You’ve decided you’re going to build your coaching website in Squarespace. The next thing to do is open Squarespace and start playing around, right? Nope, not quite! If you want your website to be most effective and to get people booking your servic…

So, you’ve decided you’re going to create a new website for your business?

Congrats! It’s a great decision that will help you grow your business.

You may think the next step is to load Squarespace and start playing around, but I want to stop you right there!

There’s a better way to get started… One that will help you attract more dream clients and convert them into subscribers and buyers, so let’s do some prep first!

The best part is, a little big of prep ahead of time goes a long way, and will often save you 20-30 hours of work on designing your website AND makes the process more enjoyable when you do dive in.

With these 7 steps, you’ll be creating a solid foundation for your website which will help you to be found in Google and better still, will help guide your dream client to buy from you when they land on your website!

All before you even load Squarespace!

And I’ll let you in on a little secret… Even if you work with a website designer, you’ll likely go through these steps before your website is created, too. It will mean your website comes together more quickly and seamlessly, you’ll spend less time going back and forth on edits and you’ll get much better results from it in the end!

Let’s get started!

Just getting started with Squarespace? Sign up for a free trial here and use the code PARTNER10 for 10% off your first year (Yep, that's an affiliate link, but rest assured, I only recommend it because I use and love it myself!)

Want to skip to a particular step? These links will help!

Step 1 - Your Dream Client
Step 2 - Your Website Plan
Step 3 - SEO Preparation
Step 4 - Writing your Copy
Step 5 - Gathering Inspiration
Step 6 - Preparing Photos & Videos
Step 7 - Gathering the Last Details

Step 1 – Your Dream Client

To create a website that appeals to your dream clients, you need to know who they are first.

It makes sense, right?

Yet so many people skip this step, and it’s an important part of the process if you want a website that actually books dream clients.

And the best part about knowing your ideal client really well is that it will help you with all of your marketing! You’ll know exactly who you’re trying to help, what they are struggling with and how you can transform their life, so they’ll feel like you’re in their mind whenever they see your content!

So, think about your dream client. Who are they?

A great starting point is looking at their demographics, since it can help you to know how to communicate with them and what you have in common, which is a great way to connect. For example, you wouldn’t be dropping y’alls throughout your copy if your dream client is from the UK where they don’t use those words. Some details to consider:

Age
Gender
Location
Relationship and family status
Occupation and income
Education

Once you have an idea of their demographics, let’s look at some of their favourite things. This can help you get ideas for what they are drawn to visually, the words they actually use and where you can find them online. You could look at their:

Hobbies and interests
Favourite shops
Favourite websites or blogs
Favourite podcasts
Favourite magazines and books
Who they follow online and why
What is their favourite social media platform?

And now I want you to go even deeper! You really want to get to the juicy details that leave your dream clients thinking that you’re in their head. That’s where they’ll know you understand them and that you’re the exact person they need to help them solve their problem! This is where you can dig into:

What challenges they face in relation to what you do?
What is keeping them up at night that you can help them with?
What are their biggest dreams, goals and desires?
What outcome or transformation are they actually after?
What will achieving this outcome mean for them?
What objections do they have to working with someone who does what you do?
What breaking point are they facing when they’re ready to hire someone to help?

If you don’t know the answer to these questions, it’s a good time to ask!

You can start with a general outline of who you want to speak with, then connect with people who fit that profile and ask to jump on a short market research call. You could reach out to dreamy past clients, email your list or ask in some Facebook groups, and then once you line up a few calls, you can dive deep into the nitty-gritty mind reading stuff that your dream clients are thinking!

Here are some ideas for questions you can ask:

What is your biggest struggle around what you offer?
What would you be looking for when you were hiring someone to help them?
What outcome would you want out from the service you provide?
What objections do they have to what you do?
Where do they hang out online?

This doesn’t need to take long, but taking the time to speak to your dream clients will allow you to use their words in your copy and the rest of your marketing, so your marketing will have a much stronger impact!

Step 2 – Your Website Plan

Your website will be a lot more effective if you know what you need it to do and make a plan for how to do it. There are a lot of ways your website can help you save time and streamline your processes, so getting clear on your goals and website purpose will be able to help you map out a killer experience for your visitors.

Website Goals

Setting clear goals for your website will help you structure your website in the best way possible to get results, but it will also allow you to measure how effective your website actually is.

The goals you set for your website should be aligned with the goals you have for your business as well. For example, if your goal is to grow your email list, you would focus on opportunities on your website to promote a lead magnet or webinar.

When you are thinking of your website goals, you want to think of the 1-2 actions you want someone to take when they land on your website. Some examples of website goals could be:

Email list growth
Book more discovery calls
Schedule an appointment
Purchase from your shop

These are all great goals since they are able to be measured by comparing your current results with your performance going forward.

But there are also less tangible goals, such as building trust and increasing brand awareness. These can be good goals to have and should be kept in mind, but there is no specific way to measure if you achieve the goal.

By sticking with 1-2 actions you want someone to take on your website, you’re messaging will be super clear when it comes to telling your ideal clients what to do next, which will prevent confusion for your visitors and make them much more likely to take action. Everything on your website should be done with these main goals in mind!

Once you know what your website goals are, you can then work out what you need to integrate onto your website to make those goals a reality, for example, Google Analytics for tracking, a booking calendar to streamline your discovery call process, an editorial calendar to help you build your SEO or email list sign-ups to help you grow your email list.

Information to Include

Now you know what your website goals are, it’s time to think about the information you need to include on your website. This will vary based on if you have a physical address or just a digital presence, but here are some ideas of what your website may need to include:

Your business address, email address and phone number
Your open hours
Special features of your business
Examples of your past work
Testimonials or case studies
Your prices
An outline of your services
An about page

Think about the questions you get asked all the time. These are the things you should have clearly outlined on your website! Writing them down at the start of the website planning process will ensure they don’t get missed as you continue through the next steps.

Let’s look at an example – A wedding photographer will need to include the details below at a minimum, but they may have other specific details they need to include as well:

A gallery of some of the weddings they have shot so potential clients can make sure the style is a good fit
Details about their packages and prices so brides-to-be can check it fits with their budget
Information about the locations they can shoot at, or whether they can travel if the couple require that
Feedback from past couples to help potential clients build trust
Some info about the photographer, so the bride-to-be can get an idea of whether they’d be a good fit to work together
Contact details for potential clients to make a booking
Availabilities for when they can shoot a wedding, so the couple can make sure their wedding date is available
An FAQ section that answers questions like “how long will it take to see the images?”, “what format will they be sent in?” and “what if I want to get prints as well?”

Now that our wedding photographer knows these details need to be included on the website, they can make a plan to ensure everything is included on their website in an easy to find way.

Arranging your Content

If your website visitors can’t find the information they are after quickly and easily, they’ll leave your website pretty quickly! That makes it even more important to arrange your content in a way that makes is really easy for your visitors to locate the details they need.

Let’s start with your navigation.

This is one of the main ways that your website visitors will find their way around your website, so you want to make sure it’s easy for your visitors to understand.

You can do this by only keeping the most important pages in your navigation so you have a maximum of 5-6 links only. You can remove “Home” from your navigation since clicking your logo will take people to your home page anyway, and you want the titles to be short and direct to prevent confusion.

The links you keep in your top navigation should be guiding your visitors from your home page on a journey through to your money-making pages. The easier you can make this journey, the less likely your visitors will get lost or overwhelmed, and the more likely they will be to purchase from you.

Let’s think of our wedding photographer’s website… If you’re looking for a wedding photographer, you will likely:

Google wedding photographers in the area of your wedding so you can get an idea of what’s out there
Check out each of their portfolios to make sure you like the style of the photos they take
You’ll probably want to know a bit more about your photograph and what they’re like to work with, so you’ll likely head to their about page and look for some reviews
Now you know that you like them and the style of photos they take, you’ll pop on over to their services page to make sure they have a package that meets your needs at prices within your budget
Once you’ve checked that, if they’re a good fit you’ll look for a way to contact them so you can make sure your dream wedding date is available, and happily discover it’s already outlined on their contact page, so you reach out to lock your dates in.

Knowing that this is how your visitors will likely move through your website, you’ll know your gallery, about, services and contact pages need to be front and centre in your navigation, and you’ll be able to decide exactly what to include on each page to make the journey as easy as possible for them.

So, it’s time to grab a pen and some post it notes and list each of the pages you want to include on your website on its own post it note. You can also list any important details you need to include on the page as well, such as contact details or prices.

Once you have all your website pages listed, you can work out the most important pages that need to be in the main navigation and start moving the post its around until the flow makes sense to guide your visitors through your website. Any less important pages can be kept in your website footer or linked from within the pages of your website.

Now, you want to take an extra moment to go through and work out what call to action each page should have, since that will help to guide your visitors through your website. If a page doesn’t have a clear call to action, there’s more chance your visitors will close the tab then trying to figure it out on their own, so you don’t want to skip this!

For example with our wedding photographer, potential clients will likely start with the gallery, then want to know more about the photographer, so it makes sense to for your gallery page to have a button taking your bride-to-be over to your about page, then another call to action button on the about page moving visitors through to the services page.

Once you’ve mapped out your website journey with your post it notes, you’re ready to move on to some SEO preparation which will help you when you’re writing your website copy.

Step 3 – SEO Preparation

When you do a Google search, Google wants to show you the most relevant answer for your search as quickly and easily as possible.

This is where SEO comes in.

You’ll probably have heard the term floating around before, but may not know what it means. It stands for “Search Engine Optimisation” and it’s basically a way of setting your website up so that Google and other search engines can easily see what it’s about, so they know when to show it in search results.

Want to learn more about SEO? Check out these posts:

To help your website show in search results, you want to think about the terms your dream clients are typing into Google to find someone who does what you do. These terms and called Keywords, and they’re the starting point of a good SEO strategy.

It’s a good idea to do some keyword research before you start writing content for your website.

A good starting place it to brainstorm a few terms you think your ideal client will type into Google to find you. Generally this will be a string of 2-4 words, so it’s more specific and likely to bring up the right results.

From there, you can start looking for other ideas. Here are a few options to help you brainstorm some keywords:

Type your initial ideas into Google to see what predicted options come up. This tells you popular keywords people are searching for
Check out the “related searches” section at the bottom of the page of Google search results to see more popular search terms
Ask your audience what they would type into Google if they were looking for someone who does what you do
Head to SpyFu to see what your competitors are ranking for and get ideas for content you can do better so you can outrank them
Search Google Trends for trends in your industry that might give you ideas for keywords you can use since you’ll see terms that are trending up or down
Head to Answer the Public and type in what you do to see a huge list of insights that people are typing into Google
Search what you do on Pinterest. Look at the predictive searches that come up, suggested searches that show underneath it and the top search results
Head to YouTube and do the same. You’ll see predicted search options that come up and can scan the results to see what other new ideas you find

Even if you only search a couple of these ways to find keywords, you should have a pretty good list of ideas to use!

From there, you can narrow your search down to about 10 different keywords that you’ll use throughout your content. I love to use Ubersuggest for this, since there’s an option that allows you to search for free.

If you are just starting out with SEO, you want to look for options that have a good search volume and an easier search difficulty so you have a better chance of showing in Google searches sooner. Over time, as you start to show for these first 10 keywords, you can add more.

When you move onto writing your copy, you want to make sure you have your list of keywords on hand so that you can use the keywords throughout your content and website settings, since this will make it easier for Google to know what your website is about.

Just remember, SEO is an ongoing process. Google is always changing the way it displays search results and your website will change over time as well. Finding keywords and using them in your copy will help you start your website on the right foot, but to continue to set up your website for SEO success, download your free Get Found in Google guide for more details on how to optimise your website.

Step 4 – Write your Website Copy

Now that you know who your website is for, you have a plan for your website and have found keywords that you would like your website to show in search results for, it’s time to start writing the words on your website. This is known as your website copy.

You could design a website with dummy text using a lorem ipsum generator, but when you are fitting your copy into a template, you’ll be cutting out important details or expanding sections unnecessarily to fit the design, and your copy loses its impact. You really want to design your website around the copy, since at the end of the day, it’s the words that sell.

An added benefit of having your copy sorted from the start is that you’ll save a bucketload of time editing your design as you change your copy around, which is time you can use to focus on other things in your business (or have a guilt free afternoon off to relax!)

It can be hard to know what to say on your website. I get it… I had the same struggle! And sometimes it’s not in the budget to hire a copywriter. To top it off, the words on your website are just as important as the design of your website, so it can be a bit intimidating!

Not need to stress though, I have some tips to make the process easier for you, because really, none of us want to spend months agonising over what to write!

First up, let’s cover some general tips to help you get started with your website copy

Prepare your content before you start designing. It will save you time, and ensure everything flows well together
Keep your ideal client in mind when you are writing your content. Use the words they use, talk about their pain points and let them know you can solve their issue. Speak to your ideal client directly in your writing, and if you ever feel like you’ve lost your voice, you can always start a list of phrases and words your ideal client uses so that you can refer back to them
Use simple, clear language so your copy is easy to understand by someone who is not familiar with what you do. Chances are that if they’re looking to hire help, they’re not an expert and won’t understand your industry terminology. If you’re not sure if it’s clear, have someone else outside of your industry read it over. They’ll tell you pretty quickly if it makes sense or if it’s too technical!
Proofread, proofread, proofread! Bad spelling and grammar can kill trust on your website. If you can, have someone else proofread too, since they’ll pick up anything you may have missed
Cut the fluff and keep things to the point. Most of us are rushed and tend to skim websites, so keeping it shorter tends to make it easier for people to get through
Formatting is your friend! Include headings, bullet points or numbered lists and bold or italic text to break things up. Short paragraphs and breaking your text into sections can also help to make things easier to read
You want to sprinkle your SEO keywords throughout your copy. No need to overdo it, just use them where it makes sense in the copy

Writing copy for the main pages of your website:

Home Page: Your home page is basically like an index for your website. It helps you build trust with your visitors, and gets them where they need to go next, so sometimes it can be easiest to write this page when you have already finished the other pages.

You want to start with a killer tagline that makes it super clear what you do, who you help and how you help them. This post will give you tips on how to write a great tagline for your website that will help you catch the attention of your ideal clients.

Your home page should also include a basic outline of your services, some testimonials to build trust with your visitors, a mini-bio of who you are and links to any content you share, such as recent blog posts or videos. You can find more tips to make your website homepage stand out here.

About Page: This is the perfect place to let your personality and passion for what you do shine! This page will help you build a connection with your dream client, just keep in mind that the page isn’t just about you, it’s about how you can help your ideal client to solve their problem.

It is a good idea to start the page stating who you help, what you help them with and how you can relate to their issue, to build trust and reinforce that they are in the right place. From there, you can introduce yourself and how you started your business, plus share a few interesting facts about you, just don’t go overboard!

Services Page: Your service page is there to make your ideal client feel like you are the exact person to help them solve their problems, and give them clear next steps to hiring you. This page can often be the longest page on your website, so don’t forget to focus on the formatting suggestions above so it’s easy to read!

Where most people go wrong with services pages is that they only make it about the deliverables the person will get. This way of approaching things can be pretty boring for your visitors, and won’t help them connect emotionally with what you do, so it could be costing you clients.

Instead, if you connect with the struggle your dream client is experiencing, the transformation they’ll get by working with you and how amazing they’ll feel after you help them solve their issue, your page will connect with your dream clients emotionally. Since we buy based on emotion, this can help you book more clients.

Once you go through the struggles and transformation your dream client is facing, you can then move into the details of your packages. This is where the question often arises: Prices or no prices on your website? This post will help you decide which is the right fit for you.

Some other details you may want to include on your services page include:

Details about the process of working with you
Testimonials
An introduction to who you are to build a connection with your dream clients
An FAQ section to answer the questions you get asked a lot (and even bust some objections!)
The most important part: Calls to action that guide your dream client to take action!

Contact Page: This page gives your visitors a way to connect with you if they have more questions. This is a great place to set some expectations with your visitors around responding to enquiries, such as the types of enquiries you won’t respond to or the timeframe for responding.

You should have a contact form on this page for your visitors to reach out. You generally want to keep it short and to the point, but still make sure it covers the questions you need to respond to enquiries, since it will save you time emailing back and forth to figure out the details you need to respond.

If you notice you get the same questions coming through your contact form a lot, you could even add another FAQ section to address all the other questions that are outside of your packages, such as whether you offer guest blog posts or whether you’ll be on someone’s podcast.

Some other details you may want to include are:

Your business address if you have a physical location (plus a map)
Your email address
Your phone number
Your hours of operation
Links to your social media accounts so people can follow you online

Blog Page: Blogging is a great way to attract new visitors to your website, encourage them to return, showcase your expertise, help you get found in Google, and give you content you can repurpose over and over.

It’s free to do, and Hubspot research shows that businesses that blog regularly are 13x more likely to see a positive return on investment, meaning more leads and more sales! Pretty awesome, right?

Blogging doesn’t necessarily mean writing out posts, either. If you prefer doing video or audio, you could share videos or podcast episodes on your website with a transcription of what was said so that you still get the SEO benefits.

If you plan on starting a blog, it can be a great idea to have a few posts prepared from the start. That way, your visitors can binge read if they like what they see!

Testimonials: We buy from people we know, like and trust, and a great way to build trust on your website is to include testimonials from your past clients. If you’re not sure how to get the good ones, this post will show you how to collect some killer testimonials, and this post will give you some ideas on how you can display your testimonials on Squarespace. Once you have them, you can add them to your home page, services page or anywhere else you want to add them.

Error Page: If your visitors land on a broken link, you don’t want them to jump ship from your website and head elsewhere! Instead, a custom error page can help keep them around longer by helping them find what they are after. This post talks about why you should have a custom error page, some tips for creating one and how to set it up in Squarespace.

Additional Pages: Depending on what you do, there may be other pages you want to include on your website. Some examples could be:

A portfolio or gallery page
A resource page with the tools and products you love
A featured page to highlight where you have been featured
An events calendar if you host events

Step 5 – Gathering Inspiration

The next step to creating a website that feels like you and appeals to your dream clients is to gather some website inspiration. This is my favourite part of the process!

Creating a mood board before you dive in will help you get an idea of the look you are going for, so you can make sure your website is consistent throughout. You’ll get ideas for what you like and don’t like on websites as well.

Just remember, you’re going for a look that appeals to your dream clients, which may be different to what you would choose for yourself.

Create a Mood Board

A great place to start is with a secret Pinterest board. You can pick a few different keywords that describe the look and feel you are going for with your website, then pop them into the Pinterest search and start pinning images that call out to you.

You generally want to collect about 20 images that include a mix of photos, colours, fonts and patterns that flow well together and reflect your dream client.

Once you have a collection of images, you can go through and narrow it down by unpinning anything that doesn’t flow as well. For example, if your images are all blues and greens, and there’s one orange image, the orange may not be a good fit.

You want to aim for 10 images that fit your brand vision, and then you can combine these together in a tool such as Canva to create your mood board. When you are on Canva, you can search “mood board” and a heap of templates will come up so you can choose one you like to add your photos too.

Once you’re done, you can have it on hand for all of your design decisions

Brand Elements

Now you have a mood board, it’s time to think of the style elements you want to use on your website. This includes things like your logo, brand colours and fonts, any textures or patterns you want to use, and any other graphics you want to include.

These elements should all be consistent and flow well together. Since your mood board is your inspiration piece, if everything matches you’re mood board, you should be good!

If you’ve worked with a graphic designer to create your branding before, you should already have these brand elements on hand and you’ll be able to skip this part. Alternatively, if you want help to bring your brand to life, I have branding packages available so you can book a discovery call here.

Once you gather these details, I suggest saving them in a “Website Files” folder on your computer, so they’re ready to go as soon as you need them.

Logo & Alternate Logos: If you don’t have a professional logo, I suggest using the inbuilt font option on your website platform rather than trying to DIY a logo. DIY logos are immediately obvious or very similar to others, and if you are not using professional design software, you will be very limited in the ways you can use it since it won’t scale well. Worse still, if you create something in Canva, you may not even have the rights to use it as a logo, so you need to be careful here.

Brand Colours: You generally want to have 3-5 colours that go well together and showcase the feeling and personality that will appeal to your dream clients. Generally one will be a very light colour to use for backgrounds, one will be a dark colour to use for text, two will flow well together and one will contrast the others so it can be used for calls to action to make them stand out.

To help you narrow down the colours you use on your website, you can upload your mood board to a website like Coolors, which will allow you to sample out colours from the image. Once you have a few that you like, you can play around to find exact shades you like, until you come up with the perfect combination. From there, you’ll be able to write down the colour codes so you can use them on your website and all of your branded items.

Brand Fonts: Next, you want to choose a combination of fonts to use for your headings and body text. It is best to stick with 2 main fonts for text that are easy to read and look great together. If you wanted to, you may also choose an optional decorative font that you use sparingly in your designs. Don’t forget to write down the font details (or better still, download the font files) so you have them on hand when designing your website.

Graphic Elements, Textures & Patterns: These are the fun extra details you can use on your website to add personality and interest. Maybe you want to have cute icons, some fun textured backgrounds, some illustrated elements or something else entirely. I love Creative Market for these fun details (this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a small amount if you make a purchase). There are lots of beautiful and affordable options you can choose one, and you can pick items that match your mood board and brand colours.

Website Inspiration

The last thing to look for during this inspiration stage is some inspiration websites. I generally suggest finding 2-3 websites you love, and really looking over them to see what it is you love about them. They might even be from completely different industries to you (I actually suggest this so you can make sure you stand out from your competitors!), but you’ll still be able to draw some design inspiration from them.

For example, you might like the way they’re laid out a section of the website, or how they’ve added images in a certain way. Maybe it’s the blog sidebar they have set up, or the way they’ve used background images behind the content. It could be any little detail!

Once you work out what it is that you love about them, you’ll be able to look for ways you can include those features on your own website in your own unique way.

I like to take screenshots of these features to have on hand when I’m designing, so I don’t forget what they are and can refer back to them for inspiration at any time.

Here are a few ideas on where you can get website design inspiration:

This post on 16 of the Best Coaching Websites Created in Squarespace
Looking at some website designers portfolios like here
Looking at websites for companies that create premium templates for the website platform you are using
Exploring the inbuilt templates in the website platform you are using
Pinterest
Check out some designers on Instagram and see what they’re sharing (you can find me here)

Step 6 – Prepare your Photos & Videos

Now that you’ve written the copy for your website, found your inspiration and done most of your prep work, it’s time to think about the photos and videos that you want to include on your website.

Photos and video are a great way to communicate visually what you do, and can help you build a connection with your dream clients in a way that words can’t. It’s worth giving some thought to what you use, since photos really can make or break a website!

This post will give you ideas on selecting the right photos for your website, but here is a quick guide about the type of images you may want to use on your website:

Full width banner images that span the whole screen: These should be horizontal images, and it can be a good idea to have some white space on the images such as a background wall on one side, so you can layer text or buttons over the top
Background photos: You might go for some light-coloured photos or photos with intentionally blurred backgrounds to allow you to layer your content over the top easier so that it stands out
Photos that represent what you do: This might be a computer screen, or a styled desktop, photos of your office or studio, photos of you coaching someone, photos of you making something for your business, etc. You can really get creative here!
Photos of you and any employees you have: Having pictures of yourself on your website is a great way to build up a connection with your website visitors. You want to make sure you’re looking at the camera, using good lighting and have a clutter-free background for them to really stand out
Product photos: If you sell any sorts of products, you need to include great images on there. These can really help entice people to buy! Even if you don’t sell physical items, you could use mock-ups of digital products or workbooks instead. Mock-ups can also be a great way to promote any freebies you have on your website as well

Once you have your photos gathered in one place on your computer, it’s time to start optimising them to use on your website. Taking the time to do this will ensure your website loads fast and can also help your website to show up in Google searches as well.

Here’s how you can optimise your images:

Resize your photos to suit the space they will be used. Generally full-width photos will be 2000px wide, and smaller photos can be saved proportionally (for example, a photo that takes up half the screen can be 1000px wide)
Save your photos as JPEGs when possible since PNGs are a larger file size. You should only use a PNG if you need a transparent background
Compress your photos using TinyPNG before you upload them, since this will make them a smaller file size
Your photos should be less than 500kb file size, but if you can get them under 100kb, even better!
Rename the photos before you upload them to show what’s happening in the image instead of the camera’s default name. This can be a good opportunity to use your keywords if they fit. Doing this allows Google to “see” your image
Avoid using text on your images. Google can’t read it, and it doesn’t scale well on smaller screens so it may not be readable

Preparing your videos

Video is a fantastic way to show your personality and your passion for what you do. It’s also a great way to keep your visitors on your website for longer and compel them to explore more, which can be helpful for SEO as well.

To prepare your videos, they should be edited ahead of time. Then you can upload them to a service such as YouTube or Vimeo and save the links in a document ready to go. That way, when you need to use them, you can just copy and paste the link!

If you are going to be using your video in blog posts, now would also be the time to get your video transcribed using a service such as Rev or Temi as well. You can then edit the copy as needed and it’s ready to upload with your videos so you can get the most SEO benefit from your blog posts.

Step 7 – Gather any Last Details

Great work preparing everything for your website so far! It’s an awesome effort, and you’re now on the final stretch! Don’t worry, this one is much easier than writing your copy or optimising your photos!

There are a couple of other things that you want to have on hand when you are ready to dive into designing your website so that everything comes together smoothly, and then you’re ready to dive into building your website!

Here are the last few details to gather and save with the rest of your website content:

Your email opt in freebie and the login details for your email marketing platform
All of your social media links
The links and login details for any scheduling tools you want to use on your website
Your domain name and login details for when it comes to linking your domain
Your login details for anything else you may want to integrate into your website, such a payment collecting tools, CRM tools, course platforms, etc
Your website legal information (more on that in a sec)
A professional business email address (no, yourname@gmail.com isn’t going to cut it if you want people to take your seriously in business). You can get one through Google Workspaces for $6 a month (or free for the first year if you have a business or commerce account with Squarespace and use the integration)

I want to dive into website legal information a bit more here as well. Clearly, I’m not a lawyer (although fun fact, I did study law for 2 years in high school!), but most countries in the world will require you to have a privacy policy showing you how you handle clients and visitors private information.

You also generally want to have website terms and conditions that show how your visitors can use your website, since it can help protect you if someone does something wrong with your website. And depending on what you do, you may need further disclaimers and legal documents to protect you as well.

I always suggest speaking with your lawyer to ensure you have the right cover for your needs when possible, so you have the best chance of covering all of your legal bases. If that’s not in the budget right away (after all, starting a business can be expensive!), you can also purchase legal templates.

Here are a few legal template stores I have used myself or had clients use (these are affiliate links, so if you make a purchase, I may get a kickback, but I only recommend products that I truly believe in):

Your Legal BFF
Creative Law Shop (get 10% off with the code JESSICAHAINESDESIGN10)

Taking the time to gather this info ahead of time will make the design process go smoothly, makes it much more enjoyable and stops you scrambling last minute to find that password you know you saved somewhere!

There you have it, 7 steps to follow to prepare for a successful website before you even load Squarespace! Working through these steps will have you completely ready to go and save you a heap of time while creating your website, and make the process a whole lot more enjoyable!

Once you’re ready to go, you can dive into your website builder and start creating! Personally, I love Squarespace and you can see why here. If you want to save 10% off your first year with Squarespace, click here and use the code PARTNER10 (Yep, that's an affiliate link, but rest assured, I only recommend it because I use and love it myself!)