Could I build my own website, or should I hire a designer?

As an experienced web designer with over a decade under my belt, it may come as a surprise to you that my answer is: yes, you can totally build your own website! And even better than that - you could do so in just one day, if you really wanted to.

Let me explain.

When working with small-to-medium sized businesses, I always recommend using Squarespace if possible. The main reason being that the business owners are then empowered to make any updates and changes themselves - the platform is so flippin easy to use, it seems daft sending people anywhere else.

And trust me, I tried WordPress, and no, it just wasn’t that straightforward! Especially when trying to add new pages or sections.

But if you use Squarespace, and if you do just a little bit of homework, I promise you that you can not only learn how to build your own website, but you can do it in just a few hours.

Create your brand language

Make sure you’ve got a good understanding of your brand and your customers, and then start to work through this little list:

• Understand your brand archetype

• Select your colour palette

• Choose which fonts will resonate with your audience

• Source imagery that suits your brand’s tone of voice

Decide which pages your user needs

Write a list of all the things your user needs to know in order to buy from you, and then think about how you’re going to help them to find the answers they need. This will help to inform the pages that you’ll have on your website. A good start is usually:

• Homepage (showcasing Services or Products)

• About

• Blog (or Projects) and

• Contact.

Create your Squarespace site!

Suuuure, it’s that easy.

No, reallyyy! Remember, you’re not trying to become a Squarespace expert; you don’t need to know all the things. You only need to know just enough to make it happen!

Squarespace has lots of great video tutorials coaching you through all the questions you might have, or you can sign up for my Six Hour Squarespace Site workshop. This live coaching will mean you leave with not only a fully built and designed website, but also just the right amount of knowledge you’ll need to maintain it.

However you choose to approach it, Squarespace gives you:

• Beautifully pre-designed blocks, or even full pages, for you to customise

• The option to also design from a blank canvas

• A pre-created mobile site, and either leave it be, tweak, or completely customise

When designing websites for people, it usually takes about a month, and usually costs around £5k / €6k; for transparency, I’m considered to be ‘mid-range’.

Sure, you can find people on Fiverr who will do it for €100 in one day. But let’s be honest, your audience would know it, and we all know that you only get one first impression.

When you design it yourself, yes there is a steep learning curve, and yes you don’t have the experience to reference. But if anyone knows your brand, it’s you. By setting (just a little) time aside to deep-dive into finally getting it done, and choosing a great mentor (ahem, meee!), you really can achieve something magnificent.

Six Hour Squarespace Site is a one day workshop that runs once a month, meaning you’ve got no excuses! If you’re brave enough to take the plunge, I’m here to help you make it happen.