Squarespace 201 Part 1: Client Education
“I’m such a fan of this platform that I not only use it myself, but I highly recommend it to each and every design client I work with.”
Why Squarespace
Knowing how to talk about benefits and features is the key to having your clients feel confident in trusting their websites to Squarespace.
The following points detail why Squarespace is the design-driven, user-friendly, and performance-focused solution that your clients are looking for.
DIY DNA
Squarespace was designed with the do-it-yourself user in mind, making it easy for your clients to maintain, update, and monitor their websites on their own. Building pages is a matter of dragging and dropping blocks in a page editor, and backend tasks are a snap with clearly labeled menus and panels. Your clients can use the Squarespace app, available for iOS and Android, to track their site performance in real time, long after the project is complete.
Beautiful design that performs
Squarespace templates are beautifully and thoughtfully designed to incorporate cutting-edge UI/UX best practices, which means your clients’ websites will have the best of the best in “form and function” baked right in.
Built-in search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities
Every Squarespace website is equipped with all the elements needed for a strong SEO strategy. Site descriptions, page titles, custom URLs, search-friendly formatting, and other key elements are all easily managed. Each site also generates a sitemap automatically that helps Google crawl, understand, and rank a website. Read more about understanding and execution of SEO here.
Secure connections
Squarespace offers free SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates for all Squarespace Domains and third-party domains connected and pointing to a Squarespace site. With SSL enabled, your clients’ website visitors will enjoy a secure connection on every page.
Responsive design
Mobile traffic now accounts for more than half of all website traffic. With that in mind, it’s critical that websites perform across any device and screen size. Every Squarespace template includes a unique mobile experience that matches the overall style of the website, so content will look great on every device, every time.
Peace of mind
Squarespace is a self-contained platform that works seamlessly and is fully managed from top to bottom. This means there’s never any need to update software, plugins, or widgets; patch security vulnerabilities; or worry that changing one component might break something else. It also means there’s rarely any need to investigate or pay for third-party apps or plugins since most functionality is native to Squarespace.
24/7 award-winning support
The Customer Support team at Squarespace is available seven days a week, 24-hours a day, and has won several awards for outstanding customer support.
Room to grow
Squarespace scales. Squarespace was designed for everyone from bloggers to musicians to online retailers, so your clients can be confident that it is robust and flexible enough to grow with them.
Why work with me
A professional elevates a website from good to great by providing the type of strategic and design thinking that only comes from experience.
This section details why your clients can feel confident trusting their website build to you.
I have what it takes
When meeting a prospective client, emphasize how your personal expertise—be it in design, branding, traditional web development, or another creative field—paired with your Squarespace experience, puts you in a position to create a website that not only looks beautiful, but meets their strategic needs as well.
I've got a plan
Building a website can be overwhelming and is much easier if there is a well-honed process in place. Walk clients through your process, from start-to-finish, to give them a preview of what it’ll be like to work with you, and the clarity you’ll bring to their vision. You can give your client a better sense of the structured process you’ll use by sending over a Project Form. We’ve created a sample Project Form for you. Download the fully designed PDF version here and a plain text version here.
I'll save you time
One of the major benefits to working with you is the time your clients will save thanks to your experience with Squarespace and knowledge of website best practices.
I've done this before
Your experience with Squarespace and the website design process is a strong selling point. Clients will feel secure when what seems daunting to them is your day-to-day. You’ll really be able to nail a pitch if you can prove to your potential client that you’re familiar with the quirks, regulations, and best practices of their specific industries. It’s particularly compelling if you can show your potential client work that features websites or industries similar to theirs.
My clients love me
Pitch results, not potential. Having a prepared resource that features previous clients (with their permission, of course), their phenomenal results, and even testimonials gives your potential client a real sense of what they can expect.
Here's a preview
Show, don’t tell. In version 7.0, a Cover Page is an enticing preview of Squarespace’s possibilities, and it doesn’t require much more than a photo and a bit of styling. Depending on your client’s needs, the cover page will not only serve as your proof of concept, but help them build their email list, grow their social media presence, or announce an idea to the world while their site is in the works. This is an easy and affordable way to start a project with momentum and introduce your client to the beauty and power of Squarespace.
Common Client Concerns
Knowing how to talk about benefits and features is the key to having your clients feel confident in trusting their websites to Squarespace.
Here are several common concerns clients might raise and how you might respond to them.
I don’t want anything fancy.
Presentation matters and will continue to matter in the online space. A modern website needs to have a simple, beautiful interface that is easy to use and gorgeous to look at, whether your client is a yoga instructor, an attorney, or a food photographer.
I may not have the right content.
Having the right branding, imagery, and copy are prerequisites to creating a great website. The key is to make it easy for your clients to collect and create the best assets possible by giving them detailed instructions on what exactly they’ll need and by assuring them you’ll guide them through the process. In Part II of our 201 series, we will provide a proven system for gathering assets.
You’re too expensive.
Your services can be framed as an investment in your potential client’s business. The type of well-executed website you can help them create will provide a value that’s far greater than the upfront payment they’ll need to make.
Can I preserve my SEO?
If a client arrives with strong search rankings for key pages or blog posts that they’d like to preserve, let them know that switching platforms may cause a temporary dip in established search ranking. With Squarespace, however, that dip can be significantly reduced. First, Squarespace supports importing from most popular blogging platforms, letting your client keep the types of content that often contributes the most to their SEO rankings. Second, it’s easy to customize URLs so inbound links will continue to work. Third, if some pages don't migrate over to Squarespace, it's simple to create redirects that preserve those pages' SEO value.
Read more about importing content and SEO on Squarespace here.
Can Squarespace grow with my business?
Squarespace is robust and powerful platform that offers an extensive suite of online tools. Your clients can start with a website and add additional features as they grow. Squarespace offers:
APIs and third-party extensions
Online stores that let you selling physical and digital products, subscriptions, memberships, and gated content
and so much more
I don’t want my website to look like a template.
While it is true that Squarespace has a tightly curated library of templates to work with, the templates are there to act as a jumping-off point. Your client should be aiming for a website that is distinctly and beautifully branded, but maintains a familiar user experience.
Can I track my website’s performance?
It’s easy to add Google Analytics tracking to your client’s website. Also the Squarespace app, available for iOS and Android, lets you use any mobile device to review site traffic, see the most popular content, and track how visitors find a client's site.
What if I want to leave Squarespace?
If for some reason your client wants to move their website to another platform down the line, Squarespace lets them export content quickly and easily. Read more about that here.
Can’t I just have a Facebook page?
Facebook is important and can drive traffic and sales, but it’s not a substitute for a website. Facebook is akin to having a booth at a farmer’s market—lots of foot traffic but the creative freedom is limited, the signal-to-noise ratio is low, and, at the end of the day, the visitors belong to the market itself.
Do I need an app?
The vast majority of app functionality your clients are likely to need can be built within a website, which will be accessed far more regularly than an app. Having a mobile-friendly website that loads quickly and beautifully from a smartphone browser will meet your client’s needs and save visitors the irritating step of stopping to download a new app.
Aren’t there free options?
Things are rarely as free as they first appear. Once you add in costs for hosting, domains, themes, apps, plugins, custom domains, and removing third-party ads, you’re looking at a price significantly higher than “free.” An advantage to using Squarespace is the ability to package domains, hosting, customer support, and continued improvements into a single monthly or annual payment.
When you start a new trial, you and your client are entitled to the lowest price published on our Pricing page during the 30 days prior to the start of the trial. If you're presented with an upgrade price that's different from what you and your client expected, please contact Customer Care for the appropriate pricing adjustment.
What about other platforms?
There are many fair and thoughtful discussions on the merits of other platforms. Here are a few of the best comparisons, in our opinion.
More Reviews
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.
