Let’s walk through each type of Canva template, how it functions, and when you might want to use it. By the end of this post, you’ll have total clarity (and probably be a little obsessed with how much easier your workflow can be).

Canva Templates

These are the pre-made designs created by Canva that you can find right on the homepage or by searching for something like “Instagram Post,” “Presentation,” or “Reel.” These templates are created by Canva’s design team and are meant to help you start faster and design smarter.

Once you click “Customize this template,” it opens a copy into your own Canva account. From there, you can swap out the fonts, photos, colors—whatever you want. Think of this as your shortcut to creating something polished without starting from scratch.

If you’re using Canva Pro, you’ll have access to even more of these templates (they’re marked with a crown icon). They’re especially handy for quick-turnaround projects like flyers, story graphics, or Reels.

Brand Templates

Brand templates live inside your Canva Brand Hub and are designs you create for internal use. Let’s say you regularly post Instagram graphics using the same fonts and layout—you can save one of those designs as a brand template. The next time you (or someone on your team) wants to create a new post, they just click “Use this template,” and Canva will automatically generate a duplicate. The original stays untouched.

This is especially helpful if you have a virtual assistant, a design team, or just want to make your life easier. It’s also a great way to ensure consistency if you’re creating a lot of Pinterest pins, story sets, or marketing assets on a regular basis.

You can even lock in brand fonts and colors for your team using Canva’s design controls. That means everyone works from the same style guide—without accidentally breaking your branding.

External Shareable Templates

This third type of template is what you’ll use when you want to share or sell a Canva design. You’ve probably seen these in template shops or email freebies. You create a design, click “Share,” and choose the “Template Link” option. When someone clicks that link, they’ll get a fresh copy in their own Canva account.

This is how most digital creators and business owners sell templates online. Once someone clicks the link, they can edit the template however they want, but it won’t touch your original design.

Even better, Canva lets you track how many people have used your template link. You won’t see who used it, but you can see how many times it’s been clicked and copied—great for gauging interest in your offers.

Final Thoughts

Here’s the quick breakdown:

• Canva Templates are pre-made designs by Canva.

• Brand Templates are internal templates you save to reuse with your branding.

• External Shareable Templates are meant for gifting or selling to others.

Do I wish Canva had different names for each of these? Absolutely. But now that you know the difference, you can take full advantage of each type in the right way.

Whether you’re creating for yourself, your team, or your audience, using the right kind of template will save you time and keep your designs organized. If you want to test one out, I’ve linked a free document mock-up template HERE—it’s one of my favorites for showing off digital downloads.

More deep dives coming soon, but I hope this cleared up the template mystery for now!

After spending time testing Canva Docs and comparing them to other platforms, I’m here to share the full scoop. Spoiler alert: they’re not for me—but that doesn’t mean they won’t be perfect for you. Let’s dive into the pros, cons, and ideal use cases.

🌟 What Are Canva Docs?

Canva Docs are part of the Canva ecosystem, offering a sleek interface for creating documents right alongside your brand assets, designs, and templates. It’s built with simplicity in mind—perfect for users who already live in Canva and want everything in one place.

✅ Pros of Using Canva Docs

1. Seamless Branding Integration
Canva Docs allow you to pull in your brand fonts, colors, and logos with ease. This is especially helpful if you’re already managing branding materials inside Canva.

2. Beautiful Table Design
The table formatting in Canva Docs is visually appealing—especially compared to traditional document editors. It’s great for presenting data in a clean and modern way.

3. Magic Write (AI Writing Tool)
Love it or hate it, Canva’s Magic Write feature is a solid tool for kickstarting your content. Whether you’re outlining a concept or need help getting words on the page, it’s a great jumpstart—just make sure to edit thoroughly.

4. Canva Templates
Canva offers solid document templates like pricing proposals, project briefs, and social media kits. These can serve as a useful foundation if you’re not sure where to begin.

5. Document + Design in One Spot
In theory, you can embed Canva designs directly into your doc, which is handy for making branded visuals part of your text-based content.

❌ Cons of Using Canva Docs

1. No Page Breaks or Table of Contents
Canva Docs are endless-scroll only. There are no page breaks or built-in table of contents features—making long documents hard to navigate.

2. Limited Design Flexibility
Ironically, Canva stripped away most of its core design tools within Docs. You can’t layer elements, resize design inserts easily, or add shapes and GIFs freely. It’s far less customizable than you’d expect from Canva.

3. Frustrating Image Handling
Adding and placing images is clunky. You have to upload them first, then align them—but you can’t drag or reposition like in other platforms.

4. No Smart Collaboration Tools
Unlike Google Docs or Notion, Canva Docs lacks smart features like tagging collaborators, using dropdowns, or embedding smart chips (dates, tasks, etc.).

5. Weak Presentation Conversion
Converting a Canva Doc into a presentation is rough. The formatting often breaks and the layout logic doesn’t follow the flow of your content.

6. Sharing Limitations
You can’t create template links to share with others, and download options are limited (mostly just PDFs).

🛠 Alternatives to Canva Docs

Google Docs
A tried-and-true favorite. With pageless formatting, clickable tables of contents, smart sharing, and collaboration tools, it’s still the most flexible document tool out there—especially for client work.

Notion
Perfect for project management and resource libraries. Notion supports toggles, databases, tables, dividers, and more—plus it has built-in AI. Ideal for internal systems.

Dropbox Paper
An underrated contender. It offers rich formatting options, task timelines, and intuitive media embedding. Great for collaborative content planning and timelines.

📌 Final Thoughts

Canva Docs aren’t bad—they’re just not ready to replace traditional docs yet. If you need something lightweight and visually branded, they might be perfect for social media briefs, internal notes, or one-off guides. But if you’re creating client-facing materials or need robust formatting and collaboration, Google Docs or Notion still reign supreme.

Still curious? Try it out and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear if Canva Docs have found a place in your workflow.

Google’s Announcement of Cover Designs →

What size are Google Doc Covers?

Google Doc covers are 1920x480 pixels. However, there’s a catch to that. The margins and cropping are going to depend on the device, so I always recommend adding padding (space) around your designs so that nothing ever gets cut off!

In this guide, you'll learn how to use Canva to create click-worthy blog thumbnails that align with your brand, support your SEO strategy, and load fast on your site. Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Understand Aspect Ratios and Image Sizes

When designing blog thumbnails in Canva, the first step is choosing the right aspect ratio.

Here are the most common ratios used:

• 1:1 — Square (Instagram, profile icons)

• 4:3 — Ideal for blog thumbnails (e.g., 1200x900 px or 800x600 px)

• 3:2 — Also works well for blog graphics; flips to 2:3 for Pinterest pins

• 16:9 — Horizontal format for video covers or wide blog layouts

✅ Olivia from Bold August Design Studio recommends the 4:3 ratio for blog thumbnails because it offers a nice visual balance and flexibility across website layouts.

Step 2: Create or Customize Blog Thumbnail Templates

If you're using Canva Pro, you have access to thousands of templates. But Olivia has also created custom blog thumbnail templates in a 4:3 ratio to save time and keep your visuals consistent.

Tips for designing your template:

• Keep text bold and legible (especially on mobile)

• Use black overlays with reduced transparency behind light-colored text

• Make your blog title optional—Google can’t read images, so always include your title in the post itself

• Use consistent visual elements: colors, logos, shapes, or photo styles

Step 3: Match Your Brand Style

Before designing, ask yourself:

• What’s my brand aesthetic? (Cottagecore? Minimalist? Bright + bold?)

• Do I have a visual theme across my other graphics?

• Are there certain colors, icons, or images that define my look?

Olivia suggests:

• Investing in custom brand photography or styled stock photos

• Exploring options like Color Joy Stock or Creative Market for more curated visuals

• Using Unsplash or Pexels for free, on-brand filler imagery

Step 4: Make It Accessible and Easy to Read

Pretty thumbnails are great, but if your audience can’t read the text, it’s not doing its job.

Make your thumbnails accessible:

• Avoid tiny text (especially script fonts)

• Ensure high contrast between background and text

• Bump up font size for readability

• Use overlays if needed to increase visibility

You want your blog post titles and categories to be easy to scan—even for someone quickly scrolling.

Step 5: Export the Right File Type for Faster Load Times

Olivia recommends saving your blog thumbnails as JPEGs whenever possible. Here’s why:

• Smaller file sizes = faster load times

• Faster load times = better SEO

Use PNGs only when transparency is necessary. Otherwise, JPEGs will help your site stay speedy and user-friendly.

Bonus Tips: How to Keep Blog Thumbnails Organized

If creating thumbnails feels overwhelming, simplify your process:

• Batch create your blog graphics once per quarter

• Choose a few reusable templates

• Organize your designs in Canva folders by category (e.g., Canva Tips, Business Advice, Personal Posts)

• Include small brand elements like your icon logo to maintain visual consistency

Recap: Canva Blog Thumbnail Design Tips

• Stick to a 4:3 or 3:2 ratio for flexibility

• Use large, legible text with proper contrast

• Customize your templates with your brand colors and style

• Export as JPEG for speed

• Keep your blog titles visible on the page (not just the image!)

Your blog thumbnail might be small—but it has big impact. Use Canva to make it work harder for your brand, your audience, and your SEO.

Want free Canva templates to get started?
Follow Bold August Design Studio and download our blog thumbnail starter pack to make designing easier than ever!

Here’s a clear, practical guide to help you make your images transparent in Canva.

Step 1: Understand the Right File Type

Before diving into the Canva tools, let’s cover the basics.

• JPEGs: Great for small file sizes. No transparency support.

• PNGs: Support transparent backgrounds. Slightly larger file sizes.

• SVGs: Vector-based and color-changeable. Not typically needed for transparent photo work.

If you want transparency, you’ll need to export your design as a PNG.

Step 2: Use the Background Remover Tool

To make an image transparent, the first step is often removing the background.

1. Upload your photo or select one from your Canva folders.

2. Click the three dots in the corner of the image.

3. Select Edit Image → Background Remover.

Canva will work its magic—no need to be in a design file! You can save this cutout directly to Canva or download it.

Pro tip: Organize your brand headshots and graphics in folders for faster access.

Step 3: Save with a Transparent Background (Canva Pro Required)

Once you’ve designed your graphic:

1. Click Share → Download.

2. Choose PNG as your file type.

3. Check the box for Transparent Background.

4. Select the correct page if you're downloading a specific one.

5. Click Download.

Note: The transparent background option is a Canva Pro feature. If you don’t have Pro, consider upgrading temporarily to export transparent assets.

Step 4: Compare PNG vs. JPEG File Sizes

Transparent PNGs are often 10x larger than JPEGs. For example:

• Transparent PNG = 1MB

• JPEG = 114KB

Use JPEGs for speed (like blog thumbnails or galleries) and PNGs when transparency is essential (like logos or overlays).

Step 5: Layer and Create Custom Graphics

Want a more dynamic design? Try layering!

• Copy your original image.

• Paste a second version and remove the background.

• Overlap the two slightly for a shadowed or staggered effect.

• Add other cutout elements (like flowers, icons, or textures) using the Background Remover.

This is perfect for making website graphics, Pinterest content, or hero section visuals.

Bonus Tip: Upload to Your Website (Squarespace Example)

Want to add your transparent image to your site?

1. Head to your Squarespace editor.

2. Click Edit → Add Block → Image.

3. Upload your transparent PNG.

4. Resize or adjust the section background for proper layering.

Tip: Uncheck "Fill Screen" in the image block settings for better layout control.

Recap

To make an image transparent in Canva:

• Use PNG format

• Remove the background with Canva Pro’s tool

• Save with the transparent background box checked

• Layer your designs for custom collages or overlays

• Upload and place them strategically on your website or social platforms

Transparent graphics add a modern, high-end feel to your brand. With Canva, the process is fast, flexible, and fun—so go experiment!

Want more Canva tips like this? Subscribe to Bold August Design Studio’s YouTube channel and follow along for weekly tutorials designed to help you uplevel your content with confidence.

But here’s the thing: it’s actually pretty danged hard to get people to sign up for something that doesn’t entice them.

There’s no amount of pop-ups, moving the lead magnet to a more visible space, or glamorizing it that will make people want to download your lead magnet more.

Here’s my tips for getting more eyes on your freebie so that it stands its best chance!

Tip 01: Start with making your lead magnet content better

Please don’t roll your eyes, I’m already rolling mine. I know, this is an article about the tips for Squarespace, so how could I possible start with the lead magnet itself? Well, I have to! Your lead magnet has to be incredible content before someone is going to fork over their email for it. And, what works for a lead magnet changes pretty frequently. 5 years ago, PDF downloads were all the rage. I think I probably gave my email for about 100 of them during the pandemic, and I was printing and engaging with them like crazy.

The issue is, PDFs have now somewhat died down. We have enough of them! We have enough workbooks, checklists, and documents. People might download a PDF and look at it for all of two seconds, but that doesn’t help you with long term visibility.

So now what’s working these days in the world of lead magnets?

Here’s a few things that are proving to work really well as lead magnets:

• A free educational email series. Let people “subscribe” to an email series so they can learn more about you slowly. You could do 5 days of design tips, or 3 days of meditation practices for a stress-free work week.

• A quiz! You don’t have to use an app, you can use a webpage or even make a PDF. I myself use an app called Tally, and they made it very simple!

• A free mini course or interactive resource. We’re crazy about education and if you can teach someone, they’ll remember you forever

• A webinar that covers a hot topic

Tip 02: Design a beautiful visual mockup for your lead magnet so that it’s visually enticing

For people to be excited about your lead magnet, you want to make sure they can actually see what it is. This means showing a visual of a screen if it’s a webinar, the PDF pages if it’s a downloadable, or even a sampling of the quiz.

I’ve got this free mockup template for you here for your freebies! You want to make sure your mockup looks visually beautiful for folks to be excited about it.

For example, which one of these are you more interested in downloading:

Option 01

Option 02

Yeah, you’re way more interested in the second one. It actually has a headline that converts, visual design that’s exciting for the user, and gives you a sneak peek into what’s there.

Tip 03: Placement does matter, but in a thoughtful way.

You don’t want to shove your lead magnet in your users’ faces! Yes, we want your lead magnet to be visible, but putting it everywhere is only going to be annoying to your potential client.

Ultimately, someone is on your website to learn about you, get familiar with your services, or be interested in a product. If you’re trying to distract them from that content too much, they’ll be turned off. Your lead magnet should complement the content already on the page and not be a deterrent from your users’ interest in your services.

Thoughtful lead magnet placements on your website:

1. Make sure your lead magnet is paired thoughtfully with content if it’s on the page. For example, I wouldn’t place a website guide on my brand design page. If you’re a therapist, you wouldn’t put couples’ therapy tips on the individual therapy page.

2. Utilize your footer! Place your lead magnet in your footer or at least have a link to your newsletter. Anyone who actively wants to sign up with you is going to seek that area to engage with you past the content on your website.

3. Put your lead magnet high on the page, but not too high so that it feels like you’re

Should I add a pop-up for my lead magnet?

This is a challenging question and one I’ve grappled with. Obviously if you’re here, you’ve seen that I do have a pop up on my website because it has worked for me in the past. In general, I believe pop-ups need to be specifically valuable to your niche for them to work. If they’re gimmicky, overly-promotional, or don’t offer a lot of value, they can actually hurt your credibility and cause people to exit your website rather than stay to get the value.

There are so many web builders out and available right now, it can be hard to choose which is the absolute best for your therapy practice. You don’t want to spend extra money or time on a platform you end up hating, because then you’ll have to keep spending, and no one has time or resources for that right now. You’ve probably looked at Wix, Showit, Wordpress, Brighter Pages, Therapy Sites, or even Canva, and you’re wondering how Squarespace stacks up and if it’s the best web builder.

This article is going to break down my perspective as a designer, and hopefully inform you a bit more as specifically an audience that needs to know what’s going to be best for getting inquiries: I see you, my dear therapist. I’m in therapy myself and work with tons of therapists and I know exactly what your specific needs and questions are!

Let me tell you a bit about myself as a designer who uses Squarespace.

I’ve been using Squarespace since 2013. I got hired to sue the platform when I didn’t even know I’d be a good website designer. A contract team I was working with at the time said “hey, use Squarespace. You’ll like it and it’s easy.” The rest is history, and now I’ve designed hundreds of Squarespace websites.

I found my niche designing for therapists in 2016. I designed my first therapy website for Avalon Psychotherapy. Then she told 5 friends about me and they told 5 friends…and you get the picture. My SEO skyrocketed and the therapists started finding me on Google and I kept getting even more referrals.

And, that initial therapist I designed for? She loved me so much she came BACK to me in 2025 for a fresh new website, 10 years later!

A Happy Squarespace Therapy Client:

“Olivia is so talented and wise and intuitive that I trust her in the process of boosting my brand and Squarespace website from years ago. She is organized and produces beautiful work. The timeline and process felt like it went as it was supposed to. I appreciated all of her check-ins about expectations and following up with what she needed from me. I have so much gratitude for her and how hard she worked on my business!”

– Erin, Avalon Psychotherapy

So, yes, I fully believe that Squarespace is an excellent website platform for therapists, and here are 4 core reasons why.

Squarespace is a great platform for websites for therapists. Trust me, I’m a designer who’s been using the platform for over 10 years. I’m going to break down a few reasons why I think that the platform is perfect for psychotherapists and therapy practices. I’m not just saying all of this as someone who’s a designer and makes a living on Squarespace…or maybe I am? I do make a living by being a Squarespace designer, but I don’t think that means that I’m unfairly promoting the platform. It’s because Squarespace is such a great platform that I am able to do what I do with it, so all of this is coming from my years and years of experience.

Let’s get into my reasoning!

01: Squarespace is very, very, very easy to use once you get into the flow…and after you watch a Squarespace tutorial or two.

I find that people break down into two general categories when it comes to digital tools: you’re either “techy” or you’re not. I’ll break these into my tech-wizards and not-so-techy folks. And both are valid! Not everyone clicks with technology in the same way, and that doesn’t mean you’re worse off at computers, it just means you need to approach things differently! I’ve held the hand of many a client who was frustrated with their Wordpress website, and they’ve all been extremely happy with Squarespace. Again, I’m not just saying that! I myself am an absolute tech-wizard but I never judge anyone who struggles to make their digital life make sense.

Luckily, Squarespace truly is a great platform for both camps of folks looking for a website platform.

If you’re not-so-techy, that’s okay. I know how frustrating that is in this digital world! But, Squarespace is very user-friendly for even the folks who get overwhelmed on their computers. They have tons of video tutorials and the blocks to add content are extremely user-friendly. Plus, they have tons of preset templates, preset pages, and flexible modules for you to use to get started. You don’t ever have to create anything from scratch if you don’t want to!

If you’re a tech-wizard, Squarespace is going to be a breeze for you to edit. The platform is WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) meaning that as you edit, you see things live. Once you hit ‘Save',’ you’re good to go (but don’t forget to edit your mobile views as well.) For my advanced users, there’s a great code library that you can look into to get even more custom with your Squarespace website. Squarespace allows a ton of functionality if you go seeking, so you won’t be boxed in. Plus, its new web builder which they called Fluid Engine is incredible for the designer in all of us.

02: Squarespace allows you to make absolutely beautiful websites that will make your clients excited to get therapy with you.

There’s a reason I use Squarespace as a professional, experienced web designer. It’s beautiful. The platform makes it very easy for me to create beautiful designs for my clients that fully encapsulates their brand vibe. Swiping through my portfolio shows the breadth of different types of designs I’m capable of doing with this incredible platform. Because it’s so flexible, you can build the templates any way you want to, and add as many or as few colors as your brand needs. Plus, the movable image blocks help you stay streamlined or get really fun with your therapy brand.

Why does it matter if my site looks good?

When your website looks good and functions well, users want to stay. They want to read what you have to say, consume your content, and eventually work with you. If you gave me three therapy websites to look at, and only one was designed well at all, I’d think that therapist invested into their brand and thus would invest in my success as their client. Plus, the easier it is to contact you, the more leads you’ll get!

A beautiful website doesn’t always mean super flashy design, either. I’ve done both very design-forward websites as well as some that are simpler with a chill vibe.

Neutral, traditional Squarespace therapy website design by Bold August:

• Levin Psychotherapy

• EMPWRD Therapy

• North Star (website design only)

• LifePath Therapy

Colorful, bold Squarespace therapy website design by Bold August:

• Melissa Haney

• Avalon Psychotherapy

• Jennifer Ann Counseling

• Healing Room Counseling

03: Squarespace is an all-in-one platform: your hosting, security, and domain can all be in one place.

If you’ve worked with Wordpress, you’ve probably had to fuss around with website hosting. Hosting is basically your storage on the internet. With Wordpress, you have to pay for storage separately, sort of like having a storage unit off-site.

But with Squarespace, your hosting is included! Which is like having the storage unit right within your own home! When you pay for Squarespace’s subscription, you’re paying for your space on the internet and the web-builder all at once. Woo-hoo!

Squarespace also has something called SSL certificates, which for my non-tech-savvy folks might be a head-scratcher. This basically means Squarespace is a secure web platform that builds your security certificate right into your domain.

I do recommend buying your domain elsewhere, but Squarespace has domains that are just fine as well.

Here’s how I typically describe and explain the domain, hosting, and email address conundrum and explain it to clients. This is totally not related to this article but while you’re here, I love explaining! This is exactly why Squarespace is a great platform for all of this - the hosting and domain are built right in!

04: Use only the tools you need, grow into tools in the future, and Squarespace has plenty of functionality.

Do you just have a simple “5-pager” Squarespace website? That’s great, Squarespace will feel so intuitive and you’ll have those pages up in no time! You absolutely can launch a beautiful, functional website with just the core pages that you need for success and Squarespace will be an amazing platform for that.

However, you can also add tons of other tools and functionality to your website if you need, so the platform can really grow with you when you need it for your practice.

Here are some of the tools Squarespace offers for therapists:

Blogging for Your Therapy SEO

Squarespace has a blog built right in. I highly, highly recommend blogging for SEO. It’s crucial to have your niche perspective out there because people are still searching the internet all the time. And I mean that. All the time. If you’re reading this blog right now, that’s proof of that! Jennifer Ann is one of my favorite therapy bloggers at the moment, right next to LifePath Therapy.

Acuity Scheduling

Do you also offer consultation or supervision with your therapy practice? Squarespace has a built-in scheduler that allows you to schedule appointments and meetings. It is an add-on cost, but it’s incredibly powerful. You can automate email reminders, take payments, and limit and organize your calendar like a breeze. Whole Brain Institute is one of my clients that utilizes Acuity Scheduling very powerfully.

Contact Forms and Audience Profiles

Squarespace has invested a lot into its contact forms. You now have conditional questions, user profiles, and so much integration involved, it’s one of my favorite underrated features. This means that the more detailed your contact form is, the more information you get sent to you and that you keep! You can balance HIPPA with this as well by adding check-boxes that signal acceptance of terms & conditions and linking submissions up to private email inboxes. My favorite therapy contact form is Jennifer Ann Counseling. Or, if you’re not ready to have a contact form, you can also embed other external forms. Head Heart Therapy embeds their Simple Practice form, and I use Honeybook on my contact page. The integration is very easy to use and clients don’t typically notice the difference that it’s an embedded form vs one that is used by Squarespace.

Email Marketing / Newsletters

That’s right, Squarespace also has its own built-in newsletter platform, called Squarespace Campaigns. It’s not my personal favorite (I use Flodesk) but I used it until I hit 800 subscribers. (It’s always good to have a goal!) It’s GREAT to get started and very cheap and simple to get going with! If you need a quick stop-gap solution to see if email marketing is for you, I absolutely love it. This is what I mean by scaling - start where you need and grow when it’s best for you!

And a bonus comment: Squarespace is just as good for SEO as any other website platform.

When Squarespace comes up in conversation, you may hear a lot of chatter about how it’s not a platform for SEO, which is flat out very wrong.

SEO just means search engine optimization. There’s no secret back-end code, no meta data wizardry, or any special or crazy tools you need…you just need to write blogs, make sure your site has your keywords, and ensure your website is on Google Search Console. Okay okay, there’s a little bit more than that, but SEO is mostly just hard work. Every gizmo and gadget is going to try to convince you that it’s not, but it is. I have a product for this exact thing: get my easy breezy SEO course.

In conclusion: my dear therapist, Squarespace is great. Go for it…and think about working with me!

If you’re a therapist ready for a brand design and beautiful website, you’ve found the right person. I’m a bold, colorful website and brand designer who is ready to help you create the brand of your dreams. I can design very colorful, very neutral, but always very, very you. I work with bold souls ready to let their online presence reflect who they really are. To me, your brand and business should be the perfect combination of your personality, your audience’s perception, and your business goals, and I do exactly that.

Reach out today to start building your dream therapy website design!

In this post, we’re sharing five creative, unexpected ways to use Canva’s Background Remover tool to elevate your designs, build your brand identity, and make your content look polished and professional.

1. Add a Bold, On-Brand Border Around Your Subject

If you want your image to pop—especially on a busy background—adding a clean, colorful border is a quick way to make your visuals feel intentional and branded.

How to create an outline using the Background Remover:

• Upload your photo and remove the background

• Go to Edit Image → Shadows → Glow

• Click Glow again to open the settings

• Set Transparency to 100%, Blur to 0, and choose your brand color

• Adjust the size for your desired border thickness

This looks especially great on dark backgrounds and is perfect for headshots, product photos, or social media posts that need a bit of extra “pop.”

2. Remove Backgrounds from Logos or Graphics

You don’t need to hunt down transparent PNGs every time you add a logo to your site or create a “featured in” section. Just use Canva’s Background Remover.

Upload your logo or screenshot, click Edit Image, and remove the background. Done!

Bonus tip:

Want to make your logo white to place on a dark background? Use Duotone, select any preset, then adjust both the highlight and shadow colors to white. It’s quick and clean—and it helps keep your branding consistent.

3. Create a Pop-Out Effect for Your Photos

Want to make your designs feel more dynamic? Create a 3D-style pop-out effect by layering a cutout image over a Canva frame or mockup.

Use a phone screen, a circle, or a computer frame and place your image inside it. Then duplicate the image, remove the background, and layer it on top so it looks like part of you is popping out. It’s perfect for social posts, welcome graphics, or creative service promos.

4. Build Custom Collages Using Cut-Out Elements

Instead of downloading a premade collage pack, you can create something completely custom by removing backgrounds from Canva stock images or your own brand visuals.

Think:

• Flowers

• Disco balls

• Yoga mats

• Shells

• Crystals

• Objects that speak to your vibe

Search Canva’s photo library, pick your elements, remove their backgrounds, and layer them creatively. It’s an easy way to make mood boards, featured sections, or social content that feels elevated and on-brand.

5. Remove Backgrounds From Videos (Yes—Really!)

Canva Pro now allows you to remove backgrounds from videos too! It’s a powerful update that makes your video content look clean, focused, and totally customizable—especially if you’re recording Reels or video intros.

The tool works best when you’re recording against a high-contrast background (like a blank wall). Processing takes a few minutes, but the result? A polished video with endless design flexibility.

Use it to:

• Drop a brand pattern behind yourself

• Remove clutter or distractions from your background

• Make branded content that looks like it was edited professionally

Final Thoughts: Let Canva Do the Heavy Lifting

From adding bold outlines to building unique collages or popping yourself out of a phone frame, the Background Remover tool in Canva does way more than you think. It’s an easy way to level up your visual content—no design degree required.

Give one of these creative techniques a try in your next Canva project, and tag @BoldAugustDesignStudio so we can cheer you on!

Let’s walk through how to set up your Canva Brand Kit fonts, what each style is used for, and how to make decisions that actually support your brand.

Where Fonts Live Now: Inside the Brand Hub

Canva recently renamed the Brand Kit area to the Brand Hub, and it now includes:

• Brand Kit (your fonts, colors, logos)

• Brand Templates

• Brand Controls

Today, we’re focusing on the fonts within the Brand Kit.

Understanding the Font Styles

In the past, you only had to assign a heading, subheading, and body font. Now Canva lets you set everything from titles and subtitles to quotes, captions, and section headers—which sounds great, but can quickly become confusing.

To keep things simple, here’s a system that works:

• Title / Heading Font → Use your main H1 font

• Subtitle / Subheading Font → Use a bold or clean variant for H2 or H3

• Section Header → Something unique or custom (optional)

• Body Font → Choose a clean, legible sans serif

• Quote / Caption Font → Add a little personality here if it fits your brand

In Canva, I use a mix of purchased and native fonts:

• My main heading font is Fustat (a free Google Font)

• Subheadings are Montserrat Classic

• Body text is Karla (a free Google font)

• Quote and caption fonts rotate based on the vibe—sometimes fun, sometimes bold

How to Upload Fonts (and When to Avoid It)

You can upload fonts to Canva if you own the proper license. But keep in mind: uploaded fonts won’t support bold or italic options unless they’re specifically included in the file. That’s because Canva can’t generate those styles for you.

If your font is already in Canva’s library, use that instead—it’ll give you more flexibility and formatting control.

To upload a font in Canva:

1. Click “Manage Uploaded Fonts” inside your Brand Kit.

2. Choose “Add New” and upload the file.

3. Make sure your license (typically a Desktop License) covers design use.

You can find great fonts on Creative Market or MyFonts, but always double-check the license type. For Canva use, a Desktop License is all you need.

The Importance of Body Fonts

Your body copy font does a lot of heavy lifting, especially in documents, workbooks, or social posts with lots of text. It should be clean, simple, and easy to read at various sizes.

I’ve put together a guide that shows body copy fonts that are available in both Canva and Squarespace—perfect if you’re trying to match your website and your marketing materials.

Download My Tester Font Document

Not sure what fonts look like together? I’ve created a Canva Type Playground so you can mix and match heading, subheading, body, and callout fonts in one place. Just open the doc, plug in your choices, and test them out visually.

With this Canva template for fonts, you can try:

• A decorative “fun font” for quotes or social callouts

• A handwriting or script font (sparingly!)

• Seeing how fonts look in bullet lists or paragraphs

• Repeating your subheading font to check versatility

One of my favorite creative families for accents is the TAN collection in Canva. Fonts like TAN Kindred or TAN Buster are great for personality-packed headlines or accent quotes—as long as they remain readable.

Final Thoughts: How to Choose Your Brand Fonts

Here’s your quick-start guide:

1. Choose a main heading font that feels aligned with your brand voice.

2. Add a subheading font that pairs well and offers contrast.

3. Select a body font that’s clean and legible.

4. Sprinkle in one accent font—something fun, but used sparingly.

5. Upload any licensed fonts you love, but remember that native Canva fonts offer more control.

Need help visualizing it all? Download my Font Playground and start experimenting. You’ll get access via my newsletter or blog, and you can make a copy to start tinkering with your own combos.

Have a font question? Leave a comment or shoot me an email—I’d love to help.

Trust me, you want your logo to be big but not THAT big. In Squarespace, the bigger your logo, the bigger your site’s navigation has to scale to accommodate the logo, and a big navigation pushes everything down. When I say everything, I mean the rest of your site and all of your content, so you’re making your user scroll longer to see the content! (This is what’s called having content “above the fold.”)

We want your user to see your actual content as soon as possible, not just your logo. I promise, your logo is going to be easily readable at a ‘normal’ size and doesn’t need to be the size of a billboard to be impactful for your brand.

How to Add Your Logo into Your Squarespace Website

These are instructions for Squarespace 7.1, Fluid Engine, as of January 2025. Squarespace changes frequently, so please email me if you need updated instructions.

Logo Dimensions for Squarespace

First, you need your logo file handy! It’s recommend your logo is a transparent PNG and not too large in file size. I’d recommend 500px wide so that it looks good at any size.

Logos: 500px wide, PNG format, transparent

Adding the Logo in Edit Mode

First, click “edit” in the top left corner. To add a logo, you’ll head to the heading of your Squarespace website. (Haha, head to the heading!) Click “Edit Site Header.”

Then, you click on the site title and click on the pencil icon. You’ll get a pop-up modal where you can add in your logo file! See above for logo sizing instructions.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

You’ll see that there’s also a mobile option because you can add a different logo for your mobile site if you want and have a different file. This is great if you have an icon logo or stacked logo that would look better vertical. More on that further down the blog.

Make the Logo Bigger: Yay or nay for your Squarespace website?

Look, we all want huge logos. I get it - you want your logo to be loud and proud because it’s the literal name of your business. But hear me out: you’ve got to get people to learn about the what and why of what you do, which is arguably more important than just your logo. Your logo is good enough as a visual of your vibe and aesthetic, but on a website, users need to know more.

Think about it: my company name is Bold August. Yes, there’s the small “design studio” underneath - but what KIND of design? Interior design? Website design? Architecture? I need so much more than my logo to communicate what my website does. Your website content is crucial so you don’t want to overshadow it with a giant logo.

Notice how, when the logo is larger, it pushes the content down.

This might look subtle, but it’s a huge difference when it comes to the user experience and usage of your website. First, the balance feels off. The logo is the same size as the H1 mission statement (the first big sentence on the page) and so it’s taking over the entire page and has real main character energy. But don’t I want my logo to be the main character, Olivia? I know you’re asking me. Actually, we don’t! You want your value and mission to be #1 on the page

Plus, you’ll see that the content starts lower on the page, so your user’s eye isn’t as focused on the content and they instead see your logo. We really want users to see the content first because then they can learn about how you are going to help them or provide for them specifically.

Overall, I’d suggest prioritizing your content rather than making the logo as big as possible. use your logo in other ways, and use your brand with strength rather than prioritizing the singular mark.

How big should my logo be on my Squarespace website?

I can’t give you an actual dimension because everyone’s logos are different proportions.

My logo is horizontal, so my logo at 100 pixels wide would be tiny. If your logo is vertical, your logo is going to look huge at 100 pixels wide.

Here’s a chart that explains this:

This is why you’ll want to work with a professional brand designer who should provide you an entire logo system vs just a singular logo. You need a tall logo, a wide logo, a badge-based logo, a logo that works as a sticker, a logo that works in white, etc. This is a huge difference between a logo and a full brand!

Your Logo Should Prioritize Readability of All Text Within the Logo

Your logo should be big enough for the entire text of your logo to be readable but not so big that it overwhelms the site. Truly, this is where a seasoned web designer comes in, because I’m skilled at determining balance and proportion (and I have a degree in design!) but you need to use your best guess.

But notice how in these two examples, the logo has sub-text that isn’t readable at a small size:

View fullsize

View fullsize

In this case, the subtext is extremely important, because this company only does wedding florals. You want to make sure that subtext is readable for your entire audience. A great way to have a horizontal logo for a website is to place the icon on the left so that it fits in the space of a website better:

The best thing to do is ask a designer first, and if you don’t have a designer, research other logos that are comparable to yours.

Still not really sure how big your logo should be? Do a bit of competitor research! Check out logo sizes on websites in your industry, or from some of your favorite brands.

You can check logos with a list like:

• Can I read all the text on the logo?

• Does the logo feel like it’s in my face?

• Does the logo feel like it’s way too small?

• Is the logo causing weird spacing in this navigation?

• Do I like the logo?

Examples of various logo sizes from Bold August:

Notice how all of these logos have different headers and navigation styles to best match the brand, and notice how they’re not all GIANT logos. The brands speak for the company! Remember, a logo is just a mark, it’s not the end all be all.

Essentially, your logo is important but doesn’t need to be giant. When adding your PNG file (and it’s totally transparent, right?) to your Squarespace website, you want to be cognizant of balance and proportion. And you also want to work on your value statement just as much.

Ready for a logo designer to help you design the perfect sized logo for your website?

Reach out today!

Hello, World!

So while I don’t 100% niche in therapist websites for Squarespace, I know a heck of a lot about them. In fact, this whole article is specifically to showcase 6 different therapy brands and websites that Bold August has designed! (If you’re one of my therapist clients and you aren’t on this list, please don’t worry - I tried to show a range of styles and types! I think all of my therapy websites are beautiful!)

Why do I use Squarespace to build beautiful therapy / counselor brands and websites?

Squarespace is currently the best website builder on the market for therapists. There, I said it. No other platform gives you the combination of ease of use, a beautiful user interface, and so much flexibility. The platform is just the easiest and most user-friendly way to create websites currently. I also say that as a designer who LOVES trying out new platforms (I’m not joking, a new platform to me is like candy. I love trying out new flavors and seeing what sticks the best.)

With Squarespace, you can use one of their starter templates or you can build your own completely from scratch. (Or, you know, hire a website designer like me!) They make it incredibly easy to get started with tons of pre-set designs.

I use Squarespace because it’s flexible for my user and also allows me to create absolutely stunning designs. That’s really a tough order: a web builder that’s good for clients AND is good for designers? Squarespace somehow has nailed it. And, I’ve been using the platform for 10+ years, meaning I’ve first-hand seen how the platform has committed to change and keeping their user interface beautiful and relevant to new business owners.

Not only that, but Squarespace is a popular platform which means it also has tons and tons of resources, tutorials, and how-to articles out there. If you can’t figure out how to do something, the answer is almost always just a Google away for you. Lesser-known platforms can’t boast that level of education quite yet. I myself have an entire Squarespace video library with tips and tutorials about how to do specific things in the platform for small business owners.

How to set up a Therapist Website on Squarespace

I always say to start with content and goals first. The best Squarespace website often starts with a Google Doc. Head to a blank document and start writing, and you’ll be doing huge foundational work for your therapist website. Websites are a structure that need content and design to make them specific to an audience and demonstrate your business’s personality. You’re going to have to write anyway, so you might as well start with that first.

I’d start writing the below to form the basis of your Squarespace website:

1. Your therapist bio. Write a short, one-paragraph bio and then a longer, in-depth bio. The shorter one is perfect for a snippet about you on your homepage

2. Your services. What are you specifically going to specialize in? EMDR? Couples therapy? Play therapy? Write out each service, modality, and specialty and describe your approach in great detail.

3. Contact information. How do I get in contact with you? What information are you going to display? Is your office fully virtual, or not? Write out these instructions like you’re explaining to a five year old. You need to make sure that for someone in crisis or who needs a therapist, you are giving them easy instructions and not leaving anything out.

4. Your insurance / billing / and FAQs. Start answering those now, and in great detail. People read FAQ pages for therapy practice websites pretty heavily. Write out all of these things!

5. What makes you unique? Last but not least, how are you going to stand out in a sea of other therapists? Do you work with the polyvagal theory? Are you specific to a demographic? Do you work exclusively with women, men, couples, veterans, etc? Start writing all your unique viewpoints.

After you’ve finished writing, you have to make a choice. Do you want to hire a designer like me to put it all together for you, or are you going to start with a template?

If you have a brand, you could probably put it together yourself if you were absolutely tight on a budget. Please consider that an average website takes me, a professional, about 40 hours to fully complete top to bottom! Using a template can absolutely help, but every template is also a blank slate that needs your images, branding, and content to fill it in.

Or, you might work with a professional to build it all. You’ll then decide what your budget is, what your needs are, and what’s important to you: and then begin to research designers that meet that criteria. I pride myself on being a designer who focuses on accessibility for the user, flexibility for the owner, and a fun process that feels rich with business coaching as well as design. I hold the hands of all my therapists who work with me so that I can guide you through what it’s like having a business online! Plus, I record custom how-to videos on how to edit your website.

How can I make my therapy website look as unique as your designs?

Branding. Branding. Branding. Websites are structures, like houses, that need the “interior design” to bring them all together and make them stand out. Wallpaper. Paint color. Fixtures. You need brand visuals to make your therapy website stand apart. This is why brand design is absolutely a crucial step and why I don’t do websites without branding first!

You need to consider also how your copy and content completely stand out as well. Your website is going to be as unique as you make it! What makes you different? What is a philosophy that you stand for? What unique qualifications do you have? Content is just as crucial as design to help your therapist website standout from all of the other therapist websites.

This is why tons of my therapy clients come to me and want to use me as a designer: I specialize in creating beautiful brands that will look uniquely you and bring out your business’s personality.

What should I be looking for in therapist website examples?

You might think you want to be looking for branding and cool animations and designs, but truthfully, the main thing you should look at is if the website is user-friendly. After all, these websites are intended to get therapy clients. The #1 goal of a therapist website is typically to either get leads or get more qualified leads. If the website is beautiful but not functional, it might belong in a gallery, but it might not actually convert.

You should be looking to see if the examples have personality. Originality. Expertise. And, of course, they should also look and feel unique and beautiful as well. I absolutely don’t want to discount beautiful branding, but branding should function to showcase the individual personality of the business, not just to only “look pretty.”

Beautiful Examples of Therapist Website Design from Bold August

Smyrna Couples Counseling - a saturated and beautiful brand & website design that focuses on couples counseling exclusively.

This brand was so fun to design and the website was even more fun! The earthy tones and darker colors allowed for a more serious and deep vibe that really felt grounded and trustworthy. I absolutely loved working with Jena to bring her vision to life. She wanted to focus on a gold metallic texture throughout her site, which is called kintsugi, or the Japanese art of repairing pottery with gold leaf to make them beautifully broken. Jena is also the 1st Certified Black Female Emotionally Focused COUPLES Therapist (EFCT) in GA! I was absolutely honored to be her brand and website designer.

Healing Room Counseling - talk about a bold, colorful, and fun therapist website design!

Sarah Meng from Healing Room Counseling wanted a colorful therapy website to showcase her bright personality and also represent her work with queer, LGTBQIA+ audience. Her brand ended up being very personal to her, and was custom-illustrated with a lantern which also happened to be something she had tattooed. By including personal references to clients in branding, the businesses feel powerful and unique.

Get EMPWRD - a beautiful, neutral brand that brilliant showcases calm and peaceful aesthetic.

April was a client who trusted Bold August with her neutral, traditional brand styling despite my colorful brand and portfolio. Her brand is a beautiful, subtle masterpiece that has elegant brand touches throughout. We focused on natural textures, shadows, and a high-end look to cater to her high-performing female audience. This therapist website is

Melissa Haney - personality-driven therapist Squarespace design.

Melissa came to me wanting a site that better reflected who she was and what she was all about! Her existing website was actually done professionally and was pretty good, but she didn’t feel it best represented her mission or values. We reworked her logo and her website to completely reflect her style. Her Austin, TX flair but cheerful personality are completely represented throughout her website! She wrote fresh copy with my SEO guidance as well, so it’s completely redone top to bottom.

Head Heart Therapy - talk about BEAUTIFUL brand representation in design!

Head Heart Therapy was a personal, luxurious favorite. Her website is top to bottom unique and custom and features sparkly, metallic assets, a diverse color palette, and her entire team bios are well represented. Rayell (the owner) has been keeping in touch with Bold August and we absolutely love watching their growth. This brand is stunning and was perfectly aligned with their growth.

Whole Brain Institute - An educational website that teaches other therapists with a scholarly feel.

Whole Brain came to me needing an institute-esque brand that felt like a badge or a school’s crest. We delivered with a special brand design that had nods to each of the co-owners’ personalities. The entire website is a robust resource for other therapists to learn and get CEUs. We love the specific, academic feel: almost like you’re in a fancy library browsing the books in antiquities or the historical references. This website shows that a darker website can still feel accessible and beautiful.

In conclusion, therapist websites come in so many different styles and designs.

Design and branding form the basis of all of these websites. They’re all well organized and complete representations of their owners, and most importantly, they function well for the folks that need to benefit from them! Anyone visiting any of these counseling websites will have no problem finding the information they need and getting connected to a therapist that they need.

If you’re ready to uplevel your brand and website so that your website can join this list, please reach out today. We’d absolutely love to build your brand and create a beautiful therapist website in Squarespace for your practice!

There are about a half million brand profile quizzes out there, what makes mine so special?

The “Design Decoder” is more than a brand quiz: it’s a vocabulary builder intended to help you identify the brand elements you like, so you can tell your designer! I called my brand profile quiz a “decoder” because it reminded me of those old school decoder rings and a puzzle to be solved.

Puzzles are fun, they’re tricky, but they have solutions. Through deciphering a puzzle, you come to the end with more clarity and had some fun discovering yourself along the way! Plus, with every step of a puzzle and every phase through deciphering yourself, you learn something new about your brand style and your business personality.

There’s so much involved with branding: it goes beyond a logo. You’ll notice there are NO logo questions in the quiz at all: it completely focuses on brand assets like textures, patterns, stock photography, mockups, and overall vibe.

A Brand is the Sum of All its Parts: A Brand Profile Helps Sort That

Think of branding like a math equation, but a fun one, not like the horrible ones from high school: fonts + colors + brand assets + tone = your brand. Or maybe a more fun anatomy is a potion or a brew!

So often clients think they just need a “logo” because it’s what we see when we start to do that research. But truly, a logo is not at all the main component of a brand. In fact, any instagram you feed will mostly likely feature that brand’s fonts, colors, and visuals more than their logo. And on a website, typically once you start scrolling down, the logo disappears and then you get to focus on the branding and, of course, the visuals.

A Brand Profile Helps to Guide Your Unique Vision

This year I got a lot of “I don’t really know how to describe what I want…” statements from my small business clients, specifically my therapy brands. When you’re used to your own industry of therapy or finances or even dog training, you’re not really thinking about the phrase “texture” or “business card mockup.”

By creating these brand profiles, I hope to equip my potential clients with vocabulary and design descriptions so that it’s easier to tell me what they’re looking for. Having a starting Pinterest board also makes it easy to get going with pinning your own brand vision, and then you have keywords you can use to search further!

Behind My Brand Profile Quiz Results: An Explanation of My Brand Asset Profile Chart

This is a concept created by me, Olivia of Bold August, and is not an “official” brand chart. I find that having this helps me to understand my clients a bit more so I can think outside of my own box.

Quantity of Elements

The X-Axis represents the amount of brand elements and the type of brand elements. Brand elements are things like textures, stock photography, patterns, graphics, elements, and icons to name a few. Some clients love a LOT of these things, and some are more minimalist. That’s why my two end points are minimalist and maximalist.

If you have a minimal brand, you’re most likely someone that likes clean lines, not a lot of fuss, organized vibes, and a more modern style.

If you have a maximalist style, you like STUFF. You want the patterns and the fun fonts and the textures and more colors and more more more! You want to layer it all on like the craziest cake anyone’s ever seen.

I want to clarify something though:

Minimalistic does not mean boring, and Maximalist does not mean chaotic. You can be a minimal brand and have bright, fun, neon colors and still use them simply. You can also be a maximalist and like muted colors and cozier vibes.

Color and Profile

That’s Why the Y-Axis is my color and vibe axis. If your vibe is vibrant, you DO like those bold colors, bright colors, energetic tone of voice, and high spirited writing. My Vibrant folks have a pop of color or a statement font.

My neutral folks prefer a calmer vibe. Their tone is cool as a cucumber and they like things a bit more grounded. They might still have a lot of colors (if they’re also closer to maximalist) but the colors are maybe subtler and muted. The visuals will feel relaxed and calm vs high energy and vivid.

By combining vibrant, neutral, maximalist, and minimalist, you get four quadrants that can help guide brand decisions!

And of course not everyone is going to fit squarely on the line! I can think of many of my brands that straddle two styles or even are close to the center, truly using a mixture of all elements. By having focus in your brand profile, however, you can make decisions that stick to the heart of who you are.

Modern Minimalist Brand Profile

How can you be a minimalist but still enjoy a bold color? By focusing on clean lines, breathing room, and pops of color or style for emphasis. This personality loves a crisp border or a clear point of view. They are up the Y Axis in color palette because while they’re minimal, they’re strong and typically have a bold color choice, font choice, or visual choice.

I love the word “modern” here instead of vibrant because modern design is typically defined by boldness. When you type “modern design style” you’ll typically get articles of helvetica, bauhuas design, art deco, or interior design styles with simplistic shapes. What all these things have in common is focus and a real point of view.

Pinterest Board for the Modern Minimalist →

Traditional Minimalist Brand Profile

Here, instead of using my “Neutral” phrase from my brand matrix, I’m using “Traditional.” A traditional design style is defined by the “old school” type: serif fonts, nods to an older typeset style, beautiful shadows and depth of visual that feels akin to traditional interior design styles. Traditional stylings almost always conjure visions of serif fonts and high end magazine covers, elements that feel timeless.

Timeless is the perfect word for this brand, but there’s also a reason it’s completely opposite from the Vibrant Maximalist: they also like simple. There’s elegance in simplicity, a nice focus and tons of breathing room.

Pinterest Board for the Traditional Minimalist →

Vibrant Maximalist Brand Profile

Welcome to my corner of the brand world! If you haven’t noticed, Bold August is most decidedly a vibrant and maximal brand. I love a fun set of textures, I change my mind on color palettes almost all the time, and the more fonts the merrier. I’m a huge fan of throwing spaghetti at the wall and it’s preferred if that spaghetti is brightly colored and FUN. My brand can sometimes feel scrapbook-esque but it’s always lovingly chaotic.

This brand eats bold colors for breakfast, absolutely wants a bazillion brand patterns (and is already probably trying to make a few of them work), and has probably also tried multiple fonts with their branding as well. They thrive on energy!

Originally I had the word “chaotic” all over my brand quiz, but so many were turned off by the word, but it’s one I embrace. You can absolutely have an organized chaos. Chaos is all about growth and changing and moving and shaping and being a bit messy in the process.

Pinterest Board for the Vibrant Maximalist →

Cozy, Eclectic Maximalist Brand Profile

The only profile I just had to title with three words because they’re my oddballs. (I say that lovingly!) This is the brand that sometimes feels like they’re “very hard to describe.” They never really fit in because they haven’t been able to explain who they are until this point (I hope this quiz is giving you some clarity!)

This brand profile often gets mixed in with the vibrant maximalists, which probably stresses them out, or the traditionalists which makes them feel bored and stuck. You see, my cozy, eclectic maximalist also loves the STUFF that comes with a brand but they love it in a calm way. They have all the calm vibes of a Modern Minimalist but all the textures, patterns, and much-ness of a vibrant maximalist. They’re grounded, dug into the earth, and have fonts and colors that make them feel at peace but also surrounded by things they love. If the vibrant maximalist is a phoenix or a peacock, the eclectic maximalist is a dragon hoarding their favorite treasures or a raven.

Pinterest Board for the Cozy Maximalist →

What if you don’t agree with your brand profile quiz result?

There’s definitely a few reasons you might be looking at your brand profile and scratching your head. I’ll break them down below, but I’ll also say that this isn’t prescriptive. This quiz was ultimately a way to break down vocabulary for my user so they can be descriptive. What texture makes you happy? What font makes your heart sing? What color palette vibe? Once you can nail down WHY you like what you like, your designer can get closer to identifying your brand style for you.

why you might not be feel aligned with a brand profile:

1. You’re on the line between two quadrants: this is a matrix, not 1-2-3-4! You might be right on the line between vibrant and neutral and just like something in the middle. You also could be on the line between minimal and maximal and not really “get” either one.

2. You’re thinking about your personal style and not your business style. This is a BIG ONE. The wardrobe and interior designs I surround myself with in my personal life are NOT the same as how I show up in my business. It might shock everyone, but I don’t have 8 terrazzo dresses or even more than 1 orange shirt, and I certainly am not this energetic all the time. My business brand style is a reflection of my excitement for what I do, not my personal favorite colors.

3. You’re still not clear on a few definitions and maybe didn’t select the answers that made sense at the time. If you weren’t sure what a border was, how would you know which one to pick? I’d recommend discussing with your designer (and hopefully that’s me!) each of your quiz results and telling them why you like things.

What do I do with my brand profile quiz results?

This is going to depend if you have a brand already or not and if you are in your DIY stage or ready to hire out a professional!

If you already have a brand and feel that you need help exploring it with a professional, I recommend booking a Power Hour with me where we can tweak your color palette, add elements and textures and patterns, and focus in on your needs. If you’re not ready to work with a professional brand designer, I recommend heading over to Creative Market and pulling icons and textures and visuals that feel most aligned with you.

If you don’t already have a brand, it’s probably a great time to reach out to a designer like me! Head on over to my branding page and let’s get started!

It’s in my “dream team” tech stack, which currently includes:

• FloDesk (duh)

• Canva (extra duh)

• Squarespace

• Honeybook

• Calendly

• Whereby

• Notion

Is that not the most eye-catching stack of platforms you’ve ever seen? FloDesk fits right in with the rest when it comes to empowering my clients to manage their businesses with ease. I’m a bit of a UI snob which means I’ll always prioritize a platform that looks as beautiful as it functions, and FloDesk AND Canva both fit that bill.

FloDesk is an email marketing platform, which means you use it to deliver sales, marketing, and creative emails to an email list. Well, how do you form an email list in the first place? A great way to build a list is to create and deliver lead magnets and start workflows for your clients to get to know you more. 

That might feel overwhelming if you’re new to email marketing in the first place (and we all were new at some point) so this article intends to break down this process from lead magnet creation with Canva to implementation in FloDesk.

What is a lead magnet and what does that have to do with FloDesk?

Imagine, well, a magnet! Except instead of metal, it’s a fancy ebook or discount or coupon code that attracts a user’s email address. Zap! A lead magnet is a resource that is an exchange for a user trusting your brand with their email being added to your newsletter.

Unless your brand already has a huge audience and a ton of trust, not many people are willing to give their email away randomly to a brand. This is why a lead magnet is immensely helpful to gaining trust.

Think of it as knowledge in exchange for interest.

Lead magnets can come in the form of:

• An email series! Think of 5 days of tips that folks can follow along with, like a mini challenge. (This option is so easy to set up completely in Flodesk, because you can create all the emails to automatically deliver across all 5 days with their workflow capabilities.)

• A coupon code for your products (you’ve probably seen these all over your favorite product websites)

• Or, a “freebie” of templates, an ebook, or other comparable information.

Well, this article is going to teach you exactly how to use Canva to make an ebook + checklist that will have tons of your knowledge and action items, and I’ll walk you through how to set up that eBook in FloDesk as a seamless workflow!

What is the difference between email marketing (FloDesk) and sending emails in Gmail? Why can’t I just email people my lead magnet I make in Canva directly to them?

Great question! There’s a difference between a direct email and a marketing email to an active marketing list. Marketing is very different from interpersonal communication.

FloDesk is an email marketing platform. The key word there is “marketing.” This means that you are actively marketing to an email list that has consented to giving over their emails.

Your email in Gmail (or other email inboxes) is your personal email inbox, where you communicate directly with someone or a group of people. This is communication vs marketing, and those people don’t need to consent to have conversations.

Notice how I’m using the word “consent” a lot here. That’s because it’s crucial that users consent to signing up for your email marketing list. FloDesk has tons of great information in their compliance article series about the nuance of getting users onto a list. Have you ever been frustrated when you get an email from a source you don’t really remember signing up for? It’s very annoying and honestly an invasion of your inbox to receive marketing communications you didn’t sign up for. So, we want to ensure we don’t frustrate your audience which could result in them marketing you as spam!

Use coupon BOLDAUGUST or click here to start your trial and get 50% off your first year!

How to Use Canva to Make an eBook Freebie

Let’s go ahead and demonstrate how FloDesk works: if you’d like, you can sign up for my newsletter and grab this eBook Canva template so you can work on your very own template without starting from a blank slate! (See how this works as a lead magnet? I’m going to save you time and you’re going to love my newsletter!)

This is an example of a FloDesk form that has been embedded in this article:

(I made this form in FloDesk!)

To create an eBook in Canva, you’ll start with choosing either a vertical (8.5” x 11”) or horizontal (11”x8.5”) page format. This is assuming you might want your users to print out your ebook or checklist on a standard letter sized sheet of paper.

You’ll then start writing and designing! This is made a bit easier by my template above, but if you’re designing from scratch, keep a few important notes in mind.

Things to remember when writing a lead magnet:

• Write from the heart AND from the brain. Make sure the content sounds unique to you and human, but also that it’s something that will make your audience go “Wow, I never thought of that!”

• Make your lead magnets actionable. What is the next step I should take after reading? Oftentimes, including a checklist within your ebook is a helpful way of ensuring it will be read.

• KISS. Keep it simple, solopreneur! eBooks can feel similar to blogs: have an intro, 3-5 points, a checklist, and then an outro page. That reminds me…

• Don’t forget a strong intro + outro page! Make sure you’ve got your logo, branded photography, 

Step-by Step Instructions for Adding a Signup Form to Your Squarespace Website from FloDesk 

FloDesk has BEAUTIFUL forms.

A “form” is the actual email input where a user will type their email. That email will then be added into your FloDesk account into the segment that you choose on the form. You can embed this form using their easy-to-understand code, and put it direclty into your Squarespace website. It’s literally a three-step process, which I’ll outline below.

The forms in FloDesk are incredibly sleek, compared to a few other platforms that have clunky forms (cough cough, Kajabi. Kajabi’s forms are UGLY. I have never been able to get them to work right.)

Look at these beautiful forms from flodesk:

Step One: Choose a signup form style that you love

FloDesk has a few form styles:

• Regular inline form

• Link in Bio Email Form

• Popup forms (yes, these can be integrated into Squarespace, too!)

• Full page forms

• Video forms (NEW!)

• Spinner forms (NEW!)

• Countdown forms (NEW!)

To set yours up, you’ll choose your form style. Within these forms, there’s also an incredible feature where users can select the specific newsletters they want to sign up for, so they can self-filter into different segments. This is available in all form optios.

These new form types are so easy to use and I’m so excited about testing them all out myself!

Step Two: You’ll need a graphic to show off your lead magnet.

After you’ve selected your form, you’ll see there’s a spot to place an image in most forms. I happen to have the perfect thing for this: a great mockup template. You can use this free Canva template to “mock up” your ebook in a pretty format. (Unless you’ve opted to not have an image with your form!)

Step Three: Adjust your settings on your form

You’ll want to make sure your form has users signing up for the correct email list, and that is easily changeable and swappable via FloDesk. You’ll head to Settings on the form and check everything that you want.

Step Four: Embed your form into Squarespace

FloDesk makes this so easy! You’ll click “Embed” at the top right of your form and grab the code. (A note that if you’ve never added any forms before to your Squarespace website, first you will have to add the Header Code into Header Code Injection. This is very easy to do! In Squarespace you’ll head to Settings, Advanced, Code Injection, and then paste that code from FloDesk. That’s essentially FloDesk’s site-wide “hey, we’re in your house!” code that will enable all of your forms and pop-ups to show up.)

To add the form code, you’ll find the inline code first.

Embedding the actual inline code in your Squarespace website is also insanely easy. First, make sure you’re in edit mode and then find the spot where you want to add the code.

For regular pages: You’ll click “Add Element” when hovering over a section.

For blogs and classic editor pages, you’ll find the Blue Plus Sign as you hover over sections to add a block.

Find the code block element. Paste the code from FloDesk. Hit save. (You won’t be able to see the form while in “edit” mode. So click “exit” after saving!)

Ta-da! Now people can sign up for your newsletter through your lead magnet! This might seem complicated, but both FloDesk and Squarespace make it very easy with instructions along the way.

FloDesk also has their own set of instructions here, that shows you more places to add your forms that are outside of Squarespace, so check it out!

How do I ensure users will receive my lead magnet automatically when they sign up for it on my website?

Now you’ll need to create a workflow in Flodesk. A workflow is a series of actions and automations that happen, er, automatically when actions are taken. An action can be someone signing up for your newsletter, clicking a link, or you adding them to a segment. By setting up a workflow, you can have an email containing your freebie send immediately so that users receive their freebie directly in their inbox. I’m going to break this process down into extremely simple steps.

Not only that - but FloDesk also has a new feature where I can share my very own ebook delivery template straight to you! Can you believe it!

Steal My eBook Delivery FloDesk Email Template

I believe that a great resource delivery email should be simple, simple, simple. You want to give people exactly what they asked for and you want to do that immediately when they sign up. You can add some fancy steps later, but the first email they get in the workflow should deliver your lead magnet.

I’ve made what I consider the perfect simple delivery template, and you can actually utilize this simple template I built directly in FloDesk!

To steal this FloDesk email template, click below and add in your information. Make your own mockup of your lead magnet with my document mockup templates.

Be sure to upload the PDF to your delivery: both on the button AND on the image itself. I find that a lot of users also click the image to grab the freebie as well. Then, when you create your workflow, you’ll click “duplicate an existing email” and find the one you designed. Now it’s in the workflow! 

What if I want these users to also take other actions within my email marketing platform?

Are you sensing a trend here with the things I’m saying? FloDesk has YET ANOTHER new feature: you can now have users take link actions so that they can do other things within your workflow! This means you can guide people into other segments or workflows based on how they interact with your lead magnet.

I am working on using this feature for even deeper segmentation to direct my offers to the audience that wants to see them.

Just like that, you have connected your knowledge to your audience through beautiful platforms.

FloDesk is truly my comprehensive answer for everything email and marketing related. With just one focused afternoon of dedicated business time, you can easily design a lead magnet in Canva, create a spiffy mockup graphic for it, and set up an engaging form in FloDesk. After that, you can easily embed that form in your Squarespace website in no time at all. This streamlined process allows you to begin attracting your audience effectively by showcasing your expertise (because you totally worked hard on that lead magnet content, right? I know I did!)

Ready to start your own FloDesk journey?

Use coupon BOLDAUGUST or click here to start your trial and get 50% off your first year!

Who doesn’t love getting GIFTS? Gifts are actually my love language (right there next to words of affirmation) and I gotta say, choosing a gift to me is just as fun as receiving a gift. I knew that client gifts were going to be an essential part of my brand and I couldn’t be more excited about all of these options.

I’ve personally received or sent most of these items! I would never recommend something that is hard to order, hard to receive, or doesn’t feel aligned with my mission of sustainability. This gift list is personalized and heartfelt - no pens or plain white coffee mugs here.

Tips for Choosing Client Gifts as a Designer

1. Add getting your client’s mailing address into your project flow! They will often put a business address in the contract, but I always ask for a mailing address under the guise of “adding you to my Christmas card list.” While this is absolutely true, it’s also so I can send a special surprise.

2. How large was the project cost? Send gifts appropriate to the package. If it was your largest, most high-end package with all the add-ons, a curated gift box does well. If it was a design day or small mini package, perhaps a thoughtful card or a pack of stickers.

3. Be conscious of your client’s brand values and interests. Are they sustainable, Vegan, passionate about women-owned or BIPOC businesses? Do they have a dog? Do they like candles? Check that the gift you’re sending aligns with what they support. (In a gift box, stationary and pens are always a good idea!)

4. In my opinion, it’s hard to send food or skincare. It’s hard to tell if someone will love a chocolate bar, or if they’ll worry about the sugar or potential gluten. There’s nothing worse than not being able to actually use a gift! It’s the same with skincare. I personally have very sensitive skin, so while I love face masks or even a lotion, I’d be cautious about gifting things that not everyone would like.

PSSST - I’m not a lawyer or financial expert and this is not legal or financial advice, but my own teams have told me client gifts can be written off up to $20 or they need to have your branding as advertising. I give these gifts anyway because I just love gifts and don’t care if they’re not expensed, so you do you!

Build Custom Gift Boxes per Client Using BoxFox*

This is my first go-to because BoxFox lets you choose things by COLOR! This way, I can choose things that match my client’s brands so they can start to use their brand colors in fun ways. It’s so easy to pull together a kit that looks great, is somewhat branded, and really tailored to your client’s needs.

BoxFox is also a bit more stationary-focused, which I find makes a better client gift than, say, chocolate. They DO have tons of chocolate and consumables, but if you read my note above, I always feel it’s a bit safer to find things like stationary, candles, or a neutral gift so you’re not assuming someone’s dietary preferences.

BoxFox has a rewards program and once I send about 10 boxes, I can actually send a free one to myself!

You can also look at Happy Box for another brand!

Gift box too big? Try a smaller Greetabl for a simpler gift that is also art!

Greetabl is a cute little company that sends out these small boxes with usually a singular gift. The cool thing is, the actual box they come in folds out and can have custom messaging and artwork.

The only caveat is this is the only gift box that’s gotten lost in the mail for me. The boxes are somewhat small. It only happened once, but make sure you’re sending to a client who you know is checking their mail often!

Shop Greetabl →

An Envelope of my own brand stickers + A Handwritten Letter + Blank Postcard with My Branding

I got a beautiful pack of gold embossed postcards from Moo.com. I also got a blank pack of notecards from Vistaprint. I write on the blank notecards, and I give them a fresh postcard to send if they want!

Then I FILL that with branded stickers and bookmarks and my business card! People love this and absolutely love getting things in the mail. I tend to batch these about once a month and have a checklist item in my task flow.

Customize a Hydro Flask from Top to Bottom AND Engrave Their Logo

My senior designer Claire gave me this as a birthday gift this year and I lost my mind. It’s absolutely one of my favorite gifts of all time! The logo is engraved in silver so note that, but you can build the rest of the tumbler with your client’s colors as well!

Go here and click customize!

Personalize a Notebook With Their Logo

I’m never mad about receiving a notebook. Find a favorite maker and get their logo customized! Now, I’d try to find a local maker, someone on etsy, or look for a quality Notebook. I love notebooks but I really don’t like cheap flimsy notebooks. I find that having a notebook that is very specific to me makes for an amazing gift.

Shop Jenni Bick →

Send Your Client Their Own Logo as a Sticker Pack

Send your clients stickers of their own logo! It’s extremely easy to upload a client logo you just designed as a die-cut sticker and then send it straight to them! Nothing is more exciting than getting to hold your logo in your hands for the first time.

I recommend these brands for stickers:

• Sticker Giant

• Sticker App ( I find them the cheapest right now for 50 stickers!)

• Don’t discount Canva or Vistaprint!
  

Send a Plant as a Gift to a Client

There are tons of online shops where you can send a plant as a gift! There’s no branding associated with this option, but it’s so unique and joyful.

Custom Apparel from Printful*

Taking it a notch above stickers, you can also get your client’s branding on an item of apparel you think they’d love. I use Printful (which you can see in my shop) and I absolutely love it. They’re good quality and have an eco-friendly line. Though it’s hard for your gift to be a “surprise” if you ask for their sizing, it’s an awesome gift especially if they hadn’t thought about it themselves.

Here are a few apparel ideas that DON’T involve having to ask for a size:

• Scrunchies with your brand pattern (a massive fave of mine!)

• Embroidered caps

• Tote bags

• Aprons

• Beanies

Ultimately, client gifts are not required, but they are a nice token of appreciation. Whether it’s sending a simple card, some branded stickers, or going all-out with a gift box, these recommendations are exactly what Let’s Go Studio uses to show client appreciation!

So you’ve been given a document, a PDF, or a presentation of brand concepts from a brand designer. Or, you’ve just seen your website design for the first time. This moment has probably been a long time coming, as you’ve dreamt it and strategized it and willed it into existence. It’s thrilling to see your vision finally take shape, and if you ask me, it’s better than any season finale of any show. But then comes the moment of truth: sharing it with others. What’s to stop you from sending that PDF or site link to your entire email list? To your bestie, your entire close friend group? While it’s natural to seek validation, the feedback process can sometimes lead you astray, especially if it’s not guided by the right questions and considerations.

In my 10+ years as a designer, I’ve had people share their brands:

• with a coaching group that had 30+ members

• with their family text threads (yes, this has happened)

• by putting it up on a television with friends to look on a bigger screen

None of those three scenarios resulted in a productive, good conversation and only served to confuse and make my clients second-guess their brands.

The thing is, I want you to share your new designs far and wide. Any time I receive something big that I know will fuel my business, I will inevitably run it by my best friend. No one can stop me, even if they send me an article just like this! Sharing your work is crucial to getting outside perspective, because typically, at this point you will have been so thick in the weeds that you might need to get a fresh take.

I will never ask you to not share your brands with the people you care about...but, let’s do it thoughtfully.

My request is that you share your design concepts with intention. As an entrepreneur, you know how important it is to make decisions that align with your goals and resonate with your audience.

Use the below script to get amazing feedback!

Hello!

I’m in the process of getting a new brand / website / etc. I would love to get your feedback on [the attached / this link] so that I can better reach my goals!

Speaking of goals, I want to ensure I’m inviting strategic feedback at this stage.

My goals for my brand are [enter goals.] My business is going to target [write your demographic.] And last but not least, what I bring to the table is [your favorite part of running your business, what excites you about your brand, etc.]

When you look at [the attached / this link], do you feel the designs meet my goals, my target demographic, and speak to the heart of my business? Do you have any design concerns that are related to accessibility and readability?

Thank you so much for being willing to give feedback! I value your opinion and look forward to reading your thoughts.

Now, let’s talk about the WHY behind that script. It’s important to understand the type of feedback and the structure of feedback first.

Here’s how to approach feedback in a way that keeps your design vision intact and ensures you make the best choices for your brand.

First: Focus on Your Strategic Big Picture

I believe that the perfect brand is a combination of these three things: your business goals, your personality, and your audience’s tastes.

When sharing with your group, frame the feedback against these things.

Instead of asking, “Do you like this design?” which can lead to subjective opinions, guide your reviewers with a more targeted question: “These are the goals, this is the audience: which concept combines those the best?” While you value their opinion and love these people, your friends did NOT go on the same journey that you did. Let’s give them a taste of the journey instead!

By providing context, you help your reviewers understand not just the aesthetics but the strategic intentions behind the design. This way, you’re more likely to receive feedback that’s relevant and constructive, rather than just personal preferences.

Most of the time, you’re not going to want to invite graphic design opinion from anyone outside of your Core Three (more on that below.) Design is subjective!

Second: Keep Your Feedback Circle Small and Relevant

It’s tempting to ask your entire inner circle for their opinions, but more is not always merrier. A large pool of feedback can dilute your vision and create confusion. Not to mention how much more work it creates to share with so many folks! How would you track feedback from more than 10 people? How do you decide whose feedback to keep and whose to release? Sharing far and wide might feel like it’s casting a wide net, but it creates tons of work for everyone.

Aim to keep your feedback circle small and focused—ideally, around three-ish people.

I’d keep design feedback to a “Core Three:”

1. Your Partner / Best Friend: Someone who gets you and knows your heart, your vision. This person might not know design, but they know what lights you up. For me, this is is my best friend. Not only is she someone who is usually in my target audience, but she also has known me 10 years!

2. A Trusted Colleague: An individual who knows the industry and can offer professional insight. This could be a coach, a mentor, or someone you trust.

3. A Target Audience Member: A person who represents your ideal customer and can provide valuable perspective on how well the design resonates within your niche. No matter how many times I share designs with my boyfriend, he isn’t always the target audience and doesn’t ‘get’ design.

This targeted approach ensures that the feedback you receive is constructive and aligns with your brand’s objectives.

No matter how many people you share with, always give your designer one clean list of feedback and try not to mention who-is-who. It’s hard to hear as a designer: “My husband doesn’t really like the font. I liked it, but I wanted to see other options for him.” If you choose to take that type feedback, that’s amazing that you are involving someone from your core group! However, sharing with the designer can be more succinct and use concrete language. Perhaps rephrasing to say: “I’ve got concerns around the font - I like it, but I’m not sure it meets my brand goal of feeling soft. Can we try a few more fonts?” (That’s also using concrete feedback vs vague feedback, which is so helpful!)

Third: Prioritize Accessibility

Logo design isn’t “anything goes” on a blank canvas. And websites should definitely follow some sense of structure not only for SEO, but for screen readers being used by those with visual impairments.

Truly, branding and websites should follow a standard of accessibility so that everyone can enjoy your content, not just those with good vision.

For accessibility, here are a few things you should prioritize design-wise:

• Ensure font sizes are large enough to read! This goes for print and on-screen. Check your logo’s subtitle and your fonts on your website. This is a GREAT thing to check with your older family members. I know I always ask my mom if my logos are readable to her!

• Check that colors have enough contrast. Contrast is a sneaky one, because wacky color combinations can look SO COOL. But, it’s always best with your core information like your logo, that you have font colors and graphics that are dark on light backgrounds and then options that are light for dark backgrounds.

• Try not to “replace letters with things.” This means not turning an O into a flower or an L into a snake. This design style is incredibly hard for folks with dyslexia or reading impairments to make out. Yes, it might seem cute, but you’re making it that much harder for everyone to understand your content.

If you share designs with your core group and they’re saying things are hard to read, that they couldn’t tell what letters said, or that contrast and colors don’t look right, that’s excellent feedback to take to heart and share with your designer. They should be able to remedy that and will appreciate that concrete feedback!

Fourth: Understand Your Target Demographic

A great example here is my brand: Bold August Design Studio! I run a colorful and enthusiastic design studio, that mostly targets wellness studios, therapy practices, and other solopreneurs. My brand typically targets women! This is a result of many factors that are for another article at another time, but it does mean I shamelessly use bold orange and bright pinks in my branding.

This also means that I wouldn’t share my logo or my brand with my dad. Or, sometimes, my boyfriend. They’re not in my audience, they’re not my demographic. They’re not people who would invest in my services and they would not purchase any of my ebooks or download any of my resources. They don’t watch my Canva videos and they don’t read articles like this.

So, why would I ask them brand feedback? I wouldn’t!

If you were a company that sold dog treats, would you ask only cat owners their opinion?

If you sold baby blankets, would you ask someone who doesn’t have a child?

The answer is: you might, if they were your best friend or coach, but you need to make sure you also share your designs with at least one person in your target demographic to see how the visuals land with someone who would actually purchase your product or invest in your service.

Last but not least: Trust Your Gut

Remember, the feedback process should complement your vision, not override it. Your instincts about your brand are invaluable. While feedback can provide useful perspectives, ultimately, you know your business best. Your design should reflect your vision and resonate with your target audience, not just conform to others’ tastes.

When you receive your brand files or website, you’ll want to really take note and remember how you feel when you first see the files. Hopefully some things have really caught your eye, or you’ll feel elated or excited. (If you don’t feel excited, note why, and think through how to turn those feelings into concrete feedback.) Remember those feelings! Your first impression is extremely valid.

If you share the designs you love with someone close to you and then they critique it, you might feel deflated. It might make you think that you have bad instincts and you might feel silly for your initial reaction. Don’t! Trust when I say, truly, you do not want to dismiss any of your instincts. Feel good about your vision and stay strong through feedback that might not feel as positive as you wanted.

You’re the one embarking on this journey, partnering with a designer, and doing the work it takes to bring your vision out into the world. That process is powerful and needed.

Final Thoughts

Feedback is an essential part of refining your design, but it’s most effective when approached thoughtfully. By asking the right questions, keeping your feedback circle focused, and balancing outside opinions with your own instincts, you’ll ensure that your design remains true to your brand’s vision and goals.

Remember, your design journey is unique to YOU and YOUR brand—trust yourself, stay aligned with your goals, and let your design shine as a reflection of your passion and purpose.

I had this same issue with a client, Healing Room Counseling, and she graciously let me use her website as an example to help others learn how I helped her!

My site isn’t showing up on Google - what do I do?

First, let’s ensure we knock out a few steps to ensuring you are on Google Search Console and that the issue isn’t there.

You’re going to follow these steps to make sure you’ve done the initial work:

1. Get set up on Google Search Console. You’ll follow this Squarespace article here to do that!

   1. To reset a sitemap, you’ll also need to follow these instructions here. For Squarespace, you’ll add “yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml” to Google to submit a site map! This essentially knocks on Google’s door that your business is alive and well and wants to be indexed.

2. If applicable, set up a Google Business account. This gets your business on the map as a business on Google. This does not apply to virtual businesses without a location.

3. Believe me, I know how painful this is…have you waited at least 1-3 months? Google is very slow. It is constantly crawling about a billion and a half websites, so it’s very slow. Plus, it’s currently experiencing a backlog.

You’ve done all of those things? Alrighty, now here’s the trick to getting a website to crawl faster.

To get your website Indexed on Google faster, go through each and every web URL and index it individually.

Yes, this takes forever, but it’s very worth it - my client’s site was indexed within a week after I did this step!

1 - First you’ll go to Google Search Console.

2 - Then, in the top search bar where it says “Inspect any URL in [yoursite]” you’ll put in an individual URL for your website. Not your entire website, an individual URL.

3 - Then, hit “enter” and you should get a page that looks like this, which is extremely validating:

4 - You’ll now click that “Request Indexing” button to force a request for this specific URL.

Yes, it’s maddening if you see “this has been crawled but not indexed” but we can shout at Google after this blog is done.

5 - You will now do this for each and every single URL you want your site to index.

Watch me puzzle through this for my client:

Oh no.

I quickly realized that even though I had SSL, even though I could see my site, even though many people could, probably about 30% of my users could not see my website at all.

Obviously, for a web designer, this was in my top 5 nightmares.

It took months for me to understand and unravel what happened to my site, which led to many tears, desperation, and tons of reading articles. (I wish they counted toward my Goodreads reading goal…) I also posted on the Squarespace forums, you can see my article here, and contacted support numerous times.

Since I finally fixed it (and you’re reading this article!) I confidently knew I could write an article to help others unblock their sites and mark their websites as safe to antivirus software.

So without further ado, here’s exactly what I did to get unblocked.

First Things First: Let’s Get the Obvious Squarespace Errors Out of the Way

This is a Squarespace article for Squarespace issues. If you’ve got a Wordpress, I’m sorry, this is not the article for you as there are other security protocols you need to follow!

Alright: I know this is painful, but first we do need to do the IT equivalent of “turning it off and turning it on again.” You’ll need to run through this checklist to make sure your error is not one of these:

1. Make sure your SSL certificate is active.
   I’d also recommend chatting Squarespace support and asking them to re-submit it. I did this about 5 times. Your SSL is under your domain and it should be marked as “issued” and your domain SHOULD have “https” in front of it.

2. Okay great, now, let’s check that your site has safe content.
You might have accidentally uploaded bad code or a bad plugin. Go to Google’s Safe Browsing website and ensure that you don’t have anything popping up here.

Google Safe Browsing →

3. Reach out to Squarespace support to confirm nothing is wrong on their end or something you can’t see.

It’s always good to get this one out of the way. Squarespace support was not helpful to me the first 3 times I reached out, but on the fourth time, the support person could FINALLY see that my site was showing an error. But because the issue for me was that my site was blacklisted on some but not all Internet Service Providers, they never could all replicate the issue to show me exactly what happened.

But, you never know, and they could be helpful pointing you to a direction! (Please note I am not affiliated with Squarespace and cannot provide Squarespace tech support. I can help you with design, SEO, or graphics!)

Contact Squarespace Customer Support

Once you’ve done those things, it’s time to move on to the very painful part: the long part, the part that is going to feel like you’ve been doing this forever with no hope in site.

If your Squarespace website is showing up as spam, unsafe, malware, risky…it’s because it’s been marked that way.

I’m not sure how, I’m not sure when, and I’m not sure why. But somewhere in the giant universe of the internet, someone flagged your site as unsafe or they marked it as spam, and that spread across the internet like a spider web. Your site is being flagged as unsafe by antivirus software and ISPs and unfortunately there’s no way to see when, why, or how. But, we can start to move toward resolving it.

The first step is to accept it, and the next step is to start untangling it.

You are going to have to individually contact each and every ISP (internet service provider) and anti-virus software and ask them to check your site and remove you from the list. Don’t worry, I have a starter list here, and I’m hoping the future commenters of the world will help by continuously adding to this list with relevant URLs.

By doing this, you’re starting a paper trail and contacting several IT and support folks all across the internet to check your site.

How to Fix Your Squarespace Website Being Marked as Not Secure Even With an SSL

Utilize the list below to ask everyone to not mark you as spam. This list is a mix of submission forms, emails, checkers, etc. You’ll click each link and do the relevant action to mark your site as not malicious and be asked to taken off of any blacklists. This is going to take you an afternoon but it’s completely worth it to see what’s up.

1. Norton Antivirus - submit a dispute

2. Spectrum - check URL, verify security, reach out

3. McAfee - submit a dispute

4. Xfinity - submit a report via reaching out to their support

5. Eero Secure - you’ll have to email them

6. Bitdefender - I hadn’t heard of this one, but they still showed up online

7. AT&T - you have to email them directly, there is no support, but you can tell them your site has been blacklisted and there’s a paper trail.

After you’ve reached out to these sites and requested your site be removed, you’ll have to wait.

It took my site about 2 weeks to be fully removed off of all blacklists and for my community to stop sending me “your site is marked unsafe” notifications. Caches need to be cleared and adjusted and all the above companies need time to check your website and begin to mark it as safe.

1: Add unique brand assets to your website in the form of patterns, custom icons,  texture, etc.

I call these “Signature Brand Assets.” The best way to add your unique brand into your Squarespace website is 100% to, well, add the actual brand assets. And if you don’t have brand assets, it’s time to add them! Brand assets go much beyond the logo. They can be things like:

• Textures like clouds, grain, cotten, fabric, etc. These are great as background images. I use terrazzo a lot as my brand pattern!

• Custom, colorful icons

• Graphics and assets like handdrawn squiggles, flourishes, etc.
  

A note: Choose colors with accessibility in mind.

For those with limited vision or experience color blindness, you’ll want to make sure that there is a high contrast between the background colors and the colors of your text. Plus, it makes it easier for everyone to see and read. 

There are lots of tools out there that can help you create a color palette that is accessible, simple, and visually appealing. I really like Coolors to help with accessibility. Using the Contrast Checker, you can enter the HEX codes of your proposed text color and your background color and it will give you ratings for small text and large text portions.

2: Actually spend time building a stock image library that reflects the vibe and color palette of your brand.

Stock images can be a valuable resource to enhance your website and brand’s visual appeal. When you’re selecting stock images, videos, and templates, you’ll want to focus on finding things that resonate with your brand’s essence and that of your target audience. Images should match your color palette (or at least be complementary to it) and capture the mood and vibe you want to project. 

While we all would love to have a budget for a photographer that can shoot a wide range of personalized stock photos, B-roll video, templates, and other elements to create completely unique visuals, that often doesn’t fit into the budget for small businesses. And luckily, it doesn’t have to be! Here are a few of my favorites:

Haute Stock: This powerful tool offers a library of female-focused, premium stock photos, videos and marketing templates created by some of the industry’s top photographers and designers. Membership plans align with your needs (monthly, quarterly, and annually) that give you access to over 9000 stock assets.

Inspired Stock Shop: Geared more toward the spiritual and mindfulness industry, Inspired Stock Shop offers thousands of photos, hundreds of Canva templates and stock video clips. A subscription to the site offers access to the growing library, valued at over $10,000. 

Etsy: As the creator’s marketplace, Etsy’s evolution over the last two decades has allowed many creators to find new ways to sell their work and reach new audiences. Many photographers will sell photographs, stock photo and design packages for much less than one would pay on a Shutterstock or Adobe Stock. It may also give you direct contact with a photographer to build your own unique stock packages.

Unsplash: One of the original free stock photo sites, Unsplash offers millions of free photos that are easily searchable. There is a paid subscription (Unsplash+) that unlocks millions more. Plus, Unsplash and Squarespace now have a partnership, so many of these options are available within the Squarespace platform. 

Canva: You know I LOVE Canva. It’s a designer’s haven. Whether you have a free or a paid subscription, there are thousands of stock images and photos, and templates, available for use. 

Consistency is key in branding, and using images that align with your brand's personality will make your website look more professional and polished.

3. Find the web license for your brand font and learn how to install it.

You may be using a custom font for your headers (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3.) If your brand designer didn’t provide it, or you DIY’d your brand, you might try to find the web license for your font so that you can install it on your Squarespace website.

I like to use Creative Market or You Work for Them for an incredible curation of fonts. You can also search type studios that have consistently done, beautiful fonts.

Installing a font is easy but does require utilizing CSS. Don’t worry! It’s much scarier than it actually seems. You need the license for a web font in parti

There are so many articles detailing how to add a custom font into your Squarespace website:

• SquareMuse’s Installing Fonts Guide

• Big Cat Creative’s Guide

And using fonts on Squarespace should follow these considerations and rules:

• Ensure they’re large enough to be readable for every audience. Designers love to have very tiny, very “chic” looking fonts that are impossible for anyone over 50 to read! We don’t want to isolate our audience and get them frustrated.

• Still add a default font in Squarespace that

4. Create unique graphics and visuals using Canva.

Why yes, there is even more that Canva can do! As a super user-friendly tool, Canva can help you design eye-catching graphics and collages to add to the design of your homepage, landing pages, and beyond. There are thousands of free templates that can help get you started. 

Pro tip: If you’re looking to create cohesiveness between digital and printed assets, Canva is a great way to design because you can resize the same graphic to the specs you need for any project. 

However, when creating graphics and visuals for your website, you’ll want to keep in mind that Google and other search engines cannot read the text embedded in your images. This can negatively impact your SEO score and reduce the accessibility score for your website as image text cannot be read by screen readers and other technological devices for the blind. If you must use images in your graphics, make sure that you are adding alt text into image descriptions.

Want even more Canva tips? Check out Quick Canva Tips!

5. Use background images and patterns to make key sections “pop.”

We’ve covered the importance of typography, color selection, and graphics as it relates to making your website engaging. So let’s talk about adding some texture and depth to certain pages or sections. 

Adding patterns, background images, or animations can help create a dynamic look that breaks up the monotony of a simple site. It can draw the eye in and keep it engaged until the user has gotten through the content. Plus, it creates curiosity to get to the next section to see what other fun is in store.  

Where should you incorporate these “interrupters?” 
Animations: If you take a look at the homepage of my website, you’ll see that I’ve added a subtle animation in the second section. The wheel spins as the user scrolls which may interrupt a quick scroller to come back and look at what’s there.

Subtle Patterns: I’ve added a subtle pattern behind the tiles of my Design Services on the homepage. This helps draw the eye but also serves the purpose of letting the user know what they’re looking at.

Bold Patterns: You’ll see that I’ve added a bolder pattern behind a testimonial on the homepage. I’ve done this to draw bolder attention to showcase what my satisfied clients have to say! I also incorporate this pattern throughout the website to keep that consistent design. Notice that I’ve set the text off with a complementary colored box to keep the contrast with the bold pattern and tie in one of my branded colors. 

Background Images: I use a background image on my Portfolio page that shows some of the printed assets I’ve created. It tells the story of my design aesthetic and capability and invites the user to keep moving on the page (notice my use of “Below”).  

Pro tip: Keep the color contrast rules in mind. Make sure that your text can be clearly read on top of the image or pattern.   

Remember: Branding is a journey.

As you work to create, build, or enhance your brand, incorporating a variety of tactics and using the tools available to you will help you create a web experience that is cohesive, visually appealing, and functional. I offer a variety of resources, courses, and services to help you reach your branding goals no matter where you are in your process.

I want to help you create a brand and a website that helps you feel confident, proud, and inspired by your company. I offer a wide range of services and consultations that can help you get started and get moving. Check out my packages and service offerings here.

That's right! Embed a link directly into your documents using this Canva trick. This works amazing for template delivery and digital downloads. Adding links to your PDF documents has never been easier. Let me show you how to create and add links to your graphics or documents in Canva!

As an example, I will be using my Let's Go: How to Use Your New Logo guide, which you can find in my digital e-shop. In this guide, you’ll see that I have clickable links in the document and I will teach you step-by-step how to add those links on Canva. 

In my guide, I have a section that explains how you can add your logo to your email signature and I want to add a clickable link to my email signature Canva template. 

Add Text

Let’s start off by adding the text and creating a button from it! You can press the T key and you’ll instantly get a text box that pops up to type in your text or you can manually add it on Canva by adding a heading, subheading, or little body of text. The text is going to be a call to action and will be written as “Click for Template”. You want to make sure the text is aligned with the text on the rest of the page. 

Create the Button

Now that there is text, let’s can create the pill shape button behind the text. Canva makes it so incredibly easy! You’re going to select the text you’re working on and go to the top toolbar to Effects > Background. Here you can change the roundness, spread, transparency, and color to create the button. Now we have text that looks like a button!

Adding the Link

Time to link it! In another browser tab, I’m going to go to my email signature Canva template and click on the Share button in the upper right-hand corner. Then, you would click on the Template link and copy the link. Go back to the guide and select the text! Then, go to the toolbar, click the Link symbol, and then paste the link. Once the text is underlined, then that is how you know adding the link worked. Congrats! You now have a clickable link in your document!

You can test it out by downloading your document as a standard PDF and clicking on the links to see if they work. It’s truly that simple! Go ahead and try it out for yourself. By adding clickable links, you'll be elevating any graphic or document you create on Canva. Not to mention making the user experience more accessible and enjoyable for your audience! What types of graphics or documents will you be adding clickable links to?

The best part is that you can use Canva to easily put together reel videos that are just as eye-catching as those trendy dances!

I like to stay on the sillier side of reels with a lot of jokes and humor, but occasionally I’ll do something like this as an alternative way to use reels and add visual interest to my feed.

In this blog, I’m going to walk you through 2 different types of reels you can create in Canva WITHOUT having to show your face.

Let’s get into it!

Reel #1

This type of reel is going to be similar to the post above with moving graphic elements, just to get your feet wet!

Step 1: Create a new design.

Search for Instagram reels, and make sure the one you select has the video timeline at the bottom. This will give you all of the video editing capabilities you’ll need!

Step 2: Edit your video length.

You can change the duration of each “page” of your reel by clicking on the page in the timeline and dragging the side of it right or left. You can also edit this in the top left editing bar.

Tip: try to keep the length of text-based reels under 15 seconds - these seem to perform better than longer text-based videos.

Step 3: Add an animated background.

Browse Canva’s stock videos for something that fits your brand! Be patient as you search - Canva has A LOT of stock videos, so play around with the keywords you use.

Tip: Make sure the background video you’ve chosen hasn’t changed the overall length of your reel. You may need to crop the video length.

Step 4: Add text and other elements.

Start by adding a rectangle to the middle of your page. Then, add text on top of it with any other graphic elements you like (such as your logo or a brand icon).

Step 5: Finetune and download.

Preview your reel from the beginning, make tweaks as needed, and you’re done!

Reel #2

This reel is going to be a little more advanced with transitions, moving text, and audio!

Step 1: Set up your reel the same way as above.

Add a background video, text, graphic elements, etc.

Step 2: Add an audio file.

Select an audio file from the Uploads folder or wherever your file is stored. You can click on the audio file in your timeline to adjust the duration and where it begins in your video.

Step 3: Add a second page.

Select the “+” button on the video timeline.

In my example, I’ve moved the second page to the beginning of the video.

Add photos, text, and graphic elements to your second video page. This will be the intro for my reel!

Step 4: Add an animation.

Select the elements you want (group them so they move together), then select “Animate” and choose your animation!

Step 5: Add a transition.

Click the “+” between your two pages to add a transition between the videos.

Step 6: Fine-tune and download.

Preview your reel from the beginning, make tweaks as needed, and you’re done!

Where to find stock videos

Even though Canva has tons of options for stock video, they may not always fit what you’re looking for. Here are a couple of stock video resources outside of Canva that I recommend:

Packsia: This company is changing the game for vertical stock video. They have a membership available, or you can purchase videos a la carte. 

Pexels: Pexels is a great FREE stock video resource. You may have to do a little more digging, but they have amazing vertical video options to choose from.

To watch me create these reels step by step, check out the full video here.