How to Become a Squarespace Freelancer
Becoming a Squarespace freelancer is a flexible way to grow your career as a web designer. Setting your own hours and managing your own projects gives you the freedom to take on the clients and projects you want.
It can feel overwhelming to start your own freelance business. Whether you’re just starting out or already have a few clients under your belt, Squarespace gives you the specific tools to run a web design agency. This five-step guide breaks down the essentials.
1. Define your brand and website
To get started as a Squarespace freelancer, establish your brand identity and use it to build a website that reflects your personality, work ethic, experience, and niche. Your portfolio site should convey your brand values and voice, and give visitors a clear way to learn about your services and get in touch.
Your website should include:
A personal introduction
Your journey to professional web design
Your niche or specialty
Your experience and skills
Case studies of past work or mock client sites
As you build your website, consider the appearance and navigation. You want visitors to come away feeling inspired by your story, experience, and skills, and confident about the prospect of working with you. Ask yourself: How does my website make visitors feel? Is it simple to navigate? Does it clearly communicate my service offering? Does my website’s design speak to my abilities and style as a designer? Does it convey my brand identity and values?
2. Get familiar with Squarespace
Choosing a web design platform is worth thinking through carefully, as the one you pick shapes how you build and price your work. Once you’ve chosen Squarespace, it’s time to get familiar with the platform itself.
Squarespace keeps an updated feature list with every release, so you know what’s available for you and your clients. As a Circle partner, you also get more ways to stay current: weekly release notes, a feature release tracker where you can submit requests and follow the progress of new tools and updates, early updates in the Circle Forum, and access to product betas before they roll out to everyone else.
When it comes to specific products and tools, here’s what matters most to Squarespace freelancers day to day:
Websites: Use Squarespace Fluid Engine and Finish Layer, a code-free toolkit for block animations, transforms, custom fonts, and mobile-specific design, to build your portfolio and take on more advanced client projects with confidence. Commerce functionality empowers you, or your clients, to sell products and services directly from the site.
Acuity Scheduling: Use Acuity Scheduling to book consultations and calls with your own leads, and recommend it to clients who need to manage their own appointments or classes.
Member Sites: Package Member Sites as an add-on service for clients who want to monetize content, classes, or community access.
Email Campaigns: Use Email Campaigns to market your own freelance business, nurture leads, announce availability, and share portfolio updates or case studies. You can also offer email marketing setup as a service for clients who want to grow their audience.
3. Price your services
Pricing your services takes ample thought and consideration. Start with a holistic assessment of what your time, energy, and skills are worth.
Don’t be discouraged by the years of design experience you may or may not have under your belt. Look at your other professional experiences and transferable skills like copywriting, visual design, time management, communication, and problem-solving.
Consider your expenses before determining what you need to charge clients to be profitable. These expenses include your workspace, equipment, software, business taxes, marketing, and skill-building investments.
Check out what your competitors charge, as well as the demand for web design services in your industry or niche. This gives you a realistic range to work within rather than guessing at what clients expect to pay. Once you determine your rate, decide if you want to charge by the hour or by flat rate.
4. Book your first client
Booking your first client means promoting your services and your newly built website, through the right marketing tactics. Here are some avenues you can take to attract potential clients:
Paid advertising includes everything from search engine marketing and email marketing to display ads and native ads. You should include a budget for paid advertising in your annual expenses.
Earned media comes in the form of publicity and customer referrals. It’s usually the result of paid advertising and owned content, and it has the potential to strengthen customer interest and trust in your brand.
Owned content is all of the content you create and control, such as your website, email list, blog, newsletter, and social media accounts. Leverage your curated content as a means of improving SEO and AEO and attracting earned media responses.
Once leads start coming in, your job shifts from getting noticed to making your case. Start by qualifying potential clients and determining if the project fits your skills, timeline, and rates. For leads that are a good fit but aren’t ready to commit to a custom site build, treat them as warm leads worth following up with. When pitching your services, focus on the specific problem the client needs solved and how you solve it.
5. Get paid
Unlike traditional employment, getting paid is your responsibility as a freelancer. Many freelancers collect half their rate at the start of a project and the rest at handoff, though your payment terms should reflect what works best for your business.
When it’s time to collect payment, use Client Invoicing to send professional, on-brand invoices and set up recurring billing for retainer clients. You can also share a secure Pay Link by email, text, or QR code so clients can pay instantly through a dedicated checkout page.
Growing your business as a Squarespace freelancer
These five steps cover the basics of becoming a Squarespace freelancer. For more in-depth advice from Circle partners and working web designers, take our How to Become a Web Designer course or explore these related resources:
This article was originally published on September 6, 2022. It has since been updated.
Want more?
Join Squarespace Circle, Squarespace’s program for professional designers and web design agencies. 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.
