Pricing Squarespace Projects: What to Actually Charge in 2026

Article

12 May

You finished a Squarespace project last month. The client loved it. They told all their friends about you. And you made less on that project than you should have earned in a single week.

You know why. Because you underpriced it.

The uncomfortable truth about Squarespace pricing is this: most designers who build on the platform charge less than they should. Sometimes significantly less. They justify it by saying Squarespace is "easier than WordPress" or "doesn't require as much code" as if ease of build should translate to lower client fees. It shouldn't.

Your client doesn't pay you based on how easy the work is. They pay you based on the value you deliver. A simple Squarespace site that gets them clients is worth more than a complex WordPress site that sits unused. Let's talk about what to actually charge.

The Pricing Models: Which One Works for Squarespace

There are three main pricing models: hourly, project-based, and value-based.

Hourly pricing is straightforward. You bill your time. The problem is that you're training clients to only care about how fast you work, and you're punishing yourself for being efficient. You get better at Squarespace, you work faster, your income goes down. That's backwards. Avoid pure hourly billing for client projects.

Value-based pricing is where you charge based on what the work is worth to the client. A website that generates £10,000 in revenue is worth more to charge more for than a portfolio site. This is theoretically ideal, but it requires deep conversations about client revenue and outcomes, and most small designers find it uncomfortable to implement. It's also hard to explain to clients upfront.

Project-based pricing is the sweet spot for Squarespace work. You quote a flat fee for the entire project. This is predictable for the client, profitable for you if you've scoped correctly, and it encourages you to work efficiently. Once you've built a process, project pricing lets you control your margins.

Use project-based pricing. Get good at estimating how long projects take, then price based on value plus your hourly rate as a sanity check.

What Actually Goes Into Your Squarespace Project Price

When you quote a price, you're not just quoting "design and build". You're quoting a lot of moving parts.

Discovery and strategy. Pre-project questionnaire, competitor research, brand audit if they have an existing brand, user research if appropriate. Budget two to four hours here, depending on the project complexity.

Design. Initial concepts, at least two rounds of revisions on major sections, mood board, wireframes for complex layouts. For a typical brochure site, budget 20 to 30 hours. For e-commerce or complex sites, significantly more.

Build and implementation. Actually building the Squarespace site, setting up collections, configuring settings, integrating third-party tools, adding custom CSS where necessary. This is where your process really matters. If you've built templates and systems, you're faster. Budget 25 to 40 hours for a standard build.

Content management. Working with client content, formatting it, optimising images, uploading to Squarespace, writing metadata. This is easily underestimated. Budget 8 to 15 hours. If the client isn't providing quality content, it's more.

Testing and refinement. Cross-browser testing, mobile responsiveness checks, form testing, link verification, performance optimisation. Budget 5 to 10 hours.

Launch and deployment. Final client review, domain setup, SSL certificates, analytics configuration, search console setup, client training on how to maintain the site. Budget 3 to 5 hours.

Revisions. You're building in some revision rounds. Typically two to three for homepage concepts, one to two for secondary pages. This costs you time even though you've quoted a flat price. Budget accordingly.

A straightforward brochure site with 5 to 8 pages, basic blog, email signup, and contact form runs 70 to 100 hours total. Price your time accordingly.

What Squarespace Projects Actually Cost: UK Pricing Ranges

Pricing varies wildly by location and designer experience. But here's what you should be charging in 2026 based on project type:

Simple brochure site (5 to 8 pages, no e-commerce, basic functionality). £2,500 to £4,500. If you're experienced, you're at the higher end of that range. If you're building your portfolio, you're lower. Don't go below £2,000 even if you're starting out. Your time has value.

Portfolio or case study site (8 to 12 pages, custom photography, integrated blog, contact forms). £3,500 to £6,000. These projects are detail-heavy and require good design work. They take time. Price accordingly.

Small e-commerce site (under 50 products, payment processing, inventory management, basic shipping setup). £4,000 to £8,000. E-commerce adds complexity. You need to understand product setup, tax configuration, shipping zones, payment gateways. That expertise costs.

Membership or subscription site (user authentication, restricted content, recurring billing setup, community features). £5,000 to £10,000. These are complex. You're setting up member tiers, managing integrations with email platforms, configuring payment processing. You need to really understand how Squarespace's member functionality works and its limitations.

Content-heavy site (20+ pages, complex information architecture, custom collections, advanced filtering). £5,000 to £12,000. The more pages and complexity, the more your price goes up. You're doing more design work, more content management, more testing.

These are reasonable ranges for competent work in a competitive market. If you're considerably better than your local competition, you price higher. If you're building your reputation, you might price lower temporarily. But don't anchor yourself at the bottom of these ranges. It's hard to raise your prices once you're known for being cheap.

The Custom Code Premium

Squarespace is a hosted platform. You can't do custom PHP or WordPress-style coding. But you can write custom CSS and JavaScript.

Most of your projects won't require this. But when they do, charge a premium for it.

Custom code takes longer to develop, test, and maintain. It's fragile. It breaks when you update something else. It's also a skill that's worth more than template configuration. If a client asks for custom code work, add 25 to 40 percent to your project price for the additional complexity and risk.

Be clear about what's included. If the scope creeps into more custom code work, that's an additional fee. Don't absorb it.

Ongoing Maintenance and Support Pricing

The project ends on launch day. But your client will have questions. They'll want updates. They'll want their site monitored.

This is a separate fee. Don't include post-launch support in your project price unless you've specifically budgeted time for it.

Maintenance plans typically run £50 to £300 per month depending on what's included. We'll get into what that actually means in another article, but for pricing purposes, think of it as a retainer. You're on call for a defined number of hours per month. If they exceed those hours, they pay for overage.

Offer maintenance at the moment of project completion. It's the easiest time to sell it because they're happy with what you've delivered and they're thinking about long-term care. Most of your clients will say no initially and come back six months later asking if you offer support. You'll wish you'd sold them on it at project completion.

The Proposal Structure That Communicates Value

Your proposal shouldn't list hours. Clients don't care how long something takes. They care about what they're getting and whether it's worth the money.

Structure your proposal around deliverables and value, not hours.

Instead of "design, 30 hours, £1,500", write "Custom homepage design with three concept options to choose from, refined based on your feedback, included: hero section, featured services, testimonials section, call-to-action blocks, mobile optimisation". Now they understand what they're paying for.

Break your proposal into sections: discovery, design phase, build and implementation, testing and launch, support and training. Under each section, list what's included and what it delivers. Finish with a summary of the total project fee and payment terms.

Include a scope section that explicitly lists what's not included. "Additional pages beyond the initial scope are £400 per page. Stock photography is not included; you'll need to provide images or we can recommend a photographer. Custom coding beyond CSS is billed separately at £80 per hour."

End with your terms: half due to start, half due before launch. Or whatever your payment terms are. Make it clear.

The "My Nephew Can Do It Cheaper" Conversation

You'll have this conversation. Your client will tell you their nephew is a "web designer" and he's quoted them £600 for the whole thing.

Don't be defensive. Don't bad-mouth the nephew. Instead, calmly explain what you're delivering that the nephew probably isn't.

You're delivering a professional discovery process. You're delivering responsive design that works on every device. You're delivering SEO optimisation. You're delivering testing across browsers and devices. You're delivering proper domain setup, SSL certificates, analytics configuration. You're delivering training on how to update the site. You're delivering ongoing support. You're delivering a three-year warranty on your work (or whatever terms you offer).

The nephew is building a website. You're building a business tool that generates revenue. There's a difference.

If they still choose the nephew, that's fine. You can't compete on price and you shouldn't try to. But you can be confident that your clients get significantly more value for their money. And that's worth charging for.

Raising Prices on Existing Clients

You underpriced your early projects. Now you've got clients who are paying below your current rates. Do you raise their prices?

Yes, but only in specific scenarios. If a client is asking for additional work beyond the original scope, that's a perfect time to do it at your new rates. "The homepage redesign is a separate project from your original site build. Based on the scope and complexity, this is £3,200 with my current pricing."

If they're on a maintenance retainer, you can raise rates with 30 days notice, typically increasing by 10 to 15 percent annually. That's reasonable and expected.

If they want to keep their existing rate indefinitely, that's okay. Grandfather them in. But new projects are new prices. And any future clients get your current rates. You're building a business, not doing charity work.

Package Pricing: The Good, Better, Best Model

Instead of quoting custom prices for every project, consider offering packages. This actually increases your revenue.

Good package: £2,500. 5 page brochure site, one design option on the homepage, basic content upload, one round of revisions, no e-commerce, no custom code. You make money on this by being efficient.

Better package: £4,500. 8 page site with blog, two design concepts on the homepage, content optimisation and formatting, two rounds of revisions, e-commerce capability if needed, one hour of custom CSS work included. This is your sweet spot. Clients feel like they're getting more, and you're doing good work.

Best package: £7,500. Unlimited pages (reason to be within reason), full custom design process, three rounds of revisions on all pages, content strategy included, e-commerce or membership setup, advanced integrations, custom code work included, 30 days of free support post-launch. This is for clients who have budget and want the full service.

Offering packages makes it easier for clients to choose. It also makes it easier for you because you're not custom quoting every project. And psychology works in your favour. Clients see three options and often choose the middle one. "Better" is the most popular choice.

Pricing Is About Confidence

The reason most Squarespace designers underprice is because they lack confidence in their own value. They think the platform is "easier" so they deserve less. They watch cheaper competitors and think they have to match that.

Neither is true. You bring professional process, good design, technical expertise, and client communication skills. That has value. Confidence in that value translates directly to your pricing power.

Start charging appropriately. Your clients will respect you more, not less. And you'll actually make money doing this work instead of just getting by.