Introducing Mini Site Designs
Mini-Sites are now part of my one-week website design process!
Is a full website design out of reach? Introducing Mini Site designs from Lemon and the Sea! This three week design process includes website design and strategy for up to 3 pages of your Squarespace website. It’s the perfect option for new businesses looking to get a website up and running or for refreshing your current Squarespace website on a budget.
What is a Mini Site?
Mini sites are a fast-paced design service we offer based on studio availability. The three week process is a website makeover that includes design strategy and designing up to three pages of your site.
Why a Mini Site instead of a full design?
It’s no secret that a well-designed and strategic website can help you grow your business exponentially. While most websites we design are complex - with 10+ pages, multiple opt-in landing pages, and lots of integrations - not everyone business needs or wants a full website design.
Mini Sites take the best parts of working with a Squarespace website designer - knowledge of Custom CSS, strategic design, and a design tailored for your business - without the full eight week timeline and big price tag. You still get the strategy, experience, and toolkit of a designer without committing to something you aren’t ready for.
I love designing Mini Sites for new businesses and entrepreneurs who need an online home, but who conduct most of their business in-person. They are also the perfect solution for someone who wants to refresh their Squarespace website with a new look, but can’t afford to invest $5,000+. These refreshes are great because they give you three fully redesigned pages, as well as updated styling throughout the site, along with tutorials that allow you to update the rest of your site on your own.
What’s included in the design?
Every Mini Site design follows that same basic process. These nine steps allow us to give you a strategic and beautiful custom site with a much quicker turnaround.
Discovery Call - so we can get to know one another and I can create a custom proposal based on your needs.
Design Questionnaires - to make sure that we give you the design and functionality you need.
Website Moodboard - so we’re on the same page about the overall look and feel of your site before design begins.
Mockup Design - we’ll create a mockup of your site’s homepage and send you a PDF to review.
Mockup Edits - you’ll have one round of edits in the mockup stage to finalize the design before development begins.
Development - We will update your current Squarespace website with the approved changes from the mock-up and add any new content.
SEO Basics - we will update any SEO fields that need to be added for existing and new pages based on your keywords.
Website Testing - the final website will be reviewed and fully tested for functionality and design.
Tutorials & Training - we’ll teach you how to manage your website and provide tutorial videos so you can make updates yourself.
Each project includes a Website Strategy PDF to help guide the project, a homepage mockup, design of up to three pages of a using custom CSS, 3 days of unlimited edits, and a mobile responsive design.
You’ll also receive a recorded training video walking you through how to make updates on your website and add new pages. These videos are usually around an hour long and are timestamped so you can use easily use it as a reference in the future.
What is the design timeline?
Mini Sites take three weeks from the project start date to website launch. In order to launch your Mini Site at the end of our three week project, we have strict deadlines.
Week 1 includes a website moodboard and Website Strategy PDF, as well as the hompage mockup. By the end of week one, you’ll have a good idea of what your website will look like and be able to give feedback on the design.
Week 2 is Squarespace design week, which means we’re creating or editing your Squarespace site. We’ll also send you a detailed list of content still needed so you know exactly what to send us.
Week 3 is for edits and your website launch. Once the Squarespace design is complete, you’ll have three days to request unlimited edits to things like images, colors, and small details.
Preparing for a Mini Site project
The most important thing you can do to make sure your Mini Site design project is successful is to do the homework. Before the project start date, you’ll receive a website questionnaire, content planner, and be asked to create a website inspiration board. All three of these things need to be finished on your project start date in order for us to create a design that truly reflects your business (and to keep us on track).
Depending on your starting point, this homework can take anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks. If you have an existing website with copy and images you want to reuse, it will be much faster than if you’re starting from scratch.
Generally, plan on spending at least 3 hours on the website questionnaire (although it can take longer), 5 hours on your website inspiration board (if you need ideas, check out my Website Design Inspiration board on Pinterest), and 10+ hours on website content, including copy and images. If you want to include an opt-in, you’ll need to set aside time to write and design it as well.
Optional Extras
If you need a little extra help to get your website up and running in time for launch, we offer additional services that can be built into the three week timeline.
Stock photo culling - Struggling to find photos for your website? We can create a stock photo list for you to use based on your brand design and your website strategy document. You’ll receive two documents - one 2-3 options for the general direction of the imagery on your website for you to choose from and another with 5-10 images with links to purchase (and free alternatives).
Newsletter set-up - Need to add a newsletter to your website, but not sure how to get everything set up? We can help you choose between MailChimp, ConvertKit, and FloDesk and then set up your main email list along with a welcome email sequence. If you need additional forms, lists, or sequences, we can create a custom quote.
Interested in a Mini Site design?
Because we take on a very limited number of new clients each year, Mini Site projects are scheduled based on availability. Learn more here or get in touch.
