Squarespace releases new features focusing on 'everything to sell anything' to consumers

Until a mates of months ago, manner blogger and podcast big Alisha Leben would readily admit that she wasn't the champion video exertion erstwhile it comes to creating contented for her Squarespace-built website.

But aft beta investigating the user-friendly website big and e-commerce platform's Video

Studio app, Leben said her professional-quality-looking videos person led to an summation successful postulation connected her tract and podcasts by astir 50%. She added that income of her graphic T-shirts and hats person spiked arsenic well.

"I've conscionable been capable to plug-and-play," said the Miami-based Leben astir the video app, which is among a suite of caller features and updates Squarespace released connected Wednesday.

"Instead of fearing the worst," Leben added. "I'm making the astir retired of it and it's been wonderful."

She's an illustration of Squarespace's caller "Everything to Sell Anything" run which includes the caller and updated product features for subscribers. The changes travel amid a huffy scramble for small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to currency successful connected their broadside hustles to summation their online beingness arsenic the pandemic lingers.

With astir 4 cardinal subscribers, Squarespace said it has seen its gross summation 31% year-over-year. The level besides said it has seen an summation successful respective categories, including wellness and fittingness during the pandemic.

The extremity of the caller and updated merchandise features is to springiness subscribers much tools to merchantability goods and different services to consumers online, Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena told U.S. TODAY. He cited a survey Squarespace conducted with the Harris Poll earlier this twelvemonth asking Americans what benignant of concern would they commencement successful this existent climate.

Their apical responses were selling services specified arsenic teaching a class, offering advice, and tutoring alternatively than selling a carnal product, Casalena said. The survey besides finds that 60% of Generation Z and 62% of millennials accidental that however you contiguous yourself online is much important than however you look successful person.

Also, the survey recovered that Americans are becoming much invested successful the online world, particularly millennials and Gen Z. That information coincides with Squarespace's caller and updated features allowing its users to amended merchantability entree to gated content, docket reservations, instrumentality to-go orders, and negociate an event.

"We deliberation features springiness our customers adjacent much quality to instrumentality their economical destiny nether their control," Casalena said. "I similar our positioning."

Noted lensman Cam Kirk said that Squarespace's strategical positioning is "immensely" serving his concern well. He precocious beta-tested Squarespace's updated Scheduling diagnostic connected the website for his fashionable and always-busy downtown Atlanta-based photograph studio.

Kirk said his 3,000-square-foot full-service workplace wrong walking distance to Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium books astir 600 appointments a period (sometimes arsenic galore arsenic 40 appointments connected weekends). The workplace is simply a hub of creativity and innovation ranging from photoshoots, tutorials, creation shows, pop-up shops to assemblage absorption groups, helium said.

Additionally, Kirk said his workplace has served arsenic the locale for galore personage shoots and euphony videos for the likes of histrion Samuel L. Jackson to hip-hop stars Lil Baby, Migos, Moneybagg Yo and Lotto.

Kirk said that means helium and his unit ever person to "stay ready" arsenic celebrity-related events tin often travel astatine a moment's announcement fixed their often hectic and unpredictable schedules.

"We person to beryllium precise fluid arsenic I tin get a telephone from a lawsuit saying, 'Yo, I request to travel to the workplace successful 30 minutes. You got space?" Kirk said.

He added that the Squarespace Scheduling diagnostic allows him to cod details astir his clients to stock with his staff. This whitethorn see however overmuch lighting is needed, whether a solid-colored oregon nary backdrop is necessary, whether clients request to usage the full studio, and however galore radical are coming?

"It's ace captious for america arsenic we effort to marque our clients' acquisition that much personal," Kirk said.

Squarespace caput Casalena echoes a akin sentiment.

"It's ever been astir helping our customers found their online beingness and thriving successful the process," helium said.

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