In my post outlining the best website hosts for small businesses, I explain that Squarespace is a good option for businesses that need an intermediate site. By that, I mean a site with multiple pages and a lot of customization, but where a non-tech person can set it up themselves without hiring a web developer.
In this tutorial, I'm going to show you exactly how to set up a site with Squarespace from start to finish. Rather than reading, I think the easiest way to learn how this works is by watching. This 15-minute video walks through the entire process from start to finish:
If you're not the type of person who likes to watch videos, here's a summary of what I explain:
First off, this video is a part of my course: The low-tech guide to setting up a business website. Earlier in the course, we made a logo, came up with a color scheme and more. If you haven't done that, you might want to before you start actually building the website.
Squarespace pricing ranges from $12-$40 per month for annual plans. Most small businesses should be fine with on of the cheaper plans, but if you want to pay monthly, they are bit more expensive.
The first step is to pick a template for your new site. Squarespace has a lot to choose from, and they're all made by professional designers, so I suggest picking one that you won't need to customize too much. The more you customize, the less it will look the way the professional intended.
Once you've picked a template, you can start customizing the site. I'd start by going to the design tab on the left and put in your color scheme (here's how to pick a color scheme if you don't already have one).
Once you have the colors added, focus on getting the home page the way you like it. In the video, I start by uploading a logo in the navigation section, and then I update the text and other info on the page to match what I think my visitors are hoping to find.
The call-to-action is the most important part of your home page. Every website is different, but normally this will be a button or form that shows up below the main headline, but high enough on the page that visitors can see it without scrolling down.
Once the home page is how you want it, you can go back to the left sidebar and edit the pages. What pages your site needs is totally up to you, but I suggest starting simple because you can always add more pages later.
Finally, you need to go to Settings > Site Availability to publish the website. If you don't already have a domain name, you can get one through Squarespace, but I recommend buying your own..
That's it! You have a simple website! Squarespace has a lot of other features I don't cover in the video, hopefully this is enough to get you started.