SquareKicker Compose launched on 3 August 2026, and it is the most interesting thing to happen to Squarespace design in years. It puts an AI design partner directly inside the Squarespace editor: you describe what you want, and Compose writes the custom code, previews the result on your actual page, and applies it when you are happy. No copying snippets out of ChatGPT, no guessing CSS selectors, no pasting into code injection and hoping.
A note on where this review comes from. I run a UK Squarespace agency as a Squarespace Platinum Partner, and I watched the live launch event on 3 August where the SquareKicker team demonstrated Compose and answered questions. This is a first look based on that event, the official walkthrough, the product documentation, and early hands-on use, and I will keep updating it as we put Compose through real client work.
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Nick from SquareKicker walks through the whole thing in the official launch video, and it is worth ten minutes of your time:
What is SquareKicker Compose?
Compose is a conversational AI design tool built into the SquareKicker extension for Squarespace 7.1, sitting alongside the visual Extension in the top level of the SquareKicker menu (the Extension is reviewed separately in our full SquareKicker guide). Instead of adjusting sliders and toggles, you chat.
The workflow looks like this. You start a new design and use the select element button to click any part of your page: a whole section, part of the header, a specific image or heading. Each click adds a context chip to your prompt, so Compose knows exactly which element you mean; hold shift to grab several elements at once, or open the layers panel to reach something precise. Then you describe what you want. Compose generates the code, shows you a live preview on your own site that only you can see, and you either apply it, refine it through further conversation, or step back to an earlier version. Every change is saved as a version, so experiments are never destructive.
What makes the conversation work is how much Compose already knows. It reads your site styles, colour variables, fonts, HTML, CSS and some of your JavaScript before you type a word, so it starts from a complete picture of your site rather than a blank slate. You do not even have to click to select: describe "the hero section" or "the fourth section on this page" and Compose finds it, and global requests such as "all buttons" or "all my header text" apply sitewide without selecting anything at all.
Two details matter for anyone who has been burned by custom code before. First, applied designs are saved into your own Squarespace code injection area, with a backup of every version kept on SquareKicker's servers, so your live site is not rendering through someone else's infrastructure. Second, previewing adds no code to your site whatsoever; nothing touches the live site until you press apply, and disabling a design removes its code completely.
What we saw at the launch event
The launch demos were genuinely impressive. The team showed loading animations, mega menus, rotating logo galleries and secondary navigation being built through conversation, but the moment that made the point was a playable game built as the site navigation. Not a gimmick bolted onto a page: the navigation itself was the game. It is the kind of thing nobody would ever attempt in Squarespace because the effort could never be justified, and Compose made it a conversation.
Here are a few of those demos, all built with Compose:
These demos capture what Compose actually changes. The interesting question is no longer whether something is possible in Squarespace, because with custom code almost everything technically was. The question is whether it is worth the effort, and Compose collapses the effort to the point where ideas you would never have costed into a project become an afternoon experiment.
Everything above is included in every SquareKicker plan, and you can try Compose free for 14 days with no card required.
The two builds worth studying in the walkthrough
The first design Nick builds in the video is a horizontal image accordion made from ordinary Squarespace list items: every item the same height, evenly spaced across the section, expanding on hover to reveal text over the image while the others shrink, with the first item open by default. One detailed prompt, and Compose produced it in pure CSS, which matters because CSS-only interactions are lightweight and add almost nothing to page load. The prompt itself is the lesson: it specifies what to build, from which content, how it should be spaced, and exactly how the hover behaviour should feel. Detail in, quality out.
The second is a full intro animation: a blue loading screen, a rotating cube whose three faces are images picked from the Squarespace asset library, text sliding in from both edges to meet in the middle, then a smooth fade into the home page, all in around five seconds. The full prompt and Compose's response are below, and the instruction that should catch your eye is "only load this animation for the visitor once per session". You can write behavioural logic straight into a prompt, and Compose implements the rules (in this case a sessionStorage flag), not just the visuals.
Versions: the most agency-shaped feature in it
Every prompt or code edit creates a new version, versions can be renamed, and clicking any of them previews it instantly on your actual site. The walkthrough shows the workflow this unlocks for client work: Nick builds several variations of an overlay menu (one sliding out as a panel, one splitting the page open, one dropping down full screen with hover effects), names the favourite "option two", and flicks between them live. That is a design presentation running on the client's real website rather than in Figma, which is a genuinely different conversation to have in a review call.
Restoring an older version clones it to the top of the stack rather than overwriting anything, applied designs are flagged on the Compose home screen so you can see at a glance what is live, and finished experiments can be archived rather than deleted. It is a proper checkpoint system, which is more than can be said for the loose snippets most of us have accumulated in code injection over the years.
How it compares to pasting code from ChatGPT
Plenty of Squarespace owners already use AI for custom code, and the results are hit and miss. The generic chatbot does not know your site structure, so it guesses at selectors, produces code that targets nothing, and leaves you debugging in a separate window. Compose reads the actual page you are working on and builds to fit it, and when a result is wrong, it stays in the conversation and helps you fix it in place.
It also accepts visual context, in two distinct ways. Images added from your Squarespace asset library are placed into the finished design, like the cube faces above. Reference images work differently: they guide the style and layout without appearing in the result, and a workflow the team recommends is mocking up a flat version of your idea in Canva or Photoshop, uploading it as a reference, and asking Compose to recreate it on your site. References are currently images only, no other file types.
Two more details push it well past the copy-and-paste workflow. You can start a design from code rather than a prompt: paste in custom code you already run, or a Compose design copied from another site, and it becomes a versioned, editable design you can iterate on through conversation. SquareKicker says working with pasted custom code uses no credits at all, which quietly makes Compose a free backup and version-control system for every snippet currently loose in your code injection area. And prompts run on Compose's servers, so a design can build in the background while you carry on editing your site or start another design.
For those who want to see the code, paid plans include a code editor where every version is formatted to be readable (unlike the compressed code Squarespace stores in code injection), with adjustable variables surfaced at the top so you can change a width or a colour without touching the logic. Hand edits save as a new version rather than overwriting the AI's work.
Pricing and credits
Compose is not sold separately. It is bundled into every SquareKicker plan as a monthly credit allowance, which makes the existing subscription substantially better value than it was a week ago. All prices are in USD; the range on each plan reflects annual versus monthly billing:
| Plan | Price | Compose credits |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | $0 for 14 days | 500 credits, no credit card required |
| Solo | $19 to $31 per month | 500 credits per month, one site |
| Designer | $47 to $69 per month | 2,000 credits per month, 10 active sites |
| Agency | $79 to $97 per month | 4,000 credits per month, 25 active sites |
Prices and credit allowances can change, so check the current figures on SquareKicker's site. Credits are only consumed when Compose generates something. Previewing, applying, switching versions, working in the code editor, and using pasted custom code are all free. Included credits renew monthly and do not roll over; extra credits can be bought at any time, sit at account level across all your sites, and last 12 months.
The honest caveats
Compose is days old, and a first look should say so. A few things to weigh before building your workflow around it.
Credit consumption is not predictable in advance. SquareKicker is upfront that the cost of a request depends on its complexity and how much context Compose has to process, which means you cannot know exactly what a design will cost in credits before asking. The sensible habit, which the team recommends themselves, is one design per conversation to keep context lean.
It cannot touch everything. Content loaded inside protected iframes is off limits: Compose can style the container around an Acuity Scheduling embed, a Calendly widget or a YouTube video, but not the content inside them. Some Squarespace-controlled areas such as checkout also limit how reliably custom code applies.
It is still custom code. Applied designs live in code injection, and like all custom code they can occasionally be affected by future Squarespace updates or conflict with other plugins on the site. SquareKicker's support will help troubleshoot, and Compose itself can be asked to investigate and fix a broken design, but this is a different maintenance profile from SquareKicker's core extension tools, which the team updates centrally when Squarespace changes.
And it needs a subscription. Applied Compose designs stay on your site if you cancel, consistent with how SquareKicker has always worked, but generating anything new requires an active plan with credits.
Who is Compose for?
For designers and agencies, this is the easiest recommendation. If you already pay for SquareKicker, Compose is in your plan today and you should go and try it this week. If you have been on the fence about the subscription, the calculation just changed: you are no longer paying only for the visual extension, you are paying for a code partner that knows Squarespace's structure better than a generic chatbot ever will, plus a versioning system that turns design reviews into live demonstrations on the client's own site.
For site owners, it depends on ambition. If your wishlist is a specific feature such as a mega menu, a one-off plugin from our navigation plugins guide may still be cheaper and zero effort. If your wishlist is a feeling, the sense that your site could be more interesting than the template underneath it, Compose is the first tool that makes chasing that practical without hiring a developer. Start with the 14-day free trial: 500 credits is enough to build several real designs and find out.
It is also worth saying what this signals. Squarespace's own AI investment has focused on site generation and visibility (we covered its AI visibility tool earlier this summer), while Compose is the first serious AI tool for design and interaction inside the platform, and it has come from a third party. That is very good news for the Squarespace plugin ecosystem this site exists to cover.
Try SquareKicker Compose · Browse SquareKicker templates on SquareLocator
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SquareKicker Compose?
Compose is an AI design tool inside the SquareKicker extension for Squarespace 7.1. You describe a design or interaction in conversation, and Compose writes the custom code, previews it on your page, and applies it directly to your site, with every change saved as a restorable version.
How much does SquareKicker Compose cost?
Compose is included in every SquareKicker plan rather than sold separately. The 14-day free trial includes 500 credits, Solo ($19 to $31 per month) includes 500 monthly credits, Designer ($47 to $69) includes 2,000, and Agency ($79 to $97) includes 4,000, with extra credits available to buy.
How do Compose credits work?
Credits are used only when Compose generates a design or a fix. Previewing, applying, switching versions, editing in the code editor, and working with pasted custom code are all free. Monthly credits renew on your billing date and do not roll over; purchased extra credits are shared across your account and last 12 months.
Do I need to know how to code to use Compose?
No. You can create, refine and apply designs entirely through conversation without reading any code. Paid plans also include a code editor for designers who want to inspect or hand-edit what Compose builds, with readable formatting, adjustable variables at the top, and edits saved as new versions.
Is Compose safe to use on a live website?
Previews are only visible to you in your browser and add no code to your site, so visitors see nothing until you apply a version. Applied code is saved into your own Squarespace code injection area with backups of every version on SquareKicker's servers, and you can restore an earlier version at any time.
What can Compose not do?
Compose cannot change content inside protected iframes such as Acuity Scheduling, Calendly, YouTube or external social feeds, though it can style the surrounding container. Some Squarespace-controlled areas such as checkout also limit custom code, and generating new designs requires an active subscription with credits.
Related SquareLocator Guides
- Best Squarespace Plugins in 2026
- Squarespace's AI Visibility Tool: What It Does and What It Doesn't
- How to Add Plugins to Squarespace: A Beginner's Guide
This article contains affiliate links. If you subscribe through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only feature tools we would recommend on their own merits. Product screenshots and demo animations are from SquareKicker's official Compose walkthrough and demos.
