The last 10%: 12 details that make a Squarespace website look custom

You have added the logo, replaced the demo photography, written the service descriptions, and connected every button. Technically, the website is finished.

But something still feels slightly off.

It may not look bad. It just looks assembled rather than resolved. The sections are present, but they do not quite belong to one another. The mobile version feels longer than expected. A few headings wrap awkwardly. Some pages have plenty of room to breathe, while others feel crowded.

This is the last 10% of website design: the editing that happens after all the content is in place.

A custom-looking Squarespace website does not need more decorative features. It usually needs refinement of what is already there. These 12 details are where that refinement makes the biggest difference.

1. Establish a consistent spacing system

If one section has generous space above its heading and another begins immediately after the previous section, the page can feel assembled from separate pieces. Review the space around headings, paragraphs, images, buttons, and section boundaries.

You do not need every gap to be identical. You need a recognizable pattern. Related elements sit closer together. New ideas get more separation. Important sections may need extra room, while supporting sections can stay compact.

When spacing works, readers understand the page before they consciously process it.

2. Give typography a clear hierarchy

A visitor should be able to tell the page title, section headings, supporting headings, body copy, captions, and buttons apart at a glance. If too many text styles compete for attention, the site loses focus.

Check font size, weight, line spacing, capitalization, and color. Use these differences intentionally rather than inventing a new treatment whenever a section feels plain.

One thing to watch: headings that wrap onto two lines. A deliberate two-line heading can look elegant. One stranded word on a second line looks accidental.

3. Revisit every image crop

An excellent photograph can look wrong when the crop works against its subject.

Check where faces, products, interiors, and important details fall at each image size. A wide desktop banner may need a different focal point than a narrow mobile image. Portraits should not feel uncomfortably tight, and service images should still communicate their subject in smaller cards.

We often find that an image problem is really a crop problem. Before replacing the photograph, test its position, proportions, and surrounding space.

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4. Create rhythm across the page

A page built from repeated text-and-image sections can get monotonous, even when each section looks good on its own.

Vary the rhythm without abandoning consistency. Follow a detailed section with something concise. Alternate information-heavy moments with visual breathing room. Drop in testimonials, process steps, photographs, or short calls to action where they support the customer's decision.

The point is not constant novelty. It is making sure the page has pacing rather than presenting every section at the same volume.

5. Edit the mobile hierarchy separately

Mobile refinement is not just checking whether the website fits on a smaller screen.

A desktop section may place a heading, image, and paragraph side by side. On mobile, those elements become a sequence, and that sequence may not make sense.

Check whether:

• The most useful information appears early enough

• Images interrupt important explanations

• Buttons stay close to the content they belong to

• Repeated sections create excessive scrolling

• Headings and paragraphs are comfortable to read

• Decorative elements take up too much space

Do this as an editing pass, not a final inspection.

6. Simplify the navigation

Do not give equal prominence to every page. Put primary destinations in the main navigation and let supporting information live in dropdowns, page sections, or the footer where appropriate.

Labels should be clear. "Services" usually tells a visitor more than an invented phrase that requires interpretation.

Then review the navigation on mobile. A menu that feels concise on desktop can become surprisingly long once opened on a phone.

7. Make calls to action specific

"Learn more" is not always wrong, but it is often too vague. A button should help the visitor predict what happens next. Depending on the page, a clearer label might be:

• View the treatments

• Explore coaching packages

• See the full portfolio

• Book a consultation

• Ask about availability

• Read frequently asked questions

Use one primary action consistently, then bring in secondary actions only where they are useful. When every button looks equally important, the customer has to figure out the hierarchy on their own.

8. Adjust the copy to fit the design

Replacing demo copy word for word rarely works.

Your heading may be twice as long. Your service explanation may need another paragraph. Your button label may wrap. The fix is not always a larger section. Sometimes the copy needs to get shorter.

Read every page for repetition. If the headline, introduction, and first section all make the same point, pick the strongest version and cut the rest. The design should accommodate the message, but the message also needs editing for its setting.

9. Standardize repeated elements

Compare every service card, testimonial, button, image caption, and callout. Check whether similar items use the same capitalization, image ratio, text length, corner treatment, alignment, and spacing.

Perfect uniformity is not required. A short service name and a long one will behave differently. The goal is to make those differences feel considered, not accidental.

This is tedious work, but it is one of the clearest signs of a professionally finished website.

10. Place trust signals near decisions

Credentials, testimonials, practical details, and FAQs are most useful when they answer a concern at the right moment.

A strong testimonial about a specific service may belong near that service instead of in a large testimonial section elsewhere. Booking expectations may be more helpful beside the booking button. Relevant credentials may support an About section or specialized offer.

Do not place every trust signal everywhere. Pick the evidence that helps with the particular decision being made.

11. Finish the footer

The footer is often treated as a storage area for whatever did not fit elsewhere.

Give it the same editorial attention as the rest of the website. Check the business name, contact information, navigation links, social links, newsletter language, policies, and copyright details. Remove empty columns and unnecessary repetition.

The footer should offer a graceful final set of options, not a second version of the entire homepage. This is also a natural place to include practical destinations like your FAQ or contact page.

12. Remove what does not belong

The final stage of customization is often subtraction.

Template demos are designed to show possibilities. Your business does not need to use every section just because it was included. A generic process, filler testimonial, unnecessary newsletter block, or weak photograph can drag down the stronger content around it.

Ask of every section:

• Does this help the customer understand the business?

• Does it answer a meaningful question?

• Does it build appropriate trust?

• Does it support the next step?

• Is it repeating something already said better?

If the answer is no, take it out.

A finished website should feel inevitable

The most polished websites rarely call attention to how much editing went into them. The spacing feels natural. The images fit. The copy says enough. The customer always has a sensible next step.

You get there by looking at the website as a complete experience, not a collection of customized sections.

If your GlowUp template is fully built but still needs that final professional pass, explore Polish Pass and our website services. We refine the details, resolve inconsistencies, and help the finished site feel considered from desktop to mobile.

For a softer starting point, you can also browse our Squarespace templates and compare the structures built for different kinds of service businesses.