SquareKicker is a no-code design tool for Squarespace. It adds a visual editor on top of your site so you can style, animate and customise pages by clicking and dragging rather than writing CSS, and it now includes Compose, an AI design partner that builds custom features from a plain-language description. This page is a plain-English rundown of what it is, what it does, what it costs, and who it suits.
Best for: Designers and DIY Squarespace owners who want deeper design control, and custom features, without touching code.
What it is
SquareKicker works through a browser extension that adds an SK menu directly inside the Squarespace editor, with two tools behind it: the Extension, for visual styling and animation, and Compose, for AI-built custom designs. It is built specifically for Squarespace 7.1, so everything it offers maps to how Squarespace actually works. It is made by a New Zealand team, co-founded by Nick and Hannah Ippolito, and is used by Squarespace professionals worldwide.
What the Extension does
The Extension turns code-level design control into point-and-click tools, with more than 100 design, layout and animation options built into the editor. Key features include:
- A visual, no-code editor layered over Squarespace for styling sites, sections and blocks without CSS.
- Animations and scroll effects including parallax, sticky elements, hover animations, sliders and pinned content, all adjustable visually.
- Advanced design controls for spacing, sizing, positioning, typography (down to individual words, with Google Fonts), images, buttons and menus, beyond Squarespace’s defaults.
- Presets, so a custom style you build once can be reused across the site in a click.
- Saved sections, where your Extension customisations are preserved when you save and reuse a section, and account saved sections on Designer and Agency plans for reuse across client sites.
- Stencils, for animated SVG masks and other standout visual effects.
- Live, on-page editing, so you see changes in context as you make them.
What Compose does
Compose launched in August 2026 and is included in every plan and the free trial. Instead of adjusting settings, you click the parts of your page you want to work with (each becomes a context chip), describe what you want, and Compose writes the custom code. It already understands your site’s colours, fonts and structure, so results fit your design. You preview every result privately on your live page, compare versions, and only apply the one you want.
- Build what panels cannot: custom menus, interactive galleries, loaders, scroll-driven effects, product page layouts and more, from ordinary Squarespace content.
- Controls: since September 2026 every design comes with its own visual controls, so you can fine-tune sizes, colours and timing without more prompts or AI credits.
- Versions: every prompt or edit is saved as a version you can rename, preview on the real site, show a client and restore.
- Images and references: place images from your Asset Library into a design, or upload a mock-up as a visual reference for Compose to recreate.
- Start from code: paste existing custom code to turn it into an editable, versioned design, or move a design to another site.
- Code editor: paid plans can view and edit readable code for any version; it is optional.
SquareKicker’s introduction to Compose is worth ten minutes:
For more than twenty example builds, browse the Compose examples library, and read our full SquareKicker Compose review for prompting tips and the honest limits.
One practical detail worth knowing: SquareKicker writes HTML, CSS and JavaScript straight into your site’s code injection area (not an external server), and backs it up to its own servers. The extension only runs in admin mode, so it stays lightweight, and your design changes remain on the site even if your subscription later lapses. Compose cannot change content inside protected embeds such as Calendly, Acuity or YouTube, and Compose designs are not carried into saved or duplicated sections automatically.
Pricing
SquareKicker is a subscription tool with a genuinely useful twist: you only pay while you are actively using the tools. Cancel when a build is finished and your design changes stay live; you simply cannot make further edits until you reactivate. Every plan includes both the Extension and Compose. Plans are billed monthly or annually (annual saves up to 38 percent). As a rough guide (check the SquareKicker site for current figures):
- Free trial: 14 days on one site, full Extension access, Compose with 500 AI credits, no credit card. Changes are removed when the trial ends unless you upgrade.
- Solo: from around $19 per month (annual) up to about $31 per month (monthly). One site, 500 monthly Compose credits, the Compose code editor, and your designs stay forever.
- Designer: from around $47 up to about $69 per month. Up to 10 active sites plus unlimited inactive ones, 2,000 monthly Compose credits, account saved sections and early access to new features. Best value once you need more than two sites.
- Agency: from around $79 up to about $97 per month. Up to 25 active sites plus unlimited inactive ones and 4,000 monthly Compose credits, for studios running many client projects.
Compose credits are only used when Compose generates something; previewing, applying, switching versions, adjusting Controls and editing code are free. Extra credits can be bought at any time and last 12 months. SquareKicker also runs a separate template marketplace (priced per template, from around $199), which you can browse in our SquareKicker templates collection.
Who it is for
SquareKicker suits designers who build Squarespace sites for clients and want richer design control without hand-coding, and confident DIY owners who have hit the limits of Squarespace’s built-in styling. Compose widens that further: features you would once have briefed a developer for, such as a custom menu or an interactive portfolio, become a conversation. The pay-while-you-build model fits agency workflows especially well: spin up a subscription for a project, hand off or deactivate when it ships, and the work stays live with no ongoing cost. If you only ever make light tweaks and rarely touch design, it may be more than you need, but for anyone designing seriously on Squarespace, it removes the usual code barrier.
Our verdict
SquareKicker is the most capable visual design tool we feature for Squarespace 7.1, and with Compose included it is now the only one that pairs precise visual control with AI-built custom features in one subscription. The breadth of controls is the draw, Controls make Compose affordable to refine, and the fact that finished designs persist after you cancel makes the pricing genuinely fair for project-based work. For designers and ambitious DIY builders who want their sites to stand out, it is a strong pick. Read our full SquareKicker review for the detail.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I keep my designs if I cancel SquareKicker?
Yes. On a paid plan everything you apply with the Extension or Compose is written into your Squarespace code injection area and stays live after a subscription ends. You just cannot make further SquareKicker edits until you reactivate.
Does SquareKicker require code?
No. You style, animate and lay out pages visually with the Extension, or describe what you want to Compose in plain language. SquareKicker writes the underlying code for you, and paid plans include an optional code editor for anyone who wants to see it.
What is SquareKicker Compose?
Compose is an AI design partner included in every SquareKicker plan. You select parts of your page, describe a design or interaction, preview the result privately on your own site and apply it when you are happy. Each design gets free visual Controls for fine-tuning without spending AI credits.
Will SquareKicker slow my site down?
The extension only runs in Squarespace admin mode, so it does not load for your visitors. The only performance impact is the customisation itself, the same as any custom CSS or JavaScript you would add by hand.
Can I use SquareKicker for client websites?
Yes. The Designer plan covers up to 10 active sites and the Agency plan up to 25, both with unlimited inactive sites, Compose on every connected site and tools for transferring a finished site to a client's own account.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. SquareKicker offers a 14-day free trial on one site with the full Extension, Compose and 500 AI credits, and no credit card required. Trial changes are removed when it ends unless you upgrade.
This page 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. Compose examples and video courtesy of SquareKicker.
