Christmas Comes Early For Squarespace iPad Fans

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After announcing their intentions in June, the much anticipated iPad app for Squarespace has finally arrived! Although similar to its iPhone sibling, the iPad app pacts more features thanks in part to the larger screen size.

The iPad’s extra real estate gave us much more room to breathe and allowed us to pack quite a bit more into the mobile Squarespace experience. If you’ve used Squarespace for the iPhone, you’ll feel right at home with the iPad version. […]

The post editor is now one of the most powerful iOS text editors this side of Pages.  A good portion of the web editor has made it into the iPad app.  Just like in the iPhone version, you can change editing modes (Text, Markdown, Textile, Raw HTML), but now, if you’re in Markdown, Textile, or Raw HTML, you’ll be able to bold text, italicize, mark quotations, insert photos and links, and even set an excerpt!  Plus, you’ll find a very handy pair of undo/redo buttons in the top left. (Official Squarespace Blog)

If it were not for the lack of video uploading (which the WordPress iOS app has), I’d say that Squarespace has probably produced the best app for mobile blogging on the iPad, one that allows bloggers to easily create and edit content without having to fire up the notebook.

Squarespace’s embrace of the iPad is long overdue, and thus far this makes them the fourth company to officially embrace the device (as WordPress, LiveJournal and LiveDoor from Japan have launched official apps upon the iPad).

With the iPad not available to the masses, we may see the company finally focus on creating an Android app in order to help Squarespace compete against rival platforms.

Squarespace Receiving A New CEO?

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With the new year almost upon us, it looks like Squarespace will now boast a familiar face at the top, as Dane Atkinson has announced that he is stepping down as CEO.

It is with great pride that I announce today that Anthony Casalena, our founder, will be taking over as the CEO of Squarespace moving forward.

Since starting Squarespace in his dorm room in 2003,  Anthony has always actively lead the company in its vision, strategy, design and product — and is now more than ready to provide continued leadership for its next exciting chapter.  My three years here have been deeply rewarding, going from being the second employee to a team of 45 in a rapidly growing, profitable company. This is a decision we have all worked toward and I will continue to support Anthony and the company as an advisor to the board and a close friend to the team. (Official Squarespace Blog)

Under Atkinson’s lead, Squarespace was able to raise over $38 million from investors as well launching an iPhone app that (at the time) made rival iOS blogging apps look pathetic.

The company recently changed their pricing plans to make themselves more competitive against rivals, and despite facing increased competition from freemium rivals like Blogger, Tumblr and WP.com Squarespace has done surprisingly well.

With Anthony Casalena taking over we may actually see Squarespace become much more aggressive in challenging its rivals, especially on the mobile front (specifically Android but also new devices like Windows Phone 7).

Squarespace Confirms Android App

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After posting corporate details involving their upcoming iPad app, Squarespace has confirmed that they are working on an official Android app which should please a few fans who were threatening to defect elsewhere.

I’m excited to see the autosave and media management features, but without an Android app or the ability post via mobile site, I won’t be renewing when my subscription is up. (Miriam) […]

@Miriam – Android is on the way. Just don’t have solid dates to share just yet. :) (Mark Burstiner on Official Squarespace Blog)

This news should please the millions of Android lovers who have been jealous of their iPhone friends who have been able to blog from their iOS device thanks to the official Squarespace app.

Squarespace has not indicated what extra features they will be adding to the upcoming Android app, although hopefully the company will consider supporting video uploading (which would help them compete against rivals like Posterous, Tumblr, and WordPress).

There is still no word on whether Squarespace will consider supporting other platforms (i.e. Palm, Windows Phone 7 or even Blackberry), although for now its great to see the company expand beyond iOS (a strategy which is helping WordPress dominate the mobile arena).

Squarespace To Launch iPad App, Court Facebook Places?!

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Over the weekend, Anthony Casalena (the founder of  Squarespace) published a post upon the corporate blog announcing that the long awaited iPad app would make its debut over the next few weeks.

Unfortunately after publishing the post, someone in the company placed the article behind a “password wall,” although a Google Cache reveals some rather interesting details regarding Facebook Places (not to mention a few other social location networks).

Foursquare/Gowalla/Facebook Places Integration – We’re expanding our social widgets lineup with a brand new addition over the next 2 weeks. Geolocation widgets will take your feeds from Facebook Places, Foursquare, or Gowalla and display them in typical Squarespace fashion. Fully integrated, customizable, beautiful.

iPad App – You’ve been asking for it since before the iPad came out. Well, we’re happy to say we’re almost done with it. It’s gorgeous, and we think you’re going to love it. For you road warriors, we think this’ll really help in keeping your post frequency up. Look for this within the next 3 weeks as we deal with app store approval. (Official Squarespace Blog | Google Cache)

While the founder also revealed a few other upcoming features (Autosave, redesigning photo galleries, etc.) the inclusion of social location networks is interesting, especially regarding Facebook Places.

After previously rolling out price changes, Squarespace’s embrace of more social networks could help the company create a greater appeal to the masses (although truth be told I know very few bloggers who are comfortable posting their location to the public).

As far as mobile platforms go, there is still no word on whether Squarespace will embrace Android, Blackberry (or even the new Windows Phone 7), although hopefully the company will consider a platform beyond iOS in the not so distant future.

Squarespace Quietly Launches New Price Plans

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After increasing their war chest, Squarespace (a premium blogging service) has simplified their pricing plans by reducing the number from 5 plans (which included Basic, Pro, Advance, Business and Community) to 3 (Standard, Advance and Business).

Surprisingly there is no official announcement upon their blog, despite the increase in cost and features (the latter which might appeal to bloggers seeking “VIP like” hosting for their sites). [Read more…]