The Top 5 Mistakes Business Owners Make When They DIY Their Squarespace WebSite
And how to avoid them so your site actually sells!
As a small business owner/ entrepreneur/ sole trader (whatever you choose to call yourself), your website isn’t just a pretty placeholder—it’s your sales engine. It can’t just be an afterthought or something you’ll “get to later”.
It should be HAS TO BE you’re no. 1 employee… at all times!
Luckily, Squarespace makes it easy (mostly) to build a sleek, stunning and functional website that even the non-techiest person could work out (if they really wanted to).
But if it’s not done right, your dream clients might bounce before they ever book.
Here are the 5 most common mistakes I see—and how to fix them:
1. Not Clearly Stating What You Do
You have 3–5 seconds to grab your dream client’s attention. If your home/landing page doesn’t instantly say who you help and how you help them, they will leave. Don’t make them guess and don’t make them search.
✅ Fix: Use a headline like: “Brand Photography for Bold Entrepreneurs” — specific, clear and niche. Struggling to make it punchy? Utilise my OpenAI friend, Chatty to make it concise and get it done quickly (that’s ChatGPT for the people at the back).
2. Too Many Pages or Unclear Navigation
Clutter kills conversions. If your site has endless dropdowns, dead pages or confusing paths, visitors will peace out.
✅ Fix: Keep your navigation clean (4–6 links max). Combine pages where possible. And drop the ‘Home” tab, people know to click the logo to take them home.
3. Generic or Low-Quality Images
Squarespace is visually driven—your imagery makes or breaks first impressions. Stock photos that scream "corporate brochure" are a fast turnoff.
✅ Fix: Use niche-specific, personality-packed visuals—or invest in a brand shoot if you have spare cash. If you are part of your brand (service based business - your face builds trust) as well as this there are great sites like Pexel and Unsplash where you can find professional images for your brand.
4. No Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)
Visitors need guidance. If there’s no obvious next step (book, shop, download), they leave with nothing but frustration.
✅ Fix: Add a simple CTA to every page. Think: “Book Your Free Consult” or “Explore Our Templates.”
5. Mobile Layouts That Don’t Convert
Over half your visitors are on mobile. If your site isn’t optimized for phones, it looks unprofessional and you could be losing sales fast.
✅ Fix: Check spacing, font size and image load time on mobile before you hit publish.
ANY time you make an edit, the mobile icon (top right hand corner) will have a blue dot appear that shows there are edits to review on mobile view. Check these - always!
That’s it?
Yep - Implement these changes easily and you’ll be on your way to landing those dream clients in no time. Subscribe below for future blog posts as I’ll dive into more in-depth tips and tricks but ensure you have the basics covered first to avoid overwhelm.
Don’t have the time?
No fret - It happens to be one of the things I’m good at (and also offer as one of my services). You can purchase my Designer For A Day service where I can go through and make as many changes on your site to help optimize it to be the best it can be.
Need a fresh set of eyes on your Squarespace site?
👉 Book a Website Review and I’ll check your site top to bottom—with actionable steps for improvement.
