A 13-step checklist for creating and launching a Squarespace website
Though I build Squarespace websites as my main job, I often work with clients who would love to be able to do at least some of the work themselves. Sometimes to save money (understandable when there are so many costs to getting a new business off the ground) but more often so that they feel a sense of ownership and have learnt some new skills.
So here is my personal 10 13-step checklist of how to get a new site created and launched successfully.
Start by being inspired by others
There are some really great websites out there that do a fantastic job of showing the personality and ethos of the person or people behind them while being very functional at the same time. Both these aspects are important. Have a look at other businesses in your field and see what they do that appeals to you. Create a mood-board (I like Whimsical for this) to gather and organise your ideas by taking screenshots of the ones you like (make sure to annotate with the link so you remember where you saw it). Don’t limit yourself only to your direct competition but consider related businesses or suppliers you admire.
Start to personalise
On your mood-board you can begin to add ideas around colour and typography. There are some great tools to help you with this, especially if colour matching and font pairing is not your day job. Bear in mind that not all fonts that you see are available in Squarespace. Most Adobe fonts are already installed, Google fonts are easy to add with a little knowledge of custom CSS but others that you might find in apps like Canva, for example, may have to be purchased. But don’t let that stop you from coming up with a general look and feel that you like as alternatives are not to difficult to find if your ideal choice is not easily available.
Consider your audience
Now that you’ve got some ideas to play with, the most important people to think about are your audiences. While you do need to create a website that you can personally be proud of, what’s more important is that the people you wish to reach find the site appealing and the content relate-able. Try to think about some individual personality types (often called personas) and consider the journey they are going to take before you will even hear from them. How will they find you? What problem are they trying to solve? How can they be confident in choosing to contact you? Tweak your mood-board ideas in order to meet their needs as much as you can.
Site architecture
This is a just a fancy way of saying, ‘what pages and functions do I need on my website?’ But it really helps to begin with a basic framework and hierarchy of pages and to know in advance what functionality you’re going to need. You can use the templates in Whimsical to help you do this or just scribble on some paper. The way you do it doesn’t matter, just do it however makes the most sense to you. This is also a good time to write the content for the site because you won’t have much time on a trial in which to do that. If you’re using original photography, organise that now too.
Building the site
Now you’re ready to sign up for a Squarespace trial* and get stuck in! The platform has moved on a lot from when it began as a purely template-driven and quite limited website builder, but the templates they provide are a really useful starting point for most people. Go through their steps and look through until you see something that looks a bit like what you had in mind, and go for it. Literally everything after that can be customised but it will save you a lot of time if you begin with a template that is similar in style and content to your end result.
Set up your styles
Use your mood-board to determine the colours and typefaces you will use across the site. And don’t be afraid to change if, once you can see them on the page, they don’t look right. Squarespace is yours to play with at this point, so have some fun!
Add the pages you need
Referring to your site architecture, create the pages you decided that you need. You can add content now or come back to that later.
Add your content
Once you have all of your pages set up, it’s time to add your content. If you don’t already have it all written out, be quick! A standard Squarespace trial is only two weeks (if you work with a pro, you will have 6 whole months to get it spot on). Squarespace has a deal with Unsplash so that you have access to a huge library of free images - all of which look fabulous - but choose carefully, aligning your choices with your mood-board style and the demographic of customers you want to work with. This is also the time to be adding other functionality such as bookings, e-commerce, memberships, courses or whatever your site will need to meet the needs of your business and your audience.
Check layouts on mobile
Squarespace now has two layouts - desktop and mobile - which operate independently. Sites are still responsive (they flex according to the size of screen the user is looking at) but you will need to go through each page and adjust the mobile layout. Depending on your intended user, you may want to start with the mobile layout and check the desktop after, but editing in desktop mode is a lot easier.
Choose and buy your domain
Around about now - or earlier if you can - you should choose and buy your domain. Although Squarespace offers a domain free for the first year, I don’t actually recommend this. Two reasons:
The range is a little more limited than on some other platforms, especially for .co.uk domains.
You will be ‘forced’ to subscribe to Google Workspace if you want to use an email that matches your domain (eg hello@yourdomain.com). There are ways around this but it’s complicated. Google Workspace is a powerful tool that is best used by businesses with multiple employees for whom you need to manage multiple email accounts, calendars, storage etc. Most small businesses do not need this or will already be using an alternative (such as Microsoft 365). Google Workspace is expensive and overly complicated for a sole trader/entrepreneur.
Instead I recommend a service such as Hover which has a connect tool to make domain connection with Squarespace easier. The customer service is first rate and I’ve used it for years with no problems. The email service is very cost effective and easy to set up too.
In case the whole concept of domains is foreign to you, see below for an explainer.
My process is usually to buy the domain early and link it up straight away, leaving the website password protected so it’s not available to the public. This means that when you’re ready to launch there won’t be any delays (domain connections can take up to 48 hours).
Do your basic SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimisation and it’s an important part of getting a website visible to the world. Google, Bing and any other search engine rely on machines to find websites and machines need a lot of hints! Here are the main things you can do to get the basics done right first time:
Make sure every page has an H1 heading - but only one (more than one confuses machines as to the main subject matter of a page).
Give all pages a title (in the settings area of the page) that matches the subject but isn’t identical to the H1 heading.
Give all pages a description which tells the user what the page is about (have a look at the search results for your subject to get some ideas of how this should look).
Add alt text to all images - this makes the image searchable and helps people with limited sight.
Ensure you write a good description for your site SEO (in site settings).
Test it!
It really is worth getting friends and family to test the website. Even if there’s no complex functionality such as e-commerce or bookings, other people will be able to spot issues and errors much more easily than you can yourself. Ask for feedback and make changes where they are relevant and will help your website perform better. Ask people to look at the site on mobiles, tablets and larger desktop screens if possible
Get ready to launch
After all your hard work, you’re finally ready to press the button. It’s at this stage that many people panic and are afraid to let loose their creation on the world. But I say go for it! You won’t know whether it’s right or not until it’s in use. So go ahead and upgrade your plan (here’s the up to date pricing for Squarespace plans) and spread the word on socials, send it to your mates, have a ticker tape parade if you feel like it 😁
Domain / Website Explainer
You must have both a domain AND a website to be able to show the website to the public.
What do you think - sounds like a headache or are you up for the challenge?
I’ve got some options for you…
If you are silently screaming at the thought of doing this yourself, hire me to do it for you.
If you love the idea of getting your hands dirty but would like some support, I have the perfect solution.
If you want to go through the entire process alone, go for it!*
*These links are sponsored. All external links are to services I use and recommend.
