How to ask others to toot your horn
Reading authentic recommendations on a website really helps potential clients, customers, donors, volunteers, and participants understand what you can offer them.
A woodworking craftsman client of mine has a page of testimonials on his website that speaks to both the breadth and quality of his work. A non-profit agency I'm working with holds seasonal events and asks participants to fill out a survey and write about their experiences. The positive comments are turned into website testimonials to encourage others to attend events and help support the organization.
If you have an account on LinkedIn, it's easy to ask for recommendations. When I completed some of my first projects, I asked my clients (with whom I had already connected on LinkedIn) to write a recommendation based on their recent experiences. I was grateful that they were able to do so and I published them to my LinkedIn profile.
I also wanted to add these positive comments to my website, knowing that I wanted potential clients to be able to read them. Clever ads and slick marketing just can't take the place of testimonials. Nice words from real people serve to reassure people to take the next step of contacting you for a consultation or attending your upcoming event.
I did some research on what others had to say about adding testimonials to a website. This article, "5 Ways to Showcase Your Testimonials and Wow New Clients", gave me some new ideas. Going beyond the standard practice of asking for testimonials through LinkedIn and email requests, it also suggested asking for permission to record or write down spoken testimonials. The article also showcased some designs for adding testimonials to a website that were visually appealing and compelling.
When my business was still young and growing and I didn't have a huge number of testimonials from various sources, I had a dedicated Testimonials page.
Now I tend to advise sprinkling testimonials throughout your website. The important thing to remember is that people visiting your website should be able to find and read about what your customers have to say about you and your business. Having others sing your praises will make your phone ring.
Adding links to your website gives people a convenient way to learn more about a subject that interests them. Links can be built into text, buttons, or images. Learn more about the guidelines I go by when deciding which type of link to use.
Writing, styling, and placing headings on a website page takes planning and intention. Use readable headings with just one Heading 1 per page and then Heading 2 and 3 as needed to outline the content.
Whether your website is new or has been around a while, decluttering the content to encourage visitors to browse is always a good idea.
Like the receptionist and reception area in an office, the Home page is the greeting area that needs to contain enough cues to reassure visitors that they're in the right place and give them guidance about how to find what they need and what to do now that they're there.
Whether you want to archive a page for posterity or for your future use, here are the instructions for properly archiving the page without causing 404 Page Not Found errors on your Squarespace website.
I recommend starting your business with a Google Workspace Business account so your business email address includes your domain name. But a personal Google account can be useful for many everyday tasks. In this blog post, I cover how the two types of accounts differ.
Squarespace assigns every new website a built-in domain, a Site ID, that ends with “squarespace.com.” I recommend changing the random ID Squarespace assigns to be something you’ll remember.
Understanding in advance how your website will support your business will inform your website's design and content.
The aspect ratio of an image is its width relative to its height. Understanding aspect ratio helps you design your pages with images that look attractive and well-matched. Aspect ratio choices can also help with planning and choosing images you’d like to use on your website.
Being able to preview your website live without logging out of Squarespace is a convenience for testing and proofreading before you launch.
You can add a Social Sharing image to Squarespace to be shown as a link preview for your website when you share a URL on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The size of 1200x628 pixels works best for those platforms. You can also set custom images for specific website pages or blog posts to draw extra attention to them.
A footer is the last section of information at the bottom of a website page. Use this valuable area to show contact information, add links to website pages, and ask visitors to take action on their way to becoming loyal customers.
Here are my 10 favorite text tips to help you create a modern and professional-looking website on Squarespace or any other website platform.
I used the free version of MailChimp for several years and found it easy to use. I now use MailerLite because it allows a Welcome letter automation sequence that MailChimp no longer offers on the free plan. Still MailChimp is a good choice for small-business owners who want to add a newsletter to their site without the monthly cost of an email marketing plan if they only need to send new subscribers a single Welcome letter.
As you start a blog, first determine the focus of your blog. Then choose topics that are relevant and that are in your area of expertise. Blog posts can contain text, images, videos, links to other blog posts, links to podcasts, and personal or creative endeavors. Each blog post adds content to your website and gives you cumulative client-attracting and SEO benefits.
Before you can choose individual topics to write about in your blog, first define the strategy for your blog as a whole. Knowing who your audience is and what they want to know will be the foundation for the content. It will also help you choose topics that fit the goals of your blog.
When you were in school, did you learn to put that extra Oxford comma in your lists? The choice is up to you, the style guides tell us, but to help your readers, keep your decision consistent throughout your website, your blog posts, and your social media.
Kerry A. Thompson
You don’t need a big agency to get your website done. You just need the one right person. I offer Squarespace website design and content development services for creatives, coaches, and healers. Learn more in a free 30-minute consultation.