Squarespace Website Design
Good design builds credibility
Having a well-designed website is crucial for building a solid brand. It serves as a central hub for all your online activities and is usually your customers' first point of contact. At Gray Matters, we can help you create this foundation without worrying about the intricate details. We provide affordable Squarespace site design packages that cover everything you need.
We negotiate a balance between:
Your needs
Your budget
Fundamental design/user experience/marketing principles
The available tools (usually linked to #2)
Benefits of working with Gray Matters on your brand
Knowledge and expertise: With numerous years of experience in business management, we know how challenging it is to wear many hats. By collaborating with our agency, you gain access to a diverse team of professionals with a broad spectrum of skills and expertise cultivated over many years of collective experience.
Value for money: One upfront investment in your brand will prepare you for many years of success.
Time Efficiency: Few individuals attempt car maintenance themselves instead of hiring a professional. It is not that they are incapable of learning the necessary skills, but rather, it is simply not worth the effort and time investment.
Reliability: Our systematic approach ensures that design projects are carried out correctly, delivered on time, and within budget. After completing your project, Gray Matters is available to assist and answer inquiries five days a week, almost every week of the year.
Creativity: Not every entrepreneur possesses exceptional visual creativity. Our design studio connects clients to some of the most imaginative individuals locally, providing an ideal space to collaborate and draw inspiration from one another's perspectives.
Why Squarespace?
Squarespace is an affordable and all-in-one website content management system and hosting platform. It is widely considered one of the best website builders and has consistently received high ratings. In my opinion, it is the best builder out there. I have used it for over ten years and built more than 30 websites on the platform.
A Squarespace site creation service is more straightforward than a traditional website design service so we can finish these projects quickly. Expedited website design services can be requested for an added fee.
The benefit of having a designer set up your Squarespace site is that you can skip all the learning curves and design indecision. When you join the Gray Matters family, we set you up for success and share our tips and tricks to use Squarespace like a pro.
What if I don’t want to use Squarespace?
We take on different kinds of website jobs on a case-by-case basis. We have members of our team who are proficient with Shopify and WordPress. We may also connect you to another design agency that better fits your needs.
Featured Website Projects
What our clients think
“I loved working with Sarah! She went above and beyond my expectations to build my website. I really felt like it was a collaborative process— I had an idea of what I wanted, and she turned that idea into reality. Even now several months after the site went live, she checks in to see how my site is performing in searches and does optimization things I don’t really understand (but that work!). I highly recommend Gray Matters.”
“Building a business from the ground up is very exciting and challenging at the same time. When you find someone that shares your same enthusiasm and also has the talent to enhance your dreams… you know you’ve found a great business partner. I’m a hands on business owner who was able to let go with Gray Matters! Sarah was able to help me with logos, website, t-shirt design and just like their name, everything else in between. Thank you for your time and inspiration. I look forward to our future projects! ”
“Sarah Vogl was so EASY to work with! Efficient, professional, affordable. I cannot sing her praises enough! She listened to the ideas in our heads and created a beautiful website! If you want to check out our website, visit www.BuildingBelovedCommunities.com! 5 STARS! Thank you, Sarah! ”
Our Process
What To Expect:
Initial Consultation & Client Profile: Collect the client's information, establish an understanding of the business, and prioritize their marketing needs.
Contract & Payments: I use a simple contract designed to protect both parties equally and collect 50% of deposits for my services.
Brainstorming & Inspiration:
Together we will create an inspiration board. Sometimes I do this on Pinterest; sometimes, I do this in Illustrator. Sometimes both. We will cull this inspiration until it represents what we envision for the project's outcome.
We will create and share a Google Drive folder for all the website content. We will organize photos into folders and manage text content in a document.
Drafts & Production:
Buy/Transfer Domains: Purchase or begin the transfer of domain names. If moving an existing site to Squarespace, assess what needs to be done to transfer the domain and content to the new site.
Obtain logos and brand photography from the client. Establish a color palette to fit our mood board.
Obtain text content from the client.
Design & Review:
FONTS: Establish site fonts & confirm with the client.
DESIGN: Design the website.
Client Review & Feedback
Revisions
Repeat 3 & 4 until complete.
Post-Production & Publishing:
We will each take the time to view the site with fresh eyes.
We may share a private link with our colleagues so they can review the website and give feedback.
Final Consult & Squarespace Lesson:
Launch the website.
Give a quick tutorial tailored to the client's strengths & weaknesses.
Address client questions.
Collect final payment.
Follow-up:
Continued SEO Tweaks: I will monitor the site's SEO performance for several months and make small changes to help facilitate the site's growth.
Investment
Domain Name & Squarespace Subscription Costs
Domain Name Service:
$12-20/year per domain. (The domain is free for the first year if you purchase an annual plan with Squarespace.)
Squarespace Subscriptions:
Start at $16-26/month or $144-216/year for personal and business tiers. These first two tiers cover most clients' needs.
It's $35/month or $312/year for the commerce tier (unlocks more online store capabilities).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Editing an existing website is super easy. However, creating a new site for the first time can be challenging, as some features are not intuitive. This is where my experience with Squarespace comes in handy.
I work systematically with my clients to make design choices and efficiently build the perfect site. I will train you on the features you'll use the most during a brief session at the end of the design process.
Once the project is complete, you may never need my help again! However, I'm always available to answer any questions you may have after our project is done.
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"All domains correctly added to your Squarespace site are automatically protected with free SSL certificates to improve security. SSL secures connections and prevents hackers from impersonating you or stealing visitors' information." (Squarespace Support Article)
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In my experience, Squarespace is better at taking care of SEO automatically when compared to other CMS/website solutions. Plus, we will optimize your site for search engines as part of our design service. I will complete this checklist for you: Squarespace's SEO Checklist; (More info: "What Squarespace does for SEO")
We are happy to consult with you further on how SEO works and how you can manage it yourselves going forward. Further, once a website is complete, I regularly check on my client’s analytics to see what’s performing well and what can be improved.
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Squarespace has a great advantage as it requires almost no maintenance. All of the technical aspects like software updates and plug-ins are automatically taken care of by Squarespace. There is no need for any user input. With my assistance, I can give you the necessary knowledge to manage your entire Squarespace account confidently and independently.
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Squarespace has a cookie banner feature that can easily be turned on. (Squarespace Support Article)
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Adding a TOS (Terms of Service) and privacy policy to your website is a simple task. However, I can only provide templates from Squarespace's resources or other online sources and customize them as per your requirements. Please note that I cannot offer legal advice, and it is your responsibility as a client to ensure that the content is legally compliant. It is up to you to determine if a copy-paste TOS or privacy policy is sufficient and valid.
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Squarespace websites are designed to be mobile-friendly, so they will automatically adjust to fit the screen of any mobile device. You can even preview how your site will look on a mobile device from within the desktop editor. If you want to test it out, you can follow this link to a video where someone demonstrates how it works.
When I create content for a website, I always keep mobile users in mind. I preview all versions of the site to ensure that the content flows well and is easy to read on both desktop and mobile devices. -
Yes, we can create a promotional pop-up on Squarespace, but you need to have business tier pricing or higher. If you want to use more advanced features like email marketing and commerce, the cost will be slightly higher.
Before you start creating your promotional pop-up, it's important to consider whether Squarespace email campaigns or MailChimp (another industry standard) is the better option for your needs. Both can be easily integrated and provide a seamless experience.
"The Pros and Cons of Squarespace's New Email Campaign Feature"
"Squarespace Email Campaigns — Should You Use It?"
"What is the best email marketing system for Squarespace websites?"