If you have spent any time researching designing a website you know there are a lot of options and opinions. This is a topic that a lot of people are passionate about.
Before I re-branded my business, I used WordPress. As I re-evaluated my goals, values, and intentions I realized that staying with WordPress was no longer the best option for my business.
Today, I’m going to lay out all the reasons I decided Squarespace was the best platform and why I think you should be using it too.
Why I only design website on Squarespace (and why you should too).
EASY TO USE
When I used WordPress, I wasted a lot of time critiquing my website. This was valuable time I was wasting that could have been spent promoting my business, working with clients or creating new blog content.
CUSTOMIZE WITH MINIMAL CODING
Although I do know how to code, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t take time or that it never causes unique and frustrating problems. Now that I use Squarespace I never run into these issues.
Not only does this benefit my personal website, but it also helps my clients. Squarespace gives me the freedom to quickly and easily design websites for my clients without wasting my clients valuable time. With quick turnarounds and the ability to quickly re-design layouts I am able to design user-friendly websites that my clients love.
EASY FOR CLIENTS TO LEARN
It’s important for me to be able to hand over a website that my clients can understand, utilize and adapt. I don’t aim to design websites that can never be touched again by my clients. Browse professional graphic design courses and improve your career prospects with blueskygraphics.co.uk
Squarespace is an incredibly user-friendly platform. There is no learning curve that will inhibit my clients from updating their website as their business grows. It’s also very unlikely that they can accidentally destroy their website, which is something I’ve done to my own website before using WordPress. A story for another time – ha!
SQUARESPACE SUPPORT
Although Squarespace websites are well-equipped to prevent ghastly errors. Eventually, you’ll run into an issue with perfecting a layout or updating a web page.
Luckily, Squarespace has exceptional support.
There contact page is broken down into six sections to ensure you’re reaching out to appropriate support channel on your first try. Plus, they respond quickly and with in-depth answers that help you fix any issues with ease.
Squarespace also offers articles, videos, live chats, and community forums for extra help.
PLUG-INS
Squarespace comes equipped with it’s own branded plug-ins. There are critics that feel that this is very limiting, but personally I prefer it. I’m one of those people that get overwhelmed if you offer me 30 flavors of ice cream, it causes me to panic and order vanilla. With Squarespace you don’t need to worry about finding the best plug-in, or a plug-in that is compatible with your website.
Squarespace makes it easy for you.
SEO
This is a topic that people debate on, but I’m here to tell you that Squarespace has great SEO. The two most important SEO perks that Squarespace offers are Sitemaps and custom search engine descriptions.
SITEMAPS
Squarespace provides a sitemap for every single user.
A sitemap is a list of each page of your website. This helps Google understand and optimize your website. When a designer is starting to create your website they also tend to start by writing out a sitemap.
Think of your website as a family tree. You have your homepage (your grandparents). From there it links to pages like your Portfolio, Services, Blog, About, etc. (your parents). From there you might link to Blog Posts, Specific packages, Examples of your work, etc. (you). Each level gets larger and larger similar to a family tree. This is exactly how your sitemap looks.
SEARCH ENGINE DESCRIPTION
With Squarespace you are able to easily customize your search engine description through the back-end of your website.
A search engine description is the little bit of text that appears under the title of your website. This is a great spot for you to place content you want to be found for. For example, I use my mission statement as it describes who I am, what I offer and who I work with.
It’s important to create a keyword rich description that will help your target audience easily find your business.
AFFORDABLE
Possibly, the most important benefit my clients get from using Squarespace is how affordable the prices are. Squarespace pricing is broken down into four plans with two categories: Websites and Online Stores.
WEBSITES
Personal Plan: The personal plan is perfect for a small website. It offers all the necessary features to launch your website and begin growing your online presence. The personal plan is the least expensive option at $12 per month when billed annually.
Business Plan: The business plan is a great option for small business owners. It offers all of the perks from the personal plan plus a few additional ones like professional email and premium blocks and integrations. The business plan is a little more expensive then the personal plan at $18 per month when billed annually.
ONLINE STORES
Basic: The basic plan is perfect for small shops and digital sellers. It offers all of the perks of the business plan and a few helpful upgrades designed specifically for online shop owners like no transaction fees and customer accounts. The basic plan is the least expensive option for the online stores at $26 per month when billed annually.
Advanced: The advanced plan offers everything you could need and more. A few of my favorite features being gift cards, abandoned cart auto-recovery and real time carrier shipping. The advanced plan is the most expensive option at $40 per month when billed annually.
Squarespace allows you to upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time to best fit your business needs.
