Running your own Squarespace agency can be rewarding, but also challenging when it comes to building a solid client base and standing out from competitors. In a crowded market of "website builders," differentiating your agency is crucial for attracting and retaining customers.

This article provides actionable strategies for making your Squarespace agency stand apart. We'll cover several key areas where you can differentiate, including:

Crafting a distinct brand and messaging that quickly conveys your unique value
Specializing in specific niches or industries to position yourself as an expert
Differentiating your service offerings beyond just "building websites"
Structuring your services/processes in a unique way

By the end, you'll have practical tips for avoiding being seen as "just another agency" and instead developing a compelling identity that draws your ideal clients in. Whether through your branding, expertise, deliverables or operational model, there are multiple avenues to set yourself apart and build a thriving agency.

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Not "Just Another Forgettable Agency"

Does this describe your Squarespace agency? "Professional website design and development." "Building stunning online presences." If so, you're blending into a sea of sameness that makes it impossible for potential clients to see what makes you unique.

From a client's perspective, generic descriptions like "we create beautiful Squarespace sites," "modern website solutions," or "premium web design" are a dime a dozen. And let's be honest, "Squarespace website" covers a vast range of possibilities. Do you offer custom design? Specialize in specific integrations or industries? These details get lost in vague messaging.

The truth is, clients aren't looking for just a website template. They want an online flagship for their brand - one that's functional but also conveys "This is who we are. Step inside." Your agency's mission is to understand their vision and craft that digital front door to draw customers in.

So how can you avoid blurring into the crowd? The following strategies will help your Squarespace agency claim a distinctive identity and value proposition that resonates with your ideal clients.

Understanding specific niches

We alluded to this in the previous section - specializing in certain niches is a great way to make your agency stand out. When you do that, it is reassuring to those clients that you have a good grasp of their unique problems and needs.

Your “secret sauce” might be the particular experience that you or members of your team have in their backgrounds. For example, if you worked in hospitality for years, you could bring your unique understanding of the needs of hotels, restaurants, or tour operators into your website building.

Of course, this comes into your branding too. If you’re going to specialize in certain niche websites, display your niche front and center on your website. Sometimes agency owners are reluctant to do this, fearing that it might drive away potential business. However, if you look at the other side of this, trying to be everything to everyone is exactly what makes you “just another Squarespace agency!”

When you choose to cater to a niche, you can also look at ways to build partnerships within that niche. For example, perhaps you network with industry associations and advertise in their publications. This can be a great way to build momentum and to grow the trust of people within the niche.

One example of an agency targeting a specific niche of clients is Launch It, Girl. Their target audience is specifically female entrepreneurs that are launching a new business.

You might notice that theirs is another example of an agency that indicates what they do in their brand name. It is totally worth spending time thinking about this before you launch and end up going with a generic “ABC Squarespace Design Agency” name. When you dial in your target audience early, it means you can be prepared and avoid having to change names or launch into elaborate explanations later on!

Differentiating what you offer

Another great way to differentiate yourself is in what you actually offer. This might be directly related to the niche you have chosen; for example if you specialize in ecommerce stores, one of your offers might be high quality product photography (which every ecommerce business should have!)

Some agencies specialize in certain programs or types of integrations. For example, Pixality Design specializes in websites for yoga and wellness businesses that include integrations with MindBody, the scheduling software. They also offer marketing consulting and done-with-you Facebook and Instagram ad setup. These “extras” are good examples of identifying particular problems that people within the niche may have.

Here’s another great example of choosing a niche and differentiating what is offered; Liz Kalloch Design and Illustration specializes in Squarespace websites, book design, and illustration for writers and other creatives. Kalloch channelled her more than 20 years of experience in illustrating and book design to create a unique agency.

First impressions - Brand Identity

What are you saying and how are you saying it? Many potential clients will first encounter your agency online so your branding needs to be on-point. Bland and boring won’t cut it, you need to get their attention early.

One way of looking at it is that you’re solving a particular problem (or set of problems) for clients. Which two or three things are their biggest challenges? If you can focus your energy into one pressing problem, it’s a great way to differentiate your brand.

So instead of “we make beautiful Squarespace websites,” you might now have “we make Squarespace websites that help ecommerce stores to grow their sales” (or something like that!)

However you choose to differentiate your brand, it’s important that it comes across in a client’s first impressions of your agency website. Most website visitors stick around for less than 15 seconds, so make your point quickly. If people don’t “get it” almost immediately, they don’t tend to search around for more information.

Here’s an example of great differentiation. Website by Tonight actually does what the brand name implies. Not only that, they’ve styled themselves as an agency for agencies, taking care of creating simple client websites for agencies in just a few hours.

Choosing a different way to do business

Sometimes how you run your business can be a differentiator for clients. To be honest, some agencies have helped to create an impression full of red tape, and that producing a final product will take a long time.

How can you stand out to counter this idea? By telling clients how you operate! Clients dislike ambiguity, especially around what they are getting and how much it will cost them. If you have clearly delineated packages, this is a great way to get around that fear. Remember, people may have been burned previously by unexpected costs from a web designer!

So you might:

Explain a step-by-step process that ends with the final website being created. Include how you communicate with clients and what will be needed from them. Our first agency example, Website By Tonight, outlines a 6-step process, including how they get input from clients. They also offer web design via screen share.
Offer specific packages that make you different from others. Our founder here at SQSP Themes, Omari, is a huge fan of the “productized service” model of business. This simply means packaging up some sort of service so that it can be offered as a product would, with clearly defined boundaries.When Omari first started in business, he offered a productized service doing custom CSS tweaks. Instead of offering a one-off service, he bundled it into packages of five or ten Squarespace tweaks. This was a great way to offer a defined service and to do repeat business rather than simply one-offs.

The underlying lesson is that being specific and transparent about what you offer and your process for offering it can help to draw customers in. Everyone knows that a website design project has a beginning, middle, and end, but they want to know exactly what that entails in terms of time, money, and what they get from it.

Download our actionable tips on branding your agency to stand out here

Final thoughts

You’re not “just another Squarespace agency,” are you? We thought not. There are so many ways you can differentiate yourself from the crowd and help to draw in more clients.

It might be in what you offer, how you offer it, how you brand yourself, or the niche that you serve. One thing you should always spend time on is honing that message so it is clear to anyone who visits your website.

We’d love to hear about how your agency defines itself. Drop us a comment below!

Not “Just Another Squarespace Agency”: Make Your Business Stand Out