The fact that you’re reading this blog probably means that you’re looking for a Squarespace Expert in the UK and are not sure how to go about choosing which one to hire. There aren’t that many of us, but as most have a great portfolio and a lot of experience it might be a tough decision.

Here are Manage My Website’s top tips to help you make up your mind:

Look at their portfolio

Or if they don’t have one on their website ask them to send you examples of work they’ve done. Does it impress you? It doesn’t necessarily matter if there are no case studies from your industry, however it’s important that you love the style, creativity, user experience and variety that you see. You definitely don’t want to hire a one trick pony whose work is all very similar.

Ask how long they’ve been working on the Squarespace platform

This will help you to gauge their experience and check their credentials. Are they approved by Squarespace as Experts and Trainers? Are they in the Squarespace Circle?

Request customer testimonials

Make sure they’re genuine. Is there a lot of happy feedback? You could even ask to speak to one of their clients to find out more about the quality of service that the agency or freelancer provides.

Find out how experienced they are with anything extra you might need

This could be e-commerce, coding or third party integrations. Most clients don’t want a Squarespace template straight out of the box - they want an original and bespoke looking website and this requires a lot of knowledge.

If you request a quote, make sure that they ask you plenty of questions to really nail down the brief and then you should check what’s included

For example if you’d like a full website build will there be consultancy to give you great advice about how to get ahead of your competitors?

Will your Squarespace Expert choose to use version 7.0 or 7.1? These are very different in terms of templates, the admin area and functionality so it’s a vital question to ask to ensure that your investment will last for the long term.

Will you also get all SEO (search engine optimisation) updates made in the back end? And will your new site be submitted to Google Webmaster Tools/Google Analytics to crawl and check? Make sure that SEO is included or you could get a nasty surprise when you launch and find yourself extremely low down in search results.

Will you be trained to use your new website and what will this involve?

Once you’ve received your quote does it seem realistic, too high, or is it a bit too cheap?

If the cost is too high, think about your own charges as a business and how many sales you’d need to make up the money. It might well be worth it if you know you’ll end up with a fantastic website and have paid it off in a few months.

Or if the cost is too low be very wary of the quality of work you’ll end up with. Building a robust and well thought out website takes a lot of time in terms of consultancy, advice and preparation - this should be reflected in the quote.

Investigate aftercare once your website has launched

Some Squarespace Experts prefer to build websites and not maintain them later on, so they might ask you to look elsewhere for that service. Others will provide the full service and can offer an ad hoc maintenance service or a contract with volume discounts. They may also offer to train your team at your offices.

Think about if you’ve been happy with all communications from the Squarespace Expert

This will be vital for the duration of your project. Have they responded to you promptly and properly at all times and happily answered your questions? Are you satisfied that you’re being taken seriously as a client and will be treated respectfully and professionally once you’ve paid your hard-earned deposit?

Beware of anyone who delays their replies for longer than 24 hours or doesn’t keep their promises in the very early stages of talking to them.

Follow their social media accounts

Are they kept up-to-date so that you can get a real feel for what they’re up to day-to-day? Do you like their tone and approach? This isn’t essential but it’s a nice way to decide whether you think you can work with them. It’s also important for keeping in touch once your project has been completed.

We hope this was useful. We’re not at all biased of course 😁, but we’re pretty great Squarespace Experts based in the UK, Bath and London, and we’d love to work with you. Contact us now with your brief and we can arrange an informal chat to see if we’re a good fit for you and your business.

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