Custom Built Squarespace Websites
For Female Entrepreneurs & Lady-Led Small Businesses
“Your website should be your hardest working employee. She brings in the clients, never takes a break or a sick day and is hard at work promoting you while you’re working with another client, on the school run, on vacation, walking the dog or with your feet up in front of Netflix.”
Why Choose a Custom Built Website?
With a Custom Build, your website will be so much more than an online version of your business card. It’ll become a high-performing part of your business plan that your dream clients keep on coming back to and works for you 24 hours a day. You'll feel proud to promote it and know that it's making the very best impression for you online. We'll work together to create something that beautifully reflects what you and your business are all about. You provide the text and photographic content and I'll do all the web wizardry; giving you time, peace of mind and all of my knowledge and skills to make your online home the very best it can be. Together, we'll have your new website up and running in no time, turning clicks into customers, saving you time, money, stress and 'hustle'.
So you can do more of what you do best.
why squarespace?
I'm often asked why I choose Squarespace for my client's sites over options like Wordpress. The truth is, Squarespace is much more than your average drag-and-drop template site builder.
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- Squarespace takes care of software updates, plug-in installations and online security for you behind the scenes. You don't need to worry about a thing.
- There's no need to purchase and manage a theme, child theme, domain and hosting separately. It's all managed in your Squarespace account and works together seamlessly.
- Most importantly, making edits and updates to your website in the future will be a breeze using their intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
- Squarespace templates are clean, modern and follow web design best practices right off the bat.
- 24/7 online customer support, plus a huge library of video and step-by-step tutorials, means that you'll easily be able to run your website yourself after I've built it for you. (Of course, I'll show you exactly how to manage your site before I had over the reigns and if you need any assistance afterward, I'm only an email away).
- Flexibility! Squarespace can be used for regular websites, online stores or blogs. You can integrate appointment booking, social media accounts, calendars, videos, galleries or services like Foursquare. The options are endless and your website easily can grow and change as and when your business does.
- Using the inbuilt Style Editor, your website can be completely customised. As a developer, Squarespace allows me to inject custom code to break free of the template look – by the time I'm finished designing, it'll be totally and utterly bespoke to you.
Squarespace Circle
As a member of Square Circle, Squarespace's programme for designers and developers using the platform to build sites for clients, anyone who works with me can benefit from the following:
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- Six month trial period, rather than the standard two weeks.
I'll have your website finished either within one week or two, depending on the size and complexity of the project. But if you need a little more time, you've got up to six months before your site will need to incur a paid subscription.
- 20% off annual subscriptions.
Sites I have built are eligible for a 20% discount for your first year on Squarespace when your subscribe to an annual payment plan.
- Peace of mind.
You'll know your site is being built by an expert, with over a decade of web design and development under their belt plus a thorough knowledge of Squarespace's features.
The Perfect Combination
Building websites on Squarespace offers the perfect combination of flexibility and ease of use. My skills on the platform, plus the advantages of being approved as a designer by Squarespace themselves, mean I can build a site just as functional and beautiful as I would from scratch – but you'll be able to take over the running and updating of your site yourself after I'm done.
But hey, if you don't want to, I can do that too.
what's included?
Every Custom Build Package Includes:
ONE-TO-ONE BUILD SLOT
You'll be my only client during your build slot, so you know I'll be able to give your project my full attention and I'll be availble to respond to any queries you might have.
ON BRAND DESIGN
I'll make use of any existing branding you have – logos, colour codes, photography, etc. If you don't have existing branding, I can direct you to some amazing brand designers, just let me know.
SKYPE STRATEGY SESSION
We'll get on Skype in the first couple of days of your build slot to talk through your ideas and mine and make sure we are on the same page.
SEO OPTIMISATION
I'll follow Search Engine Optimisation best practices to encourage Google to start ranking your page ASAP... so those dream clients can find you!
mobile-responsive layout
Squarespace websites are automatically optimised for mobile viewing, but good design and layout can still be hard to achieve without a little coding trickery. Your website will look gorgeous whether viewed on a phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. Guaranteed.
IN-DEPTH PRE-BUILD QUESTIONNAIRE
After your booking is confirmed, I'll send you an in-depth questionnaire where you can give me all the details about your business and brand, your current website woes and what you'd like your new (or first!) website to be doing for you. Your answers will get my creative juices flowing and technical brain ticking well in advance of your build slot.
handover lesson & email assistance
Once your website is up and running, we'll have a handover session via screenshare to get you up to speed in Squarespace and get you comfortable editing and updating your website yourself. If you have any further questions, 30 minutes of email assistance is included.
CUSTOM 404 ERROR PAGE
Broken and incorrect links are the enemy of a good website. However, they do occur sometimes so it is best to be prepared. I'll customise your 404 Error page to ensure those clients know they've landed on your website and give them a link to proceed to your Home page.
thorough site testing
I'll test your website on phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Most designers do this using a website that 'simulates' the device but I insist on testing on the actual devices, just as your visitors would.
domain and email set-up
A professional business needs a professional web address. If you already have a domain name with another provider, I'll take care of transferring it to Squarespace or we can register a new one for you right away.
built in analytics
Squarespace has a detailed and intuitive visitor analytics section so that you can see who is visiting your website, what content they are checking out and where they're coming from. I'll walk you through the analytics section in our handover session. It's not as scary as it sounds, I promise.
social media & mailchimp integration
I'll get all your social media accounts linked up and integrated into your website so those dream clients know where else they can connect with you. If you use MailChimp email marketing, I'll integrate sign-up forms in key positions around your website too.
Whoever you are,
Wherever you work,
Whatever your #girlboss goals,
I’ve got a package to suit you
(and your business).
Packages and Pricing
Up to 5 pages
Standard planning and preparation guidance
Customised icons and graphics
Social Media Integration
Basic SEO set-up
One round of revisions
Standard aftercare support
+ blog £250
+ extra page £150
+ online store from £350
+ extra round of revisions £75
(*Yes, I 100% picked this photo for the dog.)
£1750
Up to 10 pages
Standard planning and preparation guidance
Blog included as standard
Social Media Integration
Mailchimp integration and set-up
Two rounds of revisions
Upload and use of custom fonts
Customised icons and graphics
Extra coding to stand out from the crowd
Advanced SEO setup
Standard aftercare support
+ extra page £150
+ online store from £350
£2450
Up to 10 pages
Advanced planning and preparation guidance
Blog included as standard
Social Media Integration
Mailchimp integration and set-up
Two rounds of revisions
Upload and use of custom fonts
Customised icons and graphics
Extra coding to stand out from the crowd
Advanced SEO setup
Advanced aftercare support
+ extra page £150
+ online store from £350
£2950
My online Client Portal makes uploading your website’s content and keeping track of your invoices as easy as pie!
I’ll email you a password after your book with me and you’ll be able to:
• View and sign your contract
• View and pay your invoices, plus see how much you owe and when it’s due, at any time.
• Access my PDF Content Planning Guides (more on those below!)
• Upload all of your content, whether they be text documents, images, product details or blog posts as you get them ready. No keeping track of attachments!
• Fill out your Pre-Build Questionnaire (and edit it as many times as you like before the build).
• View a record of our email correspondence.
My Content Planning Guides will help you to prepare your website’s copy and visual content.
There are sections for each of the typical website pages i.e. About, Services, Contact, Home, Portfolio, Testimonials, etc.
What’s more, I have specific guides especially for clients who are preparing blog posts or an online store.
I’m always here to help via email, particularly for Showstopper Package clients, but my PDF guides can be printed or viewed digitally so you can easily reference them at any time.
Want to take a look at my New Client Welcome Guide?
a little extra info
My a's to your frequently asked q's
Can you build me a website on Wordpress?
Although I have experience designing and coding on all sorts of platforms (and in the past 15 years, there's been a LOT!), I currently only offer Squarespace builds within the context of my business. For more information on why I love Squarespace as a platform for my business, see 'Why Squarespace?' below.
Why should I hire you?
Well, that's a big question. I wouldn't want to work with anyone who doesn't think we are a good fit. There are lots of talented designers out there and I encourage you to check them out. I pride myself on coming at the site building process not just as a designer but as a developer. I've been building websites since the early 2000s and I have the experience and skills to ensure your website does a lot more than just look pretty.
Who do you work with?
I work primarily with female entrepreneurs and business owners based all over the world, but I am happy to discuss projects with anyone who thinks I might be a good fit for them.
Why Squarespace?
Squarespace is the perfect platform for almost any solo entrepreneur or small business. Unlike Wordpress, Squarespace allows individuals without any coding or design experience to create beautiful and functional web pages from scratch. With built-in plug-ins for everything from appointment booking to e-commerce to sign-up forms, Squarespace takes away the need to constantly update and manually manage your website on a day-to-day basis.
As a business owner, you can be confident that your website is secure and running smoothly on Squarespace's servers. Everything is managed within your Squarespace account and covered by your monthly subscription, so there's no need to have hosting, a domain name, a theme, a child theme and plug-ins managed in different places (and costing a lot extra too). Plus, hiring a designer and/or developer to build a Wordpress site (approx $5000-8000 minimum) often involves having to return to them if you need to make any minor changes in the future, at an additional cost.
As a developer, Squarespace gives me the opportunity to create bespoke websites using their Developer Mode, code injection and CSS areas that my clients can manage themselves using the platform's standard drag and drop features after handover. Once I've built your custom site, you'll be able to manage it effortlessly. To make sure you're 100% comfortable on Squarespace, we'll have a one hour Skype Screenshare session where I'll show everything you need to know to add your own pages, edit text, upload images, change fonts and colours or add/edit items in your online store. I'm a qualified teacher, so you can be sure you're in good hands!
Do you accept payment in $USD?
All my payments are handled online and can be paid in your local currency. I work with clients all over the world, but as a UK registered business and taxpayer, my prices are quoted in £GBP. Though I'm a native Brit, I attended college in the US and split my time between the two countries, so if you're US based there's a chance I'll be in your timezone anyway.
Do you offer payment plans?
A 50% non-refundable deposit is required at time of booking to secure you build slot in my diary. The final 50% payment is required before the end of your build slot for me to be able transfer ownership of your website to you. If the investment is something you'd like to spread out, I advise booking a build slot well in advance to give yourself more time between the two required 50% payment dates. I currently book slots upto six months in advance. All of my invoicing and payment is managed online, so you have the option to pay using any major credit card.
Can you make my site have one of these cool FAQ drop-down widgets?
Sure thing! Just let me know in your New Client Questionnaire.
