What a Website Designer Does and Doesn’t Do
I’ve been wanting to write a blog post like this for a while, detailing exactly how a website designer can help you - and to what extent.
Though I like to think of myself as a tech miracle worker, website designers aren’t able to handle every need you might have in your business - so it’s important to know what they can and cannot do before booking so you can ensure you get any extra help you need elsewhere.
Here’s the breakdown from a Showit and Squarespace website designer.
Let’s jump in!
Design
Does:
When it comes to design, a website designer helps you determine your dream website’s visual aesthetic through elements you provide, as well as the vibe you express during consultations.
After all, your website designer is responsible for bringing it all to life - so expect greatness when it comes to visuals.
Doesn’t:
A website designer doesn’t, however, help you design your brand’s values and overall experience. Instead, this work should be done by a business coach, copywriter, or a mixture of both.
(It’s super important to note that website designers don’t write the copy for your website - they format it!)
SEO
Does:
Your website designer is (hopefully) well versed on SEO (if they’re not, reconsider investing in them), and will set up your website with best practices in mind, like resizing/renaming images and adding title tags to each main page of your website, all of which will improve your ranking on Google through search engine optimization (SEO.)
Doesn’t:
A website designer is unfortunately not able to do in-depth keyword research on keywords to incorporate into your website copy (or to do the actual incorporating for you. This work happens outside the usual website design process, so you will have to pull in extra help here if these services are something you need.)
In addition, a website designer can’t make your website magically appear as the first result on Google within the first twenty-four hours.
The process of SEO is actually very complicated and takes lots of time, so a new website will not immediately rank in the first slots of Google search results.
Nevertheless, SEO is important - and it’s EXTREMELY vital to choose a website designer with decent knowledge of SEO.
A lack of good SEO on your website won’t just affect your site’s ranking - it can also cause it to load slowly, thus costing you visitors.
Copy
Does:
Your website designer will help advise you on what kind of copy should go on each website page they build for you. They may be able to tell you about how much content should go on each page, as well as what it should cover.
In addition, they will likely be able to give you a document that advises you on the copywriting process, should you choose to do it yourself, so you aren’t entering completely blind.
Doesn’t:
However, a website designer does not delve deep into your brand story, or, as aforementioned, do the copywriting for you.
Likewise, they do not do research to identify your ideal clients and their needs/struggles - this, rather, would be done by a business coach or a content writer.
Domain
Does:
Your website designer can connect your domain from your registrar or transfer your domain from one registrar to another (such as from GoDaddy to Squarespace.)
To do this, they will just need your login credentials.
Doesn’t:
However, your website designer is not able to set up a welcome email for your website or write any email sequences. This could, instead, be done by a copywriter or virtual assistant.
If you are looking for one or the other (or both!) it’s very likely that your designer will have some great references they can provide to you.
A website designer doesn’t usually set up redirects for your subdomains, either - but can help you out with redirects for your main domain.
Just ask!
Does:
A website designer can walk you through the process of setting up a branded G Suite account (ex: name@yourwebsite.com) if you don’t already have one. Squarespace has this built into the backend, making it a super easy process.
Doesn’t:
However, as mentioned earlier, a website designer does not write or schedule emails for you - their work usually stops at the website’s completion.
If you’re looking for email copy or scheduling, it’s best to look into a copywriter or virtual assistant.
Email Marketing
Does:
Your website designer will help you connect your freebie to your website (usually as a downloadable PDF via a button on your homepage.)
In addition, they can help by redesigning your freebie to match the branding of your new website, and even creating a promotional mockup of your freebie to display as an image.
Doesn’t:
However, your website designer doesn’t help out with ongoing email marketing.
Legal Policies
Does:
When it comes to displaying legal policies on your website, your website designer is usually able to provide resources (such as lawyers) who can advise you, or point you toward websites where you can purchase legal templates from online lawyers.
They can then add what you receive to your website footer, completely free of charge.
Doesn’t:
Unless your website designer is also a lawyer, they are not able to provide, write, or advise on any legal policies for your website.
You want to make sure you have a legit write-up here, so make sure you get it from a credible source.
Hopefully this post gives you a better understanding of exactly how a website designer can help you, as well as the true scope of their work. Every designer is different, so some may offer more or less services than others, but most usually offer something along these lines.
If you are currently in the market for a Squarespace and Showit website designer who can help you give your brand the phenomenal internet home it deserves, I encourage you to check out my services below! I have three years of experience and absolutely love helping my clients achieve their dream online presence.
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