A Squarespace template/theme is a pre-made demo website that's meant to serve as a "starting point to help inspire your site's design," according to the platform's Support Center. You're free to keep it mostly as-is or customize it from top to bottom with different content blocks (like text and galleries) and personalized branding elements (like logos, fonts, and colors). Either way, the fact that there are over 230 templates to choose from means there's an extremely slim chance your finished site will wind up looking like anyone else's. Squarespace versions 7.0 and 7.1 are the two iterations of the platform that are currently in use, and each one treats templates a little differently: Version 7.0 contains 91 templates that are customized using its classic editor and organized into "families"; every family contains multiple templates with the same underlying structure, rules, and unique style elements (like the Brine family's parallax scrolling effect, for example). Many Squarespace veterans prefer this version because some of its advanced design capabilities still aren't available in version 7.1, but it can feel inflexible to new users. Released in early 2020, Version 7.1 scrapped the family categorization and gave all 140-plus of its templates the same basic formatting and features. They're a little more cookie-cutter than version 7.0's templates, but it's way easier to switch between them and you don't run the risk of losing any content when doing so. Version 7.1 sites also have the option of being built with Fluid Engine, Squarespace's next-gen content editor, which comes with an intuitive grid system and more flexible mobile layout options. (Note: Creating your own template with Squarespace Blueprint, its new guided design system, will automatically put you on version 7.1.) It's technically possible to move between both versions of Squarespace, but keep in mind that doing so will require a full rebuild and may affect your site's search ranking. (Pro tip: Take advantage of Squarespace's free 14-day trial if you're not sure which one is right for you.)