How long does it take to build a stonking Squarespace website?
To build a unique, beautiful custom-coded Squarespace website can take as little as two weeks.
As Squarespace has developed its platform, we have transition to designing and building website on Squarespace 7.1 - the most current iteration of the platform. It’s been a game-changer for us to be able to build beautiful, stylish websites in quick time frames. You’re probably thinking, ‘what website was built out with the times you’re indicating?’. Well, the very website you are looking at was built out in 5 days with the snagging taking a day to resolve. We wanted to see if we could achieve our goal to build a website in a week. We have three children and we only work 9-5, we had to pause all client work to work on the site, so we had a deadline that we had to meet.
Here are the stats:
40 hours
15 pages
1200 lines of CSS
Java Script elements (pop-out menu, video play selector to share a couple)
How can you build a Squarespace website so quickly?
In order to build out a site quickly, we need three things to be in place:
Branding
Images
Text
Projects completely stall when these things are not resolved.
Branding: the minimum in order to build a new website
The minimum we need to build a website is a logo, which has an icon or a horizontal version. Portrait aspect logos will not work on a website. We also need a colour palette with a dark colour for the text, light tones and a few accents. We need a good font hierarchy which will help readers see quickly the headings and text. If your branding suite has illustrations, graphics and patterns these can also be added into the website carefully to add personality and inject a bit of fun.
Images: vital for a website design that gets impact
Websites need to have images to help share your story. These images can be graphics or photos. If you sell products then you will need images of your stock. Small businesses can often fall into the trap of saying they have images, but they don’t have high enough quality images. Photos from your phone are going to look like photos off your phone. Imagery is really key and if you are a service-based business you’ll need images of work you’ve completed or of you at work. Photographers often offer 1/2 day packages which should get you up and running with a handful of images to get you going.
Text: good copy translates into a good website design
“I’ll write my website text” is a phrase we often hear, but in a busy business, this is an area where you need to make time to carefully craft your text to engage with your audience. Text is so key, but often the last thing people think they need. It’s actually incredibly hard to sit down and think about what you actually want to say, and if you’re not saying the right things you’ll lose potential customers. Working with a copywriter is a really valuable area to maximise your investment in this crucial area of your marketing. Copywriters can be booked on a project basis and can help with you on a page by page basis if your budget is tight. Maybe get their input on your about or services pages if you can’t stretch to a full project.
What are the phases of building a website?
If yo’ve got these three things in place, excellent - with branding, image and text we can take these and create designs around your story. Our process is fairly simple. Ahead of the project starting we go through a basic website strategy with you to identify the main website users, work with you to clarify the objectives of the site and what you need the site to do for you. Once this is clear the project can begin.
1) Create wireframe for the website user journey
We can work with you to create wireframes where we look at the user journey through the site and begin to think about the best ways to communicate who you are. We can start to flesh out the core sections as well as areas that we want to enhance to really tell your story or process in a memorable way. Once we are clear on the journey through the site, as well as the sitemap and navigation we can move on to adding the content.
Min time to create wireframes - 2 days
2) Add content to the website design
With the wireframes designed we can move on to adding the content, the images and the text. If there are things that are missing, we can talk with you to work out how we can fill those gaps. We can then save all the images to be optimised for your website with a clear knowledge of where they will be on the site.
Min time to place content - 2 days
3) Build out the website
With the mockup of your site signed off, we start to build out the site to be a replica of your mockup. We know how we are going to code any stylish sections into the site and how we will be able to achieve the look of various elements. We upload the optimised images with alt tags and ensure the images will load quickly. We add your text with the correct font hierarchy so google can read the website efficiently. We add pages to ensure you are GDPR compliant and suggest policies for you to adapt for cookie, privacy and disclaimer notices.
Min time to build out site - 5 days
4) Final snagging after the website build-out
We double-check all the links work, that the buttons and forms go where they need to and set up any redirects. We double-check everything looks good on different screen sizes and mobile view. Whilst we design with mobile in mind, occasionally there are things that need to be redesigned to work better.
Snagging - 1 day
NB: Setting the site live can take up to 72 hours to propagate with the domain registrar if you have an existing website and the DNS settings have been updated.
Common questions relating to website design timescales
“Will a quick website build mean it’s not as good as one that takes longer?”
We work efficiently, identifying each component ahead of the build. We repeat particular elements which are easy to apply once the section has been coded. With all the imagery saved correctly with small file sizes, good searchable names and good alt tag descriptors, we can literally upload and go. With the text crafted, we can take this and work it into the site.
We show you ahead of the build out what the site will look and feel like so there are no nasty surprises.
There is no tweaking of colours or fonts because we can literally copy the web colours and upload the fonts.
“Can I get a website built this month?”
While it’s possible to create a beautiful website in two weeks, we are a small studio and we have a waiting list and lead time. We tend to have a lead time of 2-3 months as we are working on other branding and websites.
“Can you design my branding alongside the website design?”
Absolutely, we craft brand identities for brands and businesses and our most successful projects start with an in-depth brand strategy and brand identity project where we can delve into your target customer profiles, research the market and work out your unique place in the market.
“How can you design & build websites so quickly?”
Last year we made the decision to invest in a course run by Rache from Squarestylist called Standout Squarespace. It’s a course that helps creatives learn CSS specifically for Squarespace. There are a lot of web developers out there, but not that many who can code for Squarespace which is a specific language different to other platforms like Wordpress or drupal. We’re now part of a coding community that share insights, questions and we help each other with complex coding questions. This helps us to find solutions to client needs.
“How realistic is it to build a website in 2 weeks?”
We would say with your branding in place, images and text as well as a clear understanding of your website goals and the main things you need your website to do it is achievable to build a gorgeous website in two weeks.
“How can I commission a website design project?”
Send us an initial enquiry and we will arrange a discovery call to go through your needs and budget and let you know if we feel we can help you with your website project.
