While I’m newer at offering web design services to clients, I’m not new to website design, small business ownership, or marketing.

I’ve been in the creative industry for 15 years as a professional photographer, and have always enjoyed the process of building and updating my own website for my business. In addition, my employment experience includes a combination of marketing roles and website-building roles over the past 13 years. I have prior experience working with various popular digital platforms, including Squarespace, Showit, Wix, and WordPress/Avada.

As a testament to my SEO expertise, my photography business website consistently appears at the #1 position on Google for a few of my primary local search terms!

Squarespace is the platform your website will be built on. It functions both as your website host (where your site lives behind the scenes) and as a website builder (where your content is laid out visually). The platform includes an intuitive drag-and-drop website builder and offers additional tools for small businesses, such as blogging, e-commerce, and email marketing.

Squarespace also automatically provides important technical features, such as an SSL certificate and a sitemap. These ensure your website is secure and can be properly indexed by search engines, without any extra setup on your end.

I chose Squarespace because it’s known for uptime, security, aesthetics, and ease of use, and I have been a happy customer myself for several years.

The custom website design is a one-time fee (broken into installments), meaning I will not charge you anything to keep your website after it’s transferred to you. However, there are a few ongoing costs required for maintaining your web presence:

1. Squarespace subscription: You can choose the subscription plan that works best for your needs, starting with the Squarespace Core plan at $23/month (billed annually). Please note, the Squarespace Basic plan does not include important features such as custom CSS (which may be implemented for design and functionality) and built-in website analytics. Please see Squarespace Plan Pricing for up-to-date information. Since you will manage your own Squarespace account after hand-off, you will be billed directly from Squarespace for your annual subscription.

2. Domain name: Domains typically cost $10-$25 per year, though may offer discounted pricing for longer terms. Costs will vary by domain registrar, the name you choose, and optional services like domain privacy. You will be billed directly from your domain registrar.

After site hand-off, you may hire me for maintenance and updates, but it is not required. You will have full ownership and control of your new website design!

Absolutely! Once your site is complete and transferred to your Squarespace account, you will have 100% ownership and control. Unlike many web development companies, I do not “own” your website or your domain name, meaning you’ll never lose either after our working relationship is complete.

I even provide you with a PDF guide designed to help you make basic updates to your new site with confidence.

Of course. I also offer website maintenance services, billed in hourly increments. Most minor updates can be completed in 1-2 hours. You can set me as a site contributor while retaining ownership, which allows me to make limited changes at your discretion.

Yes, part of my packages includes creatively writing the copy for your pages with your input and voice. Or, you can submit the copy exactly how you want it.

Through my other business, Roxanne Elise Photography, I also specialize in professional headshots, branding photography, and content creation photography for small businesses and entrepreneurs; a perfect pairing for your new website! I can also accept your own photos as well as properly licensed stock images to use on your site.

If your business does not yet have established brand colors or fonts, a Starter Brand Kit will be developed before the website design begins. This service costs $300 and will include a curated color palette of 4-6 colors, heading and body text font pairings, and a brand style guide provided in PDF format with font names and color Hex codes.

You’ll walk away with an established brand style that you can use to maintain consistency in future projects and and brand collateral!

I primarily focus on designing websites for service-based businesses an small local shops, but for an added fee, I can assist with setting up a basic e-commerce platform on your website.

Never! Because mobile device viewers tend to make up the majority of web traffic today, the mobile version of your site is developed right alongside the desktop version, and is included with all packages.

Yes, if you already have a Squarespace site that you like, but it needs a minor refresher, you can hire me to make changes and updates. I also offer add-ons like custom link-in-bio pages/landing pages and QR codes that can integrate with an existing website.

If, however, you are looking for a fresh new design or extensive updates, it’s more efficient for me to design a new site from scratch. I can still use existing content that was used on your old site.

Depending on the size and complexity of the website you are looking for, it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 weeks. (This is also dependent on the speed of communications and how soon all necessary assets are provided to me).

This will be an efficient process, so you can launch your new website within weeks, not six months later!

No; if you are considering hiring me for a custom website design, I will need to initiate the new website within my account first. You will only need to subscribe to Squarespace at the time of hand-off, at which time the entire design will be transferred to your account.