How much will building your website on Squarespace *actually* cost
So, you've just started your brand new business (welcome to the club 🙋♀️), and you know that to make it, you need a great website. But you've got questions. So. Many. Questions. And the one that keeps on coming back the more research you do is: How much is this going to cost me??
Starting your own business definitely requires some investment on your part. You'll need to put in the time, but also the money (which you'll hopefully get back as soon as your hot new website goes live and the sales start flowing in 😉).
To help you stick to your small business budget, we've put together a handy guide of all the ways that you can get your new website up and running asap, and most importantly, what it will cost you to get it off the ground!
We'll be concentrating on Squarespace, because well, we kind of think it's the best website builder out there for small business owners like you, though, the general gist of this post and roughly how much a website costs will apply to other platforms too.
Let's dive in!
Why do you need a website as a small business owner?
Having a well-designed website is a small business essential in today's digital age. It makes your business legit, gives you credibility, and is key for making a good first impression that will convert visitors into customers.
It's where your audience will be able to learn all about you, your business, and your offers, connect with you through a contact page or link to your socials, and of course make their purchase 💸
A website also gives you a platform to share helpful content like blog posts and recent projects to showcase your expertise and establish your online presence, and is sure to help you grow your audience by bringing in potential customers that you may not have reached otherwise.
Best of all, having a website gives your new business a competitive advantage. You'll be surprised how many businesses don't have a website yet or are in need of a serious revamp (we've all stumbled on one of those websites that haven't been updated since the early 2010s and that's not who you want to give your custom to)!
👉 Not sure what you need on your website? Check out this post!
What is Squarespace and why is it so great for small business owners?
If you're new here, Squarespace is a website building platform, but not just any website building platform, it's an all-in-one website building platform, meaning that everything you might need to build your website is right there ready for you to use (think store, blog, portfolio, landing page, email marketing, etc.).
This is great, because not only will you save on subscription costs for multiple platforms, having everything in the same place saves you a ton of time and energy having to learn to use different sites and figure out how to connect them all together.
Another reason we love Squarespace is that its drag-and-drop builder is just so easy to use! It's super DIY friendly and anyone can create and customize their very own website with absolutely zero coding knowledge.
Squarespace has a ton of gorgeous pre-designed sections and elements that you can use all around your site, and its new Fluid Engine editor makes it even easier to design super creative layouts that will help your website stand out from the crowd. It's also one of the safest website platforms out there (not worrying about security is always a plus right 😅).
Because of all this, Squarespace is well-loved and has a huge community of users that support each other by sharing fun tutorials, tips, and hacks (like you'll find on our blog 😘), but also a very solid customer support if you do happen to run into anything tricky! As a small business owner, knowing that you can easily get help if you need it is absolutely invaluable.
How much does a Squarespace website cost?
When it comes to creating a website, there are a few options and quite a few different price-points that you will need to consider:
Custom website design ($$$)
Having a custom website specifically created for you by a professional website designer is the ultimate business owner dream. One that suits all your business needs absolutely perfectly and embodies everything that you thought your business and brand could ever be 💖
But for this to become reality, your small business budget better be feeling healthy because a custom website design can set you back a good few thousand dollars at the least!
Of course, the price will vary quite a bit depending on what exactly you need from your website (for example, how many pages and any extra features) as well as the expertise of the website designer that you work with.
A junior designer that's just starting out on their freelancing journey will charge significantly less than a well-established pro, but finding the right website designer with the right balance of expertise and design style you love can be quite a time-consuming task in itself (and we certainly don't recommend hiring the first offer on Fiverr who promises you the website of your dreams for just a couple hundred dollars 🚩).
Because of its significant price tag, a custom website design is truly an investment and this is generally not the option that we would recommend for a small business that is just starting out and is still a bit unsure about their whole look and vibe and exactly what they'll be offering.
To make a custom website worthwhile, you'll want an established brand identity that you are certain won't be changing any time soon. The last thing you want is to have to pay another significant sum for someone to update your new site all over again.
🏷️ Custom website design price tag: ~$1,000 to <$10k
DIY your own website ($)
Perhaps the exact polar opposite of having a website custom-made for you, building your own website from scratch is certainly the most affordable option in this list.
Apart from your time, your only major expense will be your Squarespace subscription and the cost of your domain (more on that below!).
Squarespace does make it incredibly easy to build a website all by yourself, and if you have just one creative bone in your body, designing your own website can be an incredibly fun and rewarding experience 👩🎨
That said, if you're maybe not so creatively inclined or don't have any previous design experience under your belt, knowing exactly what to add on each page and where to put it can get very overwhelming and very time-consuming very quickly!
So unless you have clear direction, are enthusiastic to learn some new skills, and have a whole lot of time set aside, building your own website completely from scratch with NO help might get a bit tough. Though if you do feel up for it, definitely give it a go! Especially if you're on a budget!
🏷️ DIY website price tag: $0
Squarespace Website Templates ($-$$)
If neither of the previous options sounded quite right for your upcoming small business venture, then website templates may just be the perfect in-between!
Designed and developed by professional website designers (like ourselves 💁♀️), website templates are pre-designed websites that you can totally customize to fit your new business to a tee.
They come in all shapes and sizes, for all kinds of industries, and already have all the features of a good website built-in (like strategic layouts, coded features, and optimized SEO).
Usually costing no more than a few hundred dollars, website templates are an amazing alternative to the high price of custom website design and the all-consuming beast that is building a website entirely on your own. They'll save you a ton of time, and help you get your website launched quickly and easily, and for an affordable price too (which is always a win)!
👉 Squarespace templates vs. custom website design
While every template shop has their own exact process (make sure to do your research!), website templates generally come with a set of detailed instructions teaching you everything you need to know to customize them. This will require some DIY on your end, but one major advantage is that you'll be able to make updates to your own website in the future, saving you a ton of money having to hire a pro!
👉 How do our Squarespace Templates work - From purchase to launch!
Ready-made website templates
A ready-made website template comprises an entire, cohesive website. It's typically based on a mock small business so that you can better visualize what it may look like for your own, and generally contains 4 - 6 pages, all designed to match the same style and industry.
👉 The best Squarespace templates for Photographers
👉 The best Squarespace templates for Service-based Businesses
👉 The best Squarespace templates for Bloggers
Ready-made website templates are a great starting point if you are starting entirely from scratch or giving your business a major revamp, though finding one that suits all your business needs and style can sometimes take a bit of research!
Ready-made templates can vary in price depending on who and where you buy them from though generally range between $100 and $500.
👉 We have a wide range of ready-made website templates for $197 that you can check out here!
Build-your-own website template
For those unique businesses that don't quite fit the mould, piecing together your own template by picking and choosing all the professionally designed website pages that you actually need might be an even better option!
Not only is this a super flexible way to build a near-custom website (but without the custom website price tag), choosing exactly what you need in your website is way more cost-effective and will have you way better set up than a regular, ready-made website template. Rather than fitting your business to the template, creating a custom template allows you to fit the template to your business instead.
With individual website pages ranging from just $20-60 and a ton of strategic designs and gorgeous layouts to choose from, you'll be able to select the exact pages that match what you had envisioned for your website and simultaneously pick the price tag of your new website to match the budget you had in mind.
For a complete website, we do recommend around 5 pages as a minimum (eg. Home page, About page, Contact page, Shop or Services page, Blog or Portfolio page) which might set you back around $200, but of course you can start with as many pages as you like (or need!).
If you have an existing website already, this is also an amazing option to supplement what you've already DIYed. For a small extra fee ($20 - $40 per page) the template pages that you choose can be installed directly into your existing website to give it the boost it needs!
👉 How building your own template works
Check out some of our favorite page designs available in Build-Your-Own Template:
🏷️ Website template price tag: ~$100 to $500
Other website expenses
Squarespace subscription
Just like any other website builder, you will need to pay a little something to be able to host your website on Squarespace.
Squarespace has four subscription and price-point levels that you can choose from: Personal, Business, Commerce Basic, and Commerce Advanced, the one that you pick will depend on what exactly you need from your business. If you plan to open a shop, you will need to have a Business plan at the very least. If you plan to have a complex shop, then a Commerce Advanced plan may be best. If you just want to host a simple website with no fancy features, then you can stick to the Personal plan!
👉 Check the exact Squarespace pricing here
Use code BIGCATCREATIVE10 at checkout for a 10% discount on your subscription on us! 🙌
🏷️ Squarespace subscription price tag: $16 to $65 per month
Website domain
Another crucial element of a website is its domain aka URL(eg. www.bigcatcreative.com).
if you don't have a domain yet, you can purchase one directly on Squarespace which makes it really easy to manage everything in the same place. Conveniently, Squarespace does also offer a free, custom domain name for a whole year when you purchase an annual subscription!
If Squarespace doesn't have the domain you want though, which is possible, you can also purchase one from a third party provider like Godaddy or NameCheap and easily connect it to your Squarespace site.
Domains typically start around $20-$40 per year though can go up quite significantly depending on a few factors like popularity (If you want a domain that is thousands to purchase, we would recommend rethinking your business name 😅)
👉 How to connect a domain to your Squarespace website
🏷️ Domain price tag: ~$20 to $50 per year
Here you go! We hope this guide was useful to help you decide what type of website, from custom design to website template, might be best option for your new business and your new business budget!
If you'd like more small business tips, check out the posts below 👇
An unconventional guide to naming your new business
How to create the perfect mood board for your small business
How to create the perfect color palette for your website (easy DIY!)
3 website pages that will increase your revenue (and you should add today!)
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