FAQ

What is Squarespace?

Squarespace is a website-building platform known for its well-designed, beautiful templates and easy-to-use content management system. Squarespace excels in usability, making it ideal for the small business owner regardless of your current digital skills. Your annual fee includes your template, hosting, e-commerce, a content management system, and your domain. 

What is the best Squarespace Plan?

Currently there are three plans offered on Squarespace that are best for businesses, with fees (when paid annually) of $216, $312, or $480 (a month-to-month billing option is also available). The annual fee includes any template you choose. The best plans to choose from are Business, Commerce, or Advanced Commerce plans. Visit the Squarespace Pricing page for complete details. 

What is the difference between Squarespace and WordPress?

Squarespace offers dozens of templates to choose from and pricing is all-inclusive for your domain and hosting. WordPress offers both hosted (paid) and self-hosted (free) options. WordPress offers thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of options. Your choices are virtually unlimited. 

Why Squarespace?

Squarespace offers everything a small business owner needs to have a web presence with modern, affordable templates that you can manage yourself. There is no monthly updating on the back-end. Small business owners are empowered to manage their online presence without paying additional fees to update content. 

How do I know which template is best for my business?

There are 10 template families in Squarespace, and each family includes variations on the basic theme. You can scroll the templates to find something you like. I can work with you to find the right template. My most recent sites are built in Bedford and Brine. 

Are there additional costs?

Yes. These include the domain host fee for your current website (the annual domain host fee at Squarespace is $20) and legal notices such as a Privacy Notice and Terms of Service. These are legal protections for your business. 

Is a business email address included?

Squarespace does not offer email with your domain. Your options are to sign up for G Suite, which is currently $6/month. If you currently have a domain host that offers email hosting, you can continue to use your current provider. Of course, it is a best practice for branding to have a seamless experience for your customers, so that your email domain name matches that of your website. This is possible with the G Suite integration. 

Can I buy my website domain on Squarespace?

Yes, you can. If you sign up for an annual plan, you get the first year of your domain name free. Otherwise a ‘.com’ domain costs $20/year with Squarespace. Squarespace Domains FAQ answers many common questions about registering domains through Squarespace.

Do I need a Privacy Notice?

Squarespace websites collect visitor data for site analytics, including information about browsers, device used, and IP addresses. A privacy policy is a legal notice telling your site visitors what information is collected and who you do with that information. Having a privacy notice on your site is highly recommended. There are both free and paid versions available and I can provide resources to you to find the right solution. 

Why do I need a Terms of Services page?

A terms of service agreement outlines the rules visitors to your website agree to when they use your website. This legal notice is highly recommended for e-commerce sites. 

How long will building my site take? 

Your site build will take two weeks, four weeks, or six weeks, depending on the option you choose. One additional week is needed if you are adding an online store. Delays are possible if I do not have all assets (text and images for your pages) from you to complete your site. If this happens, your project may encounter further delays as I schedule clients in specific intervals; the next scheduled project may affect your completion and launch. Of course, delays are never ideal; that’s why we work together using project management software and discuss all expectations and timing on both sides at the start of your project.  

What kind of training do you offer? 

On the day your site launches, we will schedule a Zoom video call to go over the basic structure of your Squarespace site. Within the following three weeks, you will receive online training of one to three hours in duration. Additionally, short training videos (usually several minutes long) specific to your site will be created to help you manage content and to provide easy reference to guide you. 

What is your availability? 

I update my availability on my services page as projects are booked. I’m currently open throughout 2020. 

I’d like to get started. What is the next step? 

The next step is to schedule a phone call with me. You can access my calendar on the Contact page. This initial phone call gives us a chance to talk about what you need in a website, how it fits into marketing your business, and whether I can offer what you need to take this important step to either have a digital presence or to improve what you already have. If we agree to move forward, you will receive a quote and invoice for my services. 

How are your fees billed? 

I require a 50 percent deposit to book your project on my calendar. The remaining 50 percent will be invoiced one week before the site is launched and is due upon receipt. I use a cloud-based service to manage quotes and invoices. Here’s how it works. You will receive an email with a link to your quote and invoice. When you accept the quote the invoice opens, prompting you to make a 50 percent deposit. You will be directed to PayPal where you can make your payment. 

What forms of payment do you accept? 

I use PayPal to receive online payments. You do not need a PayPal account in order to pay my invoice.