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WEBINAR: Build your website with Squarespace with Allie Astell

16 April 2020

squarespace workshop Steve Hoskins

© Steve Hoskins

Are you looking to build your own website using squarespace? Perhaps you are wondering why you should choose Squarespace over other software? Read on to find out what you can expect to get out of our forthcoming webinar.

 

squarespace workshop Steve Hoskins

 

© Steve Hoskins

 

Can you tell us about your extensive experience working with Squarespace?

My business name, Manage My Website, was devised in 2009, when I came up with it during a call to my sister. At that time the aim was to help people to maintain their websites (whatever the platform). But the niche that I found, project managing the build of WordPress websites while maintaining existing ones shifted dramatically. A friend casually asked me if I had heard of a relatively new, unknown platform called Squarespace. That moment changed everything. Curious, I built my own website, learning about web design as I went along. Since then my team and I have created hundreds more.

These days Squarespace has millions of customers around the globe and was ranked Number 21 on the Forbes Cloud 100 2019 list. In 2015 we were added to the official Squarespace Specialists list after being interviewed by their New York HQ and, as Squarespace Authorised Trainers we run online and face-to-face training sessions. I’ve also spoken on behalf of Squarespace at various UK events. 

I have a wealth of experience in Squarespace training for a wide range of creative businesses and abilities. I also run photography website workshops for the AOP and Royal Photographic Society. I will be speaking at the Photography Show at the NEC in September and am planning a workshop, in conjunction with the Photographers’ Gallery for underprivileged teenagers who are interested in photography.

 

What are the benefits of using Squarespace to build a website?

The main reason I’m such a big fan of the platform is that it puts you as a Photographer in total control:

  • Intuitive content management system (CMS)
  • A range of gorgeous templates to choose from, all with full e-commerce capability
  • Regular updates to functionality by the Squarespace team – no plugins or software to update manually
  • Hosted (at a very reasonable price) by Squarespace themselves, so there’s no middle man to worry about. If your website goes down, it will be back up in no time at all as the issue is likely to be a short-term global one
  • Excellent support via email and live chat whenever you need help 
  • Once we’ve built a website for a client we don’t have to be kept in the loop unless you want us to be. And we like that a lot.

 

What can attendees expect to cover in depth in your course? 

  • An overview of setting up and managing a new photography portfolio or photography blog on Squarespace
  • How to choose the best template for your requirements
  • Adding pages to your website and editing text
  • How to style your website with logos, colours and fonts
  • Preparing images and creating picture galleries
  • The basics of SEO: expert advice on how to make your site search engine- friendly, particularly when it comes to optimising your photographs
  • Integrating widgets for social media and creating a contact form
  • Q&A for the final hour of the session
  • The webinar will be recorded so that attendees are able to download it and refer back to the session as required

 

Are there any extra benefits for attendees?

Signing up under our Squarespace account initially will give attendees a 6-month free trial instead of the usual 14 days. I can organise this once I know who will be attending. Everyone will also receive a special discount code to allow them 20% off their first year of hosting.

 

How should attendees prepare for the webinar and will there be any notes? 

Ahead of the class you’re strongly encouraged to put some thought into the content and branding of your website – for example, colour preferences, text for different pages, and images/branding. 

Before the session, I will send a document to help attendees prepare as much as they can, to allow them to make the most of the time they have on the day. After the session, I will then send a summary document with useful links to research more on each topic covered.

 

Do you offer any after care or one to one advice post course?

There are many follow up services available from Manage My Website, such as further training (online and recorded), search engine optimisation, coding work to flex the templates, social media consultancy and training, etc. We work with many photographers so you’re in extremely safe hands!

 

In light of current events and to reflect the impact on people's income we have reduced the price to £20.00 for members and £40.00 for non-members (you can currently join for free)

Book here

 

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