Do You Actually Need Squarespace Maintenance? (Honest Answer)
In this post we’ll be discussing a question we often get asked by clients - “once the website is made, do I need ongoing maintenance like I did with my previous wordpress website?”
This isn’t a sales pitch so the honest and truthful answer is no, you don’t.
Squarespace is a centralised and fully managed content management system (CMS). You don’t need to pay for your own hosting and you don’t need to update any plugins of software to keep your site online and secure (Squarespace includes this with the fee you pay them).
The vast majority of Squarespace sites (especially those without any custom code added) will run smoothly as they are now for years to come without you having to lift a finger - that’s one of the biggest benefits of the platform and a core reason for why we’ve helped dozens of clients move their sites from Wordpress to Squarespace.
The real question isn’t “do I need it?”
As we’ve established above, Squarespace websites don’t need ongoing maintenance to remain functional. However just because a website is built on Squarespace, it doesn’t mean it should be left untouched for months at a time, or worse, until you next decide it’s time for a re-design!
To be making the most of your website, it should be seen as an evergreen asset for your business. One that’s regularly updated, maintained and added to as your business or organisation evolves. It should always be as well optimised as possible to serve your users. A regularly updated website will have a far higher chance of yielding results for you - whether that’s enquiries or donations, than one that’s left to rot.
So with this said, I would invite you to consider that the question you shouldn’t be asking here is “do I need ongoing maintenance for my Squarespace website?” rather, “should I be the one responsible for keeping my website up to date?”
We all have areas of expertise so if you’re relatively tech-savvy and have the time to invest in keeping your website up to date and well optimised, then maybe you should be keeping it up-to-date yourself.
However, if the thought of uploading that blog post, which you know should be on your website, fills you with dread and keeps getting pushed to next week's to-do list, then maybe it’s time to consider delegating this responsibility so that you can spend your time on a task where it’s more effective and enjoyable.
I thought I didn’t need Squarespace maintenance? What does it actually involve?
Unlike Wordpress (or other self-hosted content management systems), Squarespace does not need someone carrying out security patches or plugin updates every month. As we outlined above, this is actually handled for you automatically by Squarespace’s internal teams and anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t telling the truth.
What ‘Squarespace maintenance’ does involve is essentially updating the content, functionality and perhaps even styling of your website. Examples would include:
Keeping your blog up to date with content you’ve written
Updating wording on key informational pages so that it remains accurate
Reviewing and improving page layouts so that your content is being presented in as efficient manner as possible
Fixing any bugs, issues and ensuring your site remains mobile friendly
Reviewing analytics and keeping an eye on where your traffic is coming from
Setting up limited time offers or updating pricing (for ecommerce sites)
You’ll notice that none of the above are considered ‘mandatory’ tasks to keep your website online and accessible. Instead, these are tasks that you probably already know you should be doing…but maybe can’t be bothered to? 👀
How do I know if I do or don’t need Squarespace Maintenance?
Ongoing Squarespace maintenance is probably not needed if you’re relatively comfortable editing your own site and have the time to keep it updated on your own. If you look at the above list and think “yep, I’m doing most of that already”, you probably wouldn’t get enough value from hiring a Squarespace expert to update your site on your behalf.
Similarly if your website isn’t a key driver of leads/revenue and isn’t really used for anything other than ‘checking you are who you say you are’, investing time and money into improving it each month may be trivial. Although I disagree with this statement most times I hear it, I have seen it apply in certain situations.
On the flip side, if you’re time-poor, non-technical and know your business would benefit from the updates to it like those outlined above, it would probably be worth considering premium Squarespace maintenance services. These are offered by dozens of companies, including ourselves - if you’d like to explore what this might look like for your business, get in touch and we can have a quick chat about how we might be able to support.
The hidden cost of “doing nothing”
Of course, as mentioned numerous times above, there’s no absolute need to regularly update your website with new content or features. It will stay online functioning the way it does today without you having to lift a finger.
So what’s the true cost of doing nothing?
The reality is that websites are used to judge a business. The average user decides whether they want to stay and explore a website within mere seconds (probably even less) of landing on a page. A single design issue that’s been missed could be causing users to bounce even if the rest of the site looks and works perfectly.
Maintaining and regularly testing your website is all about risk mitigation. A systematic approach to this reduces the chance of someone coming to your site and noticing something that causes them to leave. A single ‘good fit’ user that leaves for whatever reason could in theory be costing your business hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending on the line of work you’re in.
Additionally, we all know that competitors will be investing in regularly updating their online presence. If someone (whether yourself or a professional Squarespace designer) is not frequently making updates and improvements to the content, design and features on your website, the gap between yours and your competitors gets ever more noticeable and significant over time.
Again, this results in lost leads and opportunities that instead end up going to your competitors. So while it’s not mandatory, keeping on top of your online presence is certainly highly advisable especially if you’re looking to actively grow your business or brand.
The options: DIY vs professional support
There are two ways you can go about keeping your website - either do it yourself (DIY) or by hiring a professional web designer to look after and maintain your site. Neither is right or wrong, it simply comes down to how you want to be spending your time and also where your time is best spent. Here’s an objective comparison to help you decide which route is best for you:
DIY
No cost - good if you have time to spare and limited resources
Full control - you can make updates the way you want to
Requires time, consistency and some subject matter knowledge though this can be learned easily enough if you’re willing
Ongoing Support
Saves time and allows you to invest time saved elsewhere in your business
Ensures it gets done (no need to motivate yourself)
Brings in an expert opinion from someone that does this all day, everyday
How does premium Squarespace maintenance work?
If after reading the above, you’ve decided that it’s best you hire a Squarespace expert to help with the ongoing maintenance of your website, here’s a high level overview of how it works - at least here at SpaceWorks. And if you choose to go elsewhere, hopefully this gives you a good idea as to what you should be looking for in a service provider.
Firstly, requesting website updates should be seamless. If it’s not, you’re not saving your time - and that’s the whole goal! We use our own system called Orchestra which allows you to manage your task queue, raise new requests and even manage the billing of your account. Alternatively, we have clients who prefer to email us in their requests - the key here is that we make it as easy as possible for our clients to submit a maintenance or update request.
Secondly, the support you’re engaging should be proactive. As a client, you should be looking for a partner that can run a scan of your website every so often to flag any potential issues before users encounter them. Staying one step ahead ensures your online presence and brand is strongly guarded which again, is another key reason for bringing in a professional.
Finally, support should ensure that the website remains aligned with the business or organisation as it evolves. This means that the website should be updated with new features that help you better serve your visitors and messaging that accurately reflects your positioning in the market.
If you’re interested in learning more about how our Squarespace Support & Maintenance offerings, click the following link: https://spaceworks.studio/services/squarespace-premium-support-maintenance
Final thoughts
To conclude, maintenance and regular updates to your Squarespace are indeed optional, from a technical perspective. Your website won’t break if you’re not paying your developer to keep it online.
That said, there are a huge number of benefits to more proactively maintaining and updating your website. From enhancing your users' experience, to staying ahead of competitors, the list is endless. This is all work that you can learn to do yourself if you’re inclined to, interested or have spare time. Likewise, if you’d rather be focusing your efforts in other areas, partnering with a team that can help ensure your site and wider online presence is looked after can be hugely beneficial.
We hope that you’ve found this article helpful and once again, if you’d like to find out more about Premium Support & Maintenance please click here. We’d also be more than happy to set up some time to chat through the options if helpful.