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Squarespace’s 20 Key Moments in 2023
With countless product launches and enhancements for our customers, while introducing new offerings that our employees care about, and celebrating a huge milestone for the company, we can say that it’s been a year for Squarespace! We’re taking the opportunity to stop and reflect on our team members, our customers, and some of our biggest moments in 2023. Consider this a celebration of all that Squarespace and our community achieved.
Celebrated Squarespace’s 20th Anniversary
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In 2023, we were proud to celebrate 20 years of Squarespace – an eternity in technology! Looking back at 20 incredible years, from our culture of innovation to shaping technology, we've come a long way and it’s incredible what we have done over these two decades. Explore our journey through the past two decades at timeline.squarespace.com
Marked Our 2nd Circle Day
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Circle Day is a hybrid event dedicated to giving our Circle community, Squarespace’s partner program for professional web designers, behind-the-scenes product access and first-hand knowledge from some of Squarespace Circle’s most influential members. This year we hosted our second annual Circle Day which was bigger and better. This time, we extended the conference to two days instead of one. On day two, Member Workshop Day, attendees got to experience using the Courses product and develop their own "course" with fellow Circle members. Our CEO, Anthony, joined us this year for a Q&A and our Chief Creative Officer, David Lee, wrapped the conference discussing creativity and how to stay inspired. Click here to see videos from the special two-day event.
Expanded Our Intern Program
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This year we expanded our annual summer internship program to all Squarespace brands. Our summer interns are now able to gain experience and add value to teams across Squarespace, Acuity, Unfold and Tock.
Established SoundCloud Partnership
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This year Squarespace and SoundCloud partnered to help artists, musicians and creators establish a unique online presence and bring them closer to their fans. As a result, SoundCloud Next Pro artists are able to create a beautiful website with unique, music-themed domains (like .band or .live); engage with fans through multiple touchpoints; and more updates to come soon – all with the help of Squarespace. Read more HERE.
Won Various Company Awards
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We are continuously humbled to be recognized as a best in class organization in various areas including being employer of choice, the excellence of our customer support team, our impeccable in-house creative work, or as an accelerating business. In 2023 alone Squarespace won over 25 awards and recognitions. Our in-house Creative team was recognized for multiple Fast Company lists and won two Webby Awards for Squarespace Icons 01: Björk as well as our Sally's Seashells advertising campaign.
Built In Best Large Companies to Work for in NYC
Built In Best Places to Work in NYC
Built In Best Large Places to Work CHI
Built In Best Places to Work CHI
Built In U.S. Best Large Places to Work
Comparably Best Company Outlook
Comparably Best HR Teams
Comparably Best Places to Work in New York
Comparably Best Product & Design Teams
Comparably Best Marketing Teams
Comparably Best Companies for Career Growth
Comparably Happiest Employees
Comparably Best Company Compensation
Comparably Best Company Perks & Benefits
Comparably Best Company Work-Life Balance
Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of the Year
Fast Company’s Innovation by Design
Newsweek America's Greatest Workplaces 2023 for Diversity
Newsweek Most Trustworthy Companies in America
Newsweek America’s Greatest Workplaces
Newsweek World's Most Trustworthy Companies
released Squarespace Refresh 2023
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Our 2023 Squarespace Refresh was our most successful one yet! We released many innovations designed to help entrepreneurs sell, representing the biggest advancements in our commerce products since Squarespace launched 20 years ago. Central to these 2023 product releases is Squarespace Payments, closing the gap for millions of customers seeking an integrated, secure way to transact seamlessly on a single online platform.
This year’s Refresh showcased updates that span all of Squarespace's brands and platforms. We introduced new ways to sell with Acuity Scheduling, Courses, Client Invoicing, Email Marketing, Squarespace Payments and Commerce Tools. Refresh also gives customers design-forward innovation with new ways to stand out online through Bio Sites, Domains, Business extensions and Squarespace AI. Customers can also enjoy new ways to scale their business with Enterprise and Tock. Refresh is truly a celebration of our collective creativity. Learn more about Refresh 2023 HERE.
Showed Up as Corporate Citizens
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In 2023, Squarespace held its first ever blood donation drive, organized by Carespace, the Company's parents and caregivers ERG. This unique initiative combined virtual donation opportunities as well as onsite at our NYC HQ, acknowledging the vital role of blood donations in sustaining our healthcare system, recognizing that acts of service extend to the well-being of society. Our acts of corporate citizenship extended into other initiatives like impactful volunteer work with organizations such as Mission Bowery, LES Ecology, Heart of Dinner, God's Love We Deliver. We also made financial donations to the Advancement Project, Black Connect, and more.
Enhanced Our Global Customer Support Capabilities
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In a testament to Squarespace's continuous commitment to expanding our global reach and enabling a future where everyone can be an entrepreneur, adding 19 new currencies in 2023 which, alongside our growing support languages, bolsters our ability to support our international customers. Our currencies now include the Brazilian Real, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Colombian Peso, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar, Indonesian Rupiah, Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit, Mexican Pesos, New Zealand Dollar, Norwegian Krone, Philippine Peso, Polish Zloty, Swedish Krona, Singaporean Dollar, Thai Baht, New Taiwan Dollar, and South African Rand. And the languages we support now include English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish, Danish, Polish, Swedish, and Norwegian. We are excited to be able to continue to empower a broader community of entrepreneurs to stand out and succeed no matter where they are, further solidifying Squarespace's position as a global web-building leader.
Produced Award-winning Super Bowl Spot: The Singularity
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We kicked off 2023 with our 9th annual Super Bowl ad, starring Adam Driver in a journey for truth and a website that makes websites. Our commercial was one of the most awarded of the year, winning top honors at ADC, AICP, Cannes Lions, Ciclope, D&AD and the One Show.
Check out thesingularity.squarespace.com to enter the Singularity.
Expanded Composting to the NYC Office
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We believe responsible energy use is important for our long-term success. In 2023, we officially launched composting in our offices that offer food service! Composting is done in the cafeterias in our NYC and Dublin offices.
Squarespace also follows sustainable business practices to create a more eco-conscious workplace for our New York, Dublin and Chicago offices with the following:
- Motion sensors and low-watt LED lighting
- Water-saving timers on bathroom faucets
- Window films to reduce HVAC load and energy consumption
- Elimination of single-use water bottles and implementation of filtered water taps
- in office pantries
- Over 100 plants inside each office
- Biodegradable cups, cutlery and plates
- Recycling
- No “volatile organic compound” paint for all interior cosmetic projects
Welcomed Our New Chief People Officer
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In October of 2023, we were excited to welcome Chief People Officer, Jarlath Doherty, to support our continued growth journey as a company. As the new leader of our People and Internal Communications organization, his aim is to ensure that our people remain at the heart of our success. Jarlath has over 20 years of experience in HR with proven expertise in HR strategy, transformation, and process optimization. He is responsible for all aspects of the employee lifecycle including talent acquisition, management, and development; compensation and benefits; people operations and analytics; employee engagement, D&I and social impact. Jarlath joined us from Collibra, where he held the role of Chief People Officer. He has a wealth of experience in People leadership roles across various tech companies and we’re thrilled to have him onboard.
In 2023, our award-winning in-house Creative team continued to push the limits of creative excellence through innovative and dynamic campaigns. ‘Sell Anything’ and ‘Designed to Sell’ highlight the diversity of businesses that can thrive on Squarespace, while the Australian ‘Missing Legends’ spot marked the first commercial directed entirely in-house. On social media, ‘The Artist and the Actor’ showcases the duality of artists like painter, Emmy-nominated actor and longtime Squarespace customer Joseph Lee, while our next installment of the Squarespace Collection (formerly Squarespace Icons) highlights groundbreaking photography collective Magnum Photos.
Continued to Innovate in Our Creative Campaigns
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Held In-Person Global ERG Onsite
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Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are crucial to fostering a diverse, inclusive, equitable and culturally connected workplace. For the first time post pandemic, Squarespace ERG co-chairs and sponsors from across the globe gathered in person at our NYC headquarters to learn from, network and build relationships with one another in real life. ERG chairs and sponsors came from all over for a 3-day in person retreat in July and enjoyed components of their ongoing ERG Leadership Academy, panels and brainstorm sessions with their peers. Chairs participated in a community service activity with ERG leaders from other organizations, enjoyed group dinners, and a happy hour.
This year we celebrated the 10th anniversary of launching Squarespace’s office in Dublin, Ireland in July 2013. In honor of this occasion we hosted various games, activities, and events such as Squarespace Olympics, video game tournaments and an in person happy hour for all employees in Ireland.
Celebrated the 10 Year Anniversary of THE Dublin Office
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Launched Squarespace Blueprint Launch – Build Your Own Template
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This year, we introduced Squarespace Blueprint - Your Ultimate Website Design System! We believe design is the ultimate competitive advantage, and Squarespace Blueprint unlocks endless design possibilities with a billion+ combinations to build your unique online presence and features an interactive design experience, expert guidance, handpicked layouts and styles, live preview and progress bar, and more. Answer a few questions, and create a well-designed website faster than ever! You can read more information on Blueprint and check out Squarespace Blueprint for yourself and start today!
Dedicated Time to Innovate: Hack Weeks & Design Weeks
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At Squarespace, we celebrate creative possibilities. There is no greater example of this commitment at work than our annual Hack Week and Design Week.
Each year, members of the Engineering, Product Management, and Product Design departments have the opportunity to investigate creative concepts, freeing themselves to work on anything they want. While Hack Week projects are meant to be exploratory, there is a strong history of Hack Week projects making it out into the real world.
Acquired Google Domains
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In 2023, Squarespace acquired the assets associated with the Google Domains business making Squarespace the official registrar for Google Domains! We are thrilled to welcome the millions of Google Domains customers to Squarespace and further accelerate our vision to create a future where everyone can be an entrepreneur. Read our press release to learn more.
Launched Squarespace Collection
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In 2023, we launched a new Squarespace Collection, formerly known as Icons, which features six exclusive templates inspired by photographers from the famed photography agency, Magnum Photos. Each design captures the individual photographer’s creativity and the design choices they made for their own Squarespace websites.
Launched Squarespace Payments
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Squarespace launched Squarespace Payments, a native payment solution that offers a fast and secure payment option for selling on Squarespace. The new payments tool enables merchants to collect money for goods and services directly, without having to integrate an external payment processor. The Payment solution will work seamlessly with other Squarespace offerings, such as email marketing tools and the scheduling platform. Learn more about Squarespace Payments.
created oUR EVP positioning
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This year, Squarespace established our employee value proposition (EVP) positioning – Celebrate Creative Possibility and accompanying EVP behaviors. An EVP is the articulation of a company’s talent brand, which demonstrates why we are an employer of choice. With a culture rooted in curiosity, we aim to provide our employees with the support to turn possibility into reality – learning from challenges and celebrating progress.
At Squarespace, regardless of role or department, we make room for possibility, curiosity, growth, innovation, collaboration, creativity and discovery. Our employees are NY-inspired industrious individuals and collaborative self-starters. Learn more about our EVP here.