Ellie McBride, an American expat who made Belfast her home five years ago, has been named as one of the UK’s most inspirational and dynamic female entrepreneurs by the f:Entrepreneur ‘#ialso100’ campaign.

It’s been a particularly busy year of changes, improvements and tweaks made inside the new(ish) Squarespace 7.1 platform.

I’ve broken it down into categories, so you can find the changes that matter most to you and your Squarespace website.

We entrepreneurs are a rare breed.

Which can make shopping for us a bit of a challenge! So I’ve created a list of things that I know that I would love and that most of my fellow entrepreneurs would too! 

Even better, I’ve included ideas for these from other small businesses that I love wherever possible!

Wondering where to start with the structure of your new website?

Not sure what all you need to have to make the most of your website? Or what your community needs to know before investing in your product or service?

Let’s go through… everything you need to have on your website, plus a couple of bonus extras. 

Whether you’re building your own site or working with a web designer, great images will boost your design and help make a site your own. 

Let’s start with why it’s important to get organized before starting your website project.

To kick it off with the obvious, it saves time to have everything together from the start of the project. But probably more importantly, if you’ve taken some time to gather up all the elements I’m going to share with you today, you’ll have a much easier time creating a cohesive website design. 

This website is the one and only place on the internet that you have full control over what people see and how they interact with your expertise. So you definitely need to think through what you share through your website pretty carefully.

Considering a new website or a big overhaul? Get answers to some of your questions about working with a copywriter.

I don’t really want to be a part of the system that tracks our every move online with the aim to sell us more and more stuff.

This is what’s often referred to as “surveillance capitalism” and it doesn’t fit with my minimalist, shop local, try not to buy from Amazon values.

That said, it’s pretty damn important for me to have some data on how my website is performing to help me improve it and to make sure I'm providing the best content and information I can for my audience.

To understand my relationship with nature, you have to understand a bit about my dad, Robert, and a little about how I was raised.

Every so often it’s important to go through your website to make sure it is working for you in the best way possible! That it’s communicating your brand values, SEO friendly and showcasing your most important products and services.

So here’s a quick list of 12 things you can update on your website:

We all know I love Squarespace because it’s just so damn user-friendly! That said, there are a few settings that need shifted for nearly everyone I work with. The reasons I make these changes range from usability to design to search engine optimization, but ultimately they each help take your site up a notch.

“I’m not ‘techy’.” I hear this all the time from the women I work with.⁠⁠

The thing is that it’s almost never true. Once my clients have been walked through the basic steps of using a new software, website platform, or email marketing tool they realise that it’s easier than they ever thought it would be! ⁠

You are more than capable of handing the tech in your life and business.

I’ve grown so much and have a much healthier relationship with money and how I can use it for good in my life and to invest in the relationships and small businesses I love.

However, I really wanted to make the money stuff in my business really easy. I didn’t want to be bogged down by spreadsheets or those awkward “hey, you haven’t paid me yet’ conversations.

So I made sure I was using great tools! I filed my self-assessment tax return a few days ago and it took no math. Because my system had all the answers for me!

The more I talk about websites and how important they are, I get a lot of questions from women looking to learn more about how to create a beautiful website that helps them serve their clients or customers!

Here are 6 of my most frequently asked questions and the answers.

I know it sounds cliche, but growing up in a small town in Eastern Oregon (upper left USA), I never would have imagined that I would one day live on the other side of the world and have a fantastic business that allows me to help women grow and scale their own businesses by simplifying their customer experience with bespoke websites and streamlined systems.