From Clicks to Customers: Branding for Squarespace Ecommerce Sites
On September 18, 2024, Squarespace’s annual Circle Day brought together designers, developers, and creatives at Squarespace headquarters in New York City and virtually around the world. The day’s agenda featured a series of seminars, quick talks, and panel discussions, where Circle members shared their expertise with the community.
The session, “From Clicks to Customers: Branding for Squarespace Ecommerce Sites,” included individual presentations by designers Krishna Solanki, Kia Dyson, Seth Hoffman, and Sam Crawford, followed by a group panel discussion on best practices for ecommerce web design. Read on for the key takeaways.
The Process Behind Ecommerce Success with Krishna Solanki
Krishna Solanki is a self-taught web designer and developer with nearly two decades experience. The Founder and Creative Director at Krishna Solanki Designs is known for her process-driven approach to ecommerce design projects, which are often surprisingly complex and multi-faceted.
Benefits to Krishna’s method include increased efficiency and consistency, faster turnaround times, streamlined workflow, improved client trust, and a better understanding of each brand’s “why.” Her well-defined process follows this framework:
1. Prework: The client completes an in-depth questionnaire and provides content in advance
2. Design: Collaborative design phases with rounds of revisions
3. Build: The website is developed based on the approved design
4. Test: Rigorous testing to ensure functionality and user experience
5. Live: The site goes live, and the client is given training and support materials
Krishna has tailored her systematic approach to designing ecommerce sites to the Squarespace platform. She emphasized several reasons Squarespace makes sense for ecommerce clients: its all-in-one functionality, customizable templates, integrated marketing and SEO tools, comprehensive ecommerce features, and scalability for businesses focused on growth.
Incorporating Identity into Web Design with Kia Dyson
Golden Launch Creative CEO Kia Dyson shared her approach to visually representing brands. With a background in fashion retail and photography, Kia has a strong understanding of both branding and ecommerce, which directly applies to her work in web design today.
Kia believes branding is the connector that tells a person they should buy something or buy into something. Her branding process starts with an in-depth consultation and brand strategy questionnaire. From there, Kia conducts analysis and research on consumer behavior and market trends. Only then can she create a comprehensive brand strategy that includes:
Brand positioning
Brand messaging
Visual identity
Brand guidelines
Kia emphasized that strong branding—and maintaining brand consistency—attracts customers, builds trust, and drives sales. Because a website is often the first interaction a customer has with a brand, its look and feel significantly influence their decision to purchase. To maintain brand consistency, Kia recommends:
Developing brand guidelines, including how to use logos, fonts, and other design elements
Using a consistent color palette across the client’s website and social media
Defining an imagery style, including consistent filters
Maintaining a consistent brand voice throughout all marketing channels
Clarity Leads to Conversions with Seth Hoffman
Seth Hoffman, Creative Director of Known Creative, started designing websites in 2007. Over the years, he’s helped many clients tackle a common problem—they attract website traffic but struggle with low conversion rates. The main culprit? Unclear messaging. “If you aren’t clear, you won’t convert,” he explained.
Seth believes that clarity requires intentionality, and web professionals play a crucial role in guiding ecommerce clients toward clarifying their message.
To ensure clarity on every ecommerce website, Seth focuses on the fundamentals:
The offer is clear and recognizable
The benefit overcomes a deep issue, so there is an emotional connection
The action is succinct and can’t be missed (for example, a "Buy Now" or "Get a Quote" button)
Ecommerce Is Not Just Products with Sam Crawford
Sam Crawford, Founder of by Crawford, has built over 450 Squarespace sites and believes ecommerce goes beyond selling products. He introduced the concept of the “Ecom Iceberg,” where traditional ecommerce (physical and digital products) is just the visible tip. Below the surface, most businesses engage in ecommerce by offering value to their consumers.
Sam outlined four types of clients who should be treated as ecommerce customers, even though they may not offer “traditional” products:
1. Service providers: Those who sell services rather than products. While these businesses may have a longer sales process, their websites should still focus on clear copy and navigation to encourage form fills and requests for quotes.
2. Investment seekers: Those who are pitching their brand or ideas to investors. Their websites should use social proof and storytelling to build credibility and increase engagement.
3. Bloggers: Those who make money through affiliate links, ads, and sponsored content. Intuitive blog design includes easy navigation, clear hierarchy, and optimized ad placement.
4. Non-profits: Those who rely on donations. Their websites should feature storytelling and calls to action for donations to enhance fundraising efforts.
Finally, Sam reminded the audience that Squarespace provides all the tools necessary to help clients unlock the full potential of their websites.
Bringing it all together with Nikki Kuritsky
The series of sessions ended with a panel moderated by Squarespace Vice President of Product - Commerce Nikki Kuritsky. Highlights of the conversation included the importance of:
Maintaining a consistent brand identity, specifically colors, typography, and imagery to build trust with customers
Investing in professional imagery and ensuring consistency across filters to maintain a consistent look and feel
Optimizing for SEO using Squarespace’s built-in SEO tools, including product metadata, URLs, and image sizes to improve load times and search rankings
Balancing design and functionality to encourage users to complete their purchases—simplicity is key
Tailoring sites for niche markets by injecting personality into the site to connect with the target audience
For more tips on designing ecommerce sites, check out the following resources:
Want more?
Check out Squarespace Circle, Squarespace’s program for professional designers. Along with exclusive content, discounts, and other perks, Circle brings professionals together from across the globe to exchange advice while connecting with new clients and collaborators.
