Should You Hire a Squarespace Designer or SEO Expert First?
Introduction
Most business owners feel they should build their website first, then work with an SEO expert to get it ranking and bring in leads.
Logically, this makes sense. SEO services often come with a price tag, and if you are just getting started or looking at a full overhaul, you may feel like you want to divide up the process, and your budget.
However, this is where most business owners go wrong.
Most business owners don’t realize that design and SEO are deeply connected. In fact, building a new website and focusing on your SEO marketing at the same time, will be the most cost effective, saving you time and money in the long run.
Not all website designers are SEO experts. Most SEO experts aren’t designers. But there are Squarespace designers who are also certified SEO experts that can do both.
Khara Wolf, at Websites by Khara, can do both! There are also a number of other designers certified in Squarespace SEO that you can explore in the SEOSpace directory.
Determining if you should hire someone who can do both, or if you are just needing a singular service or expert, depends on your goals, your current website (or lack of one), and what you need your site to do for your business in the next 6–12 months.
This article will guide you through the process of determining what you need for your business and if you should hire a designer, SEO expert, or someone who can do both!
Quick Tips: Designer First vs. SEO First vs. Both Together
| Approach | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Designer First | - Quick launch with a polished, professional look - Credibility boost with clients/customers |
- Site not optimized for search - Missed keyword & structure opportunities - Costly SEO fixes later |
| SEO First | - Research guides site structure & content - Better chance of ranking when site launches - Validates services based on search demand |
- Still need a designer to execute - Slower path to launch if design lags - Extra handoffs between two providers |
| Both Together | - SEO guides design from the start - Launch with a site that looks great and ranks - Saves money by avoiding rework - Strongest ROI long term |
- Upfront investment may feel higher - Fewer professionals can deliver both at a high level |
Table of Contents
Case Study: When Design Without SEO Backfires
One of my clients, Estancia Ranquilco, originally hired a designer to move their site to Squarespace. That designer wasn’t a Squarespace SEO expert. The site looked mediocre on the surface, and behind the scenes it was a mess.
blog posts were imported incorrectly (as singular pages!)
redirects were missing
the site structure didn’t align with search intent.
As a result, their rankings dropped and the only way forward was a complete rebuild.
Estancia Ranquilco's new Squarespace website that included Squarespace SEO strategy
Here is what we focused on:
Strategy first. We did a full strategy, complete with competitor research and keywords. This helped us identify where they stood in the market and what keywords would drive growth.
Then we mapped out the site based on search intent. Their original site had a ton of redundant pages, content that was mis-aligned with search intent, and no technical optimization in place.
Finally, we rebuilt the website for SEO by
updating the branding and UX (for conversions)
consolidated pages that were causing bloat (and too many clicks for conversions)
implemented almost a hundred redirects
updated URL structures
implemented keyword optimization and other technical optimization
match search intent by updating page content and structure
migrated their blog as a proper blog structure (using the built-in blog feature in Squaresace)
When we relaunched their site with both design and SEO in mind, the results were dramatic: clicks increased by over 30% in the first month, their main service page grew traffic by more than 500%, and they began ranking on page one for commercial-intent keywords tied directly to bookings.
Search Console impressions that went up 30% in the first month.
This is the hidden cost of hiring a designer without SEO expertise. You may end up paying for a redesign and SEO fixes later.
→ By working with a Squarespace designer who is also a Squarespace SEO expert, you launch with a site that looks great and saves you money in the long run.
Do your goals align with design needs, SEO needs, or both?
Before you decide whether to hire a Squarespace designer or a Squarespace SEO expert, it’s important to take a step back and look at your goals. What do you need your website to actually do for your business?
For some business owners, the priority is simply getting a website live so they can look professional and have a place to send people. For others, the real goal is visibility, which means showing up in Google searches and turning that traffic into leads. And for many, it’s both.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Am I primarily focused on launching or relaunching a site so I have a professional online presence?
Do I want my website to act as a lead-generation machine, pulling in traffic and inquiries on its own?
In the next 6–12 months, is it more important that my site looks polished or that it gets found on Google?
Your answers to these questions can help you see where to start. If looking credible is most urgent, design may come first. If visibility and traffic are your biggest challenges, SEO should be the focus. And if both matter, then working with someone who understands both design and SEO will give you the strongest foundation.
How to Evaluate Your Current Situation
The next step is to take an honest look at where you are right now with your website. Your current situation will influence whether design, SEO, or both should be your focus.
No website yet: If you’re starting from scratch, design is a must, but it should still always be guided by SEO research. Building a site without an SEO-informed structure means you’ll likely have to rebuild or fix it later, which costs far more.
An outdated or underperforming website: If your site looks unprofessional or doesn’t reflect your business anymore, redesigning may be necessary. But again, doing it without SEO planning can set you back.
A site that looks good but isn’t getting traffic: If you already have a clean, modern website but no one is finding it, SEO may be the missing piece. Sometimes the design is fine, but the visibility is the issue.
Take a moment decide if your biggest problem is credibility (how your site looks and functions) or visibility (whether people can find you at all). If it’s both – you need someone who can do both design and SEO. And yes, that expert does exist!
Key Questions to Ask Yourself First
Once you’ve looked at your goals and your current website, the next step is asking some key questions that will clarify where your real need lies.
Take this quick self-check:
Am I getting traffic from Google right now?
If yes, do I know whether that traffic is turning into leads or sales? If no, SEO may need to be a priority.
Do I know what my audience is searching for?
Without keyword and search intent research, you could be creating pages that no one is looking for. This is where websites can get bloated with pages that don’t “do” anything and need to be updated or replaced later on.
Do I feel confident sending people to my website today?
If the design feels outdated or off brand, you may be losing credibility even if people do find you. In this case, you need a designer too!
What matters most in the next 6–12 months? being found or looking polished?
Knowing which is most urgent right now helps you decide where to start. If you know you need SEO later, you’ll save money in the long run by combining it with design services upfront.
Answering these questions will give you clarity. Most businesses feel like they have to choose between design or SEO. However, you can have both. You can have your cake and eat it too, and you should! That’s why having a Squarespace designer who is also an SEO expert is often the most cost-effective, future-ready solution.
The Hidden Cost of Hiring a Squarespace Designer Without SEO Expertise
As a service provider or local business, you can unintentionally waste time and money by hiring a designer without SEO expertise. On the surface, hiring a designer first seems like the logical step: you get a polished site, then bring in an SEO expert later to optimize it. But here’s the problem, if your site wasn’t built with SEO in mind from day one, the structure, content, and design decisions are often working against your ability to rank.
What this actually means:
Poor site structure: Pages aren’t aligned with search intent won’t rank. This leads to sites that have a bloated page structure. Google and LLM’s such as ChatGPT will not scan every page or the content on every page. An under optimized site structure can cause search engines to scan unnecessary or irrelevant content.
Missed keyword opportunities: Designers who aren’t SEO-trained often guess at keywords and navigation titles instead of using actual search data. This means the language may make sense to your clients/customers, Google and AI search engines may not see it the same way. Aka, nothing will rank.
Costly updates later to redesign content/pages: If you do design first, and none of this is handled upfront, an SEO expert will need to go back and restructure the site, rewrite content, and sometimes even recommend a partial rebuild.
The real cost isn’t just the extra money you’ll spend on fixes, it’s also the traffic, leads, and sales you lose in the meantime and have to spend more money on later, to get back.
This is why working with a Squarespace designer who is also a certified SEO expert is so powerful. You avoid the “build now, fix later” trap and instead launch a website that’s built to perform from day one.
Why a Squarespace Designer + Squarespace SEO Expert Saves You Money and Gets Better Results
When you work with someone who understands both Squarespace design and SEO, you get a site that looks professional and is built to rank, without the costly backtracking. Every design decision is guided by data, not just aesthetics.
Here’s what that looks like in real time:
SEO-informed site structure: Your navigation, page hierarchy, and URLs are built around search intent so Google and AI search engines (such as ChatGPT) can clearly understand the hierarchy of your services.
Keyword-driven content and design: Headlines, service pages, and even button text are crafted using the words your audience is actively searching for, not just what “sounds nice.”
Conversion-first design: The site isn’t just discoverable; it’s designed to convert visitors into leads and customers.
Future-proof investment: Instead of paying for a redesign and then SEO fixes later, you launch with both baked in, saving thousands in rework.
The result is a website that works harder for your business: it builds credibility with your audience, visibility with Google, and momentum for your growth. It’s the difference between a digital brochure and a true marketing engine.
The Rule of Thumb (Decision Framework)
The best choice, of whether to hire a Squarespace designer, a Squarespace SEO specialist, or someone who can do both, depends on your goals, your current website, and what you need your site to do for your business in the next 6–12 months.
Here’s a simple rule of thumb to guide your decision:
No website or outdated site? Start with design, but only if it’s guided by SEO research. Otherwise, you’ll just end up rebuilding later.
Good-looking site but no traffic? SEO is likely the missing piece.
Want the best ROI? Hire someone who can do both so you don’t have to choose.
You don’t have to separate design and SEO into two different stages. In reality, the two should work together from the beginning.
Why You Need a Squarespace SEO Expert, Specifically (Not Just Any SEO Expert)
Not all SEO experts understand how Squarespace works. Squarespace. While many general SEO professionals have strong skills, they often come from a WordPress or custom development background. Squarespace is a different platform with its own quirks, limitations, and unique opportunities.
Here’s why working with a Squarespace SEO expert matters:
Platform-specific knowledge: Squarespace handles code injection, structured data, page nesting, and site speed differently than other platforms. A general SEO might recommend fixes that simply don’t apply, or worse, break your site.
Design + SEO balance: Squarespace’s strength is beautiful, user-friendly design. A Squarespace SEO expert knows how to optimize without compromising your site’s clean design or functionality.
Built-in vs. custom features: Squarespace automatically generates certain schema, meta tags, and mobile elements. An SEO expert who isn’t Squarespace-savvy might not realize what’s already in place (or what needs to be overridden), leading to redundancy or missed opportunities.
Efficiency: A Squarespace SEO expert knows the exact tools, settings, and workarounds that save you time and money, instead of charging extra to “figure it out.”
Hiring a general SEO for a Squarespace site is a bit like hiring a mechanic who specializes in trucks to fix a Tesla. They might understand the basics of engines, but without platform-specific knowledge, the results can be clunky, incomplete, or expensive to correct.
Conclusion & Next Steps
Most business owners assume they should build their website first and “do SEO later.” It feels logical, but it’s also the most expensive mistake you can make. A beautiful website without SEO won’t get found, and SEO applied to a poorly structured site means paying for costly fixes.
If you want to work with a Squarespace designer who is also a certified Squarespace SEO specialist, that’s where I come in! I’m a Platinum Circle Certified Squarespace Marketplace Designer and a SEOSpace Certified Squarespace SEO Expert. I’m one of the few professionals recognized at the top level in both design and SEO on the Squarespace platform.
If you’re ready for a site that’s both discoverable and designed to perform, let’s talk.
