Getting Started with Circle

Two web designers looking at a laptop

Overview

Squarespace Circle is a program designed to support, inspire, and engage the creatives, developers, and designers who use Squarespace to build beautiful websites for themselves and their clients.

By joining Circle, you’ve unlocked access to benefits, perks, and resources to help you expand your skills and grow your business. You’re also now part of a global community of professionals to collaborate with and learn from.

To get the most out of your Circle membership, continue reading to learn how to begin your journey as a Squarespace pro. The Circle community is here to support you every step of the way. Let’s dive in.

 

Benefits at-a-glance

As a Circle member, you can now enjoy access to exclusive offerings to support your growth. Your current Circle member status determines which perks and benefits you have access to.

Continue reading or visit the Squarespace Help Center for a comprehensive overview of how to take advantage of your Circle benefits.

 

Getting the most out of Circle

Join the conversation

The Circle Forum is your news feed for all things Circle. This members-only space is where you can access the latest updates, engage in conversations with other Circle members, and hear directly from the Squarespace team. Gold and Platinum Partners can also offer product feedback, vote on other member suggestions, and get status updates on your recommendations on the feature request board. The Circle Forum includes all the features of the main Squarespace Forum, plus exclusive content and questions curated just for advanced users and design professionals. You can visit both forums at any time by clicking “Circle Forum” in the top-right of the header of the forum homepage.

When accessing the forum for the first time, the most important thing to do is complete your forum profile. Log in to the forum, click on your account photo in the upper right-hand corner, and select Profile. A detailed profile helps us understand the type of work you do, and where you are in your design journey. This helps us create content, events, and beta tests to support your interests and areas of expertise.

 

After completing your profile, leave your first comment on our monthly Introduce Yourself thread. This is a great way to say hello to the community and begin connecting with other Squarespace pros.

 

Navigating the forum

The Circle Forum is organized into sections to make it easy to find the conversations you need, so always double-check you’re in the appropriate section before creating or replying to posts. Here are the top three sections to check regularly:

All of your activity on the Circle Forum—just like the Squarespace Forum—will be rewarded with Forum Achievements. You’ll receive badges and rewards for engaging with other Circle members, showcasing your Squarespace knowledge and expertise within the Circle Forum. (As a note: these badges are separate from the official Squarespace Circle badges that show you’re a Squarespace pro to prospective clients.)

To learn more about how to engage with the Circle Forum, visit our Forum Guidelines.

 

Learn from the pros

To jumpstart your growth as a Squarespace professional, join us for Circle Live. In this monthly virtual series, you’ll hear directly from Squarespace team members and product experts on how to make the most of Squarespace and your Circle benefits. You’ll also get the chance to connect with other community members to grow your network of collaborators. Keep an eye on your email and the Circle events page for an invitation to join the next episode. You can also catch up on previous episodes.

 

Discover local Circle Partners

If you are a member of our community outside of the United States, local Circle Partners work to connect with Squarespace pros throughout the globe. Each year, we invite select Circle members in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and more to engage with members in their respective regions and offer local events, including:

  • Community meet-ups—virtual or in person

  • Discussion groups

  • Educational workshops

  • Masterclasses

  • Webinars about Squarespace and getting started with the platform 

  • Opportunities to present at Circle Day

Through these insightful and engaging events, you can regularly meet local Squarespace leaders, keep up-to-date with regional happenings, and engage with your regional Circle community.

 

Put your discounts to work

Circle membership includes a discount on new annual subscriptions. Here’s how you can put your Circle discounts to use:

  • Start a new website trial for your client

  • Purchase a new subscription for a client using your Circle credentials


If your client started a trial, they can invite you as a contributor to their site with billing permissions. This way, you can log in, pay for the subscription, and ensure your client receives the Circle discount. Learn more in the Help Center, or begin a new trial to start using your Circle discounts.

​​Be the first to know

A major benefit of becoming a Circle Gold or Platinum Partner is gaining access to beta tests and early releases to stay ahead of the curve for your clients. You’ll help Squarespace products work for your needs by posting your thoughts and feedback on these features in the Circle Forum. 

To stay in the know with recent releases and updates, check your email for the weekly Circle Release Notes (you’ll need to make sure you’re subscribed to Circle Product Release Notes in your account settings). This weekly product round-up includes the latest product news and opportunities to test new features. You can also keep an eye on the Platform News and Announcements space in the Circle Forum to view recent changes to the Squarespace platform and products.

Note: Since Circle members are granted access to new features before other Squarespace users, some releases can't be shared outside of the Circle community. To determine which features are ready to share with clients, refer to the Circle Release Tracker.

Get paid for new clients

Circle Gold and Platinum Partners can get paid for bringing new clients to Squarespace with the Circle Referral Payments Benefit.

To participate, you need to register for referrals through our referral system, Impact. After registering for our referral benefit, Circle members who meet the unlock threshold in the given qualifying period will be paid for each additional qualifying subscription. Once payments are unlocked, registered Circle members can earn money for future referrals through the end of a qualifying period.

Learn more about Circle referral payments.

 

Priority support whenever you need it

As a Circle member, you receive priority whenever you contact Customer Support. Emailing our team is the best way to receive advanced support customized to your needs. 

There are two ways for Circle members to receive prioritized care:

  1. Open a ticket using the email address linked to your Circle account

  2. Email customercare@squarespace.com using your Circle email address

Stay engaged with Circle-exclusive content 

Your Circle membership gets you access to exclusive events, newsletters, and the Squarespace Circle blog. You can browse through an extensive library of content tailored specifically for professional designers, creatives, and entrepreneurs on Squarespace.

As you get started with Circle, keep an eye out for emails with helpful tips to build your brand, and use the Squarespace Help Center to level up your skills. You’ll receive exclusive product updates before anyone else. You’ll stay one step ahead and better consult your clients on new products and services

Here are some emails to keep an eye out for: 

  • Product Updates: Periodically, we’ll share announcements about upcoming changes so you’re in the loop before anyone else.

  • Weekly Release Notes: A first look at any recent product enhancements, opportunities to participate in product betas, an updated look at your Circle status, and more. 

  • Monthly Circle Newsletter: A monthly roundup of the latest events, new blog posts, and a glimpse at what’s to come.

Pro tip: Add circle@mail.squarespace.com to your email contacts so you don’t miss a beat. To verify you’re subscribed, check out your subscriptions in account settings.

 

Get involved

That covers the basics—the rest is up to you. Get started with your pro journey today by doing the following:

Complete your profile

Visit the Circle Forum

Meet the community

Build your portfolio site

 

Grow with Circle

Hear directly from other Circle members on their Circle experience and how they’ve taken advantage of Squarespace Circle benefits.

Christy Price

David Alex

An image of Kerstin Martin

Kerstin Martin

Puno

 

Become a Circle Community Leader

Circle Community Leaders are active Circle community members who serve as a guiding council for the Squarespace team. Leaders work directly with Squarespace to identify opportunities for improvement, share feedback, and facilitate connections across the Circle community. 

Community Leaders are nominated by the Circle community. They enjoy additional benefits such as additional discounts and access to Squarespace Marketplace.

Connect with clients through Squarespace Marketplace

Squarespace Marketplace connects customers with Squarespace Experts directly through our website. Experts are Circle members who have demonstrated expertise on Squarespace by building eight sites in a 12-month period. Marketplace is a dynamic program, so requirements can change as the program evolves.

When we’re ready to onboard a new class of Experts, we invite eligible Circle members who match specific skills or qualifications requested by our customers. This could include non-website product experience like Email Campaigns or Acuity Scheduling, fluency in various languages, or geography. We pull this information from the Circle member profile in the Account Dashboard. Make sure you complete your account and profile so we can view the full scope of your skillset.

Our Marketplace team also chooses new Experts based on the quality of their design and technical work. A great way to work on this is by including your website on your Circle profile or posting your sites on the Project Feedback space in the Circle Forum for asking questions to improve your technical skills in custom CSS and JavaScript. 

Recruiting for Experts is based on client demand. We invite Circle members to become Experts as needed. For more information, check out some of our frequently asked questions about Marketplace.

 

Learn more

Develop your skills

 

Find and manage clients

 

Grow your business

Will Minter

Will Minter is a content lead at Squarespace focused on engaging and educating Circle members with weekly release notes, monthly newsletters, and occasional posts on the Circle blog.

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