Why 'Mobile Separate' Beats Mobile-First for Squarespace Users
Mobile-first sounds great in theory, but Squarespace works differently. Here's how to get the best of both worlds with a mobile separate approach.
Every web design article you read preaches mobile-first design. The theory makes perfect sense: start with the smallest screen, focus on essentials, then progressively enhance for larger screens. It's the gold standard approach that most developers and designers swear by, and for good reason. But here's the thing about theory versus practice: they don't always align, especially when you're working within the constraints of a platform like Squarespace.
After building thousands of websites over 20 years, I've learned that the best approach isn't always the textbook approach. Sometimes you need to adapt your workflow to the tools you're using, rather than forcing the tools to fit an ideal process that doesn't match their capabilities.
Why designers champion mobile-first design, but Squarespace works differently
Let me be clear about why mobile-first design became the standard in the first place. The approach forces you to prioritise content and functionality because you're working with limited screen real estate from the start. When you design for a 320-pixel-wide screen, every element has to justify its existence. There's no room for clutter or nice-to-have features that don't serve a clear purpose.
Mobile-first also aligns perfectly with how most people actually use the internet now. Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, and Google's mobile-first indexing means they judge your entire website based on its mobile performance. From a technical standpoint, starting with mobile and enhancing for desktop typically results in better performance because you're adding features rather than trying to strip them away later.
The traditional mobile-first workflow looks like this: sketch layouts for mobile screens, build the core functionality, then progressively enhance for tablets and desktops. It's a logical progression that ensures the mobile experience gets proper attention rather than being an afterthought.
But this approach assumes you have complete control over how elements are built and positioned. It assumes you can add features and functionality as screen size increases. That's where platforms like Squarespace present a different reality.
The Squarespace Reality Check
Here's where theory meets the practical limitations of working with Squarespace. When you're editing in Squarespace, particularly with their Fluid Engine editor, you can't actually design mobile-first in the traditional sense. The platform simply doesn't work that way.
In Squarespace's mobile editor, you cannot add new blocks or sections. You can't create new content elements while viewing the mobile layout. All content creation happens in the desktop view first. The mobile editor is limited to repositioning, resizing, and adjusting the layout of elements that already exist.
This isn't a bug or an oversight. It's how Squarespace maintains consistency between desktop and mobile versions while still allowing for layout flexibility. Content changes made in either view affect both versions, but layout adjustments can be made independently.
What this means practically is that if you try to follow a pure mobile-first approach, you'll find yourself constantly switching back to desktop view to add the elements you need, then returning to mobile to position them. It becomes an inefficient back-and-forth process that actually makes your workflow slower and more frustrating.
The Mobile-Separate Approach
This is where the mobile-separate approach makes much more sense for Squarespace users. Instead of trying to force a mobile-first workflow that fights against the platform's design, you work with Squarespace's strengths while still prioritising the mobile experience.
Here's how I approach it: I design and build the complete section in desktop view first, adding all the elements, content, and functionality I need. Then I switch to mobile view and spend significant time creating the perfect mobile layout from those existing elements.
The key difference is in mindset and time allocation. I'm not treating mobile as an afterthought or quick check. I'm approaching it as a separate, equally important design challenge that deserves dedicated attention and time.
When I switch to mobile view, I'm asking the same questions that mobile-first designers ask: What's most important here? What should users see first? How can I make this as clear and usable as possible on a small screen? The difference is that I'm asking these questions while rearranging existing elements rather than creating new ones.
Why This Approach Works Better
The mobile-separate approach actually gives you more design flexibility within Squarespace's constraints. Because you've already built all your content elements in desktop view, you have a complete toolkit to work with when optimising for mobile. You can dramatically restructure layouts, hide elements that aren't essential, and prioritise the most important content without worrying about whether you've forgotten to add something.
This approach also reduces decision fatigue. When you're in mobile view, you're focused purely on layout and hierarchy decisions. You're not simultaneously trying to figure out what content you need and how to arrange it. All the content decisions have been made, so you can concentrate on creating the best possible mobile experience with those elements.
From a client perspective, this workflow often produces better results because it's easier to demonstrate the mobile experience. Clients can see exactly how their content will appear and function on mobile devices, making it easier to get approval for layout decisions that might seem dramatic when viewed only in desktop context.
Working Within Fluid Engine's Grid System
Squarespace's Fluid Engine uses a flexible grid system that automatically adjusts from desktop to mobile. Understanding this system is crucial for efficient mobile separate design. On desktop, you work with up to 24 columns, but mobile automatically converts to 8 columns.
Rather than fighting this conversion, I plan for it. When building desktop layouts, I consider how elements will naturally want to stack and flow when converted to the narrower mobile grid. This forward thinking makes the mobile layout process much smoother.
The grid system also means you can add extra rows in mobile view to create more vertical space for your design. This is incredibly useful for preventing cramped layouts and ensuring proper spacing between elements.
Maintaining Mobile Priority Within the Workflow
Just because you're not designing mobile-first doesn't mean mobile becomes less important. The mobile-separate approach still maintains mobile priority, just with a different process. Here's how I ensure mobile remains a focus:
I spend at least 40% of my design time in mobile view. This isn't a quick check to make sure things look okay. It's dedicated design time where I'm carefully considering user experience, touch targets, and content hierarchy. Every element gets scrutinised for mobile usability.
I test extensively on actual devices, not just the preview mode. Squarespace's device view is helpful for quick checks, but the real mobile experience can only be evaluated on actual phones and tablets. Load times, touch responsiveness, and visual clarity all need real-world testing.
I also maintain a mobile-first mindset even while using a desktop-first workflow. When building content in desktop view, I'm constantly thinking about how elements will work on mobile screens. Will this button be large enough to tap easily? Is this text readable at mobile sizes? Will these images make sense when stacked vertically?
Practical Implementation Tips
When implementing the mobile-separate approach, timing is everything. I don't build an entire page in desktop view and then tackle all the mobile layouts at once. Instead, I work section by section: build the desktop layout for one section, immediately switch to mobile to optimise that section, then move on to the next section.
This section-by-section approach keeps the mobile considerations fresh in mind and prevents the overwhelming task of trying to optimise an entire page's worth of mobile layouts at once. It also makes it easier to spot issues early in the process rather than discovering fundamental problems after everything is built.
I also recommend documenting your mobile layout decisions. Keep notes about why you chose specific arrangements or hid certain elements. This documentation becomes valuable when making future updates or explaining decisions to clients.
The Best of Both Worlds
The mobile-separate approach gives you the benefits of mobile-focused design without fighting against Squarespace's technical limitations. You get the thorough mobile consideration that mobile-first design promotes, but within a workflow that's actually efficient for the platform you're using.
"The best design approach isn't always the one you read about in articles. It's the one that produces the best results within the constraints of your actual tools and workflow. Smart designers adapt their process to their platform, not the other way around." - Elwyn Davies
This doesn't mean abandoning mobile-first principles entirely. The core ideas remain valuable: prioritise essential content, design for touch interactions, consider slower connections, and ensure accessibility. The difference is in execution method, not in the underlying priorities.
When Mobile-First Still Makes Sense
There are still situations where traditional mobile-first design makes more sense, even for Squarespace users. If you're planning a very simple site with minimal layout complexity, the mobile-separate approach might be overkill. For basic brochure sites or single-page layouts, designing mobile-first could still be more efficient.
Custom development projects or sites built on platforms with more flexible editing capabilities might also benefit from traditional mobile-first workflows. The mobile-separate approach is specifically valuable for Squarespace's Fluid Engine constraints.
Building Reusable Mobile-Optimised Sections
One of the most efficient ways to implement the mobile separate approach is to create reusable sections that are already optimised for both desktop and mobile. This is where understanding how Squarespace sections work becomes crucial for your workflow efficiency.
In Squarespace, sections are the building blocks of your pages. Each section contains a group of content blocks and maintains its own layout settings. What makes this powerful is Squarespace's "Save to Favourites" feature, which has been an absolute godsend for designers working efficiently across multiple projects.
Here's my recommended workflow for creating mobile-optimised reusable sections: First, design your section completely in desktop view, adding all the content blocks, images, and text you need. Next, switch immediately to mobile view and spend the time to perfect the mobile layout for that specific section. Only after both desktop and mobile layouts are working perfectly do you save the section to your favourites.
This approach means you're building a library of sections that are pre-optimised for mobile. When you use these saved sections on other pages or projects, you're starting with layouts that already work well on both screen sizes rather than having to optimise each section from scratch every time.
However, there's an important caveat I always share with my design students: changing text content can often throw the mobile design out slightly. Different text lengths, additional paragraphs, or longer headings can affect how elements stack and align in mobile view. Even with perfectly optimised saved sections, it's good practice to double-check the mobile layout after making content changes.
Creating Your Go-Live Checklist
I regularly recommend to my design students that they create a comprehensive go-live checklist that covers all the important aspects before launching a website. This systematic approach ensures that your website is perfect from go-live date and gives you added peace of mind that nothing has been overlooked.
Your mobile review should be a crucial part of this checklist. You need to systematically review all mobile pages to ensure the mobile-separate design approach has been properly implemented across the entire site. Thankfully, you can keep blog posts and store pages out of this detailed review, as they follow their own limited but time-saving structure that Squarespace handles automatically.
The mobile pages that require your detailed attention are the custom pages where you've implemented specific layouts: homepage, about page, services pages, contact page, and any custom landing pages. These are the pages where your mobile-separate design work really matters and where layout issues are most likely to appear.
I recommend creating a simple spreadsheet with each page listed and checkboxes for desktop functionality, mobile layout, loading speed, and content accuracy. Work through each page systematically, checking it on actual mobile devices rather than just relying on preview modes. This process catches issues before your clients or their customers do.
Making It Work for Your Business
The goal isn't to follow design dogma perfectly. The goal is to create websites that work well for your clients and their customers while fitting efficiently into your actual workflow. If mobile separate design helps you deliver better mobile experiences within your platform constraints, then it's the right approach for your business.
Consider your client base as well. Small business owners using Squarespace often need to make updates themselves after the site is built. The mobile separate approach creates layouts that are easier for non-designers to maintain because the mobile optimisation is built into the platform's editing system rather than requiring complex workarounds.
Takeaway Notes
Mobile-first design theory is sound, but platform constraints sometimes require adapted workflows
Squarespace's Fluid Engine doesn't allow content creation in mobile view, making true mobile-first design inefficient
Mobile-separate approach maintains mobile priority while working with platform strengths
Build complete sections in desktop view, then dedicate significant time to mobile layout optimisation
Section-by-section workflow prevents overwhelming mobile layout tasks
Use Squarespace's "Save to Favourites" feature to create reusable mobile-optimised sections
Always double-check mobile layouts after changing text content, as different lengths can affect positioning
Create a comprehensive go-live checklist that includes systematic mobile page reviews
Focus detailed mobile reviews on custom pages rather than automated blog and store layouts
This approach often produces better results because you have all content elements available when optimising mobile layouts
Wrap-up
The mobile-separate approach isn't about abandoning mobile-focused design principles. It's about adapting those principles to work efficiently within the tools you actually use. When your platform has specific constraints, the smartest approach is working with those constraints rather than against them.
Your clients don't care whether you designed mobile-first or mobile-separate. They care that their website works brilliantly on every device their customers use. Focus on delivering excellent mobile experiences using whatever workflow gets you there most effectively.
Ready to implement mobile-separate design in your next Squarespace project? Join our free Pixelhaze Academy membership for detailed Squarespace tutorials and access to our supportive DIY community where you can get direct help from our team. For Squarespace-specific resources, check out our Square Forge collection of section templates designed with mobile-separate principles in mind.
