- Inherits display limits, such as 30 items on a summary block
- Filter data cached for about ten minutes on Squarewebsites' server
- Large collections load a second or two slower
- Custom styling needs CSS or paid support
Overview
Squarewebsites' Universal Filter is the plugin I reach for when a Squarespace site outgrows its navigation. Squarespace lets visitors filter a blog or shop by one category at a time; Universal Filter adds a filter bar that combines categories and tags, dropdowns or buttons, a live search box and sorting by title, date or price, and it works on far more than blogs and shops.
What it includes
Multi-criteria filtering by category and tag, a live search field, sorting by price, title or date, and a choice of dropdown or button filter styles. Supported content on 7.1: blogs, products, events, summary blocks, gallery blocks, gallery sections, portfolio pages, video pages, auto layouts (list sections), table blocks and map blocks. On 7.0 it also covers gallery collections, index pages and galleries with index. The licence is a one-time payment per site, does not expire, and comes with free basic support to get the default configuration running. Paid support and custom coding are available by the hour for anything beyond that. There is a 30-day refund period.
Who it suits
Shops with more than a handful of products, portfolios and directories, event listings, recipe and resource blogs, and any site where visitors need to narrow a long list. If you have ever built a directory in Squarespace you will know why this exists.
Trade-offs
Three honest caveats. The filter can only show what the underlying page loads, so a summary block still caps at 30 items unless you pair it with Squarewebsites' Lazy Summaries plugin. Filter data is cached on Squarewebsites' server for about ten minutes, so new tags and categories can take that long to appear. And large collections take a second or two longer to display because the filter waits for every item to load. Styling beyond the defaults needs some CSS, or their paid support.
How it installs
After purchase you receive a text file with the code and a link to the installation guide. Paste the code into page header code injection, or into a markdown block if you are on a Personal plan, then follow the guide to configure each page. No coding knowledge is needed for the standard setup.
Related guide: see our roundup of the best Squarespace plugins in 2026, or the beginner's guide on how to add plugins to Squarespace.
- Adds a filter bar to blogs, shops, events, galleries and summary blocks
- Lets visitors combine several categories and tags at once
- Adds live search and sorting by price, title or date
- Supports portfolios, auto layouts, tables and maps on 7.1
- Works on Squarespace 7.0 and 7.1
Full specifications
Specifications
Lets visitors combine several categories and tags at once
Adds live search and sorting by price, title or date
Supports portfolios, auto layouts, tables and maps on 7.1
Works on squarespace 7.0 and 7.1
One-time payment per site, licence does not expire
Free basic setup support and 30-day refunds
Copy and paste installation with a written guide
Compatible with beyondspace lightbox studio
Directories and resource libraries
Portfolios with many projects
Event and recipe blogs
Filter data cached for about ten minutes on squarewebsites' server
Large collections load a second or two slower
Custom styling needs css or paid support