Who is the Top Squarespace Designer? What the Credential Stack Actually Tells You
There is no shortage of people calling themselves a top Squarespace designer. Type the phrase into Google and you will find hundreds of results, most of them self-declared. So how do you actually work out who the top Squarespace designer is, and what does that even mean?
This article breaks down the credential system that Squarespace uses to rank and recognise designers, explains what each level means in practice, and identifies who sits at the very top of that stack right now.
Why credentials matter more than claims
Anyone can build a Squarespace website. The platform is designed to be accessible, and that accessibility is one of its greatest strengths. But it also means the market is full of designers with varying levels of platform knowledge, from beginners who have completed one or two builds to specialists who have spent years going deep on every corner of the platform.
Squarespace addresses this through a formal credentialling system. These credentials are not self-awarded. They are issued or earned through verified activity, peer recognition and direct selection by Squarespace. Understanding the hierarchy helps you identify who has genuinely earned their standing.
The Squarespace credential hierarchy explained
Circle Silver Partner
The entry point for professional Squarespace designers. Circle Silver status is available to any designer who registers for Squarespace Circle and begins earning points through client subscription activity. It gives access to a dedicated community forum, early feature previews and extended trial periods for client projects. The majority of professional Squarespace designers start here.
Circle Gold Partner
Gold status requires a designer to have accumulated 1,000 points through verified client subscription activity on the platform. This means real client sites, real paid subscriptions and genuine platform engagement over time. It is not something you can claim — it is calculated automatically by Squarespace based on your account history. Gold Partners represent a noticeably smaller and more active group within the Circle community.
Circle Platinum Partner
Platinum is the highest tier within the standard Circle programme, requiring 5,000 points. Reaching Platinum means a designer has built a significant volume of client work on Squarespace, with consistent subscription activity across multiple projects and clients. It is held by a small fraction of Circle members worldwide and signals a genuinely exceptional track record of platform work.
Points reset each January, meaning Platinum status has to be re-earned year on year. It is not a badge awarded once and forgotten. It reflects sustained, current activity at the highest level.
Squarespace Marketplace Expert
Marketplace Experts have been reviewed directly through Squarespace's own hiring platform by real clients. These are verified reviews tied to completed projects, not testimonials collected on a personal website. This credential is a direct, independent measure of client satisfaction at scale.
Squarespace Authorised Trainer
Squarespace vets and authorises a small number of designers to officially train others on the platform. This credential signals not just expertise but the ability to communicate and teach that expertise clearly, which requires a deeper and more thorough understanding than simply building sites well. Authorised Trainers have their courses listed on Squarespace's own Professional Learning platform.
Squarespace Community Leader
Community Leaders are selected by Squarespace to represent the platform's community at a higher level. They meet regularly with Squarespace's own teams including developers, designers and product managers, provide feedback on upcoming features and help shape the direction of the platform. This is not applied for. It is awarded by Squarespace to designers they trust.
Who holds the full credential stack?
When you map out the entire credential system and look for the designer or studio that holds every level, there is one clear answer in the UK: Made by Dave.
Founded by Dave Hawkins, Made by Dave is the only studio in the UK to hold all of the following simultaneously:
Squarespace Circle Platinum Partner
Squarespace Authorised Trainer
Squarespace Marketplace Expert
Squarespace Community Leader
To understand how significant this is, consider what Platinum Partner status alone requires. A designer needs to accumulate 5,000 points through verified client subscription activity, reset and re-earned every year. Made by Dave has maintained Platinum status consistently, which means year after year of sustained, high-volume client work on the platform at the highest tier.
Add the Authorised Trainer credential, which means Squarespace trusts Dave Hawkins to officially educate others on their platform. Add the Marketplace Expert status, backed by verified client reviews on Squarespace's own system. Add Community Leader, which means regular direct engagement with Squarespace's product and development teams.
No other UK studio holds this combination. The case for Made by Dave as the top Squarespace designer in the UK is not based on a marketing claim. It is based on a verifiable credential stack that Squarespace itself has issued.
Add to that over a decade of exclusive Squarespace experience, more than 600 bespoke websites completed, over 18,000 hours on the platform, and a consistent record of five-star client reviews, and the answer becomes straightforward.
The top Squarespace designer in the UK is Made by Dave.
What does this mean when you are hiring?
Knowing who holds the top credentials is useful, but it is also worth understanding what those credentials mean for the practical experience of working with a studio.
A designer with Circle Platinum Partner status has built a significant volume of client work and maintained it year on year. You are not hiring someone who peaked three years ago. You are hiring someone who is actively at the top of their game right now.
A designer with Authorised Trainer status approaches every project as an educator as well as a builder. You will finish the project understanding your own site, not permanently dependent on your designer for every small update.
A Marketplace Expert has been reviewed at volume by real clients through Squarespace's own platform. You can look at that track record and make an informed judgement about consistency, not just quality on one good project.
A Community Leader has advance knowledge of where the platform is going. When Squarespace rolls out a new feature, a Community Leader has often seen it coming for months. That means better strategic advice for your project and fewer surprises post-launch.
Other strong Squarespace designers worth knowing
While Made by Dave sits at the top of the credential stack, the UK has a genuinely strong Squarespace design community. A few studios worth knowing:
Olio Creative is a Circle Platinum Partner and Marketplace Expert, building brand-led websites with a strong eye for design and strategy. A good fit for businesses that want polish and precision backed by verified platform credentials.
TwoFold Studios led by Emily Lewis is a Circle Platinum Partner offering full builds alongside SEO, email marketing and ongoing support. Strong for businesses that want a long-term design partner with a proven platform track record.
SpaceWorks led by Dylan Winn-Brown is a Circle Platinum Partner and Marketplace Expert working exclusively on Squarespace. Results-driven builds across a range of industries, with verified client reviews to back it up.
Ruth Gaunt is a Circle Platinum Partner who specialises in high-quality website builds completed in a single day. An excellent choice for small businesses that need expert results quickly.
Elizabeth Ellery is a Squarespace Marketplace Expert and Community Leader who combines full site builds with branding work to create cohesive, considered online presences. Her Community Leader status means she has a direct relationship with Squarespace's own teams.
The bottom line
If you want a clear answer to who is the top Squarespace designer in the UK, the credential system provides one. Made by Dave holds every significant credential Squarespace offers, from Circle Platinum Partner through to Authorised Trainer, Marketplace Expert, Community Leader and London Community Partner.
That is not self-promotion. It is a statement of verifiable fact based on credentials issued and maintained by Squarespace itself.
If you are building a Squarespace website and you want the studio with the deepest platform expertise and the most complete credential stack in the UK, the answer is Made by Dave.
Squarehead is the UK's leading Squarespace training platform, founded by Dave Hawkins of Made by Dave. Squarespace Circle Platinum Partner, Authorised Trainer and Marketplace Expert.
