Why I Use Squarespace
I’ve built lots of websites for clients, and I must have used every tool that’s out there. But now Squarespace is the only web design platform that I choose to use. And why? In a nutshell, it’s because I can create great looking sites quickly (it can take as little as 2 weeks) and hand them over to clients ready to use out-of-the-box, as they say. Easy peasy!
So I’d like to break down in a bit more detail exactly why Squarespace is my web design tool of choice, both for me, and for my clients.
Most of the extra features on a platform like WordPress have already been built into Squarespace in the first place. Pretty cool huh?
Anyone who has tried building a website from scratch will know there are usually enough plugins, add-ons, software updates, security patches and more to cause a headache for even the most technically minded.
But you don’t get any of that with Squarespace, all the functionality you need is there right from the get-go. The founder of Squarespace, Anthony Casalena says it best:
“Squarespace is engineered to work properly without a sea of plugins, and you should not take the lack of a plugin for this to mean that we didn’t actually just build it right from the start.”
Squarespace makes it so easy to keep on top of your SEO…
SEO can seem like a daunting task, especially for smaller businesses. Fortunately, Squarespace comes to the rescue here too. They make it super easy for you to keep on top of your SEO. For the uninitiated, SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is the process of adding descriptive elements to your website to help search engines know how to serve the right web pages up to the right users.
Squarespace makes it really easy to add essential SEO descriptive elements like title tags, meta descriptions, and custom URLs, plus they also have a dedicated tab for SEO including (one of my favourite things) a search results preview window allowing you to see your search result as a customer would. A great way to see if you’re solving the problem your customer would be looking for.
Squarespace includes free SSL certificates which is another crucial aspect of SEO.
Having a properly secured website is really important, especially if you want to sell stuff on it, because 85% of shoppers will abandon unsecure sites. You’ve probably experienced this yourself. You’ll have been sent or given a web address (URL) only to have a page pop up from Google saying “Are you sure you want to proceed? This site doesn’t look secure.” I mean, who would proceed...if Google is saying ‘are you sure?’ then you’d probably think twice right? The good news is that with Squarespace you get a free SSL Certificate that makes sure your site is secure (just FYI lots of web hosts charge you extra for these, little scamps).
This is also good for SEO as well as customer experience because Google will penalise unsecured sites, pushing them down in the search rankings. So you can see why not having an SSL is just not good for business.
Squarespace is the most intuitive web builder I’ve tried
It does take a bit of time to build a Squarespace site from scratch, but I find that the sites I build end up being just super accessible and easy for clients to use. Once I hand them over clients only need to make slight edits and they’ll be able to update their site quickly and easily.
Squarespace makes it really easy to add copy or move things around which means you can truly have a website that builds with you. I’ve had clients that come to me because they don’t know how to change the copy on their site, that’s terrible! When you’re getting busier, more in demand and you want to put your prices up your website SHOULD NOT be a barrier to that?!
Squarespace sites look good on your phone
Ok, time for a bit of jargon, the tech term is ‘mobile responsive’, but basically, that just means Squarespace sites look really good on customers’ phones. This is super important because more than half of online traffic is now on mobile. The phrase ‘mobile first’ means that a site has been designed knowing that the view on mobile should be a priority as that’s where the majority of traffic is coming from. When you’re building or updating your site it’s so easy to toggle between a desktop and mobile view that you can always make sure your site looks great whatever device your customer is using.
How your site looks on mobile does influence buying decisions. If your site looks good it will give your customers trust in your site, and will also give them a nicer buying experience. When customers browse sites on their phones there are lots of seemingly small issues that can put them off, from overcrowded or confusing layouts to hard-to-tap buttons and so on.
Fortunately, Squarespace is aware of the importance of mobile responsiveness to e-commerce so they make sure your customers get a fully mobile optimised experience. Mobile optimisation is also a Google ranking factor, meaning mobile-friendly sites get prioritised in user search results.
I ❤️ Squarespace Customer Support
As a website designer I’ve endured my fair share of support calls with Google and Facebook reps, and despite their big-name status let’s just say it can be a bit of a nightmare. But the support you get from Squarespace is truly fabulous. It’s no surprise they have an award-winning 24/7 support service via chat or email. They also have a ton of guides and videos to help with common questions, and if you’re getting stuck they’ll take a look at your account for you. You can’t get much better than that.
Squarespace pricing is very competitive
Squarespace offers a solid range of pricing plans starting from £10 per month, which I find very reasonable for what you get. It’s good they give you the flexibility of choosing monthly or yearly plans, with decent discounts to incentivise you to take out a yearly plan. You can also change or cancel your Squarespace plan at any time. My clients get an additional 20% off their first year of an annual plan just as a little bonus too.
Totally bespoke
The great thing about Squarespace is you really can do it yourself, using their range of templates or building from scratch if you’re more experienced. But templates do have their limitations. You either end up with a site that’s a carbon copy of someone else's, which to be honest isn’t a great look, or you’ll find that their templates don’t quite fit the specific needs of your site.
When I build a site I start from the ground up, only adding the content and features that you need, rather than trying to fit everything into pre-existing boxes. And ultimately, that’s the difference… Do you choose a site that’s a pretty good fit or get a site that’s been tailor-made to your specs but doesn’t cost you a fortune?
Yes, you can build a site for yourself, but there will be the inevitable hours spent Googling and on forums, and that’s time you’re not spending on growing your business. When you do a ‘cost-benefit analysis’ you’ll probably find there’s more value in getting an experienced designer to build a site for you.
But wait… I’ve created a hybrid option that’s designed specifically for those who want the insight of an experienced Squarespace designer but has a DIY budget. Head over to Square School and check out whether it’s a good fit for you.
