Website In One Day? It’s Actually Achievable. Here’s How to do it Easily.
Looking for a logo and website design package? Need Squarespace design help? Time for a new website launch?
If you want all of the above, and want it fast, here are the digestible steps I’ve designed to get you your website in one day.
When you book your Launch In A Day Squarespace website, the plan is to get your website live by the end of our session together. Here are the nitty gritty details of how it works.
Your slot should be booked at least two weeks in advance. Once you book, you’ll get a series of emails from me with links to forms for you to fill out. You’ll get one assignment about every two days.
These assignments need to be completed and ready for your booked day.
Prior to the day, we’ll have an hour long kick-off call to make sure everything is ready and make sure we’re set-up for success.
Anticipate around 10 hours of work prior to your booked day.
Here’s a look at the assignments:
One day website pre-work Assignment #1: Objectives and Requirements
TIME COMMITMENT: 30 MIN - 1 HOUR
I’ll ask you to think about the following:
WHY you’re launching your site
What you want visitors to do when they get to your website.
Any business struggles you may be experiencing
What your website needs to do
This helps me figure out what you need and serves as a prompt to uncover any features and functionalities you need on your website that you might not have considered.
On the kick-off call we'll clarify if anything is missing and what we can realistically include on our work day.
This pre-work assignment is a simple form, with entry fields, pull downs and text boxes. It includes links to blog posts I’ve written that will help you complete the task.
One day website pre-work assignment #2: Website Outline & Copy
TIME COMMITMENT: 3-6 HOURS
I’ll be honest, this is the most difficult assignment, so I include it early in the pre-work.
The outline part should be pretty straightforward, but writing website copy is what trips a lot of people up. I’ve tried to make this as digestible as possible. For just about everything there are links to articles, post or videos that will give you some guidance.
Some guidance before you begin writing your website copy:
Don’t overthink it
Done is better than perfect
Launch and refine - you can always go back and edit later, nothing is written in blood or stone
Don’t let this be a stumbling block to progress. Good enough is fine.
On the form I provide a sample website outline, including a footer.
I link to a short series of videos about writing website copy and SEO. There are text fields for your website pages and also guides on the legal text required (with links to free services for generating it.)
This pre-work assignment will take you awhile, but I recommend you try and limit yourself to no more than 6 hours on this task.
Take a ‘shitty first draft’ pass at it, then look at it a day later and refine.
If this feels too overwhelming, there are great courses to help you write your website copy, like ‘Write Your Site’ from Sophy Dale (use code ‘TAKEAWAY50’ for a 50£ discount - affiliate link).
One day website pre-work assignment #3: Your brand attributes
TIME COMMITMENT: ABOUT 1 HOUR
In this assignment it’s time to articulate your brand. Not sure what a brand is? Read more about the importance of a visual brand here.
This will serve as the underlying basis for the structure, layout and look and feel of your website (along with the visual style assignment, which comes next).
You don’t need to go through a big branding exercise before launching a website, but at a minimum you should have an idea what your brand is about.
This assignment will give you the opportunity to write down some words and values that you want to communicate about your business.
Remember, a brand is simply this: a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or company.
With your brand you tell people who you are, what you do and why it matters. You communicate your brand through the tone of your copy, your graphic design, your logo, the imagery you use and how you relate to your clients and customers.
This form will ask you about your ideal customer and how you want him or her to feel when they first land on your website.
One day website pre work assignment #4 - Defining your website look and feel
TIME COMMITMENT: 2-3 HOURS
As the designer of your website, I need to understand how you want it to look; the ‘vibe’ you want to create.
In this assignment I’ll ask you to think about and define your visual style.
You’ll create a mood board using Pinterest, and share 1-3 websites you like and why. This information will accelerate the process of getting your website visually ready.
I’ll refer you to the Brand Attributes you wrote down in assignment #3 when putting together your mood board. The work you did in that assignment should influence the visual content you pin and select in this exercise.
I’ll also provide you with helpful links for finding free stock photos for commercial use.
If you haven’t already, I recommend hiring a photographer for a branding or business photo shooting. At the very least, have a professional photographer take a head shot.
If you’ve hired a photographer here’s some guidance for your photoshoot prep.
There’s one last assignment but it’s a simple housekeeping one.
You’ll be able to upload any existing photography (like a headshot) that you want to use on the site.
If you don’t have a professional head shot I provide some guidance on how to take your own (but you really should have it professionally done!)
So that’s it in a nutshell!
So it is possible to launch your website in one day. The key is making sure you do the prep work before hand.
There is upfront work, which is why you really should book this a few weeks in advance and set aside some time; probably about 10-12 hours.
Before our day together we’ll have an hour long kick-off call to make sure we’re really prepared, and then we’ll get to it on the day.
One the day of your new website launch, I’ve got everything where I need it. That helps me work extremely fast. All I need from you is your availability and feedback!
Are you ready to launch your website in a day?
Read more about it and book below