How to Become a Squarespace Designer from Scratch
Just yesterday, my friend asked me how to become a Squarespace designer in 2023. But it was hard for me to give him a full answer with all the details in a Facebook chat. That’s why I decided to write this blog post answering all his questions and giving him a good roadmap.
Follow these essential steps to become a successful Squarespace designer:
1. Acquire Necessary Skills
2. Define Your Niche and Target Clients
3. Build a Stellar Portfolio Website.
4. Establish a Web Design Client Process.
5. Effectively Market Your Business.
6. Join Squarespace Circle.
7. Connect with Fellow Squarespace Designers.
As an expert Squarespace designer, I’m sure many people like you who are also probably interested in becoming Squarespace designers might find this article useful. So I would be happy to share everything with you all.
So as a Squarespace website designer, your job is to design and build a professional Squarespace website for businesses to present their online brand in a good way. You just need to have the skills and love what you do.
There are a handful of platforms for building and designing a website, but Squarespace has always been one of my preferred platforms because it's very user-friendly and easy to use.
In addition to that, it has a lot of free templates that you can start with to speed up your workflow and be more productive.
Although becoming a Squarespace designer is a relatively simple process, there are a few steps to take before releasing your business to the public.
That’s why in this article, I will share with you some steps you need to take to become a Squarespace website designer. So let’s get started.
How to Become a Squarespace Designer
Anyone can become a freelance Squarespace website designer nowadays. You just need to have the passion and the willingness to help clients achieve their website design goals.
This is a good way to make a full-time income if you like to communicate and work with people on their projects.
To become a Squarespace website designer, follow these essential steps:
1. Learn The Skills You need
The first step to becoming a Squarespace website designer is to learn the skills that will allow you to offer your services to potential clients. I’m not saying that you need to have a degree or experience, because you don’t need that at all.
The web design industry is all about your skills(what you know), it’s not about the degree. You just need to be creative and offer value to your clients.
As a Squarespace designer, you need to know how to design and create clean beautiful websites using the Squarespace platform with all its features.
Your job is to listen to your clients, communicate with them about your service, and do your best to transform their needs into reality. In terms of skills that you need to learn, I would say:
Focus on your communication skills so that you can easily speak to clients.
Learn web design principles first.
Learn how to design clean and beautiful web user interfaces(just the basics).
Then learn how to use the Squarespace platform to design and build websites.
These are the basics you need to start, but you should also keep improving your skills. Just take a look at the portfolios of other designers in the industry so that you can learn more and have some inspiration.
Nowadays, there are a lot of free resources from where you can learn all the skills you need. You just have to take action and put in the work.
There is a lot of Squarespace content and tutorials on YouTube. You can also ask Google whenever you want to, and there are many courses that you can take.
2. Define Your Niche and Target Clients
Once you have the soft and technical skills it takes to start a Squarespace web design business, then you should pick your niche and define what type of clients you want to work with.
A lot of people think that if you offer your website design services to a specific niche, you won’t get enough clients. That’s not true.
As I said, the number of internet users in the world is more than 4.9 billion, this number is going up every year. For every niche or industry, there is a high demand for website design services. That’s because everyone is looking to build an online business brand these days.
Picking a specific niche as a website designer is one of the best decisions you can make for your business. There are a lot of web design niches that you can choose from. You just need to pick a good niche that you’re passionate about or at least you know things about it.
For example, you can pick the dentist’s niche and just build websites for dentists. Or the music niche if you want to only build websites for musicians. It’s all about you. You can check out this list of more than 196 web design niches you can specialize in.
The good thing about defining your niche is that you will only work on projects that you like and have experience with. For example, if you pick the niche of yoga teachers, you would only focus on building sites for yoga teachers.
In addition to that, clients will always consider you an expert because your web design business is based on their industry.
It’s also a good way to get really clear with potential clients and determine the perfect fit for you and them. As a result, you can only focus on what you’re good at. You just need to find a profitable niche based on the industry that you have knowledge about.
3. Create a Good Portfolio Website
After defining your own niche and target clients, it’s time to build a Squarespace designer portfolio site that shows your work(projects you’ve worked on).
A good and professional website that your clients can visit to learn more about you and your Squarespace web design service.
You need to create a good portfolio that contains all the projects you have worked on. So yes, if you want clients to trust you, show them your work.
So you might be wondering: “I’m just a beginner, I have no projects yet”. How can I get clients?
Well, if you don’t have any projects yet to add to your portfolio, I suggest that you build the first site for free for someone to improve your skills and have that experience.
Once you build the first project, add it to your portfolio website and start pricing your service. As a beginner, you can charge between 500$ and 1500$ depending on the complexity of the project.
Also, I would recommend putting the prices on your portfolio so that clients will have some info about your pricing model.
Your portfolio is a huge asset that can attract clients and get you opportunities. You just have to focus on building high-quality projects that will make clients trust you.
By the way, if you haven’t started building a portfolio site yet, I would highly recommend using Squarespace 7.1. It makes it a lot easier to design and create a professional good-looking portfolio in a short period of time.
There are a lot of Squarespace templates to start with. You can use my code MEHDI10 for 10% off your first year. No credit card is required.
4. Have a Web Design Client Process
When working with potential clients as a Squarespace website designer, you need to have an organized onboarding process that you can follow. That’s very important in order to easily start a project and understand your client's needs.
Every website designer might have a different client onboarding process that suits him/her. For me, my process is simple, my steps to onboard new clients are:
Invoicing(getting paid).
contract or service agreement.
Collecting business information.
Welcome email.
You can check out the video below where Chelsea Blackwell explains her web design client process. She talked about a lot of things you might need to know.
Squarespace Web Design Client Process for Beginners.
Knowing how to onboard new clients is a crucial component of your business, and getting it right will result in a painless procedure and a positive customer experience.
5. Find a Way to Market Your Business
One of the important parts of any type of business is marketing. You need to market your business so that clients can come to you. As a Squarespace designer, you have a lot of different ways and strategies to market your website design services.
Here are some good ways to find clients:
Join Squarespace and web design Facebook groups.
Reach out to businesses on social media channels(Instagram, Linkedin, etc).
Reach out to businesses in your local area.
Try cold emails and cold calling.
Try freelancing platforms(Upwork, Fiverr, etc).
Although there are different ways to find web design clients, you should only focus on one or two marketing strategies. Don’t try all strategies at once, that’s overwhelming.
When I started my web design business last year, I got my first client from a Facebook group in the first week of launching the business. Then the second client also came as a referral from the first client. I only used Facebook for getting new clients at that time, especially in the first three months.
So just find a good marketing strategy that you like and suits you, then focus on it until you see results.
6. Join Squarespace Circle
After building a couple of projects for clients using Squarespace, it’s time for you to join the Squarespace circle.
Capture from Squarespace Circle.
There are some fantastic benefits when becoming a Squarespace Circle member, but you must have at least three active Squarespace sites that you have produced or contributed to before you can join.
The good thing about Squarespace Circle is that you will receive a 20% discount on annual plans after you become a member, which you can pass on to your clients or use as an affiliate fee. In addition to that, all of your new websites will have a longer trial period.
Normally, you get two weeks, but Circle gives you six months. This is a major benefit for your clients. Also if you want to get an additional 10% discount on Squarespace, I recommend that you use my code MEHDI10.
Another cool thing about the circle program is that you get the opportunity to connect with a vibrant community to exchange ideas and grow your business.
7. Connect with Other Squarespace Designers
One of the good ways to improve your Squarespace knowledge and your skills as a designer is by connecting with other designers who already have experience in the industry.
You can learn a lot from them and use them as an inspiration to achieve success. As a result, this will help you improve to the next level and become a better Squarespace website designer that anyone would want to work with.
There are several ways you can connect with other Squarespace designers:
Join the Squarespace Forum: The Squarespace Forum is an online community of Squarespace users where you can connect with other designers, ask questions, and get advice.
Attend Squarespace events: Squarespace frequently hosts events and meetups for users and designers. Attending these events can be a great way to meet other designers and learn about new features and best practices.
Follow Squarespace on social media: Squarespace has an active presence on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Following these accounts can help you stay up to date on the latest Squarespace news and connect with other designers.
Join a Squarespace user group: There are many online groups on Facebook and meetups for Squarespace designers in various cities around the world. Joining a local group can be a great way to connect with other designers in your area.
Participate in online communities and forums: There are many online communities and forums dedicated to website design and development, including Squarespace-specific groups. Participating in these communities can help you connect with other designers and learn from their experiences.
Another good advantage of having connections with Squarespace designers is that they can always refer a client to you when they have too many clients looking for their services. So this is also good for you to get more opportunities.
Do Professional Web Designers Use Squarespace?
Yes, professional web designers often use Squarespace for their business. Squarespace provides a user-friendly platform with beautiful templates that can be customized to create modern and functional websites.
While some web designers prefer more code-intensive platforms for highly customized projects, Squarespace is popular among those who prioritize ease of use, speed of development, and the ability to create professional websites without extensive coding knowledge.
It's especially suitable for small to medium-sized projects, portfolios, blogs, and business websites. Many professionals appreciate Squarespace's all-in-one solution, hosting, security, and updates that allow them to focus on design and content.
How Much To Charge For a Squarespace Website
When it comes to pricing your services, there are various aspects to consider, including how much time you'll need to build the project and how much value you give to the client. So it depends on the project.
There are several methods for designers to arrange their pricing. Some of the common pricing models are fixed pricing, hourly pricing, and value-based pricing.
When you have a fixed price for a specific amount of work, this is known as fixed or project-based pricing. Hourly billing is when you keep track of your time and charge for each hour you work. Similar to when you work for an employer in-house.
On the other hand, value-based pricing is all about how much value you give to clients. You will consider how much money they'll be able to generate with their website.
If you're assisting them in developing a website that will earn them $90,000 per year, then spending $6-10k on a website is a tremendous return on investment.
There are designers who charge very low for less than 500$, and at the same time, there are others who charge more than 5000$ for a site.
However, as a Squarespace web designer, you can expect to charge from $1,000 to 5000$ on average for one project.
Are Squarespace Designers in Demand?
The answer is yes. Squarespace designers and freelancers in general are in high demand nowadays. Many small businesses and individuals use Squarespace to build an online brand and professional website.
That’s why the demand for Squarespace design services will always be there. In addition to that, not everyone has the time and skills to build a good-looking website. So people will always try to find Squarespace designers and specialists who can work for them.
Usually, when people need a custom unique Squarespace website that meets their needs and requirements, they will always try to look for Squarespace designers who can achieve that for them.
Anyone can build a website using a Squarespace template, but not everyone has the skills to design a unique and custom Squarespace website that stands out. That’s why Squarespace website designers will always be in demand.
Conclusion
So these are the important steps that you need to follow in order to become a Squarespace designer. But in order for you to set up yourself for success, you need to put in the hard work and try to do your best to take your business to the next level.
Starting a successful Squarespace web design business these days is not that hard. You just need to be consistent and have patience. Your client’s satisfaction is very important if you want to scale and grow your business in the future.
Need to build a portfolio website for your web design business? If so, you can try Squarespace free for 14 days without having to use a credit card.
Thank you for reading this article. If you found it useful, you can check out our blog for more content about Squarespace.
By the way, if you’re looking for some useful ways to collaborate and communicate effectively with your team or clients, you can check out this list of awesome collaboration apps that you can use to become more productive. Whether you have a new project or a new task that you want to work on with your team, these apps can always help you out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some important FAQs:
Can you make money as a Squarespace designer?
Yes, many designers earn income by building and customizing Squarespace websites for clients. The platform's user-friendly interface allows designers to showcase their creativity, helping clients establish a unique online presence.
Can I hire someone to design my Squarespace site?
Yes, you can hire professional Squarespace designers to create a custom website that suits your needs. Many designers offer their services to help individuals and businesses build beautiful and functional sites for their brands.
How do I make Squarespace look professional?
To give your Squarespace site a professional look, focus on high-quality imagery, cohesive branding elements, and clean layouts. Customize your chosen template, use consistent fonts and colors, and pay attention to details like navigation menus and contact forms.
Can I freelance with Squarespace?
Absolutely. Squarespace provides a platform for freelancers to offer their web design services. You can leverage Squarespace's tools to create websites for clients. So whether you're building portfolios, business sites, or online stores. It's a flexible platform to freelance in the web design field.
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