Brand & Website Homework
On this page you will find:
- Help with choosing a Squarespace template.
- Help with purchasing your domain (if you haven’t already).
- Instructions on how to create your secret Pinterest board of inspiration.
- A questionnaire to help me understand your goals and create a brand and website you’ll love.
- What I need from you before your project starts.
- How to use Asana.
- Helpful tips for providing helpful feedback.
Please feel free to email me at hi@neshadesigns.com if you need any help. I’m always happy to hop on Skype or chat via email if you need me to talk you through anything!
01. Choose a Squarespace Template
All Squarespace templates allow you to add a shop, portfolio and blog but some have very different layouts to others.
To browse all templates, visit this page.
Don’t worry- your website won’t look exactly like the template. The template will just be the foundation for the layout of your site.
Only certain templates have blog sidebars. If you definitely want one, it will narrow your options but if you’re okay with that then so am I.
Blog sidebars are great for advertising products, listing categories, showing popular posts etc.
Templates with a blog sidebar:
Have a good look through the Squarespace templates and keep these things in mind...
- Do you like the layout?
- Do you like where the navigation menu is?
- Does it have a blog sidebar? Do you want one?
- Does it have a unique shop style and do you like it?
- Does it have a unique blog style and do you like it?
You'll be able to tell me which template you chose in the questionnaire further down this page. For now, move on to section two of this page: registering a domain!
02. Register your domain
A domain is the URL of your website (eg. www.example.com). If you have already purchased a domain from somewhere like Godaddy or Dreamhost then you can skip this step.
You can buy a domain directly through Squarespace but I don't recommend it. It's best to buy it from a third party, just in case you decide to move from Squarespace in the future. I can repoint your domain from your third party host to Squarespace.
I recommend buying your domain through Dreamhost. Their domains start from $11.95 USD per year.
(Do not buy your domain through Godaddy- they always have tech issues.)
- To register your domain with Dreamhost, head this way and check if your domain is available.
- Click the 'buy' button next to the domain you want.
- Create a Dreamhost account.
- Purchase your domain.
03. Create and fill a secret Pinterest board
On Pinterest, create and fill a secret board with inspiration for your brand, including: a minimum of 5 logos, 5 colour palettes, 5 patterns and 5 website designs.
Follow me @neshadesigns and invite me to your secret board.
If you can't find anything to pin to your board, feel free to pin from my design boards. When you've filled your board, go through your pins and leave comments on your favorites stating what you like about them
04. The Questionnaire
05. Upload your website content to Asana
Before the start of your project, I need you to upload your website content (images & text) to Basecamp.
Content you'll need to upload:
- Text for all of your pages (including headers)
- Opt-in form text
- Opt-in button text
- Sidebar text
- Button text
Images:
Please upload all images to Basecamp and name them where you want them to go. (Eg. About page, Contact page etc.)
Images must be a minimum of 1500 pixels wide. The bigger, the better!
If you don't have very high quality photos, I recommend buying stock photos from Stocksy.
06. How to use Asana
07. Tips for providing helpful feedback
You can help me do a really good job by providing me with organized, helpful feedback on your designs. Here are some tips!
- Try and use bullet points when you're listing revisions.
- Break up your feedback into paragraphs.
- Seperate your feedback into sections. For example, feedback about your website footer could go under the header 'website footer' and feedback about your header could go under the header 'website header'.
- Be as specific as you can.
- If there is more than one person providing feedback, please gather your feedback into one message instead of posting multiple messages.
Feedback like this really helps the design process run smoothly. Thanks for your cooperation! You're the best.
