I still recall the first website I built back in 2003 using purely HTML code. While it was a great learning experience and a fun exercise, it certainly was not an efficient method of building a website. With the advent of design tools, I can now get a decent website up and running in less than one hour. Since the early days of building a website from HTML, I’ve experimented over the years with different programming languages including PHP, JavaScript, CSS and more—all requiring their own learning curves. Around the same time I was building my first websites, developers were already in the business of designing tools for people who wanted to build their own websites without coding, including WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) programs that generate code while you point and click. I soon moved to WordPress.com and WordPress.org, two popular WYSIWYG tools with additional features. I recommended these platforms when I started helping lawyers with their marketing and technology. While WordPress continues to be an excellent website development tool, attorneys, especially those starting their own practices on a shoestring budget, needed something even simpler—an all-in-one solution. Enter Squarespace.
An Introduction to Squarespace
I was first turned on to Squarespace by the infamous (at least among us Mac attorneys) David Sparks, aka “MacSparky.” Sparks is an attorney as well as a tech enthusiast with a focus on Apple technology. He publishes a blog, hosts a podcast and produces field guides for software and technology products. Squarespace, I began to understand, was an all-in-one platform for web development from start to finish for both the novice and the more advanced web developer. In my consulting with lawyers who wanted to do it themselves from buying a domain to web hosting to creating a simple website, Squarespace was the perfect tool. And thus began my journey with Squarespace.
Over the years, I have developed multiple websites on Squarespace. My most recent and ongoing project is for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being (lawyerwellbeingma.org). After transitioning to my role as director of this committee in March of 2020 from my state’s lawyer assistance program, I spent a weekend getting this site up and running. It’s simple. I’ve integrated minimal code. I don’t have time to devote to daily design, development and maintenance, which is why Squarespace is ideal.
From Start to Finish
To demonstrate its effectiveness and ease of use, let me take you step-by-step through the tool.
Step 1: Select a Template
The first step is to select from one of Squarespace’s many website templates. Squarespace can make suggestions based on industry, such as “Professional Services” and features, such as contact forms, appointments and blogging. If you begin with one template, you can always switch it later. It will change the site structure and design, but the content will remain the same. Most templates are highly customizable but retain some design elements to remain consistent with the Squarespace platform. Advanced users can always further modify the site’s code, and Squarespace offers access to experts through its Squarespace Marketplace (however, most web developers, even those unfamiliar with Squarespace, could do custom coding, design or development within the Squarespace environment).
Step 2: Start a Free Trial and Get a Free Domain
After you select a template, you’ll need to sign up for a free trial. Then you can start customizing your template with easy drag-and-drop features. No code required! You may upgrade to a paid plan at any time. Most lawyers and law firms will be best served by a personal or business plan. A personal plan, $12 per month, comes with a free custom domain for one year. It also includes SSL security, unlimited bandwidth and storage, SEO features, templates, mobile optimization, 24/7 support and basic metrics for website analytics. The business plan, $18 per month, gives you all that plus a professional email from Google (as well as other Google tools—Calendar, Docs, Drive and more), customization with CSS and JavaScript, advanced website analytics, promotional pop-ups and banners, e-commerce and more. With any plan, you can register (and pay) for whatever other domains you might like for future development. There are no contracts and you can cease service at any point.
Why Squarespace?
Sure, that all sounds well and good, but what are the true benefits of Squarespace? Here are my top four reasons why I continue to use it and suggest it to other lawyers who need a basic website:
- Ease of use. This is probably the No. 1 reason attorneys should look at this product. You do not need to be tech savvy to design and develop a website with Squarespace. If you can use a website, you can build a website with Squarespace, even without reviewing how-to-use guides for hours on end.
- All in one. Rather than piecing together a domain, hosting service and design/development tool, Squarespace does it all. This streamlines the process and lowers the barrier to entry for many individuals who have never built a website before.
- Professional templates. Squarespace provides templates designed by its own design team. All templates are professional looking including modern design standards, ensuring that visitor to the site understands how to use it. Sites look good straight out of the box. Not much customization is needed other than the content that you provide. Again, this is a great benefit to attorneys who are not designers and developers by training.
- Mobile optimization. For a number of years now, most research points to legal consumers and consumers in general using mobile devices to find and contact lawyers. It is essential that your website be optimized for a good mobile user experience. Squarespace has this baked into its product. No need to install and configure a plug-in; your site is optimized for mobile from the start.
Squarespace is certainly not the only game in town when it comes to website builders, but it has a strong reputation, has been around for a while and is one of the simplest products to use with advanced features for those who need or would like them. If you are in the market for your first or next website, take a look at Squarespace.