You’ve heard of Squarespace. They’ve got so many ads running all over YouTube and your favourite podcasts that it’s impossible to not have heard the name. But have you ever considered that you can actually turn Squarespace into a living?
- What is it and who uses Squarespace?
- Squarespace: How to use it as a Freelancer Designer
- What does a freelance Squarespace designer do?
- How to become a Squarespace specialist (skills, courses, etc.)
- How much does a Squarespace designer charge?
What is it and who uses Squarespace?
Squarespace is a website builder tool that makes building a website and designing it super easy. It is primarily aimed at small businesses and provides users with templates that they can use and edit as they like.
Squarespace works hard to offer very well-designed templates, and although they don’t offer a lot of them, these templates perform well with low page loading time. This is extremely important nowadays.
With the help of their user-friendly Content Management System (CMS), users are given a chance to build their professional website, portfolio or even an online store without having to code.
Site builders have gained popularity in the last years due to their simplicity and relatively low cost to create a website. Although these website builders often fall short when you need more functionality for your website, they can be a good option for someone just looking to show themselves online.
Squarespace is a widely-used option for people in the creative industry such as photographers, art designers, etc. but there are other competitors offering great alternatives too.
Squarespace alternatives:
- WordPress
- Jimdo
- Wix
- Webflow
- Weebly
- Duda
- Shopify
Squarespace Designer: How to make it work as a Freelancer
This simple and widely popular site builder often gets misinterpreted as something that is purely for the end-user. But, guess what, you can design websites for others using the platform!
Why hire a Squarespace Designer if the platform claims that you can do that all on your own?
Well, working with an experienced Squarespace freelancer who has already built several websites for other clients will speed up the process and with their experience, they really know what works and what doesn’t.
Squarespace developers can also get you some custom work with a bit of coding.
But being a freelance web designer who uses Squarespace is not only possible, it’s also quite compelling.
Here’s why that is and how to take advantage of it:
1. It doesn’t require coding knowledge
Squarespace really is one of the easiest ways to build sites online. Compared to WordPress, it isn’t quite as flexible but is the best place for beginners.
How is that good for freelancers?
Firstly, you might be a freelancer who really wants to design websites but still has a long way to go, learning-wise.
Well, while you’re busy learning all the fancy stuff, why not start building websites with a simple tool? This will kickstart your business and give you priceless real-life experience.
Secondly, Squarespace can be great even if you do know how to build a website from scratch already. Not everyone is going to want the full service – especially not the budget-minded client.
Note that while coding skills are not mandatory to build a Squarespace website, they can be beneficial. Most users are fine with the built-in options that Squarespace provides (HTML/CSS/JavaScript), but there are clients that require more customization and extra features that can only be created by writing custom code.
Squarespace developers have experience in building custom websites and have hands-on experience with HTML, LESS CSS, JSON-T and Git. These past experiences will allow them to work on the Squarespace Developer Platform.
2. Great for the budget-minded client
We’ve all worked with this kind of client. They want a great and quick service that looks beautiful, but doesn’t cost that much. Guess what? Squarespace is the perfect tool for site-building in such situations.
Yes, with a bit of time, this kind of client could probably build their own site by using Squarespace themselves. But many people just don’t want to bother with this stuff.
That’s a real niche. Everybody needs a website but a lot of people don’t want to spend time building it. If you can offer it for cheap and it, in turn, helps you business-wise, that is an excellent opportunity.
So that you get an idea, Squarespace plans start at €11/month for personal sites. You can explore the different pricing plans they offer here.
3. Trial sites
One of the great things about Squarespace from a web designer perspective is the ability to create trial sites.
These are free for 14 days and will allow you to create a draft that you can show your client without having to actually pay the platform in case the site doesn’t get used.
Also, many clients will want you to rebuild a website they have. With a trial site, you can experiment with the layout without taking down the current website in the meantime.
Know those annoying “we’re under construction” messages? Now you can avoid those.
4. Offering client tutorials
The fact that Squarespace is so easy to use also means that you won’t have to do maintenance a lot of the time. But there is another service you can offer; a tutorial or consulting session.
After you’ve built a site, set up a meeting with your client and show them how to do things on Squarespace themselves. Having such intuitive software will make sure you won’t have to explain it to them a lot.
Show them how to update images, add and edit posts and view the most important metrics of their website. That should be more than enough and probably won’t even take you an hour and at the end, you’ll have a satisfied client.
💡 Don’t forget to ask happy clients for a recommendation to bring in more clients!
5. Building sites around goals has never been easier
You know how important calls to action and buy buttons are. After all, each website has a goal – sell stuff, get people to read texts, engage users and drive them to social media channels and so on.
Fortunately, Squarespace also realizes the importance of those things. Announcement bars, call to action buttons in different shapes, forms and sizes are available with just a few clicks of the mouse.
This is where Squarespace really shines. It helps you realize what some of the website design fundamentals are and gives you a variety of options to implement.
So, sit back, have fun and play around with the easy-to-use design tool that this service is.
Are you looking for a Squarespace specialist?
What does a freelance Squarespace designer do?
A Squarespace designer is generally tasked with creating a website that functions well, is designed to the client liking and it gets users to interact with it. They are in charge of maintaining the client’s brand and making sure their website is responsive, performs well and is as professional as it can possibly be.
A Squarespace designer is also responsible for laying out a website whilst keeping your goals in mind as well as optimizing your website using SEO techniques and setting it up for conversion.
Sometimes the freelance Squarespace designer will jump in and finish a project that a client had in mind and started but couldn’t complete. Asking for help from an experienced web designer will help in getting the results you want.
Oftentimes, clients ask for a website migration from or to Squarespace and in those cases, experience with transferring domains would be needed.
Typical requirements working as a Squarespace designer:
- Improve existing website design
- Create elegant solutions with a refreshing look
- Design concepts for the website that are usable and beautiful
- Design page layouts and interaction methodology
- Improve technical performance – better indexing and speed
- Improve SEO with in-built Squarespace tools
- Add new design elements like animations or motion graphics
- Work on the overall brand design and strategy
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How to become a Squarespace Designer: Skills courses, etc.
Understanding the basic principles of design is the first crucial skill needed for becoming a Squarespace specialist. Knowledge of web design, graphics and typography is also an important skill for a Squarespace specialist to have.
While knowledge of coding is not a necessity for Squarespace, it does help if you want to customize a website a bit more to your liking. The option to code is available on Squarespace if you need it.
Knowing the basics of visual design and graphic design also goes a long way for a Squarespace specialist. Elements from both do come in play quite a lot with web design and so a solid foundation of the basics is important, especially if you are to specialize in branding.
Another important skill for a Squarespace specialist to have is SEO optimization. Getting your client’s website to show up well on Google is an important part of the job and so is the ability to set up a website for conversion.
There are also loads of resources and courses online that can help you become a Squarespace specialist:
What skills does a Squarespace Designer need?
- Knowledge of current trends in design and technology
- Graphic design skills and experience in web design
- Affinity for consistency, colour, typography, animation and composition
- Experience in research, visual design and prototyping (UX design)
- A keen eye for subtle details
- Ability putting yourself in the customer’s shoes to understand what’s needed
- Creativity for coming up with ideas that are relevant and enticing for a brand
- Understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, browsers, and devices is a plus
How much do Squarespace designers charge?
The earnings of each Squarespace designer depends on a number of factors such as the client they’re working for, how long it takes to complete the project, the complexity of the website in question, the level of personalization, if the features requested need development skills, etc.
It also really depends on the number of pages needed. On average, you can expect to become a simple (5 pages) custom made site for $1000 – $2000.
| Average rate Squarespace Designers (2022) | $31/hr |
On average, freelance Squarespace Designers charge $31/hour (freelancermap’s price and rate index in September 2022).
Most freelancers in Squarespace Design have an hourly freelance rate between $15 and $71.
Considering a freelance rate of $31/hour, a freelancer would charge $248/day for an 8-hour working day.
Have you designed sites with Squarespace or do you prefer other tools such as WordPress? Tell us in the comments!
You might also like:
- How to package your freelance services
- How to turn down freelance work
- How to deal with late payments as a freelancer
It is one of the most helpful articles about squarespace designers. A lot of thanks to you.
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