Squarespace Paloma Template Review (2026): What It Does Well and When to Skip It

Paloma is one of the most popular templates in the entire official Squarespace library, and for good reason. It is a clean, warm, content-first design that has become the default choice for podcasters and personal brands. This review comes from real use: SquareLocator is run alongside a Squarespace Platinum Partner agency that has delivered more than 400 client sites, and Paloma is one of the templates we reach for most often when a project is content-led. Here is what it genuinely does well, where it falls short, and when a premium template is the better call.

Quick Verdict

Paloma is the best official Squarespace template for podcasts and one of the best for blogs, writers and personal brands. It is free with any Squarespace subscription, its episode-first structure works with Squarespace's built-in audio and RSS tools out of the box, and its warm, typography-led design looks considered without any customisation at all. It is not the right starting point for ecommerce-heavy sites or service businesses that need structured sales pages. You can preview Paloma here and start building directly from the demo.

What Is the Paloma Template?

Paloma is an official Squarespace 7.1 template, which means two important things. First, it is completely free: every official template is included with any Squarespace plan, so there is nothing extra to buy. Second, it runs on the same underlying engine as every other 7.1 template, so you can restyle it freely and even move to a different look later without rebuilding from scratch.

What makes Paloma distinct is its starting point. The demo is built around a podcast: the homepage leads with the latest episodes rather than a generic hero section, the navigation is a simple About, Episodes, Blog and Contact structure, and episode pages are set up as blog posts with generous room for show notes and imagery. The palette is warm and inviting, the typography is light and editorial, and there is plenty of white space, so content is always the focus.

What Paloma Does Well

Podcasts work from day one

Because Paloma structures episodes as blog posts, Squarespace automatically generates a podcast RSS feed from your audio content. That feed is ready to submit to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the other directories without plugins or workarounds. Native audio blocks handle playback on the page itself. For a podcaster who wants a proper home for their show rather than a link tree, this is the single biggest practical advantage over starting from a generic template.

Content gets the spotlight

The episode-first homepage means visitors land on your latest work immediately. Writers and bloggers benefit from the same structure: swap episodes for articles and the layout works just as well. In client builds we have found this reduces the temptation to overload the homepage, which almost always improves engagement.

It looks finished with minimal effort

Some templates only look good once you have restyled half the site. Paloma's default fonts, spacing and warm tones hold together well with nothing more than your own images and copy dropped in. For anyone launching on a deadline, that matters.

Audience capture is built in

Newsletter signup sections and social links are part of the layout rather than an afterthought. For podcasters especially, owning a direct email relationship with listeners is one of the smartest long-term moves, since directory algorithms change and email lists do not.

The Honest Limitations

• It is not an ecommerce template. You can add simple product pages, but if selling is central to your site, a storefront-focused template is a much better starting point. See our guide to the best Squarespace templates for ecommerce.
• Service businesses will outgrow it. Paloma has no dedicated services, pricing or sales page layouts. Consultants, studios and agencies usually need more structured pathways to an enquiry than a content-led template provides.
• The demo content does some heavy lifting. Paloma's warm, editorial feel comes partly from its demo photography. With flat or mismatched images the design loses some of its charm, so budget time for good imagery.
• Popularity cuts both ways. Because Paloma is so widely used, an out-of-the-box Paloma site can look familiar. The customisation tools below solve this, but it is worth knowing going in.

One Name, Two Templates

A common point of confusion: there is more than one template called Paloma. The template reviewed here is the official free one in Squarespace's own library. Separately, the design studio Studio Founded sells a premium Squarespace template also named Paloma, a polished, editorial design with a fuller suite of pages including services, sales and portfolio layouts. They are unrelated products that happen to share a name. If you are after the premium Studio Founded version, you can find it here on SquareLocator. If you searched for the free Squarespace one, you are in the right place.

Who Should Use Paloma

Choose Paloma if you are a podcaster, writer, blogger or personal brand whose site exists primarily to publish and share content. It also suits nonprofits and community projects that lead with storytelling. Skip it if your site's main job is selling products or converting visitors into service enquiries, where an industry-specific template will save you significant restructuring. Our guide on how to choose the right Squarespace template walks through that decision properly, and you can browse premium Squarespace templates by industry to compare.

Making Paloma Your Own

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Because Paloma is popular, the sites that stand out are the ones that push past the defaults. Three routes we use on client builds: SquareKicker unlocks no-code design control well beyond the standard style settings, which is the fastest way to make Paloma feel custom (read our SquareKicker guide). Free design plugins handle smaller touches, covered in our guide to the best Squarespace plugins. And once the site is live, the free plan of SEOSpace checks your setup is ready to be found (read our SEOSpace guide).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Squarespace Paloma template free?

Yes. Paloma is part of the official Squarespace library, and every official template is included with any Squarespace subscription. There is no separate charge for it.

What is the Paloma template best for?

Podcasts first, then blogs, writers and personal brands. Its episode-first homepage, warm editorial design and built-in newsletter sections make it the strongest official starting point for content-led sites.

Does Paloma work for podcasts without plugins?

Yes. Episodes are structured as blog posts, so Squarespace automatically generates a podcast RSS feed you can submit to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other directories. Native audio blocks handle on-page playback.

Can I use Paloma for an online store?

Only for very simple selling. Paloma supports basic product pages, but it is not designed as a storefront. Ecommerce-focused sites should start from a template built for selling instead.

Is there more than one Paloma template?

Yes, and it causes real confusion. The free Paloma reviewed here is Squarespace's own official template. Studio Founded also sells an unrelated premium Squarespace template named Paloma with a fuller set of business pages.

Can I change templates later if I start with Paloma?

Yes. All Squarespace 7.1 templates share the same underlying system, so you can restyle your site freely or move toward a completely different design without starting over.

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