Web Designers: DON'T start your custom websites from SCRATCH!

[@launchthedamnthing]

This template is now available in the template shop! www.launchthedamnthing.com/shop/web-designer-start-kit-squarespace-template

[@honorbowdenart]

So great Katelyn! Agree with Renee, keep us posted about your template - what an amazing resource that would be!

[@launchthedamnthing]

🥰 You got it; I'll make sure to announce it here when ready. Thank you, Honor!! So happy you're enjoying the content in the meantime. 😁

[@purdiegibson]

There are so many amazing tips and tricks in this video. Thanks so much! ❤

[@launchthedamnthing]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 😁

[@delaney-consulting]

Love your variable CSS set up. Can you show us more about that or did you purchase that somewhere?

[@launchthedamnthing]

Thanks! No, it's just how variable CSS works & in Squarespace it only seems to work in the CSS panel specifically. 😊 I have just the global color variables in the template in the shop if you want to check it out: www.launchthedamnthing.com/shop/web-designer-start-kit-squarespace-template

[@JacquiThorndyke]

This is one of THE most helpful tutorials I’ve watched for Squarespace - so much useful advice! Thank you 🎉

[@launchthedamnthing]

Wow, what a compliment--THANK YOU! 🤩 I'm so glad it was helpful for you Jacqui!!

[@jollygoins1351]

Wow, Katelyn! My head is spinning! You always provide the BEST info, and I'm so thankful. Like everyone else, I would love to have your template too! It would be so helpful! Thank you!

[@launchthedamnthing]

🤩 You’re welcome, Jolly! Glad I could get ya thinking & always thrilled to help. 😁 I’ll announce the template launch when ready, probably everywhere, so you won’t miss it. 🙌🏻

[@floatinglotusdesign]

Great stuff, as always! Love how you handle the legal pages and the resources for clients - never thought of that before and will totally be "stealin' that idea!

[@launchthedamnthing]

Aw, thank you!! So gad it was helpful for ya. -Yeah, go for it! 'Steal' away! 😄

[@Anniehall1966]

This is amazing! Any chance you will turn this into a class so we can get more details on how to set this up? 😊

[@launchthedamnthing]

I'm so glad you loved it, Andrea! That is a great question. It seems like it might be a good possibility actually, with increasing interest on the topic! 😜🤩

[@hhdesignstudio108]

This is AMAZING!! I just found you from Paige's website and love your site and copy! And now I LOVE your youtube tutorials! I would love to see a video on how to get clients, as a new web designer I am really struggling (and super impatient :)) to get clients. thanks!!!

[@launchthedamnthing]

Thank you!! I'm so glad you enjoyed (all of) it! 🤩 There are a bunch of methods for finding clients, but honestly the only one that's ever worked for me ('content marketing' or blogging) and I 100% realize that method doesn't work for everyone because ya gotta LOVE doing it to stay consistent with it & actually see results. 😄 So my question for you would be: what do YOU love to do or enjoy doing? Then check out this post for a list of ideas & my thoughts on the 3 most common routes I hear new businesses ask about: www.launchthedamnthing.com/blog/6-strategies-that-convert-marketing

[@hhdesignstudio108]

You are the best! Thanks so much for your time. Yes, I have several blogs and really love long form content too but I don't wanna do video lol but I know I should and I do not like SM at all. but for a short term solution to get booked to quit my teaching job --I was considering ads. Not sure if you've ever tried. thanks again. p.s. I so love your giggles ( I love to laugh too!!). @@launchthedamnthing

[@launchthedamnthing]

@@hhdesignstudio108 haha -thank you! And you're welcome! 😄 That's great! I love creating long form content too. I don't think you "have" to do video, I avoided it like the plague for years (literally: from ~2016 thru basically mid 2022). 😂 But a lot of that time I was making Loom videos for client tutorials as part of their offboarding, and I slowly got more and more comfortable with it. Until finally, I decided to make videos for blog posts because many of them could *really* use the visual guide and I felt like I couldn't outrun video forever, because I wanted to eventually make a course. 🤷🏼‍♀ So, I dove in & it's taken me about a year to get comfortable recording these, and I've gotten a LOT better at editing in the past year too. It *is* a time-suck, but the reward has been SO worth it for me! I've gotten clients from KZbin already, even with my small channel, and a new audience I couldn't have reached without the video search engine on YT. So that's my 'why KZbin' argument. 😄 As for the ads, beyond an occasional boosted post over the years (highly do NOT recommend that -lol), I've never run ads though I did take a course on FB ads once bc I thought I would need to. Ever since Apple's privacy settings increased a couple years ago, the 'word on the street' is that it's harder to accurately target people in ads, so you end up spending more to cast a wider net, so to speak. I think it does work, but IMHO it seems like an expensive risk (with no guaranteed ROI) if you can't hire a pro to manage & run them for you. Organic traffic seems like the best bet for me, bc all it costs is my time but the ROI is awesome once you find your groove. 😁 Hope that helps!

[@jenniferglans]

Thank you! Awesome and soooo helpful ❤

[@launchthedamnthing]

You're welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! 😁

[@reneehalpern]

Great video!! Wish I had your template!

[@launchthedamnthing]

What a compliment, Renee! *_Thank you!!_* I will be selling it as a standalone template infrastructure + designed content with a how-to-use it all course -hopefully, this year, but it's not ready yet. TBD!

[@reneehalpern]

@@launchthedamnthing Keep me posted! Can't wait to hear. I design websites but anything to streamline the process without reinventing the wheel seems pretty smart to me. Love all of your videos and guidance and happy to support you!

[@launchthedamnthing]

@@reneehalpern 🤩Thank you so much for the support, Renee!!

[@Tarquin00029]

Do you duplicate the template site every time?

[@launchthedamnthing]

Yep, for custom websites, not for Design Days (VIP Days) where I'm editing an existing website. For custom sites I build, it's always faster & easier to start from my own than a Squarespace pre-designed template w demo content & the settings not the way I want them. 😊

[@divegirl4811]

Every designer needs this! ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@launchthedamnthing]

Hahaha! That's quite the compliment!! Thank you! 😍

[@DonxRichCollective]

You're the cutest!! Loved this video

[@launchthedamnthing]

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it! 😁

[@DJ-Illuminate]

In the not linked section in 7.1 I don't see a folder option. Was this removed? Or are we talking about dropdown menu?

[@launchthedamnthing]

They recently renamed the Folder option as Dropdown menu. It's the same thing & works the same way, but looks a little different in the menu now. 😁

[@SquareKicker_SQSP]

Love this 🙌🏼

[@launchthedamnthing]

😍 Thank youuuuu!

[@halimayusuf8007]

Hi Katelyn hope you are great I just saw your video now and I do want to ask you please how can I learn website design without coding as a beginner?😊 Please I need your help am a newbie and I got interest in website design please what can I do? Please reply

[@launchthedamnthing]

I learned from buying a course from a web designer who taught students how to design using the web builder I wanted to use, at varying stages of my business. First bought a beginner-level course when I first got started, and then intermediate-level education from a different source when I wanted to learn how to code, etc. There are a bunch of courses out there!

[@halimayusuf8007]

@@launchthedamnthing alright dear please could you share links to them thanks so much

[@sammietulip7948]

@@halimayusuf8007 You could just google web design or web builder courses.

[@likeplutofar]

Ever consider selling this template 👀 lol .. its a life saver

[@launchthedamnthing]

Haha, thanks for the compliment! I've definitely considered selling a stripped down (no-code) version, but Squarespace just makes that process irritating with the manual delivery, and I can't sell it 100% as is anyway, as the custom code I've pre-installed is from third-parties that I have the business license to use with clients, but not with a template. 😁

[@likeplutofar]

Totally understand. Well this is super helpful for me as a new designer !!!Thank you so much :) Additionally, I'm wondering if you offer and courses for Squarespace web designers looking to launch their business and attract more clients. @@launchthedamnthing