How to add a sidebar to your Squarespace blog
Sidebars are a must have for most bloggers. Unfortunately not all Squarespace templates have a built in sidebar.
What’s the solution?
You’ve got a few.
1. You can start with a template that does have a built in sidebar.
2. You can create a faux sidebar. There' are several articles out there on how to do it.
3. You can use the Sidebar plugin from Sqspthemes.com to do it for you.
I’ll walk you through each option below.
1. Use a template with built in sidebar
If you're using one of the following templates - they all have sidebars enabled for blog posts.
Avenue (blog posts)
Bedford, Anya, Bryant & Hayden (blog posts)
Five
Forte (blog posts)
Galapagos (blog posts)
Ishimoto (blog posts)
Montauk, Julia, Kent & Om (blog posts)
Skye, Foundry, Indigo, Ready & Tudor (blog posts)
Wells
Wexley (blog only)
Make display edits in the style editor.
2. Create a faux sidebar
A faux sidebar means creating a page with summary blocks and creating sidebar that way.
Another method I’ve seen for blog posts is to have a blog “sidebar template” that you duplicate for each post.
Here’s a popular tutorial on how to do it.
3. Get the Squarespace sidebar plugin
How does it work?
With this plugin you can assign different sidebars to different pages and blogs. You’ll get an actual sidebar wherever you want on your site. Including shop pages.
The setup instructions includes a customization dashboard so you can style your sidebar without actually touching any CSS.
You’ll find more reviews here and here. I’ve also included a setup video below.