Designing professional business websites with Squarespace.
As you are here on my website, I will make one of the following assumptions about you:
You have already chosen to use Squarespace for your website.
You have already started a website using Squarespace and would like my help to complete it.
You are considering using Squarespace for your website and are here to learn more.
Either way, whether it is right to choose Squarespace for your website will depend on a few things, which I will briefly explain now.
Squarespace and you.
The long and short of it.
9 out of 10 small to medium-sized business websites are brochure/blogging-type websites.
You don’t need to know precisely what that means, but you should understand that a hosted website platform like Squarespace will likely be the best solution for your business.
So, why hosted and why Squarespace?
In a word, simplicity. By using Squarespace, I guarantee you will have a better and more successful experience with your website.
As a business owner, choosing which website platform to build your website will be one of your most important decisions.
You must consider what your website needs to do and select a platform to deliver your requirements. Sounds easy, right?
The two types of website platforms.
Well, it’s not all that easy. However, a clear KEY distinction exists between the currently available website types: hosted and self-hosted platforms which is ownership and control.
Understanding this difference will help you make an informed choice.
A quick platform comparison.
Let’s compare a few key points of Squarespace, a hosted website platform, and the most popular self-hosted alternative, WordPress.👇
WordPress
Ownership and control.
Business owners often buy hosting through their web designer/developer, which can cause issues if you decide to change providers.
Pricing.
Pricing and financial control may not be simple. You may pay more for inferior service. In addition to hosting, expect website maintenance costs and fees for software fixes or updates from your designer/partner.
Technical issues.
You may have to deal with technical issues, and you'll likely be the one to notice and report the problem to your website designer, then wait for them to fix it.
Squarespace
Ownership and control.
If you use Squarespace, you own and control everything associated with your website. You can cancel your plan and export your website from the platform anytime.
Pricing.
You'll always know what you're paying and can cancel anytime, with no unexpected costs. There will be no maintenance costs or fees for software fixes or updates, as these will be taken care of for you.
Technical issues.
You'll never have to deal with technical issues or struggle to get help. Access 24/7 award-winning customer support whenever you need it.
“As a business owner, choosing which website platform to build your website will be one of your most important decisions.”
The popularity of WordPress.
So, if Squarespace is so good, why is WordPress so popular?
Open-source platforms like WordPress are more flexible than hosted platforms like Squarespace, and you might think this would be an advantage for your business website.
But here’s the thing…
WordPress’s additional flexibility is rarely required for small to medium-sized business websites.
In fact, using WordPress and open-source platforms like WordPress will likely result in more technical issues with your website or require more maintenance to keep it running optimally.
In a nutshell, it’s more of a hassle (and probably a financial cost) for you.
And here’s the other thing…
Most website design companies that build websites with WordPress don’t even use this extra flexibility. Instead, they build their WordPress websites by installing third-party software like page builders and mega themes.
If you don’t fully understand that, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is you know that WordPress is rarely used these days in the way it was intended to be used.
So why do website companies build websites for their customers on WordPress?
Sadly, it mainly comes down to money (as most things do).
Companies building WordPress websites purchase hosting subscriptions and resell monthly hosting plans to their customers for profit.
This income is passive and highly profitable, so it’s a business model that they are unlikely to give up even if doing so is better for their customers.
My opinion after a long career.
Modern hosted website platforms are better for most small—to medium-sized businesses, so I gave up my reselling hosting services and switched.
I believe hosted platforms are the future. And now, with the rise of AI and its future integration into Google search tools and systems starting in 2024, it is definitely time to start using them.
Who your website partner is matters.
Who you partner with for your website matters, and you will need to partner with someone unless you have a server tucked under your bed.
Partner with Squarespace.
Suppose you go with Squarespace for your website and hire a professional website designer like me. In that case, you are temporarily bound to me but not indefinitely bound to me.
Hire and fire at will.
So, this means you can fire me anytime with no consequence and hire another designer if you choose because once I have finished building your website and transferred the website ownership to you, effectively, from that point on, I have no connection to the website or you.
A simple connection.
From that point, your only partner/provider is Squarespace; you are connected directly to them, and they are to you. And, of course, in the future, you can rehire me if you like (temporarily) and then un-hire me when we are done.
Partner with WordPress.
This is where it gets a bit more tricky as you can’t effectively partner with WordPress because WordPress is free software you download from the internet.
It’s not a company like Squarespace. It does not have a website hosting service or customer support. This means you will likely partner with whomever originally designed and built your website for you.
The good and the bad.
Now, there are good and bad partners/providers out there. But, get a bad one, and you could be overcharged for website hosting and incur unnecessary fees for website management and maintenance services.
Inferior services and higher prices.
Also, it is worth bearing in mind that it’s unlikely that a local partner/provider can give you 24/7 customer support and the range of services Squarespace can provide while being price-competitive.
They might be difficult.
Most importantly, unlike Squarespace, you will be bound to this partner/provider.
Firing them could be problematic if they decide to withhold access to your website or make it difficult for you to move your business away from them.
And, of course, your partner/provider could go out of business one day or retire and disappear, leaving you in the dark about the exact location of your website.
Summary.
You add an extra intermediary between you and your website’s location with self-hosted platforms like WordPress.
With WordPress, it will be:
You.
Your website partner/provider.
Your website partner’s hosting provider.
With Squarespace, it will be:
You.
Squarespace.
I am not saying you will have a bad experience with WordPress; I am saying that there are more possible complications and risks with WordPress.
Unless there is a good reason to use WordPress over Squarespace, my position is, why take the risk?
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s better to keep things as simple as possible.
“Firing them could be problematic if they decide to withhold access to your website and associated services.”
Benefits of Squarespace—quick list.
For more details and all the ins and outs.👇
Sensible costs.
Eliminate inflated monthly fees for hosting and website maintenance.
No upkeep.
Security, backups and maintenance are managed passively in the background.
Powerful tools for business.
All tools are built-in—no more shady third-party plugin problems.
Easy to use.
Effortlessly add new pages and content using the simple drag-and-drop interface.
Freedom and control.
You can hire or fire a website designer anytime without impacting your business.
24/7 Customer Support.
Are you unable to contact your website designer? It doesn't matter.
For more details and all the ins and outs.👇
The untruths surrounding Squarespace.
Much misinformation surrounds Squarespace regarding website ownership, website speed and SEO.
The truth is that this misinformation is often propagated by website designers who build websites using self-hosted platforms like WordPress.
They make thousands of pounds of passive income annually by reselling website hosting services to their customers.
I know the exact process because I used to resell hosting services myself.
A threat to this business model.
Hosted website platforms like Squarespace threaten this business model because it eliminates the need for separate hosting services.
Combining software and hosting as Squarespace does is advantageous because it reduces the partners/providers involved in serving your website.
Typically, it cuts out the intermediary website designer and puts you in direct control of your website.
Of course, It is a drawback for them as they lose their source of effortless passive income. And they know it, hence the propagation of mistruths.
Be wary; these rogue website professionals will say anything to put you off using hosted platforms to serve your website.
I have read numerous online posts by website design companies discussing platforms like Squarespace and making untrue and unsubstantiated claims.
So, take what you read online with a pinch of salt and remember there are over four million Squarespace websites online. That is paid-for, professional business websites, not free websites and blogs.
Some of the world’s largest companies use Squarespace to serve their website. You can be reassured that you are in good company and in safe hands.
“I have read numerous online posts by website design companies discussing platforms like Squarespace and making untrue and unsubstantiated claims.”
When to use Squarespace?
Squarespace is a powerful website platform for website creation, content management, enterprise and marketing.
Whether it's a good choice for your business website depends on your industry, what you want it to do, and how you want it to function.
Here is a quick summary of the types of websites Squarespace is good at handling and the ones that might not be the best fit.👇
If you need more information about these website types, click on the titles or the ✚ symbol for a more detailed explanation.
What Squarespace is good at:
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These websites look and feel like a brochure you might pick up about a product or service—big glossy images, company overview, contact information, descriptive product information, product diagrams, technical charts, call to action, etc.
Usually used for the majority of small to medium-sized promotional business websites and is the most common kind of business website out there.
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Blogging websites are for those who want to publish regular content for their audience.
In truth, most website designers recommend that all business websites have at least one blog for articles, company news, case studies, etc. and that users post regular content.
If you want to keep the search engines interested in your website, it is something you must do.
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Typically, a website shop that has less than 50 products. You might be able to push this to 100 products with Squarespace, but that would depend on the type of products you are selling.
Squarespace has limited commerce ability, but what it does do, it does very well indeed!
If you are selling a small number of products online, Squarespace makes it easy and has an excellent set of supporting marketing tools built into the platform.
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These websites allow the end-user to sign in, allowing them to access non-public content specifically for them.
For example, this content might be an educational course or other content that a person has paid exclusively to view.
Find out more about Squarespace Membership Websites.
What Squarespace is not good at:
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A directory website has repeating content organised, much like a manual or guide.
For example, a 'holiday cottage website'. There would be many property listings with the same type of content and the same content structure.
The way Squarespace constructs pages using its drag-and-drop editors and its inability to develop data variables means there are better choices than Squarespace for this website type.
However, with Squarespace's new 'Save sections' functionally, a directory website is more plausible than it was, but still, I would avoid it and use a more suitable platform. Expression Engine or similar could be a good choice. Even Webflow has a more suitable content management system.
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Squarespace has excellent commerce tools and is a great option for selling physical and digital products online. More so now since the launch of their new online course tool.
However, if I were building a much larger online store, I would consider a platform such as Shopify, which is also a hosted platform and shares many of the same benefits as Squarespace.
I won't go into the full explanation here, but the short answer is 'Filters' and the need for more ability to filter large amounts of products with many variants.
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These websites are fully customised and heavily animated. They often are micro-sites for promoting a product within a more prominent brand. These sites are usually unique and are one-offs with non-typical navigation and user interface design. Therefore, they are expensive to create, requiring intensive design and development stages.
I would consider a platform such as Webflow for this type of website. Like Squarespace, it is a hosted platform and shares many of the same benefits. It can create website designs using a powerful real-time front-end code editor.
However, it is possible to create this type of website with Squarespace primarily using its developer mode. But as using developer mode limits Squarespace support options and feature updates, it defeats the main benefit of using Squarespace in the first instance.
Why should you care?
A website is a huge business investment; therefore, it’s essential to consider the suitability of a website platform.
So whether you’re considering using Squarespace, WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Webflow or something else, you should choose the right platform that meets the needs of your business.
Understand what you’re buying.
Some website designers assume business owners don’t care what platform their website uses.
But the truth is that many business owners simply do not realise that it matters.
Often, website professionals do not initially educate them on the options available and what those options mean for them and their businesses.
You wouldn’t buy a car by picking the first thing offered in the showroom. And it would be best if you didn’t do that with a website, either.
“But the truth is that many business owners do not realise that it matters.”
An ever-growing financial investment.
A website is a considerable and ongoing investment for any business that never stops.
You have to consider:
The initial financial outlay.
The ongoing monthly or annual costs to keep your website hosted and online.
The cost of hiring a professional to make changes, updates and modifications over time.
The time you or your company will spend adding content and growing your website.
Do your homework to save money.
Take your time, ask different sources and do your homework. Doing so could save your business thousands.
I recently wrote a blog post on this very subject. You can view it here: Don’t listen to website designers!
How I do it.
I will always take some time to explain the particulars of a product a client is considering so they can make an informed decision, even if that deliberation leads them to a platform that isn’t Squarespace.
I only want to ensure my clients get the best possible outcome for their business. 🙂
“You wouldn’t buy a car by picking the first thing presented to you in the showroom.”
Does all this seem overwhelming?
Designing and building professional websites is hard. I am here to make it easy for you. I’m a real person, not a faceless company, so contact me, and we can figure it out.
Using a professional website designer.
Squarespace is a website builder, right? So, why would I need to hire a professional?
Like many platforms, Squarespace is designed to a certain extent for non-professionals to create a website.
However, to produce a successful business website, you must be able to do the following:
Create an attractive and uniquely designed/branded website.
Build and code a technically sound website.
Produce an engaging website.
Building a website for your business will take more work, knowledge and time than it may initially seem. As business owners, we all understand that time is a precious commodity we rarely have enough of.
That's why many business owners choose to have a professional build their Squarespace website.
“As business owners, we all understand that time is a precious commodity we rarely have enough of.”
Oh, and in case you were unaware, WordPress is also a website builder. It may be open source, but these days, with Mega Themes, Divi and Oxygen, it's a builder. 🤓
Benefits of using Squarespace.
Squarespace has many advantages over less modern website platforms.
Squarespace delivers a simplified and robust website solution for businesses, which is more effortless and cost-effective than using providers that employ open-source software and resell website hosting and maintenance services for profit.
Below, I have listed some benefits of using Squarespace.👇
Sensible costs
I have witnessed website design businesses, large and small soul-traders, charging hundreds of pounds monthly for website hosting, maintenance and management services.
It's absurd. You can get all those services from Squarespace for as little as £12 per month.
Security and maintenance.
Squarespace is a closed system, also known as a hosted system, that manages updates, plugins, website backup, and security automatically and passively.
As a result, business owners can focus on creating and publishing content without worrying about their website's day-to-day performance.
This feature makes Squarespace an attractive option for a hassle-free and cost-effective website management experience.
Marketing, promotion & SEO.
Squarespace is not just a website builder or content management system.
Instead, it is a comprehensive marketing platform equipped with various features and tools to assist you in making a significant impact on the web and bringing in the correct type of leads to your website.
No third-party plugins!
Squarespace's strength lies in its ability to function without needing third-party plugins. Instead, Squarespace gives users an impressive collection of powerful business tools.
The business tools available within Squarespace are designed and developed solely by Squarespace for use on their platform. The upshot is that these tools are of a high quality and work very well.
There are lots to choose from, including business tools for:
It is very beneficial to have all these tools under one roof and avoid the hassle of integrating third-party software into a website, which can often suffer from low-quality developer maintenance and persistent security issues.
Freedom and control.
You can hire or fire a website designer (like me) anytime you like with no consequences. You have a direct relationship with Squarespace with no intermediary needed.
You own and are in control of: (if you want to be)
- The Website
- The Website Hosting
- The Domain Name (www.yourbusiness.com)
- The Email Mailbox (If you use Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Apple iCloud or similar)
- Your Content
You will save your business time and money and avoid awkward encounters with less-than-helpful website professionals displeased with your decision to move your website and business elsewhere.
Exporting your website.
You can cancel your hosting plan with Squarespace anytime and export your Squarespace website to WordPress.
24/7 Customer support.
Squarespace gives you 24/7 award-winning customer support as part of your plan, and if you do contact them with an issue, they are accommodating and incredibly supportive.
As a business owner, you have a good alternative if you contact your website designer for help (if you use one) and they are unavailable. And at night, when they are asleep, they certainly will be. 😴
“Avoid awkward encounters with less-than-helpful website professionals displeased with your decision to move your website and business elsewhere.”
Further information and reading 🤓
There is a lot to cover about Squarespace, but for now, I don't want to overwhelm you with too much information.
If you have any questions or need more details, please contact me or explore the Squarespace website or the Squarespace Help Center.
Let’s build something great!
Get in touch, and let’s chat about where we go from here.
