Highlights from Circle Day 2023
On August 24, 2023, Squarespace hosted our second annual Circle Day online and in-person at the company’s headquarters in New York City. Current and prospective Circle members joined the conference, themed “Build Your Toolkit,” to learn how to employ Squarespace’s world-class suite of tools and products and effectively grow a web design business. Thousands of entrepreneurs, creatives, and web designers participated in more than 20 presentations and fireside chats led by Circle members, and networked with fellow professionals and Squarespace team members. The following are just some of the highlights from the event.
Opening Keynote
Squarespace Senior Product Director, Tim Miller, and Senior Group Product Manager, Jeff Aldrich, kicked off the day by welcoming online and in-person attendees to the event. They dove into their storied histories at Squarespace and highlighted exciting product updates, such as summer 2023’s highly anticipated Courses launch. Tim and Jeff also shared anecdotes about working with Circle members to refine and improve the Squarespace products the community uses every day.
Turn Your One-Time Project Into Recurring Revenue
Overcome sales fatigue with fresh strategies for turning one-off websites into recurring revenue with your toolkit of Squarespace products. Clarrie Johnson, Circle member and founder of TapThat Digital Marketing, shared these strategies, as well as what it means to be a “creatrepreneur.” She also presented a system to help you develop a 360-degree digital marketing campaign across social media, email marketing, and digital products that dazzles and delights clients.
Live Site Building
What better way to understand Squarespace’s potential than to see a website come together in real time? Attendees enjoyed a live site building led by Squarespace Senior Staff Product Manager, Hoyd Breton. During the session, Hoyd demonstrated Squarespace's latest and most exciting expressibility features to help unlock your creativity and achieve your client's vision.
Circle Live with Squarespace CEO and Founder Anthony Casalena
Attendees tuned into a special edition of Circle’s monthly talk show, Circle Live, with Squarespace Founder and CEO Anthony Casalena. Anthony described the early days of developing Squarespace in his dorm room, the evolution of the platform over its 20-year history, and the importance of the Circle community in the evolution of the platform.
Don’t Leave Money on the Table: Circle Benefits You Can’t Miss
Squarespace Circle members earn more, save more, and learn more through Circle's exclusive member benefits. Squarespace B2B Content Manager Katherine Wernet shared how to take advantage of the exclusive benefits to grow your web design business. Plus, she highlighted just how to put the Circle program to work for you so you never leave money on the table.
Niche Down, Level Up
There’s power in narrowing your niche to widen your client base. Digital strategist, speaker, and educator Connie Holen walked through how to establish yourself as an industry expert to advising clients on their specific, or highly niche, goals. With over a decade of experience in specialized web design for fitness and wellness businesses, Connie offered real-life examples of how to demonstrate your own industry expertise to make more money.
The Definitive Squarespace UI Toolkit
If you want to create award-winning websites on Squarespace, having the right tools at your disposal is half the battle. Creative Director Ken Robertson and his team at Hueman Studio discussed tools that, when used in tandem with Squarespace, can create high-caliber, world-class websites.
Brand Story Time: Building Sites That Captivate and Convert
It's one thing to create a beautiful website, but it's another to create a site with a compelling story that makes customers fall in love with your client's brand. That's where an effective client onboarding process comes into play. Circle member and The 24-Hour Site founder Laura Scholes taught how to establish an effective and productive client onboarding process that set you up for success when building websites that convert people from lookers to bookers.
On Creativity with Squarespace Chief Creative Officer David Lee
Squarespace's Chief Creative Officer David Lee wrapped up Circle Day by talking all things creativity. Interviewed by Senior Director of Creative Production and Operations at Squarespace, Erica Kung, David discussed the importance of constraints in creativity, increasing your creative inputs (and what's inspiring him right now), opening up to creativity in your own career (and staying open to possibilities), and remaining creatively hungry.
And more…
Check out the following recaps to learn more about other Circle Day sessions.
A special thanks to everyone who presented at Circle Day 2023. Circle members can access all of the Circle Day recordings on the forum.
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 all across the globe to exchange advice while connecting with new clients and collaborators.
