Getting Started with Circle: Global Members’ Edition
Overview
Squarespace Circle is a program designed to support, inspire, and engage designers, developers, and creators around the world who use Squarespace to build 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 an expansive global community of professionals to connect with, collaborate with, and learn from online and in person.
To get the most out of your Circle membership, continue reading to learn how to begin your journey as an official Squarespace pro. The entire Circle community is here to support you every step of the way. Let’s dive in.
Membership benefits at-a-glance
As a Circle member, you can now enjoy access to exclusive offerings to support your professional growth. Here’s an overview of the benefits available to you:
20% discounts on new annual subscriptions
Referral payments for registered members when bringing new clients to Squarespace
Eligibility to be considered for Squarespace Marketplace, where you can connect with new clients
Extended six-month trials for extra time to design, build, and fine-tune your websites
Priority support when emailing our Customer Support team
Circle-exclusive webinars and events to learn from and connect with other design pros
Regular updates from the Circle blog for honing your skills and sharing tips with your clients
Emailed Release Notes every Monday to stay up-to-date on the latest product news
Access to the Circle Forum where you can ask questions, share ideas, provide feedback, and request features, tools, and products
Download the Squarespace Circle Badge to share on your personal site so clients know you’re a Squarespace pro
Keep reading or visit the Squarespace Help Center for a comprehensive overview of your Circle benefits and how to take advantage of them.
Getting the most out of Circle
Join the conversation
The Circle Forum is your newsfeed for all things Circle. This members-only space is where you can access the latest updates, engage in conversations with other global Circle members, and hear directly from members of the Squarespace team around the world. You 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 the Circle forum at any time by clicking Circle Forum at the topmost navigation bar on 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 your username 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 so we can create content, events, and beta tests that support your interests and areas of expertise. The details included in your profile are also how we determine your eligibility for joining Squarespace Marketplace.
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 that make it easy to find the conversations you need. Always double-check you’re in the appropriate section before creating or replying to posts.
Here are the top three sections to check regularly:
News from Squarespace: A space to view new product updates, weekly updates, Release Notes, and feedback requests from the Squarespace team.
Squarespace Products: Conversations about Squarespace products to help you sell, schedule, and grow your business.
Customizing the Platform: Ask questions and share tips on enhancing Squarespace sites using custom code and advanced platform techniques.
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, and you can even share your badges on your personal sites to dazzle clients with your Squarespace knowledge and expertise.
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 once a month for Circle Live. In this virtual series, you’ll hear directly from Squarespace team members, product experts, and Circle community leaders on how to make the most of Squarespace and your Circle benefits. You’ll also get the chance to directly connect with other community members to grow your network of collaborators and expand your design knowledge. Keep an eye on your email and the Circle events page for an invitation to join the next episode.
The community gathers annually online and in person at Squarespace HQ for Circle Day. The event welcomes members from around the world to present on topics of interest. Look out for the official announcement next year, and in the meantime, check out highlights from 2024.
Looking to grow, learn, and connect with members of global Circle network? Watch Circle Partner webinars, hosted by Circle members located in various regions throughout the world. We also work with Circle Partners to host online and in-person meet-ups globally. Stay tuned for announcements about local meetups in weekly Release Notes emails.
Put your discounts to work
Circle membership includes a 20% discount on new annual subscriptions. You can either use your Circle discounts to start a new website trial for your client, or to 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 login, pay for the subscription, and ensure your client receives the Circle discount. Learn more in our Help Center, or start a new trial to begin using your Circle discounts.
Be the first to know
A major benefit of Circle membership is gaining access to beta tests and early releases. You can help ensure Squarespace products continue to serve you and your clients’ needs by sharing 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, which includes the latest product news and opportunities to test new features. You can also keep an eye on the News from Squarespace space in the Circle Forum to view recent Squarespace platform and product changes.
After joining Circle, you can enable many early access features and product betas in the Circle Labs panel under Settings. Learn more about Circle betas and early access.
Note: Since Circle members are granted access to new features before other Squarespace customers, some releases can't be shared outside the Circle community. To determine which features are ready to share with clients, refer to the Circle Release Tracker.
Get paid for new clients
You can earn money by bringing new clients to Squarespace with the Circle Referral Payments Benefit.
To participate in this global referral benefit, you need to register for referrals through our payment processor, Impact. After registering, refer four qualifying subscriptions during a given period to unlock payments for each additional qualifying subscription.
Once payments are unlocked, the commission amount you can earn depends on the product and plan type you referred. For instance, referring a Commerce Basic website yields a $200* commission, while an Email Campaigns Starter subscription yields a commission of $25. Combining subscriptions, such as adding Acuity Scheduling or Email Campaigns to a Commerce Advanced website, will increase your total commission amount, up to over $700 per project.
Learn more about the Circle Referral Payments Benefit commission structure.
*Note: You can choose to receive commissions in your local currency.
Priority support whenever you need it
As a Circle member, your email or live chat will be flagged to indicate you're a priority customer whenever you contact Customer Support. This extra context helps us to address your questions more efficiently and effectively. Emailing our team is the best way to receive advanced support tailored to your needs.
There are two ways for Circle members to receive prioritized care:
Email customercare@squarespace.com from the email address linked to your Circle account.
Open a ticket from your Circle account.
Stay engaged with Circle-exclusive content
Your Circle membership gets you exclusive access to content like events, newsletters, and guides, all tailored specifically to professional designers, creatives, and entrepreneurs on Squarespace like you.
As you embark on your Circle community journey, keep an eye out for emails containing helpful tips to build your brand, and always refer to the Squarespace Help Center to level up your skills. Along the way, you’ll receive exclusive product updates before anyone else to help you stay one step ahead and better consult your clients on the benefits of new Squarespace products and services.
Here are some key Circle emails to watch for:
Product updates: Periodically, we’ll share announcements about upcoming changes so you’re in the loop before anyone else.
Weekly Release Notes: Get a first look at recent product enhancements, opportunities to participate in product betas, and more.
Monthly Circle newsletter: Access 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 never miss a beat.
Get involved
That about covers the basics—the rest is up to you! Get started with your pro journey today by doing the following:
Discover your local Circle Partners
Every year, we invite select Circle members throughout the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and more to connect with Squarespace pros in their respective regions through the global Circle Partner program. The Circle Partner program delivers 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.
Connect with clients through Squarespace Marketplace
Squarespace Marketplace connects customers with Squarespace Experts directly through our website. Experts are Circle members who’ve demonstrated their Squarespace expertise 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 Squarespace Experts, we invite eligible Circle members with 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 your Account Dashboard’s Circle member profile. Complete your account and profile as soon as possible so we can view the full scope of your skillset.
Our Marketplace team also chooses new Squarespace Experts based on the quality of their design and technical work. A great way to show off your work and skills is by including your website on your Circle profile or posting your developed client sites on the Circle Forum’s Project Feedback space, where you can ask questions to improve your technical skills like custom CSS and JavaScript.
Squarespace expert recruiting is based on client demand, meaning we invite Circle members to become Experts as needed. For more information, check out these frequently asked questions about Marketplace and Experts.
Learn more
Develop your skills
Master the full suite of Squarespace products with these Circle-focused guides:
Find and manage clients
Grow your business by finding new clients and learning to deliver first-rate experiences with insights from our pros:
