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I’m a bit surprised I’m writing this post! As someone who makes most of my living from custom, done-for-you Squarespace website design projects, this is not the type of article I’d usually publish.

However, this week, I shared with my email list subscribers that I’d been thinking deeply about a podcast episode in which the themes of service and curiosity came up as a more genuine way to approach marketing.

I already know that I score “big” on the metric of wanting to serve others. Sure, my business makes a profit, and I know I’m good at what I do, with valuable skills and experience.

But I’m just as interested in seeing my clients succeed.

It really does matter to me, that you get good results from the time and money you spend on your marketing. I want my work to serve you well.

So, last week, I decided to get deliberately curious. I conducted interviews with a few of my audience to explore a gap that I’d noticed, which was bothering me.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, but I can’t afford to hire you to build my website.”

This is a direct quote from a webinar I gave recently to a writing group. Several attendees echoed the sentiment that:

You’re not confident enough to design and build a website on your own
But, your budget doesn’t currently allow for hiring my expertise to do it for you

Yet, until now, my two main offerings have been done-for-you website design, and a do-it-yourself template option.

So I was curious to discover, from the interviews I did: is there a gap between these that needs to be filled?

Yes, I learned, there is.

My Squarespace templates have been extremely popular with some customers, especially folks who are reasonably confident, but appreciate a strong starting point and the steps to follow. Other folks have struggled with it still feeling like a big, scary project… or with life getting in the way. Even though the template gives you a professional starting point, comprehensive video tutorials, and email support, it’s still on your shoulders to make it happen.

Which brings me back to my “VIP” service, where I’ll manage the whole project for you. Testimonials from previous clients show that they love working with me, but I definitely understand that for many people, budget is an issue. And my recent conversations have shown me there are other considerations, too.

Reasons why hiring me for a custom website might not be for you

1. Your business will evolve

This is the big one! If I had a dollar for every time I’ve tinkered with my website, I’d be a rich lady. No, but seriously, you get the point. Things will change, your focus will change, your business will change, and your website needs to evolve with all that.

If you pay someone a lot of money to build your website for you, you’ll be more reluctant to make adjustments. Your website will probably get out of step with how you’re really working to make your impact in the world. You may even put off making strategic changes in your business, because of the drag of getting your website to catch up.

It’s much better if your website can be a living, breathing business tool, not something that’s done once and then set in stone.

2. You want to know how to manage your website yourself, with confidence

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was heartbroken to see how many small businesses lacked the ability to make a basic update to their website home page, to explain how we could still buy from them. I passionately believe my clients should have the ability — at a minimum — to make simple text edits like this.

Many people I speak to are keen to go beyond that. You’d like to feel fully confident to make bigger changes: switch out images, move sections, create whole new pages, and hide others.

I want that for you, too. Because I’m a firm believer that your business will, and should, evolve (see #1), I don’t want you to feel I’m holding you to ransom for every change that you need. When I complete a custom website design project, I aim to hand it over to the client with enough information and training that they can make changes themselves. However, I know that in most cases, if you haven’t built your website yourself, it’s hard to roll up your sleeves with complete confidence.

If you love to learn, and you’ll enjoy the process of understanding the pieces that make up your website pages, then this is a strong sign that you shouldn’t necessarily hire an expert for the work.

3. SEO is not a major tactic for you (yet)

Especially if you’re just starting out, you might want to get a basic website up and running before you delve into the wild and wonderful world of Search Engine Optimization. If you’re at the stage where you’re serious about monetizing your content and your website, then SEO is a deep and specialized topic, and it almost certainly makes sense to get professional help. But what if you’re not there yet?

If you’re in the early days of setting up your website, or if you have a strong marketing plan that does not lean too heavily on organic search traffic, then you probably shouldn’t pay for personalized advice in this area.

4. You need a website fast

Good website designers, who have experience in your industry and are enjoyable to work with, are usually booked several weeks or even several months in advance. If you want your website to go live in the next few weeks, then learning how to put it together yourself is the only reasonable option.

For what it’s worth, I will insert a plea here: please try not to come to me in the final weeks before your book is published. I’d love to help you, but usually, I can’t. And you’ll have a hundred other tasks on your plate by that point. Instead, get your website set up much sooner, and then it can simply be updated with purchase links and early reader praise.

5. You have a limited budget

And finally, of course, an obvious limitation is the amount of money you can spend on your new website. Hiring me is an investment. If you’re a speaker or consultant, invoicing your own clients for many thousands of dollars, I wholeheartedly believe you’ll make that investment back. However, if you’re a novelist releasing your first book, you may not.

Here’s something else you might be surprised to hear me say: if you’re self-publishing your book and you only have a limited amount of money to spend, I want you to prioritize a great book and a stunning book cover. Why? Because that’s the strongest tool you have for showing your audience quickly what your work is about, and why it’s for them. Once you have a great book cover, a great website can fall into place pretty easily.

If you shouldn’t hire me, what should you do?

Don’t think that you’re off the hook entirely! I passionately believe every author, speaker or coaching business, no matter how new or how tiny, needs a good-looking, thoughtful, and effective website.

So, I have another option for you.

What I’m working on, to round out my services

Until now, I have offered:

Done For You and
Do It Yourself website options.

The piece that’s clearly missing is a Done With You choice.

For this, I’m now offering an option where you do the bulk of the work, but with a stellar starting point, and loads of support, coaching, encouragement, and troubleshooting from me. To keep the price really affordable, this will be in a group format, with live cohorts to allow for community and networking. This new group program is called Website With Friends and you can find out more here.

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May I help with your new author website?

I’m on a mini mission to stamp out ugly, dated, and ineffective author websites. If you’re ready to start over with your site, you can get my expertise in 3 ways:

Start with one of my premium Squarespace templates, designed specifically for authors. You’ll get a website that I’ve started for you, then follow my video tutorials showing you how to replace the content with your own and launch your beautiful new site.
or:
Hire me to design and build your custom author website. I’m an expert in all of the moving parts we need to create a stunning and effective home for your work. If you’d like technical expertise, book marketing advice, email list integration, and all of the implementation taken care of, this is a smart investment. After careful preparation together, I’ll design, build and launch your site in just 2 weeks. Learn more, and then schedule our free and friendly chat.
or:
Join my new group program, where you’ll build and launch your new Squarespace website in 3 weeks in a supportive and collaborative online cohort.