Published: January 2024 // Updated: May 2025

Squarespace promotes its “built-in SEO tools,” which can lead users—especially those coming from plugin-heavy platforms—to expect hands-on controls. In reality, most of Squarespace’s SEO functionality runs automatically in the background. It’s not a set of tools to manage, but a set of foundational features that support search visibility by default.

Here we look at Squarespace’s SEO features and explain why additional SEO plugins are rarely necessary.

Squarespace SEO Tools vs Features

Squarespace integrates with services like Google Search Console—one of the key SEO tools used to monitor and improve visibility. But many of the platform’s own “SEO tools” are more accurately described as built-in features.

Squarespace’s SEO features include:

And if some of these terms sound overly technical, that’s the point—Squarespace handles them in the background so users don’t need to manage them manually. This is one of the platform’s strengths: SEO infrastructure is preconfigured and maintained automatically, with no plugins or custom code required.

The platform highlights its “SEO checklist,” but it’s an introductory static guide—not a diagnostic tool. While dynamic page-level insights may eventually be offered, the current features already cover the SEO needs of most small and mid-sized sites.

Note that all Squarespace versions and templates are SEO-friendly.

Debunking an Outdated Talking Point

The idea that Squarespace is “bad for SEO” is a recycled myth, not a current or credible concern. It dates back to the early days of DIY site builders and was often repeated by WordPress developers defending their ecosystem.

Most professionals abandoned this narrative years ago. But the idea still surfaces in webinars and blog posts—typically when someone’s trying to sell SEO services or tools.

Success in search today hinges on content quality, relevance, and overall strategy versus your CMS. Over the past decade, we’ve seen firsthand how well Squarespace websites perform—something echoed by countless small business clients.

That said, no platform is flawless. Squarespace, like any CMS, has limitations and quirks—but they are not barriers to strong SEO performance. We cover specific cases in other articles where minor issues may arise, but these don’t change the broader picture: the fundamentals are solid.

Squarespace SEO Plugins

As covered above, Squarespace includes SEO features by default. The platform is designed to work out of the box, with needed functionality already in place. No plugins are required to make your site search-friendly—this is clearly stated in Squarespace’s own support materials.

That said, Squarespace’s authorized extensions marketplace does include a few SEO-adjacent plugins. These tools serve niche use cases and are not needed for most sites.

  • Weglot: This extension enables multilingual versions of your site and adds hreflang tags for international SEO. For small sites with just a few language variations, you can build a multilingual site manually and avoid subscription fees. Weglot is useful for larger, language-diverse sites with limited internal resources.

  • TinyIMG: This Squarespace SEO plugin minimizes image files, which can impact page speed. It was originally developed as a plugin for the Shopify platform and might be helpful for large gallery-based or ecommerce sites. But for most sites, simple free tools like Squoosh are more than sufficient.

These extensions don’t “fix” Squarespace SEO—they support edge cases or convenience workflows. If someone is recommending plugins to “make your site SEO-ready,” they’re promoting solutions to problems that don’t exist.

Checklists vs. Modern SEO

If you’re coming from WordPress and looking for a “Yoast for Squarespace,” it’s important to understand that the need for SEO plugins does not carry over—because the problems they solved on WordPress don’t exist on Squarespace.

Yoast and similar tools bundle technical fixes with content checklists. While some of the technical components made sense for older platforms, the checklist model itself was always flawed—and it’s even less relevant today.

Even so, a crop of checklist-style “SEO tools” has recently emerged for Squarespace. These plugins mimic outdated workflows from legacy platforms. They promise guidance, but deliver superficial scoring systems based on surface-level metrics like word count or heading structure—reflecting a fundamental misunderstanding of modern SEO.

Chasing arbitrary page scores encourages checklist-driven workflows and creates unnecessary busywork. Tools like these don’t address actual problems—they steer beginners toward shallow tasks instead of strategy.

Perceived gaps are easier to sell than real ones—so it’s common to see affiliate marketers frame platforms like Squarespace as lacking to promote plugins or tools. For new users, that framing can lead to misplaced effort, distraction, and over-optimization.

Google’s Advice for Small Biz

Google’s John Mueller has addressed this broader pattern, telling small businesses to focus on content over technical micromanagement:

Screenshot of John Mueller's tweet about avoiding plugins

Google’s advice via John Mueller

“The more small business sites I see, the fewer I see with technical SEO issues, and the more the issues lie with the content…CMSs tend to get most technical things right…”

“What I recommend to small businesses, is: never self-host, avoid plugins, buy your domain name, use a simple & reliable platform, use 2-factor authentication, have 2+ people internally who update your site’s content, get local SEO help.”

This supports Squarespace’s approach: removing complexity so creators can focus on substance. Content matters more than technical tweaks and most small businesses don’t need elaborate tools.

Other SEO Integrations

After publishing a website, you’ll want to proactively tell search engines about your business and products. Squarespace offers integrations with important Google services such as Search Console, Analytics, and Merchant Center.

Conclusion

Squarespace covers the key technical aspects of SEO, allowing users to spend less time managing backend settings and more time focusing on their business. The platform’s built-in SEO features are sufficient for most small and mid-sized businesses, eliminating the need for third-party plugins to achieve search visibility.

Important: Being “SEO-friendly” doesn’t mean a site ranks on autopilot—online visibility still requires intentional effort, as it does on any platform.

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