New Website, Now What?
Today I am sharing an inside look into a valuable part of the design process I follow in the onboarding phase of a website launch. I feel strongly that as a business owner you should have a basic understanding of how your website works, even if you do not plan to make future updates yourself.
Every business needs a website to validate you exist in today’s digitally focused world. If you missed the Squarespace ad from this year’s Super Bowl, watch it here. It hits the nail on the head with the reality we live in today as humans. Sad but true…hello tech neck!
Figuring out where to start can be intimidating for folks who do not have any idea about how to design and build a website. Some business owners might choose to DIY their website which is 100% possible with all the great website building tools at our fingertips. Others may choose to outsource this critical piece from the beginning or perhaps DIY and then hire a designer down the road to upgrade their site. Either way you will be in need of some sort of support along the way or post site launch.
Let’s stick to Squarespace for the purpose of this blog post while also recognizing that this topic applies universally no matter the design platform. Per my research, a commonly searched topic is “Squarespace website help.” Let’s face it, as business owners we wear many hats. Some business owners are solopreneurs who run the ins/outs of their day to day business including: marketing, operations, customer service, and, of course, their actual service/product delivery to clients. Time is scarce!
This is why I recognize not all business owners will have the time or the energy to make updates to their websites. This is one of those categories that fall into the “outsource” option in lots of cases. Either way, it is very important to have a basic understanding of how your website works. As the storefront to your business and sometimes the only view inside, you need to know how to navigate. You wouldn’t open a brick and mortar without proper training on how to run the checkout, right?!?
With that said, you don’t need to be an expert but rather need to have a basic understanding. Let’s fast forward and assume you hired a web designer to build a new site. The site is live and you are ready to share with the world. Some designers/developers will simply bring your site live and send you on your way. Their work is complete and you are flying solo with your new storefront. So what happens when you catch a typo or need to change an image? To me this is a problem I can easily solve as a website designer by taking my process one step further.
As part of my base package, I offer 1 week of onboarding support and a helpful guide to understand your website and how to make site updates. I want my clients to feel empowered to make minor updates to their site. If you have a change in your price, for example, I want you to be able to easily go into your site and make the change versus having to wait for help or sift through YouTube videos and the help section of Squarespace (which is terrific by the way). For this reason, I spend the time walking through the final site through the eyes of the business owner. Based on the particular needs of that business, I provide screenshot guides of your actual site with directions on how to make changes to things you might need to update.
Here is an example from a client website guide.
This is customized to the client’s exact website. Does it take more time to create vs. just sending links to Squarespace help articles? Yes, of course! However, it is important to me to meet clients where they are and provide education along the way. Seeing how to make updates on your actual website can help bridge the gap for someone new to website edits. Working together in partnership we all win!
Another part to the “how to” guide is a comprehensive list of each contact form and title so you know how it will flow to your inbox. For example, if you are a consultant or real estate agent, you might have a more in-depth contact form for potential new clients. You will more than likely also have a basic contact page with more of a general email type form for general inquiries. These forms are titled appropriately on the back end of Squarespace so when you see the inquiry in your inbox the subject line will correspond with the form name. I list these forms and titles in the website guide. Why is this important? While it seems basic, this helps you as the business owner prioritize what comes to your inbox from site visitors. A new client inquiry is a higher priority than a general message and should be responded to first.
Even if you do plan to continue the partnership with your web designer and are going to outsource updates, you should still take the time to have a basic understanding in case you are in a situation where you must make a change. Squarespace makes this easy to do and with a little guidance, you will feel confident and comfortable managing minor site updates solo! Please make sure when considering a designer that you ask about the onboarding process or if there is one. And if you I can be of assistance, do not hesitate to reach out: jlwatrob@north8designs.com!
