Late last week, I wrote a post calling out Squarespace for falsely advertising RSS statistics, among other annoyances. Squarespace's founder and CEO, Anthony Casalena was kind enough to reach out to me.

We had a lengthy back and forth via email. I'd like to share with you the points discussed and their resolutions.

  • False Advertising of RSS Statistics

Anthony explained that the page I linked to was an early draft not intended for publication, and it wasn't linked to from Squarespace's home page. It has now been disabled.

I had actually found this page by searching for "squarespace 6 features" in Google. I typically do this instead of drilling through a site's navigation. While I cannot verify myself that it was never linked to from the Squarespace home page, as it was pulled before I could, I can say that I did not find that page through a direct link from Squarespace's site.

Regardless, I'm pleased that it was taken down so as not to confuse potential and current customers.

Later, I informed him that Feedburner is broken, possibly dead and suggested that if Squarespace could quickly roll this feature out, it would be a huge selling point. He agreed, so we should be seeing RSS statistics on Squarespace 6 soon.

  • The Broken iOS App

The iOS app, as it exists now, is completely unreliable. Markdown posts aren't formatted properly, and other types of posts are often double posted.

Anthony assured me that the current app is unacceptable and that it is undergoing a complete rewrite. He could not provide an ETA, but said that it is a "major internal priority" and that native editing on mobile devices is "very important."

I hope it's released soon. The jankiness of the Squarespace app is the only thing keeping me from doing all my blogging on my iPad.

  • Permalinks

Inserting custom HTML into the post footer was broken on my chosen template, Native. This kept me from including a permalink for each post. After weeks of dealing with support about this bug, Anthony had it fixed within a day.

  • Affiliate Program

After I paid for my Squarespace account, I almost immediately signed up for their affiliate program to help monetize the site. Turns out that I had been approved within a couple of days, but I had never received the confirmation email (yes, I checked my spam folder). That has been resolved now.

However, I'm in no hurry to monetize the site. I put you, my readers, and your trust first. For that reason, I will not use my affiliate code until RSS statistics are implemented and the iOS app has been fixed, at the earliest.

Should you Trust Squarespace with Your Business?

Absolutely. Their CEO has handled this in the best possible manner: By opening a dialog and fixing the problems. Many companies would have either ignored me or cancelled my account to eliminate the post. While not perfect, I believe Squarespace is dedicated to providing the best experience possible for its customers.

Speaking of trust, in the interest of full disclosure, Anthony asked if I would update my original post to present the company's response. I responded that I was already planning a followup post, and that it would be linked to from the original. This update is written completely of my own volition, and I have in no way been pressured to publish it.

The original post will stay on this site, as its contents were accurately reported given the available facts, but a link to this post will be added to present the whole story.