Squarespace Web Designer Pricing: How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Designer (in 2023)

Squarespace markets itself as an all-in-one solution for creating websites. And while it allows someone with no prior experience to make and publish a rather attractive website, there are still times when a professional touch is necessary. In this piece, I'll try to show you the pros and cons of making your website on your own. Do you need to contact a pro, and what does the Squarespace web designer cost if you hire one.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out.

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Average Cost of Website Design for a Small Business

An average small business will spend between $2,000 and $7,000 on a website. The hourly rate to hire a professional web designer will fall somewhere between $75 and $200 depending o their knowledge and experience. Ones that are just starting will charge less, but the price may go up depending on the skills a designer needs to meet your demands. The final price tag is influenced by the overall functionality you need to implement for your business website.

How Much Does DIY Web Design vs. Professional Web Design Cost?

Both DIYing and hiring a professional web designer have their advantages. Whether one works for you will depend on the type, and the size of your business. Are you just starting out, or are you already well-established? While it makes sense to save money and go the DIY route in the early days, you may need to rethink your decision somewhere down the line. I'll show you the pros and cons of both options, so you can see which one works better for you right now.

Hiring A Professional Web Designer.

PROS:

• A Squarespace Web Designer already knows how to use all tech and programs to create a website. There is no need for you to spend any of your time to gain that knowledge (unless you want to). They are also far more likely to access resources that are out of reach to their clients.

• 2. You're guaranteed to get a polished, user-optimized, and professional-looking website that you can be proud of. First impressions are essential, and a well-made website will give your company and your brand a lot of credibility from the start.

• Visitors will enjoy your website equally across all platforms - desktop, tablet, and mobile. And not only visitors, how about a few extra credits from Google, yeah, its algorithms also track usability, and penalize websites that do not follow their metrics.

• Every website design starts with setting up goals and looking for ways how a design can achieve them. So its always starts with a website strategy that sets your business for success.

• Pros have been around the block a few times and can recommend ideas and options that you didn't think of or didn't even know existed. They can also recognize possible pitfalls and help you avoid them.

CONS:

• It's an investment. You are looking at spending anything between $2,000 to $10,000 to either redesign or build a new website from scratch.

Doing It Yourself

PROS:

• It's budget-friendly. It takes more time than money since you'll have to both learn how to do it and make a website yourself. Even if you have to spend on programs and licenses, it's a lot less expensive than hiring a professional web designer and developer.

• No lag time. A change or an update needs to happen? You can do it instantly yourself, not work around someone else's schedule.

CONS:

• The site may end up looking "home-made". If you don't understand current trends well, the website will look dated and amateurish. Plus, without at least a basic understanding of the foundations of graphic design, it may end up very unappealing. All of these may harm your brand and how your company is perceived.

• It's easy to procrastinate and put it off. If this task feels too foreign and monumental, likely, you will not get to it for weeks or even months. Maybe you never get to it at all.

• As mentioned, it takes more time than money. A lot of time. Not only will it take a lot to learn the basics, but you can also end up spending hours researching how to fix something or get something to work. In comparison, a pro could finish that type of task in 5-10 minutes.

• You may not know how to create a website that speaks to your client. You are far more likely to build a site that appeals to you and fits your preferences. This is okay for a private page, but a business website needs to attract your ideal customers and engage them with your company.

What Determines the Cost of a Custom Made Squarespace Website?

1.The Project Size.

Of course, there will be a huge difference between a simple 1-3 page website and a huge 40+ page e-commerce site that also comes with a blog. The charge may be higher if you are trying to redesign an outdated website but keep all of the old blog posts, galleries, and news archives or looking for WordPress migration. But then again, there are differences based on what's on those pages as well. For example, you can have a simple About Us section, gallery, and contact page, or you can have an interactive home page and embedded videos on top of that. Those extras are more work. Therefore they will add to the final bill.

2. SEO and Image Optimization.

You'll find some tools for Search Engine (SEO) and Image Optimization on Squarespace. The good news is that SEO is usually a part of most website development packages. However, that's mostly the product of AI and may not always work in your favor. Human touch is needed to ensure a good balance in what works for the algorithms and website visitors. Good SEO is crucial to the success of a website, therefore making a skill worth the extra charge.

3. Custom Features & Functionality.

Squarespace offers many features, but what happens if they don't have the ones you need? Well, then your developer needs to purchase a plugin, implement a 3rd party service, or create a custom code from scratch. Both the cost of additional work hours and plugins will transfer to you. Any personalization and custom work will cost extra. Speaking of...

4. Level of Personalization.

Squarespace already offers several templates that will allow you to publish a website on your own. However, if you don't want it to look like something everyone else on the platform has and you want your website to stand out, that's where a professional Squarespace web designer comes in. Anything beyond text and image input will require coding knowledge. A pro will have to use custom CSS and JavaScript to create that unique look. Designers who code charge more. Coding is a very sought-after skill, as well as one of the better-paid ones. To put it into a bit more relatable terms - imagine the difference between buying a frozen meal and cooking from scratch. That's the difference between using a template and coding.

4. Website Launch Deadline

How firm is your website launch deadline? How far away is D-day? Just like with any service or product, expect a rush charge if you are in a rush yourself. Tight timelines will cost you a lot more than giving the designer ample time to get to your task. To avoid paying through the roof, it's always a good idea to secure your spot beforehand. Most designers are booked few months in advance, and if you need things done quickly, it will come at an extra cost.

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How Long Does It Take to Build a Squarespace Website?

Depends on the size of the site and its complexity. Expect something between 2 weeks and two months on average.

Why Cheap Design May Hurt Your Business

• As they say, you get what you pay for. A cheap website is very much like a cheap winter coat - it's not made well, it's made from poor materials, it will not keep you warm, and it will probably not last you through the winter.

• Always be skeptical of budget pricing. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Often it will translate to shoddy workmanship, an unpleasant experience, or additional charges and nickel and diming you for tiniest things.

• A new designer may keep their prices low to attract some business, so it's up to you to take that risk. But low prices can also mean that the designer lacks experience and possibly doesn't have the necessary qualifications and education.

• Some designers can afford to keep their prices low because of a very high turnover. That means that they will probably try and finish your website as quickly as possible. They could be cutting costs in the other areas as well. Also, likely, such a designer doesn't care about how the site will perform in the long run. It's all about the payday and moving on to the next assignment.

• You're doing a great disservice to your business by investing in low-quality designs. Not only are you very likely to spend more money to get things fixed or even redesign the site altogether, but your customers will likely make assumptions about your business based on a cheap-looking website. If the site looks like you tried to spend as little money possible on it, they will wonder where else are you trying to cut costs.

How Much Does a Website Cost per Month

At our agency, we use Squarespace to build a custom website for our clients.

Therefore we rely on Squarespace's prices, and they are as follows:

Personal:$16 per month - 2 contributors, very limited tools, no eCommerce and customization options.

Business: $26 per month - unlimited contributors eCommerce and some customization tools and analytics available, 3% transaction fee.

Basic eCommerce: $35 per month - unlimited contributors, multiple eCommerce and customization tools available, all analytics available, no transaction fees.

Advanced eCommerce: $54 per month - all features of the basic account plus more advanced shopping features like the Abandoned Cart Recovery and Advanced Shipping.

Keep in mind that these prices are for monthly subscriptions. An annual subscription will save you 30% for business and 25% for all other plans. Annual purchases also give you a free custom domain.

Squarespace Web Design Packages

Most designers offer different packages. However, if you're not too familiar with the terminology, it can be a bit difficult to figure out what you're getting. Here are a few examples of Squarespace web design packages and what they include.

Custom Squarespace Website

A website designer pretty much takes your idea and business goals, and translates them into a website that will attract your target audience and customers. This package is usually good for businesses that already have branding in place and only need a website. Take a deeper look at what is included here

Branding & Squarespace Website

Branding can do so much for your business' growth and development. It makes you memorable, and it's one of the essential marketing tools you can employ. When building a website, you can define your brand using font, background colors, button designs, etc. It's vital to have a clear image of your brand and have branding before starting web design. To illustrate this point, think of any business and then visit their website. Does it look like what you would expect it to look like? Of course. Good branding is all about enforcing the company's image in the consumer's mind through the combination of color, logos, images, etc. If you were to visit a business website, but it doesn't look anything like its packaging or the brick and mortar store design, you would either think that you're in the wrong place or that they didn't put any effort into their online presence. Both are bad for the brand and for the business itself.

Branding & Squarespace Website & SEO Package

This is pretty much the same as above, with the Search Engine Optimization thrown in. As mentioned previously, Squarespace has some AI tools that can help with SEO, but that may impact the overall visitor's experience (i.e., weird and challenging to read text). The designer will use the combination of tools, skills, and good, old-fashioned common sense to create a good SEO strategy. People who already know of your business will find the website easily by searching for its name. However, those who don't know about your business will search for the service or product you provide. Most will not dive deeper than the first and second page of search results. Good SEO strategy will help your website land on those pages and drive traffic to your website.

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A Website Designer That Understands Your Needs

Hopefully, I've managed to demystify the whole business of website development and web design pricing. Since you now have a better insight into this matter, it's time to hire a website designer that can meet your needs.

I build Squarespace websites to help you stand out amongst the crowd and win your customer. Feel free to ask me a question or check out my custom Squarespace Website Package if you want to learn more about us and what we can do for your business.