5 ways to make your DIY website look professional

Look, I’m a huge DIY fan. HUGE. I’m all for growing your wings after you take off and figuring it out.

No matter who builds your website, you still want to look professional.

Admit it, we've all cringed when we see a site that looks like it's stuck in 1999— which just happens to be the year I built my very first site for my sister’s wedding. I digress... The point is, in this fast-paced online world, a professional-looking website is your ticket to trust, credibility, and standing out in the crowd.

The good news? You don't need a fat wallet or a design degree. With a few savvy DIY moves on Squarespace, you can turn your virtual space into a sleek, modern hub that’s the online equivalent of staking your flag in the ground

1. Don’t skimp (or skip) on branding

Stand out from the DIY crowd by investing in custom branding elements. Consider hiring a graphic designer to create a unique logo, color scheme, and font selection that aligns with your brand identity. Implementing custom branding gives your Squarespace website a professional and cohesive look that distinguishes it from templates commonly associated with DIY websites.

If it’s not in the budget to hire a professional, you can DIY this too.

Here’s how to DIY your branding:

• Consistent fonts: Pick 2-3 that are easy to read. Squarespace makes this so easy to set your fonts in the site styles, so you’re using the same font & sizes for every heading and paragraph. You can purchase beautiful fonts from places like Creative Market.

  If you want to stick with free, Squarespace has plenty to choose from. I personally like to see what Squarespace and Canva Pro both offer, and use those.

• Cohesive imagery: You can get free images online from a variety of sources, and even from within Squarespace itself. Just make sure the “look” stays consistent throughout and you have proper licensing

• Choose an on-brand color palette: Pinterest is a great place to look for inspiration! You can also get ideas with Canva templates. Browse through websites you like the look of and note which colors appeal to you. Don’t go crazy on the colors— stick to a 2-4 with one main color.

*MAKE SURE you have the proper licensing for anything you use from a 3rd party, including fonts and images!

2. Strategically design the layout

When I take pictures with my camera, I not only pay attention to what I’m focusing on, but the space around it. I make sure there’s no lamps in the background that look like the subject is wearing a hat, or that no one looks like they have 3 arms… that sort of thing.

When you’re designing the layout of each page on your site, you need to zoom out just a bit and look at the whole picture.

• Plenty of white space: This is a dead giveaway you made your site yourself. Leave room to breath. Break up paragraphs into smaller lines.

• Use less words: MUCH less. Like the word expert, Ashlyn Carter says— write for the skimmer. No one’s reading your About Me essay except maybe one of your old teachers.

• Unclutter the header: Keep as few items up there as possible. There’s only space for the MOST Important. Put the rest in the footer aka junk drawer.

While we’re on the topic of strategic design, I feel like this needs to be said: You want the words on each page to have a point, to take your visitors on a journey, and lead them to what they should do next. No one is going to search for a button to click. If your visitors don’t know where to go, they’re gonna bounce.

3. Remove default options

Starting with a template? That’s great. Makes it easy. But lose the default fonts & colors.

Does your site still say “Powered by Squarespace"“? Delete that right now.

If you are into the most minimal effort possible, then purchasing pre-made templates will take you most of the way there. There are so few native templates and canvas’s in Squarespace that they’re recognizable anywhere.

Just for reference— when I design in Squarespace, I start with blank sheets for every new page. I write the words first and then design around that.

4. Write a better About Page

If there’s one thing you need to know about the About page, it’s this: It’s not actually about YOU. Yes, you can sprinkle in your personality and achievements (yes, those are huge for growing the know, like & trust column), but that’s not the focus of this page.

Zoom in on relating to your audience. What you can do for them. How you understand their problems. Stories of people you’ve helped or obstacles you’ve overcome. Show your brush strokes and true colors here. But make it all about THEM.

I know I mentioned this earlier, but it’s worth doubling down on— ditch the paragraphs. No one is reading them.

5. Make your website look good on mobile.

36.18% of the total web visits are currently mobile according to Oberlo.com. So yeah, you need to make sure your site doesn’t look totally wonky for different size devices.

There are a few tricks to doing this just right:

• If you’re on Squarespace try not to let the boxes overlap. If they do, it may still be ok

• The order you add elements on Squarespace is the order they will show up on mobile.

• Click the mobile view button at the top right and adjust as you build. If you wait till you’re done with each canvas, it could be a huge pain.

There’s an app called Responsively— which allows you to view up to 6 different devices at a time. When I’m done with a page, I always check here.

All done!

Ta-da! 🎩✨ You've just upgraded your Squarespace game without breaking the bank. Your website is now strutting down the internet runway with confidence, leaving those DIY vibes in the rearview mirror.

Remember, you don't need a money tree to add a touch of class to your site—just a sprinkle of creativity and a dash of resourcefulness. Your visitors won't believe it's the same DIY-friendly platform.

>>> Done with your site or just starting? Grab this free checklist to not miss a thing.

>>> Want to get another set of eyeballs on your site? Sign up for a web audit right here

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