<aside> <img src="/icons/list-indent_lightgray.svg" alt="/icons/list-indent_lightgray.svg" width="40px" /> Click on a link below to skip down to that spot in this checklist.

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<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" width="40px" /> These steps are very similar for both Blog & Event types of collections page entries.

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Creating New Posts

<aside> <img src="/icons/report_red.svg" alt="/icons/report_red.svg" width="40px" /> I strongly advise you to write your actual blog posts content OUTSIDE of Squarespace's editor, so you will have a backup of the content for many reasons, not the least of which is that you will lose your progress if for some reason changes can't be saved.

• Google Docs work great,
• Notion database pages,
• or even something simple like Word docs </aside>

Option 1 - start fresh with a blank post

Option 2 - duplicate a pre-structured draft as a template

Blog Post Settings

• TIP: You can access this menu from INSIDE the blog post any time, if you click on the post title from the topmost bar, where Save and the device toggles are

CONTENT

• [ ] Add a blog post thumbnail, if you want one
  • shows up in the home blog page's feed, summary blocks that show recent posts elsewhere on the website, etc
  • You can upload one, or choose one from your asset library by clicking "Search for Images"
• [ ] ALWAYS check/update the post URL slug
  • use keywords or phrases with DASHES for spaces, such as /blog/**blog-post-settings**
  • anytime you duplicate a post, this URL slug will be the same as the original, with alphanumeric nonsense after it, such as /blog/**previous-post-slug-a3bd8**
  • anytime you create a new post, the post slug may be ONLY alphanumeric nonsense, like the pictured example below: /favorite-tools-resources/**z0mh8yfvvtty9vafyo2meagc9rr6sh**
• [ ] Skip the Excerpt for blog posts; it usually just gets in the way & we can put that same content in the SEO description instead
• [ ] Check the Author; this will automatically be the website owner, but if more than one person has access permissions to your site, you may want to adjust who wrote this post
• [ ] Source URL

  • This is a great place to link a reference for a researched blog post, or

  • The linked page on your website where you want the post title or thumbnail image to redirect to when clicked from Summary Blocks or blog home page feeds –IF you are using the blog collection to house/organize/manage ads INSTEAD of traditional posts. **Learn more about this method in #8 of this blog post.**

    9+ unexpected ways to use a Blog Collection in Squarespace

<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Double click on any image to see larger.

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OPTIONS

• [ ] Change Status when you're ready, to:

  • Draft (default for all new posts)
  • Scheduled (pick a date/time, then Squarespace will auto publish it for you)
  • Needs Review (a Draft with a noticeably different label that reminds you to review the post before publishing)
  • Publish (will be "live" immediately)

• [ ] Set the Tags: there's no limit to how many you can use, they work like Hashtags on social media (with needing the hash symbol #); I typically always add these 5 different types of tags 👇🏻

  • Year, ie: 2022
  • Full post title, and maybe alternate titles or phrases, ie: How to Create New Blog Posts on Squarespace: a checklist
  • keywords related to the post topic, ie: blogging, squarespace, new blog post, checklist, diy website
  • key phrases related to the post topic, ie: blogging on squarespace, how to create a new blog, new blog checklist
  • key phrases related to your intended audience, ie: online business owners, photographers, solopreneurs, etc

• [ ] Set the Categories: there's no limit that I know of, but I'd stick to using between 1-3 per post

  • meant to be more generic & broad, vs Tags which are much more specific

    • Ex: Squarespace Tips, Videos

  • Learn more about the differences in this blog post

    How to organize blog posts in Squarespace

• [ ] Choose your Comment settings
  • When the toggle is green, a comment box will be at the bottom of the post.
  • This toggle only affects this particular post; it's not a global setting.
  • If I haven't done this for you during our project, you can turn Comments on for all blog collections in Settings < Blogging < Comment Settings