
Ctrl + Z(Windows) orCmd + Z(Mac). Once you've saved, don't count on undo: saved style changes and saved deletions can't be reversed. - Already saved or closed the editor? Squarespace keeps no page history, so the change can't be rolled back. A deleted page can still be restored for 30 days, as above. What else you can do is in undoing changes & recovering pages.
- Changed a code, domain, or billing setting? Tell us straight away, and say exactly what you changed. The general steps are in what not to touch.
Related guides
Learn more
- Restoring deleted pages and blog posts (Squarespace Help)support.squarespace.com
- Customize parts of your site with code injection (Squarespace Help)support.squarespace.com
- Add custom CSS to your site (Squarespace Help)support.squarespace.com
- URL slugs (Squarespace Help)support.squarespace.com
- Edit your domain's DNS records (Squarespace Help)support.squarespace.com
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