Introducing Fluid Engine: My thoughts on Squarespace's new editor
Squarespace just launched their new editor, Fluid Engine, to all Squarespace 7.1 websites. This is a huge change from the drag-and-drop editor Squarespace previously used and allows a lot more flexibility in design. I'm sharing my first experience using Fluid Engine and showing you what it looks like, how it works, and what to look out for.
What is Fluid Engine?
Fluid Engine is Squarespace’s new editor that was released to all accounts in July 2022. It works on a grid-based system for all page sections that use blocks.
Fluid Engine is now the editor for all new Squarspace 7.1 websites. If you have Squarespace 7.0, Fluid Editor is not available (and is not likely to become available). If your website is already built on Squarespace 7.1, you have the ability to turn Fluid Engine on and off.
Pros to Fluid Engine
More flexibility in where to place blocks
Creating overlapping elements without CSS
Adding a block background color without CSS
The grid is 24 columns instead of 12, allowing you to be more specific when placing blocks
Each element is independent, so when you move one block, the others stay where they are
Ability to customize your mobile design independently from desktop
Cons to Fluid Engine
Have to design mobile separately from desktop (or at least spend more time checking how Squarespace automatically lays out the mobile elements
Limited views of different screen sizes that could be affected by overlapping or touching elements
Plugins and custom CSS that you’ve used previously may not work now. Creators are working hard to make sure everything works no matter what editor you’re using, but it may take some time
My final thoughts
Overall, I’m excited to try out Fluid Engine, but it will take longer to do checks for different screen sizes and specifically mobile because it will have to be designed separate from desktop.
