What the launch review answers

Start Squarespace SEO with a clear job for each page. A homepage introduces the studio; a workshop page explains a specific class, date, location and booking route. Those pages need different descriptions and useful internal links. Before changing settings, list the URLs you intend people to discover and the pages that should remain private. This review produces a launch decision for each URL, not a numerical SEO score.

Find the right page controls

For an ordinary page, open Pages, its settings and the SEO tab to edit its SEO description. The homepage uses the separate SEO site description in search appearance settings; version 7.0 and 7.1 can expose different panels. Navigation titles, visible headings and SEO metadata serve different purposes. Read the published page and its HTML after saving; a filled-in editor field alone is not evidence that the visitor sees the intended content.

Inspect the workshop example

Our fictional printmaking studio uses studio.example. Its homepage links to /workshops/printmaking, while an old leaflet points to /classes. The launch worksheet assumes that the workshop has a useful title and description but the homepage still has generic copy. A booking confirmation page contains customer details and must not become a public resource. The five rows below record observations and corrective actions; they are an exercise you can replace with your own dated evidence.

  • Homepage /: Example observation: Generic studio description in the example; Evidence to record: Saved homepage description and rendered page; Action if it differs: Describe the studio distinctly; do not reuse the workshop summary
  • Workshop page: Example observation: Useful class details and a homepage link; Evidence to record: Title, description, visible heading and booking route; Action if it differs: Resolve mismatched dates or unavailable booking before promotion
  • Booking confirmation: Example observation: Customer details should remain private; Evidence to record: Signed-out access test and chosen access control; Action if it differs: Restrict access; a search-hiding toggle is not privacy protection
  • Old /classes URL: Example observation: Leaflet still uses the obsolete path; Evidence to record: Old response, 301 destination and final enabled page; Action if it differs: Disable or remove the old page, add mapping, update owned links
  • Sitemap: Example observation: Check the intended current workshop URL; Evidence to record: Primary-domain sitemap and review date; Action if it differs: Investigate missing eligible pages; do not record inclusion as indexing proof

Resolve access and URL changes

Keep customer information behind appropriate access controls. Hiding a page from search results requests exclusion; it does not authenticate visitors or make a known URL secret. For a permanent move, Squarespace URL mappings use the old path, an arrow, the new path and 301. The old page must be deleted or disabled for that mapping to work; confirm the destination is enabled first. Our escaped example changes nothing here. Also update the homepage and any links you control to the new URL.

Keep an evidence record

On a public, non-trial site, inspect /sitemap.xml on the primary domain. Squarespace generates the sitemap; it is not a file you manually rewrite. Compare the intended workshop URL with the list, and investigate page availability or search-hiding settings when it is missing. A sitemap entry helps discovery but does not prove Google indexed the page. Record the reviewed URL, setting, public response, reviewer and date; use your own verified Search Console property later for indexing evidence.

  • Record the platform version and exact page type before following an editor path.
  • Write different descriptions for the homepage and the workshop.
  • Test restricted pages while signed out; keep customer data out of the review export.
  • Verify the old path, one intended redirect and the final booking destination.
  • Recheck the sitemap after changes; record indexing separately in your own Search Console.

What this review cannot promise

After launch, check the actual visitor path from homepage to workshop and from the old leaflet URL to the current page. Test signed out and on a narrow screen; confirm that the booking action still works without exposing private information. Search engines may choose different title or snippet text and may take time to revisit changes. This guide provides a repeatable editorial and technical review, not an expert-services engagement, a live account scan or a guarantee of first-page rankings.

Fictional website review, not a Squarespace account audit. Example observations are not measured rankings, traffic or indexing results.