Squarespace Website Templates: Speed Tests & LCP Scores

When building a website on Squarespace, aesthetics and ease of use often take center stage. However, in today’s performance-focused digital landscape, the speed of your website matters just as much—if not more—than its visual appeal. Google’s Core Web Vitals, particularly the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), have made page speed a critical component of search engine optimization and user experience. This brings us to a key question for Squarespace users: How do different Squarespace templates perform in terms of speed and LCP scores?

Understanding LCP and Its Importance

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures the time it takes for the largest content element visible in the user’s viewport to load. It is one of the three Core Web Vitals used by Google to determine the quality of user experience. Ideally, your LCP score should be 2.5 seconds or less to provide an optimal experience.

Failing to meet LCP benchmarks can negatively affect:

• SEO rankings
• User engagement
• Conversion rates
• Overall brand perception

In simple terms, even the most beautiful Squarespace site will struggle if it loads slowly. That makes choosing the right template not just an aesthetic decision—but a performance-oriented one as well.

How Squarespace Templates Differ in Performance

Squarespace offers a wide variety of templates, each built with different layouts, features, and design assets. Some are image-heavy and animation-rich, which can slow things down, while others are lean, minimal, and optimized for speed.

The main factors influencing template speed include:

• Image Usage: High-resolution images can slow loading times.
• Custom Fonts: Templates using multiple or custom fonts may incur longer LCP.
• Animations and Effects: Parallax scrolling or fade-in effects can delay LCP.
• Code Bloat: Older or feature-heavy templates may include unnecessary HTML/CSS/javascript.

Squarespace Template Families and Performance Overview

Squarespace offers two major versions: 7.0 and 7.1. Each version comes with unique templates known as “template families.” Here’s a comparative breakdown of how these families generally perform in LCP and speed tests:

Version 7.0 Template Families

• Brine Family:
  Performance: ABOVE AVERAGE
  Known for its flexibility and robust features, Brine templates offer good speeds when optimized. However, due to its feature-rich nature, it can suffer if overloaded with visual elements.
• Waverly:
  Performance: AVERAGE
  A portfolio-style layout that favors visual storytelling. It may experience moderate delays in LCP due to image-heavy design choices.
• Five:
  Performance: BELOW AVERAGE
  One of the older template families and often suffers from outdated code practices. Not ideal for users focused on speed.

Version 7.1 Templates

Version 7.1 templates operate under a unified framework, making the differences more about design blocks and less about inherent technical variations. Despite this, elements users choose still affect performance.

• Boulder and Nolan Templates:
  Performance: GOOD
  With smart structure and minimal animations, these templates achieve LCP under 2.5 seconds when images are compressed and lazy-loaded.
• Paloma Template:
  Performance: MIXED
  Highly stylized, Paloma can be resource-intensive. Works well with proper optimization.
• Devoe:
  Performance: LAGGING
  Designed for visual impact, Devoe uses a lot of full-screen imagery which can hinder fast LCP.

Empirical Speed Test Results

Using Google PageSpeed Insights and WebPageTest.org, we conducted LCP tests on popular Squarespace templates hosted with identical content and minimal third-party scripts. Here’s what we found:

Ways to Improve Squarespace LCP Scores

Even though Squarespace handles much of the backend, users still have room to optimize a site’s performance. Here are some effective steps:

• Image Optimization: Use compressed images no larger than needed. Leverage Squarespace’s built-in lazy-loading capabilities.
• Limit Custom Fonts: Use system fonts where possible to decrease font loading times.
• Reduce Heavy Animations: Disable or limit parallax, sliders, and background videos.
• Use Minimal Design Blocks: Less is often more in both aesthetics and performance.
• Test Regularly: Use Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix after any major content updates.

Best Performing Template Recommendations

Based on our research, here are a few template recommendations for users prioritizing speed and strong LCP scores:

• Boulder (7.1): Simple structure, performance-friendly even with moderate customization.
• Brine (7.0): Excellent balance of features and load time. Great for versatile needs.
• Nolan (7.1): Lightweight and ideal for blogs, portfolios, and small business websites.

Templates like Devoe and Five may be tempting for their visual allure but should be approached cautiously when performance is paramount.

Final Thoughts

A fast website is more than just a user luxury—it’s a search engine necessity. Choosing the right Squarespace template can substantially influence your site’s performance, particularly with respect to Largest Contentful Paint. While design has its place, speed and efficiency must guide decisions for any site aspiring to rank well and retain users.

By selecting a high-performing template from the start, applying smart content practices, and continually testing your site, you can strike the perfect balance between form and function. In a world where every second counts, making the right foundational choices on Squarespace goes a long way.