Ready to Hire a Squarespace Designer?

You’re at a place in your business where you’re asking yourself, “Am I ready to work with a designer?” Squarespace is plenty simple for the DIY-er but there comes a time in your business where you might be ready to uplevel.

Before we dive into whether you’re ready to hire a Squarespace designer, let’s take a look at reasons why you might NOT be prepared to hire.

You might not be ready for a designer if…

You have a tendency to change visions for your business.

Starting your own business is EXCITING. But in the age of information, you can draw inspiration from anywhere, which affects the vision of your business.

You might have started wanting to be a life coach.

Then you realized that you hated coaching and took on the role of a virtual assistant instead.

Three months into virtual assistance, you niched down into social media marketing.

Though you kinda hate running Facebook ads and you want to solely devote yourself to Pinterest.

This is entirely normal and an organic way most business owners find what makes them happy.

If you’re still on your journey and see yourself changing visions every few months, hold off on working with a designer.

Your logo, branding, and design reflect what your business is about and the audience it appeals to. If you are continually switching those elements around, your design won’t be as effective.

You don’t know what you want for your business.

Before approaching a designer, you should have an idea of what you want your business to look like, aesthetically.

Do you want something more playful?

Elegant?

Mature?

Don’t hire a designer with the mindset that you’ll take anything the designer creates. Working with a designer is a collaboration, not a one-way relationship.

Head to Pinterest and save images and colors that you love. Bookmark links to websites that you like the feel of. This gives you an idea of where to start.

You also want to find a designer whose portfolio is similar to the links you’ve saved. You’ll know the designer is the right one for you because they have experience in creating exactly what you’re looking for.

Not all designers are equal. Just as you have a niche, so do designers.

You don’t have a budget.

Your budget determines the level of service that you get from the designer.

For example, do you only need a logo and a brand board? The total price for branding is different than getting a full website redo with Squarespace training included.

Get an idea of what you want. It’s okay to take it slow and start with branding and get your pages redone in the future.

Set your budget, first.

And it’s okay if you don’t have the money to hire a designer. There are plenty of resources, including this blog, to teach you how to DIY your website to start. In fact, I RECOMMEND that you DIY on a smaller budget and then upgrade to a designer when you have a higher budget.

Most Importantly: You are ready and comfortable

As a designer, I never want you to feel pressured to go out of your comfort zone and hire someone to redo your branding or website if you don’t feel emotionally ready.

If you’re not set on your vision and you are unsure what you want your website to convey, a designer can’t solve those issues for you.

When you’re ready for a designer, you’ll get that confident feeling in your chest to move forward.

(Psst… are you feeling that right now? Click here to check out my design packages)

When you feel ready to hire a Squarespace designer…

Create a “mood board.”

I’ll definitely help you with this process, but it works to get started on your own mood board first. Head to Pinterest and start pinning images, colors, and designs that you like. You can even pin websites that inspire you.

This gives you a starting point to talk to your designer about what you want, and it provides the designer with a visual of what you’re looking for.

Don’t worry. The mood board is not the end-all-be-all of your design process. It only sparks the initial conversation.

Your designer will ask questions, talk to you about your vision, and repurpose your mood board to give you a fuller view of the end result.

Not sure where to begin? Feel free to grab anything from my mood boards and tell me which ones caught your attention.

Have your budget and needs set aside.

Shopping within your budget is okay. If one designer is too expensive, it’s alright to go cheaper. Or, if you have more money to splurge, you can seek out higher-end designers.

Use this:

I am willing to spend $______ for __________________.

For example:

I am willing to spend $1,200 for a logo, social media designs, and my home page to be designed.

Or

I am willing to spend $800 for a logo and brand board.

Look for designers and then go through their portfolios.

You can find designers everywhere, from Facebook to Twitter to Pinterest. Their portfolios should be easily accessible so don’t be afraid to save their portfolios and look through them.

Check out their prices, capabilities, and past projects.

Narrow down which designers you want to work with (within your budget) and set up a consultation with them.

It’s alright to shop around and look for someone who makes you feel comfortable and confident. Design is a high priced service. No one will look down on you for being thorough.

After reading this post, how are you feeling? Are you a small business owner who needs a professional yet feminine design? Let’s talk (it’s free!)