If you've recently looked at your monthly software subscriptions and thought "...what is all of this even doing for me" — same. 😂

I've been building and running my web design business since 2015, and in that time I've tried what feels like every tool, app, and platform that's ever been marketed to a solo creative! Some of them changed my business, some of them collected dust until I cancelled them feeling guilty that I wasted the time/money on it, and some are sitting in a "still testing" pile while I figure out if they're worth the hype or the cost.

So I decided to just... lay it all out here for ya. Every category of tool I can think of that I use (or have used) in my business, with my honest verdict on each one.

This is not a "top 10 tools for designers" listicle though. This is a full, unfiltered tech stack journey of someone who's been in the trenches long enough to know what's actually worth paying for, to do which specific tasks, and when it’s time to pass/leave it & move on.

So I did what Hilary Farr and David Visentin have been doing to stressed-out homeowners on HGTV for years — I made a list of all the tools I could think of, that I use or have used/tested, and rated them on a scale ––mostly whether I Love it, or Left It? Except in my version, nobody cries about the kitchen island, and the budget is entirely my problem. 😂

Every category of tool I use (or have used) in my business, here’s a list of possibilities you can literally use (there’s a checklist at the end!) to tally up what you want, see how much that’ll cost, and then decide what you’ll Love, or Leave, behind for 2026. 👏🏻 🙌

A quick note/disclaimer:

Some of these links are affiliate links & all will be marked with an asterisk (*) — meaning I may earn a small commission if you make purchase from one of them, at no extra cost to you. A handful of tools were gifted to me in exchange for an honest review, and those are marked clearly too. As always: I don't recommend anything I wouldn't use myself, and I'll tell you when something didn't work for me just as readily as when it did. Okay, grab a cup of coffee/tea & let's dig in! ☕

🛑 Wait! —Before you spiral!

I see you looking at this list thinking, "OMG I need ALL of this… ?? 😳" NOPE.

It took me 10+ years to build this tech stack. Ten years of trying things, cancelling things, switching things, regretting things, and occasionally impulse-buying an AppSumo deal because it seemed like a great idea at the time. 😂 I would bet money that I could be using most of these tools significantly more efficiently than I currently do —and I built this damn list.

This is not a "must-have tools" post. This is a "here are options for which categories of tools are worth paying for in your business after a decade of trial and error" post. Your business is different, your workflow is different, and your budget is different than mine. Where you are right now is different from where I am, too.

So please — don't go adding 26 new apps this week, because that’s NOT the point of this resource. But do pick one category where you feel the most friction or the most disorganization, look through the options, then find a tool in that section that fits your budget and your situation, and try that one thing. See if it helps! Then come back for the next one if you hit another struggle.

My goal was never to have the most tools. The goal is to have the right ones — and to actually use them to free up my time, because that's the hardest thing to manage these days. Everything else is just an expensive distraction. 😄

🏷️ Rating System:

Each tool gets one of three verdicts:

• 🧡 Love It — using, or loved when I did

• 🔴 Left It — tried it, moved on

• 💙 Use/d it — good, but not my fav

• ⚪️ Passed — not worth it

• 🧪 Testing — tested, or testing now

Client-Facing Business Tools

CRM‍ ‍‍ ‍(Client Relationship Management)

If you're a service-based designer, your CRM is the backbone of your client processes. It's where leads come in, projects get booked, contracts get signed, invoices go out, and the whole client journey lives. Getting this right matters more than almost any other tool on this list. While you don't "have" to use a CRM, as you grow/scale, most people prefer to pay a software to help them manage these processes, vs hiring a person to do these things because it's much MUCH cheaper.

Dubsado* — 🧡 Love It

I've been on Dubsado since 2017 and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. It's the most customizable CRM I've found for solo service providers — robust forms, contracts, proposals, invoicing with payment plans, automations, and a client portal all under one roof. It's not perfect, and the learning curve is real, but once it's set up it runs like a machine.

One thing worth noting: not every inquiry that comes into my business is a client inquiry. Software review requests, general questions, digital product questions, partnership opportunities — those don't belong in a CRM built for 1:1 client projects. I'm currently moving my lead capture system out of Dubsado for exactly that reason, but not because of a flaw in their software. It's definitely best for managing leads that will become clients for 1:1 services, not necessarily for managing sales leads of all kinds.

Assembly* — 🧪 Tested

I started testing Assembly because I wanted to know what the competition was up to — and honestly, it's impressive in a few specific areas. It handles multiple contacts per company way better than Dubsado, has a genuinely strong built-in client portal, and offers features like a storefront for optional services. It even provides a way to send 1 message to all clients, or a group of clients, and each recipient can respond privately without seeing the communications from everyone else; Dubsado just added this ability in Q1 of 2026, but it's so new as of posting that I haven't even tried it yet!

Where Assembly falls short: it's less customizable overall, the contract editor is upload-only (no edits inside the platform, so placeholders have to be built in as blanks or spaces in the original before you upload it), and invoicing options are much more limited compared to Dubsado. It can also get expensive fast, especially on mid-tier plans and above, which you'll need if you have more than 50 clients to manage.

My take so far: Dubsado still wins for solo designers who want full customization and control. Assembly could be a great fit for agencies that want a simpler straightforward CRM with a strong built-in portal and don't mind the price point. Full review coming soon! 👀

Bonsai* — 💙 Used It

Bonsai is primarily a CRM, but has other useful features built-in like light task management, scheduling & a portal. If you can’t use or don’t like Honeybook, found Dubsado to be confusing or overly complicated, Bonsai might be a great fit for you. It’s still a fairly robust tool, but feels simpler to use, and while it lacks much of the extra features Dubsado offers, it will probably be easier to start with for newer businesses that don’t mind migrating to a different option later on, if business growth requires more features. I started my freelance journey with Bonsai in 2016 and used it for about a year before moving to Dubsado. That said, it’s come a long way since then, and is much more comparable with both Honeybook & Dubsado now.

Tezzera — 🧪 Tested

This is a brand new CRM option, but as of posting, it’s so new that it’s still has a waitlist for new signups. I got the chance to play around with it when the Beta round first opened and was really impressed with how good it is this early in the game. It feels like a Flodesk-style user interface, and is more brandable than competitors, but in simplistic ways that really outshine the competition. It’ll be open to international users (avoiding the locale issues that Honeybook has), and it’s designed by a web designer who’s been unhappy with the existing pool of similar softwares. It did have limitations while testing, but I’m sure those will be eliminated as it grows. I’m keeping my eye on this one!

Other popular options

Of course the competitors with the best reputation are: Honeybook* which I've not tried/tested in earnest since ~2016, and Bonsai* which I've tested on/off over the years & used in 2016-2017 before switching to Dubsado for more features. (Bonsai has come a long way since then & offers a much more competitive product now!)

I'd say Moxie follows closely behind, based on its reputation, but I've never tried it myself. Then there's also some newer options like Tezzera, Bloom, and Indy.

You can see a breakdown in this post of the ones that also include a client portal (except Tezzera, because their Beta launched after I made that video, but they do have a portal & I've tested it lightly during Beta).

Client Portals

This one is close to my heart —I mean, my entire Ultimate Client Portal System course is built around the idea that your client's experience of working with you matters just as much as the work itself. A good portal isn't a nice-to-have. It can also be the difference between a client who ghosts midway through the project, and one who sends you referrals.

That said — not every designer needs a dedicated portal tool. If you're just starting out, Dubsado's client view or even a well-organized Google Drive folder can get the job done. But if you want something that feels genuinely professional and polished, these are the two I'd point you toward.

Kitchen* — 🧡 Love It

Kitchen is a dedicated client portal app with a lifetime payment, and it is genuinely one of my favorite tools in my entire tech stack. It's fully white-labelable, super customizable in general, and easy for clients to navigate without hand-holding or gifting them with 5,000 notifications by accident. I use it strictly for post-booking project collaboration during the active service I'm providing: client communication, file sharing, client-facing task checklists, and deliverable downloads when the project wraps up. It has basic invoicing built in, but I keep that in Dubsado where it fits into my existing CRM processes. If you want a dedicated portal that feels & looks like you built it yourself, Kitchen is the one.

Assembly* — 🧪 Testing

Assembly's client portal is actually one of its strongest features — it's neck-and-neck with Kitchen in some ways, and genuinely better in a couple of specific areas. The storefront feature (where clients can browse and add optional services directly inside their portal) is something Kitchen doesn't/can't do without embedding something from elsewhere (like a Breely form or Dubsado Proposal!). Where Assembly falls short is tied to their CRM pricing, which gets expensive after 50 clients, and the overall CRM feature-package offers less capability in many areas, and also possibly more in others, than most solo designers need. It's a better fit for agencies or business owners with a pretty rigid package system that doesn't change much and invoices that don't have payment plans, but also want a CRM and portal in one place and have the budget for it. Full review coming soon! 👀

Bonsai* — 💙 Used It

Bonsai is primarily a CRM, but it also has a really good portal feature built-in. If you already use Bonsai, you may not need or want an additional tool to have a portal you can use with clients. It’s not customizable like Assembly’s or Kitchen’s, but it’s very functional & efficient, and already exists in a tool you already pay for.

Dubsado* — 🔴 Left It

Dubsado has a client portal feature, yes, but is it actually useful? Not really. In this older post’s video, ⏯️ you can see Dubsado’s portal & its features between timestamps 4:53 and 8:17, while the rest of the video shows a Notion-built portal system that I no longer use, in favor of Kitchen’s dedicated portal which works wildly better for everyone.

Tezzera — 🧪 Tested

I covered this one in more detail in the CRM section, but this is primarily a brand new CRM tool that also includes a built-in client portal. As of posting, it’s so new that it’s still has a waitlist for new signups. I got the chance to play around with it when the Beta round first opened and was really impressed overall. It did have limitations while testing, but I’m sure those will be addressed as it grows. I’m keeping my eye on this one!

Calendar & Scheduling

I have been through basically every scheduling tool on the market since 2016 (including some that aren't around anymore but could've been really cool), so consider this section hard-won wisdom. 😂 The short version: most of them are totally fine, a couple of them are great, and one of them is so good at such a low price point that I'm still shocked it's real.

Acuity* — 🔴 Left It

I used Acuity from ~2016 to 2021. At the time it felt a bit clunky on the backend and the client-facing experience was genuinely ugly, ––in my humble opinion. Squarespace has since acquired it and improved it significantly — so if you're already deep in the Squarespace ecosystem, it's worth a second look. Just not where I landed personally, and it's also one of the more expensive options, especially if you need it to be HIPAA compliant (a US privacy law).

Calendly — 🔴 Left It

I switched from Acuity to Calendly in 2021, and LOVED it for a while. Then I watched it slowly add new features until the backend started feeling cluttered and complicated. Classic feature bloat? 🤷‍♀️ It still offers a great client-facing scheduling experience, and it has a decent but limited free plan, along with affordable payment plans — so if stability & simplicity on the client side are your priority, it's worth considering. It's also a good bit cheaper than Acuity; not sure if it's HIPAA compliant though.

Cal — 🔴 Left It

I switched from Calendly to Cal in 2024 because I loved their generous free plan — until they changed it, of course. And their pricing crept up close to what I'd been paying on Calendly, which made the switch feel pointless, though it definitely feels simpler & easier to use, and does basically all the same things with a cleaner interface. The generous free plan was great while it lasted, their service is genuinely good, and the open-source angle is interesting if that matters to you.

Breely* — 🧡 Love It

Here's the shocking one I was talking about in this section's intro! Around the same time Cal put new limits on the free plan I'd been using, Breely was recommended to me by Christy Price, and it was created by the founder of Acuity. So the scheduling DNA is pretty solid, but the execution is completely different and genuinely impressive.

Breely integrates automations, payments, and basic signatures directly into the scheduling flow. Forms can be separate from scheduling appointments & do lots of different things, being super flexible! It handles 1:1 appointments, classes, group events, and more. It's HIPAA compliant, which matters if any of your clients are in healthcare or regulated industries. Plus, the team is deeply invested in making the product better and it shows — because it's constantly improving.

Oh, and the price is just $7 USD/month. I know. 🙌 You heard me! $7/month is the ONLY paid plan they even offer. I've been using it since mid-2025 and I keep waiting for the catch. So far there isn't one, and Gavin (the Co-Founder, and former Founder of Acuity Scheduling) is genuinely a lovely human!

Dubsado* — 🔴 Left It

While Dubsado does have an internal scheduling feature, and it has improved in version 3.0, it still sucks, to be frank. It can’t compare to available features in dedicated scheduling tools like Acuity, Calendly, Cal, TidyCal, and Breely. Also, as my business grew, I found it cumbersome to have scheduling only in Dubsado, when not all of my appointments are with “clients”, because some of my appointments are meeting people in my network, friends, companies to discuss collaboration opportunities, etc. Basically, many of my appointments are NOT with clients these days, so I wanted an external tool that I could use, which wouldn’t ‘make’ them one in my CRM.

TidyCal* — 🧡 Love It

With AppSumo's lifetime deal, it's a one-time payment under $100 for access to every possible feature, it looks and feels a lot like Calendly, covers most features service-based businesses actually need, —just without the recurring cost. I'm testing it just so I know what's up (because people mention it all the time), and I may migrate some lower-stakes appointments over, but Breely is still my home base. TidyCal is a great option if you want a Calendly/Cal-like experience without the subscription.

Artful Agenda* — 🧡 Love It

I've been using Artful Agenda since 2018 or 2019 and have never once paused my subscription. 😄 It's a digital planner that's designed to look and feel like a paper planner — including stylus doodling on touchscreens, digital stickers, custom cover art, a habit tracker, lists, and lite task and goal tracking. It connects to both Google and Apple Calendars so ALL of your real events show up in a single pretty-to-look-at calendar that's also useful & fun to use. The widgets on iPhone, iPad, and Mac are genuinely beautiful & fun to see on home screens or desktops too. It costs about the same as a yearly paper planner, but with push notifications and events that sync across all your devices. Check out the old reviews & posts about it here, if ya want!

Artful Agenda is NOT a scheduling tool in the Calendly/Acuity sense — it's just a personal calendar management & planning app. But for the designer who wants their planner to actually spark joy versus stress, it's worth every penny. 

Other options to consider:

Now that Google Calendar includes basic scheduling options, you don’t have to pay for simple appointment scheduling if it’s not in the budget yet. Superhuman also includes some scheduling features as well, as do many CRMs. So you may not need a dedicated scheduling tool like I did, if you get by with one features included in tools you already have/pay for!

Forms

Forms show up everywhere in a web design business — lead capture, client onboarding, surveys, internal requests, feedback collection. The mistake most designers make is trying to use one form tool for all of those jobs. Different contexts sometimes call for different tools, and here's how I think about it.

Tally* — 🧡 Love It

This is a standalone form builder that’s not just one feature among other types of things ––Tally only builds & shares forms. I’m still on the free plan myself, which is genuinely the strongest endorsement I can give. Tally's free tier is robust enough that I haven't felt the need to upgrade — it includes conditional logic, payments (I think?), signatures, embeds, and connects to both Notion and Airtable. The builder feels a lot like Notion if you're already comfortable there. It’s a great platform for most designers.

Fillout — 🧡 Love It

Similar functionality to Tally but trades a bit of their ease of use for more flexible styling options, but still have a decent (usable) free plan. If you want beautiful, fully styled Airtable-connected forms and don't want to use Airtable's built-in forms (which can't be styled at all), Fillout is the answer. Slightly steeper learning curve, but the design flexibility is worth it for the right use case, and they have a few extra 'question' types that Tally doesn't.

Dubsado* Forms — 🧡 Love It

Dubsado's forms are great for most things that happens inside a client project — lead inquiry forms, proposals, contracts, questionnaires. Where they fall short is creating & providing general public forms for non-clients, long multi-page forms with progress bars, complex conditional logic, or forms that need multiple thank you pages based on responses. Know what they're built for and use them accordingly!

Forms & Flows — 🧪 Tested

Really interesting concept — it's a whiteboard and mind-map style form builder with highly customizable visuals. But the question type library was too limited, integrations for where submission data could go was weak when I tested it in 2025, and emails sent from Forms & Flows weren't white-labeled or customizable in any way that mattered to me. Tried it so you don't have to, but it's a really interesting option so I'll keep my eye on it as it grows.

Squarespace Forms –  💙 Use it

I can't not mention these here, because they're free (included with your Squarespace website, that is) and do have actually pretty decent features including file uploads and follow-up questions based on a pre-selected answer, as well as a custom success-message, and storage options for where the submission goes after someone submits their information (Google Sheets, only emailed to the admin, connect to Zapier, etc). It's a decent option to get started with, and eventually you may want/need more features that it doesn't offer; that's when it's time to 'upgrade' to something else.

Airtable* – 🧡 Love It

Airtable forms all look the same, practically. They're not very style-able, but they are very robust. Every form field is related to a database property for the record created when someone submits the form, so essentially, all form submissions are added to a specific database automatically, without any 'automations' or integrations needed. Their forms also include conditional logic to hide/show form fields based on how the person is filling out the form, and a lot of other stuff too. So they're not brand-able, and pretty obviously built by Airtable, but super functional. If you want more styling options, build a Fillout form and connect it to an Airtable database with Fillout's built-in integration options, to 'style' the form the way ya want, but still have the form builder dump submission data into your database.

Invoicing & Payments

Short section because most of this is covered elsewhere, but worth acknowledging as its own category since it comes up constantly.

Dubsado* — 🧡 Love It

My invoicing lives inside Dubsado (my CRM) for client projects, including payment plans, auto-pay charges (recurring payments on payment plans for large invoices), early & late payment reminders, ––the works. I've already covered the other details in the CRM section, so cross-reference these two.

Quickbooks Online* — 💙 Used It

Don’t mis-hear or misread my intent here: I still use Quickbooks for accounting, but I no longer use it to send invoicing & take payments. I could use it for that if needed, but I prefer Dubsado’s system for invoicing because it also handles customized payment options for auto-pay, customized reminders, and more. Quickbooks has ‘estimates’ that look exactly like invoices, as far as most people can tell, and those you can break up into multiple individual invoices to split a large invoice into multiple payments, but it takes longer to do, it’s repetitive to set up, and it’s generally more annoying to do it that way. Especially if you’re also using a CRM to send your contract/service agreement, and other things. So it worked well for me, but it put pauses & annoyances in my workflows, adding more time to the booking process, so I ultimately quick using QBO.

Also, I think it may be important to note that Intuit may/may not be putting the onus on us to be/have/use ‘secure’ systems in place in order to take those payments from our clients via their invoices, as a merchant through Quickbooks… ––even though we (as Merchants) never see our client’s card numbers or actual monies and rely on Quickbooks’ system to manage those things. Dubsado seems to manage this internally for us with Stripe, so it seems that by just switching my invoicing system back to Dubsado, this problem was resolved. 🤷‍♀️

Stripe & PayPal — 💙 Use It

These are the two most common payment processors behind almost anything that takes payments online, in most softwares. They're not necessarily invoicing tools themselves, but they can also send invoices if you want them to; they're just not 'known' for that feature. You need at least one of these connected to whatever invoicing tool you use though, in order for that software (Dubsado, Breely, Kitchen, etc) to actually take the payment. Both are industry standard 'evils'. Stripe is my preference because most of the software I use process through Stripe, just making transaction categorization & financial reporting easier to manage, but PayPal is there because some customers/clients still use it to buy stuff at checkout. PayPal is notorious for siding with customers on disputes though, and Stripe has its own horror stories, but thankfully they do seem rare by comparison to the massive amount of payment processing they manage on the daily.

Framing for early-stage designers: invoicing should lives inside your CRM, your accounting software, or your online shop/checkout software. I don't generally recommend sending invoices through Stripe or PayPal because it's just a disjointed process, and you'll get more additional functionality elsewhere anyway. 

A quick note before we get into this one: I'm not an attorney and I can't give legal advice — take anything I share here as a fellow designer's perspective, not legal guidance. When it actually counts, run it by a lawyer. 😊

Legal

Please, for the love of everything, do not use free, I-found-it-in-the-wild, legal templates you scrounged off of Google &/or the interwebs. It's not worth the risks! 😬

Now that we’ve cleared that up, these are the tools I love for providing the actual legalese (contract terms), and some bonus options for sending contracts if you’re not sure how to share the agreement(s) you have & are ready to use.

Termageddon* — 🧡 Love It

Termageddon is my go-to for all website-related legal pages: terms and conditions, privacy policy, cookie consent tool, disclaimers, and more. The reason I use it over static template-style legal pages is simple: privacy laws change constantly, and Termageddon's policies update almost entirely automatically as they do. You're not manually chasing legislation every time a new privacy law passes somewhere, or waiting on your template shop to release an updated template so you can download it & customize it all over again with the same details. That alone is absolutely worth the subscription cost, because they watch for updates, implement as much as they can without bothering you, and let you know when you are required to edit something yourself; even when your input is required, the edits are fast & easy, and the results get pushed/synced to your website. It makes website legalese a breeze... (I wish that hadn't rhymed... but I'm leavin' it in!)

Creative Law Shop* — 🧡 Love It

My go-to for service agreements and contract templates for creative service providers. Their templates are a one-time purchase per template — you buy it, it's yours & you get updates for free, when your template is replaced with a new version. I bought all of my contracts here before The Foundry® existed (more on that next) and I'd buy them from CLS again. The templates are written by an actual US-based attorney who understand the creative business industry, and they're also peer reviewed by professionals in each industry, which means they cover the kind of details you want in a contract that are specific to whatever you do.

The Foundry®* — 🧡 Love It

The Foundry® is built by the same team as Creative Law Shop (& their developers) and offers a more guided, hand-held experience for drafting and customizing your contract templates. It's a recurring fee instead of a one-time purchase, which makes it a different kind of investment — but if you want support and guidance through the process rather than just the template itself, it's worth it. I invested when it first launched in 2024/2025 and still use it. It's really helpful and makes the contract template customization process a bit easier.

Other affordable options to consider (for sending contracts)

Use your CRM:

If you already have a CRM (something like Dubsado, Honeybook, Bonsai, Moxie, Bloom, Indy, ––whatever) then it likely already includes a feature for uploading/pasting/editing/sending your service agreements to clients. Since it’s already built into your existing CRM tool, it makes sense to start with that & use it until you have a situation that doesn’t quite fit using the CRM to send an agreement (examples below).

Affordable dedicated contract-sending tools:

• eSignatures* (Tested) or BreezeDoc(Untested) both have unique feature sets (each), and are great options if:

  • you don’t have a CRM yet that can handle sending e-signable contracts, or

  • if you occasionally need to send a contract agreement to someone that’s not a client, such as an independent contractor, a podcast guest, etc.

• How eSignatures Billing Works:

  • eSignatures works based on flat-rate credits you can buy in chunks and use until you run out. It’s $0.49 to send each contract, the fee is charged or deducted from your balance when the contract is sent, you can have up to 10 signers per contract at no extra cost, resending contracts and reminders are free, your purchased credits never expire, and there are no monthly subscriptions or hidden fees.

  • So for example, if you use my eSignatures affiliate link* to sign up, and you buy $50 worth of credits (the minimum amount) to use with 1 contract sent representing about .49 cents/each, you’ll be able to send about 100 contracts with that initial payment, AND as a bonus, you’ll also get an additional $25 added to your account balance (which adds about another 50-contracts worth of credit)!

• How BreezeDoc Billing Works:

  • With BreezeDoc, it’s one of AppSumo’s lifetime deals, similar to TidyCal. So you can use it for free with limitations, or pay once & use it without a recurring subscription. With two lifetime payment tiers to choose between, you can pick the one you want and both options are under $100. You’ll need the higher ‘Agency’ tier to remove their branding, but their service also includes basic invoicing as well.

Communication

Slack — 💙 Use It

It's great for team communication, basic group chat spaces, and anywhere you need threaded, organized conversations that aren't email. I use it when other people do for their groups or support spaces, but don't need it for myself, so my account is free.

Telegram — 💙 Use It

I rarely use it, and only when someone else requires it to communicate with their team. It's not a recommendation, just an acknowledgment that it exists, and it's free to use.

Voxer — 🔴 Left It

I actually do (I assume) still have an account from 5 or 10 years ago, but I'm not actively using it & haven’t in many years. It's a voice messaging app that had a moment in the online business world, and may still because it's super cheap & has a decent free plan. If someone specific in your circle uses it, it's fine, or if you like the idea of voice message-style communication, kinda like a walkie-talkie (am I dating myself with that reference?) but without voice talking at you unceremoniously, and only when you hit play. Otherwise don't go out of your way; it's cool that it exists and it's super useful for specific situations, but for me I don't need it.

Content & Marketing

Email Service Provider‍ ‍(ESP)

Your ESP is how you stay in touch with your audience, deliver freebies, run launches, and nurture leads over time. If you don't have one yet — this is a high-priority category that will help you build an audience that you control without algorithms dictating what they do/don't see in their 'feed' (unlike social media).

Kit* (formerly ConvertKit)* — 🧡 Love It

Switched to Kit in 2021 and haven't looked back. It's functionality kicks ass. It's built for content creators who want robust automations, sequences, tagging, and segmentation easily. The interface is modern but the editor isn't as pretty as Flodesk (though it's come a long way since Flodesk became competition). It's genuinely powerful, and once you understand how it works it's hard to imagine going back to something simpler.

Flodesk* — 🧡 Love It

I used Flodesk for a couple of years before switching to Kit, and I want to be clear: I didn't leave because it was bad. I left because I outgrew its feature set at the time. Flodesk has since added a lot of what was missing back then, and it remains one of the most design-forward ESPs on the market. If beautiful emails and an easy-to-use editor matter more to you than robust features & efficient functionality, Flodesk is a genuinely great choice. Use my code DAAAMN* for a discount on your first year!

MailerLite — 🔴 Left It

Used the free plan for about two years, then paid for their lowest tier for another year before switching to Flodesk out of annoyance with design limitations & clunky UI updates. It was fine at the time — perfectly functional, affordable, and did the job. Just not where I ended up long-term, and since then they've gotten clunkier & harder to use. I wouldn't bother with it; it's cheap for a reason. 😬

Squarespace Email Campaigns — ⚪️ Passed

Tried it briefly when it first launched out of curiosity & for a client project. Not the move, at least not for my needs. Fine for very occasional sends if you're already on Squarespace and want basic functionality, but not a replacement for a dedicated ESP, and cost most while offering fewer features & less functionality than competitors.

My honest take:

Kit vs. Flodesk isn't really a competition — they serve different priorities. Kit is for the designer who wants power and flexibility. Flodesk is for the designer who wants beautiful and easy. Both are genuinely good. Pick based on what matters most to you right now, knowing you can always switch later (yes, it's a pain, but it's survivable — I've done it A LOT 😂).

Lead Magnets, Pop-ups & Internal Ads

Lead magnets, pop-ups, and opt-in forms aren't necessarily just one tool's job — sometimes they're a layered system, depending on what you're doing & your goals. The tool that displays the pop-up may be different from the tool that delivers the freebie, which may be different from the tool that nurtures the lead afterward. Once you understand that and the possible options, picking the right tools for each layer gets a lot easier!

ConvertBox* — 🧡 Love It

ConvertBox is from the ThriveCart family, which means it plays nicely with the rest of my tech stack out of the box. It handles pop-ups, inline ads, lead magnets, and simple 1-2 question quiz-style opt-ins with a lot of customization options. Their functionality includes countdown timers, video embeds, conditional display rules, and more. It was a lifetime payment, which sealed the deal for me. Best for static or time-sensitive ads and pop-ups where you want control over who sees what and when, and deciding what happens if someone engages with it. I don't use it all year long, but I do use it for sales, promotional stuff, announcements, and more because it's really easy to set up, or even schedule to start/stop on a predetermined timeline automatically.

Kit* (ConvertKit) & Flodesk* — 🧡 Love It

Both of these also offer lead magnet forms too — but their real strengths is what happens after the person opts in (subscribes). The form, the automation, the delivery, the nurture sequence — all in one place. If you want someone to get a freebie AND receive a thoughtful follow-up sequence of emails, you'll want to do that in your ESP (Kit, Flodesk, etc). Cross-reference with the ESP section for the full breakdown on these!

Interact* — 🧪 Tested

Interact is one of the most reputable dedicated quiz builders on the market, and I've been gifted an account to test it out this year. Quiz funnels are a genuinely powerful list-building tool for a lot of people; they're interactive, they feel personalized, and they attract a more engaged subscriber than a static freebie (that may never be used) often does. Full honest review coming soon! 👀

The layered breakdown if using more than one of these:

1. ConvertBox = the pop-up advertising your thing (quiz, freebie, product, service, sale, etc)

2. Interact = hosts the lead magnet quiz & results page, if you want to use it

3. Kit/Flodesk = connects to either option above to deliver or direct the person to the thing & nurture them afterward if they share their email address.

They're not really competing tools — they're different parts of the same acquisition funnel for established businesses that are focusing on growth. For newer businesses, JUST using your ESP (Kit of Flodesk) is totally fine for a while, and just using what's available there.

Social Media Scheduling

Full transparency: social media is not my primary marketing channel and it never will be. My content lives on the blog and YouTube, and social is an occasional or organic thing — mostly because I find it genuinely exhausting to do or maintain, and I'd rather publish one useful blog post than ten Instagram captions that disappear in 48 hours (each). 😄

That said — when I do schedule social content, here's what I've been using most recently:

Viraly.io* — 🧡 Love It

It handles scheduling to LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and more when batch scheduling makes sense. It's simple and easy to pick up (learn how to use), and does the job well. It's not a tool I'm in daily, but super useful when I need to batch schedule a bunch of posts to different platforms.

YouTube Studio — 🧡 Love It

My videos are uploaded & scheduled to publish directly through YouTube, without a third-party tool being required or necessary. Totally free, and easy to use.

Squarespace — 💙 Use It

Blog posts scheduled to publish directly through Squarespace, which is really easy to do & I love that functionality for blog posts! It does also have some very limited options for ‘pushing’ (publishing/posting) new content from the site to any social media profiles that are linked, but I find this functionality to be so limiting it borders on totally useless, so I don’t do this. I only use Squarespace’s system to publish or schedule internal blog posts or pages, and to ‘push’ (or send) new blog posts to Google Search Console to be indexed (crawled) by Google.

For designers who feel guilty about not being on every platform all the time, you don't have to be! Pick the channels that actually reach your people, you enjoy using, and show up there consistently. Everything else is optional.

• Watch this interview with Paige Brunton to find out how to get clients via content creation & without social media

• Watch this pep talk about doing #allthethings and get some relief.

URL Shorteners & Link Management

With as many affiliate links, freebies, and resources as I share, having a clean link management system isn't optional — it's how I stay sane. 😄

Dub* — 🧡 Love It

Dub is a simple free option to create short links using their free "links" feature which handles everything I need without a recurring fee, and the dashboard is clean and easy to navigate.

Squarespace URL Mappings — 🧡 Love It

This functionality is actually built into Squarespace and criminally underused. You can create branded short links (like launchthedamnthing.com/seospace) directly through URL mappings without any third-party tool or added subscription. It's great for affiliate links, freebies, and anything else you want to be memorable and on-brand. If you're on Squarespace and didn't know this existed, go find it immediately! Or watch this tutorial to see how it works. 👀

Bitly — 🔴 Left It

Used it in the past, moved on when better options came along. Fine for basic link shortening, just not where I landed long-term. I'm sure there are many other options now too, but I haven't kept up with what they are.

Content Creation

Video Recording & Editing

Tella* — 🧡 Love It

Currently using Tella for recording course lessons, video replies for Insider members in the Club, and some YouTube content. I'm in the process of potentially migrating my entire Loom account over to it (1,500+ videos). The editor is already more powerful than Loom's, the support team is more responsive, and the overall experience just feels more intentional. There are a couple of features Loom has that Tella hasn't built yet (like Meeting recordings) — but I'm betting on Tella's trajectory.

Descript* — 🧡 Love It

My go-to for simple edits. If you've never used Descript, the concept is wild: you can edit your video by editing the transcript, like a Word doc, or on the timeline like a normal editor; both options work really well! In the transcript editor, if you delete a sentence from the transcript, it's trimmed from the video too. It's not for complex editing like Davinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, or Premier Pro, etc, ––but for DIY video editing it's genuinely fast and easier to use than professionally competitive software options.

eCamm Live — 🧡 Love It

Using this for live streaming directly to YouTube. It's not browser-based like most streaming tools, which means significantly more control over your stream setup, scenes, overlays, and more — at a much more reasonable price than the competition. However, it is a Mac-only app, so if you're on PC, look at Riverside or possibly Streamyard instead (closest equivalent, but both are browser-based).

Loom — 🔴 Left It

I've used Loom since around 2019 and it's been a reliable workhorse. This isn't a bad breakup — Loom is genuinely good. Tella is just winning on features and support right now, and I don’t want to pay for both tools since they do practically the same things. For me, the switch makes sense for where my content is going. So…it's not you, Loom. It's me. 😄

ScreenStudio* – 🧡 Love It

This is a fabulous tool, and I used it for years after Omari from SQSP Themes shared it with his audience once. It's super easy to learn, but creates beautifully simple and engaging video recordings with any combo of screen-share-only, screen + camera, or camera-only videos. When I first started using it, it was a one-time payment for a year of software updates, and then eventually it turned into a subscription service like everything else. That said, their annual plan is still very affordable, as of posting, so it’s a great option if you want automatic (but editable) zooms where you click with the mouse, or blurred areas to hide sensitive details during a tutorial, or to switch between face & camera while recording the same clip, ––and easy edits & exports when you’re ready to publish. After several years, I’m moving to Tella for more editing control without needing Descript or Final Cut Pro (which I also have), or Davinci Resolve, or Premiere Pro, etc. It’s still a great software, but I needed a little more functionality at my stage.

Screen Recording & Screenshots

Separate from video recording for YouTube, this category is about the everyday captures — quick screen recordings, annotated screenshots, and anything you need to show someone without jumping on a call, or "asynchronous" communication as it's been termed by people cooler than me.

CleanShot X — 🧡 Love It

CleanShot X is the screenshot and screen recording tool I use pretty much every single day without thinking about it. It replaces Mac's native screenshot tool and adds annotation, scrolling captures, video recording, and a built-in cloud for sharing captures instantly via a link if you can't/don't want to upload & send a file. If you're on a Mac and still using Command+Shift+4 for everything, you're leaving a lot of functionality on the table. It's ridiculously easy to use and install, and it's really cheap too.

Tella* — 🧡 Love It

I've already covered this one in the Video Recording section, so cross-reference there for the full take. The short version here: Tella handles both YouTube-style recording & intermediate-but-simple editing, along with quick screen recordings, so it's pulling double duty in my tech stack.

Loom – 🔴 Left It

Again, I've already covered my thoughts on Loom, but the short version is that it's a great simple screen recording tool, like Tella, with or without camera on, and it has calendar meeting options to record calls & take notes which is great––but I wanted Tella's editing features more, and I don't want to pay for both, so I'm testing a possible migration from Loom. It's not bad, by any stretch, but in this season of my business, Tella is most useful for me.

ScreenStudio* – 🧡 Love It

Again, this is a really great tool. I covered most of it in the video recording section, so I won’t hash that out again here. That said, it’s great at recording camera-only, screen-only, or both, and basic cuts & trims, adding blurs or highlights, automatic transitions between camera vs screen vs whatever combo, and even blurring sensitive areas on screen to hide private details in tutorials. Where it fell short, was adding multiple blur areas to a single scene so I could cover up less but still keep certain information private, and there was no AI editing help. Otherwise, it’s a great software that feels very simple & easy to use.

Descript* 🧡 Love It

Descript is a text-based editor, but you can also edit on the timeline, import videos to edit, and even record video content too. It’s very versatile, works with AI on internal tasks to help with editing, and has more layout options, animations, and general video editing. It’s a fabulous tool for anyone that does NOT want to learn more professional video editing tools (like Final Cut Pro, Premier Pro, Davinci Resolve, etc) but still wants high-quality video content that’s easier to edit. While there is definitely a learning curve, it’s still way easier to pick up than the ‘pro’ softwares out there!

eCamm Live — 🧡 Love It

I’m very new to this one, so I don’t have much to add here yet –but I do think it’s a great software for the price. That said, I don’t think it’s a great fit for just screen recording. I think it’s a better fit for creating & streaming video content on published channels, like YouTube.

Copywriting Tools

When I say "copywriting tools," I don't mean "tools that write publish-ready content for you." I mean tools that help you get what's already in your head out faster, cleaner, and in a format your audience can actually use, but that you most certainly have to edit yourself before publishing. There's a big difference, and how you use these tools matters more than which ones you pick.

Claude — 🧡 Love It

Claude earns a second mention here for good reason: it’s my favorite copywriting tool because it works like a thought-partner, not my ghostwriter or copywriting contractor. I first heard Christy Price use that phrasing "thought partner" and it perfectly describes how I prefer to use it, too. My ideas, my opinions, my voice, my edits. Claude often helps me structure, draft, and refine faster than I could do it alone, with my perfectionistic tendencies.

Then, their Cowork feature takes it one step further because it can help me organize files, rename folders, and handle behind-the-scenes computer tasks I'd otherwise do manually, like ⏯️ clean up my downloads folder (by organizing & renaming generic file names to be descriptive). The Claude in Chrome browser extension allows it to scan my website pages in real time, helping me prioritize which posts to update and then checking my edits for typos and outdated information as I go.

And yes — this post is a real-world example of that workflow. I came to Claude with 26 categories worth of honest opinions, we worked through them together category by category, and Claude drafted from my thoughts. That's it. That's the whole process. Nothing was invented or fabricated — just organized and written faster than I could've done it alone. 😄

VoiceDash — 🧡 Love It

VoiceDash is a simple voice dictation tool that cleans up what you say aloud when prompted, then it cleans it up & writes it out for you. Sometimes it's genuinely faster to talk through an idea than to type it — especially for longer content like blog posts, email drafts, explanatory comments, or social captions. For me, it was a lifetime payment through AppSumo, which makes it a no-brainer alternative to recurring tools like WisprFlow or Willow that do the same thing. If you're a verbal processor who finds writing/typing slow and painful, this might be the most underrated tool on this entire list. Before VoiceDash, I was using WisprFlow and I really liked everything about it, except for the recurring cost, which prompted me to switch to VoiceDash.

RightBlogger* — 🔴 Left It

I used RightBlogger for about a year while I needed a content reset and a faster way to turn video transcriptions into blog posts. It's genuinely useful for newer content creators & business owners that know they need to post content but aren't 'good' at it yet. There are lots of AI-powered features for content creation, SEO, social media, and more! I left it when Claude became the better fit for my workflows, but that's not really a knock on RightBlogger at all; it's a solid tool, especially for getting started with content creation when you're not sure where to begin. Just know it takes some work to dial in your brand voice & ya might still want to run it through ChatGPT or Claude to get it to sound more like you.

AI & LLMs

Let's talk about the elephant in the room. 🐘

I know AI is a loaded topic for a lot of designers. There's a real fear of sounding robotic, of losing your voice, of your clients or customers noticing. I get it. But the way I use these tools has nothing to do with doing publishable work FOR me. Think of it less like outsourcing your jobs and more like having a really smart thought-partner who just thinks & types faster than you do.

Speaking of which — full transparency: this post was written with Claude's help based on my experiences, ideas, verdicts, my voice, and 20 years of my opinions. Claude helped me structure it, shorten it (if you can believe it!), draft it, and get it out of my head and onto the page. Claude also helped me create the kick-ass table at the bottom of this post (but don't look at that yet! 😂).

ChatGPT — 🔴 Left It

Used it SOLIDLY for about a year, and forgot how much I love Claude. Left it in March 2026, for now, with no hard feelings. We had a good run! Just had other tools I wanted to pay for more than Chat. Plus, as a user ––I don’t want to see ads on something I pay $20/mo for.

Claude — 🧡 Love It

I cancelled ChatGPT in 2026, because a few things stopped sitting right with me: no annual billing option in Chat, some business-level decisions I didn't agree with, and the news that they'd be introducing ads to their platform was the final 'well, do I really need both?' nail in the coffin. Anthropic actually ran a pretty funny ad campaign about exactly that (ads on Chat), which caught my attention — and here we are.

Claude is genuinely better at writing in my brand voice than anything else I've tried, anyway, especially with long-form content. With the Cowork feature too, it goes beyond writing — it can help me organize files, rename them, clean up folders, and handle behind-the-scenes tasks on my computer where I allow it. The browser extension (Claude in Chrome) can scan pages of my website and help me prioritize which blog posts to update, then check my edits in real time for typos, outdated info, and accuracy, based on guidelines I've given it in each circumstance. It's a legitimate workflow tool, not a "write me a caption" button.

ClickUp* Brain — 🧪 Testing

Testing it alongside ClickUp's new version. Interesting so far! Verdict TBD alongside the overall ClickUp verdict. May report back, or may not. 🤭

Galaxy AI* — 🧪 Testing

I used the lifetime payment deal, and have just started playing around with it. It's really cool, but way too early to have a real verdict yet. May report back.

Midjourney — 🧡 Love It

I use it for image generation, and only when a client project genuinely calls for more customized stock photography than I can find elsewhere. It’s not a daily tool — more of a "pull it out when I need it" situation, so even though I’ve paid for the annual plan in the past, I’ve turned off auto-renew and will only use it month-to-month when I need it going forward. I know other designers use it a lot, and that's definitely a real-world scenario, but for me I don't need it that often since I take fewer custom projects each year & don't tend to use it for myself. A great tool, but you may not need it all the time, depending on you & your business.

Perplexity — 🧡 Love It

When I need to research something and I want actual sources instead of an AI confidently making things up, Perplexity is where I go. I use their free plan only; I've never paid for it. It presents results in a clean, readable format with citations, tables & bullet points in a way that neither Claude nor Chat ever did as consistently well. Think of it as AI-powered search rather than AI-powered writing. Very different use case, but still very useful.

Poppy AI* — 🧡 Love It

Poppy gives me access to multiple LLM models —including ChatGPT's— for a lifetime payment I made last year, with monthly rollover credits, without a recurring subscription. The interface is completely different from a standard chat & I LOVE that: it uses a whiteboard-style layout with nodes you can connect or disconnect to the chat, so you can control exactly what the AI "sees" at any given moment. Great for 'watching' videos, 'reading' web pages, and working with multiple files, images, and other assets all at once. Not my primary AI tool, but a smart addition to the stack that genuinely provides a unique way to use AI in my workflows. It is currently, as of posting, still browser based though (no app yet).

Website & Design

Design Tools

Yes, I saved design tools for near the end of a post about tools for web designers. 😂 The honest reason is that most of you already have opinions about design software, so this section is more about my specific choices than it is about introducing you to something new.

Canva — 🧡 Love It

Canva needs no introduction. I use it often for graphics, social content, presentations, sharable templates & resources, slides, printable graphics, and anything that needs to look polished without a lot of production time. If you're not using Canva yet, I genuinely don't know what to tell you. 🤭

Affinity — 🧡 Love It

I switched from Adobe to Affinity in 2024 and haven't looked back yet — though I'll be honest, the transition hasn't been fast. I'm still getting comfortable with it, after literally 20 years of Adobe muscle memory. Affinity does practically everything Adobe does, but in a FREE-no-gimmicks software, instead of a recurring subscription. The learning curve is real though if you're coming from Adobe, but the financial relief is equally real and eventually it really does become more intuitive to use than Adobe ever was. Worth the transition! ––Oh, and it works great with Canva, because Canva actually OWNS it now.

Adobe Suite — 🔴 Left It

After years of paying for software I wasn't using heavily anymore, I finally made the switch to Affinity. No regrets — though I do occasionally miss the familiarity. If you're heavily reliant on Adobe and use it daily, there's no shame in staying. Just know Affinity exists as an alternative when you're ready to evaluate.

Website Tools

This is my wheelhouse, so buckle up. 😄 Beyond Squarespace itself, there's a whole ecosystem of tools I use to build, optimize, and maintain websites — both mine and my clients'. Most of these your audience has probably never heard of, and some of them are genuinely game-changing, while others are just great additions depending on your goals & skills.

Squarespace — 🧡 Love It

Obviously. If you're here, you probably already know my stance. Squarespace is my platform of choice for smaller, service-based businesses that want a beautiful, functional website without wrestling with code or hiring a developer every time something breaks or needs updating. I've been building on it since 2016 and I'd still choose it today. A full platform comparison post is coming soon — so if you're on the fence about Squarespace vs. everything else, stay tuned. 👀

SEOSpace* — 🧡 Love It

Think of SEOSpace like Yoast, but built specifically for Squarespace. It audits your pages, scans for SEO issues, and gives you actionable feedback so you know exactly what to fix and whether your changes are actually working or following current best practices. I use it on my own site and on client sites during builds and after launches. If you're serious about SEO on Squarespace, this is the only tool.

SquareKicker* — 🧡 Love It

Been using SquareKicker for design customizations since 2020. It's a CSS and design enhancement tool for Squarespace that lets you do things the native editor simply can't — custom layouts, typography, spacing, animations, and more. I recently scaled back to their Solo plan since I'm doing fewer heavily custom builds these days, but it's still a core part of my own website. If you're doing custom Squarespace work, this is worth knowing about! They also have their own Squarespace template shop, which is a totally different experience than competitors can offer.

SquareWebsites* — 🧡 Love It

Multiple plugins I'm actively using from them include: Universal Filter, Portfolio filters, blog pagination, and more. These fill the gaps Squarespace leaves for designers who need more control over how content is displayed and filtered. I'm also using their pro tools Chrome extension & have for years now; it's a must-have for serious & professional Squarespace designers.

Will Myers* — 🧡 Love It

Will Myers offers multiple plugins with business licenses — meaning you can use them on client sites, not just your own. I'm also a Curious Coder member, which gives me access to Robo-Will, which is an incredible tool worth every penny! If you build on Squarespace professionally, Will's plugins are excellent & worth exploring.

Fathom Analytics* — 🧡 Love It

Fathom offers privacy-first analytics that I switched to from Google Analytics last year. Google Analytics is still free and ubiquitous — but Google's approach to user privacy became something I wasn't comfortable with anymore, and Fathom offers a clean, simple alternative that doesn't track your visitors in ways they haven't consented to. Yes, it costs money. For me, the privacy trade-off was worth it.

Google Analytics — 🔴 Left it

Still the default for most people, and I get it — it's free and powerful. Just not where I landed when I thought about what I actually wanted to support. Mentioned here for context, not as a recommendation.

Elfsight* — 🧡 Love It

Powers the embedded YouTube video library on my website. Simple, does exactly what it's supposed to do, free plan has been enough for my needs for a couple of years now. They also have widgets for a ton of other use-cases, and affordable plans to use them.

Senja* — 🧡 Love It

Senja is my favorite by a mile, and is how I collect, organize, and display testimonials and reviews from my digital product customers. It has a submission form, pulls reviews from third-party platforms like Facebook and Google, and generates embed widgets you can place anywhere on your site — so your testimonials stay in one place and sync everywhere, without duplicating them manually. More expensive than the alternative below, but significantly more powerful.

Shoutout* — 💙 Use it

Similar concept to Senja — testimonial collection and display — but simpler, a little clunky, and fewer features overall. The upside: it was a lifetime payment, so no ongoing subscription cost. If you're budget-conscious and just need basic review collection and display without all of Senja's bells and whistles, it's not a bad option. Just know what you're getting. It also doesn't currently (as of posting) sync with Google Reviews, yet.

BugSmash — 🧡 Love It

Visual website feedback tool — clients click directly on the site to leave annotated comments, which means not spending time trying to decode "the button on the left... no the other left" emails. 😂 Used it on my first client project of 2026 and it went really well. Check whether their AppSumo lifetime deal still available; it was as of posting. It's worth saying that it's new enough that there are occasional bugs, but the team is responsive and fixes things fast. Full honest review coming soon!

Pastel — 🧡 Love It

Similar concept to BugSmash and has been around longer, so it's more stable (less buggy). The free plan gives you unlimited canvases (projects) but has a 72-hour comment window on each of them — after that window closes, no new comments can be added to that canvas, but you can still view it & use it. Workaround: create a new canvas for each revision round. Works fine if that timeline works for your projects. Paid plan removes that time-limitation entirely if the workaround feels like too much friction, but it starts at around ~$30/mo. Used it with my last client of 2025 and it worked really well.

Business Operations & Admin

Project Management

Oh boy. This is the category where I have to just... own my shit. 😂

I have tried, at various points in my business life over the last decade+, the following project management tools: ClickUp, Asana, Notion, Airtable, Trello, SmartSuite, TickTick, Quire, Milanote, Blitzit, Coda, Basecamp, Griply, Akiflow, Motion, Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, AnyDo, Artful Agenda's lite tasks, Full Focus Planner, Google Tasks, Reclaim, ToDoist, Wrike, and Zenkit. ––And I'm sure I'm forgetting some. 😭

The ones I always come back to are Notion, Asana, and ClickUp. Those three are the finalists after years of rotating through everything else.

ClickUp* — 🧡 Love It

I'm in ClickUp's newest version right now with ClickUp Brain (their built-in AI) and so far, so good. I hesitate to even say that out loud because my track record in this category is... not exactly consistent. 🤭 But I'm cautiously optimistic. Full verdict TBD — ask me in 6-12 months.

Why do I keep leaving? Shiny-object syndrome, ––hello. 😂 But also, ClickUp can be incredibly granular and so it's easy to make it messy + cleanup feels overwhelming. Also, they add & update features regularly (like, every 2 weeks they post release notes), so it can be buggy sometimes, which can be annoying.

Why do I keep coming back? Don't make me say it again... ––fine: shiny-object syndrome! While I love Asana, I keep turning it into a ClickUp experience, and it frankly just doesn't work as well. So if you want simplicity, get the free plan of Asana & stay on it, but if you want custom properties & better automations, ClickUp is probably a more practical fit for the money, and their AI is definitely better, too.

Asana — 🧡 Love It

Used it last year and genuinely liked it. Clean, pretty intuitive, felt simple & easy to pick up. Left it when ClickUp's new version caught my attention literally by accident. Would absolutely consider going back — it's a solid and very stable tool.

Why do I keep leaving? Two reasons.

• 1) I hate their pricing model for solopreneurs. 😂 There, I said it. 🫣 It sounds stupid, but their pricing plans are ridiculous, in that to be on a paid plan as a solo business owner (with no team) you HAVE to pay for 2 users (seats), because that's the minimum, yet they continue to advertise as $10-ish/mo and they've done this for years, even though they actually mean $10-ish/mo x2 people/users = $20+/mo. Like... just say you want to charge us more than everyone else & be done with it. 😂 They know this is a problem (I've reported it to their support team at least two separate times in frustration), and each time they've said there are no plans to change this & they are aware. It's a known disconnect with their users.

• 2) Like I said in ClickUp's section above, I keep trying to turn it into ClickUp with all these custom properties, etc. and it just doesn't work as well. It's meant to be use more simply, and runs better that way. I on the other hand, like to fuck things up sometimes and have a tendency to make things more complicated than is necessary after I've had time to tinker in these tools, so Asana quickly becomes a Frankenstein that should've been built in ClickUp (or even in Airtable instead, if it turns into a database, god forbid).

Why do I keep coming back? When I'm craving simplicity, because it feels so simple and easy with a clean account. It's so tempting with its fresh & empty lists & projects, just waiting in horror to inherit the mess from whatever tool I used last. 😂 And they've also updated some things that were limitations before, so they are trying to be more competitive, feature-wise, but the changes/updates are slow by comparison to both ClickUp and Notion.

Notion* — 💙 Use It

I love it, but Notion is not a good ‘project management’ tool, despite what they advertise & how many free/paid templates that say otherwise. —It's a beautifully simple, yet flexibly customizable note-taker, database and wiki builder that can technically also manage basic tasks IF you build the system yourself, or know where to start with the right template system which sets it up for you (& always requires further customization). I just use it as a Google Docs replacement (because it’s faster for me to use with the keyboard shortcuts) to make internal notes, and externally shareable resources that I can embed in various places… But not for task tracking. More on Notion in the Databases section.

Other popular options — 🔴 Left It

Re: Airtable, Trello, SmartSuite, TickTick, Quire, Milanote, Blitzit, Coda, Basecamp, Griply, Akiflow, Motion, Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, AnyDo, Artful Agenda's lite tasks, Full Focus Planner, Google Tasks, Reclaim, ToDoist, Wrike, and Zenkit.

For the rest of the list, I've tried &/or actually used 98% of those, and for 1 or 2 they work great but not as a PM tool. For the rest of those, I just researched or created an account & quickly realized it wasn't the right fit for me, so I didn't actually do anything with it but poke around long enough to make a decision for myself.

Some were great. None of them stuck, as a PM tool, for me.

The honest truth about PM tools is that the "right" one is deeply personal — what works for me might drive you absolutely insane, and vice versa. The best PM tool is the one you'll actually open every day. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, including me. 🤭

Check this post next if you want to see my thoughts on how to choose the right PM tool FOR YOU, based on how you prefer to manage tasks offline with paper & pencil/pen. It might help you step outside the shiny-object stuff, and focus on how your brain works first, then which tool is the closest digital match to that.

Automations

Saving the most advanced category for last, because automations are the connective tissue layer for my tech stack that makes everything else run while I sleep. But they're also the category most people want to skip entirely because they feel complicated or like something you need an IT background to pull off. ––But you don't. You just need to start small.

Airtable* Automations — 🧡 Love It

Where Zapier drops data off, Airtable often takes over within the database there. Example: after Zapier zaps a template purchase into my template management hub, Airtable delivers that person's template access link to the customer immediately, and will also follow up with a reminder to access it if they don't accept the invitation. It also alerts me when my template inventory gets low, and sends me internal reminders to create more copies (that sit waiting to be purchased). It can also change field values, connect records, and fire off emails to myself or whoever, — all without touching Zapier. The two tools work together as a system, really well, and don't have to exist separately as competitors.

ClickUp* Automations — 💙 Use It

These are smaller scale than Zapier or Airtable, and are historically less reliable too. But they're genuinely helpful for internal task management. Example: when a blog post status is set to Scheduled and the publish date arrives, ClickUp can automatically change the 'task' status to Published and it can even leave a comment reminding me to add the post or video link to the task — and again to check analytics on the post & video later. They're smaller, internal things, but they remove a surprising amount of manual labor, and miscellaneous admin over time.

Where to start if automations feel overwhelming: pick one repetitive task you do manually every single week and ask yourself if a tool already in your stack could handle it by itself, with the right set up. Most of the time the answer is yes — you just haven't set it up yet. Start there, with one automation. Then build from there as you get more comfortable!

Dubsado* Automations — 🧡 Love It

Dubsado's internal automations handle the entire client workflow once a project is in the in the initial stages of my booking process, all the way through their support period & when the project officially ends. It adds all the right forms and email templates to projects, gives me time to adjust/edit/customize them before approving them to send, then later sending templated review request emails, support term reminders, final project completion emails, launch checklists for my clients, and payment reminders for invoice payment plans (even on auto-pay). Lead follow-up automation is currently here too, though that's moving out of Dubsado soon for the reasons covered in the CRM section earlier in this post.

Zapier — 🧡 Love It

Zapier is what makes the tools that don't natively (lacking built-in integrations) talk to each other & actually work together. Current Zaps running in my business include: sending ThriveCart sales data into a sales hub in Airtable, managing Squarespace template delivery and inventory tracking from purchases, auto-sending follow-up messages when clients submit support tickets in Kitchen, and triggering member-specific tasks in ClickUp when Club members request website audits through an Airtable form. If two tools in your stack don't integrate natively, Zapier is almost always the answer. (Or Make, or Pabbly, etc.; I'm just used to Zapier.)

Time Tracking

Two very different problems live in this category: figuring out where your time is actually going, and tracking billable hours for clients. They may sound similar, but they call for completely different tools — and confusing them is how you end up with software that doesn't solve either problem well. 🥴

Rize* — 🔴 Left It

I used Rize for about a year and let it go before it auto-renewed, but that was the plan all along. Rize tracks your time automatically in the background without any manual input, so you get a clear picture of where your hours are actually going versus where you think they're going. (Hint: those two things are rarely the same. 😂) It wasn't a forever tool from the get-go, but it was a useful one for the season I needed it. If you've never audited your own time before, a few months with Rize (or something like it) is genuinely eye-opening.

Timing App — 🧡 Love It

This is a Mac-only automatic time tracking app, similar to Rize, but feels more native to the Mac ecosystem. I downloaded it & did the free trial, so it's next to try 'for real' (on a paid plan) when I want that kind of data again. I can't fully review it yet since I haven't used it in depth, but it's the one I'll reach for next.

Toggl — 💙 Used It

I've used Toggl on and off for about 10 years. It's built for billable time tracking, ie: the kind you can send invoices for. It's simple, clean, easy to use, and makes timesheets shareable and (I believe) even payable through their system. A free plan exists but most of the genuinely useful features are on paid plans for heavier uses. I don't offer time-tracked services anymore so I don't have an active need for it currently, but when I did, it worked really really well. Especially worth considering if you don't have a CRM yet and need a simple way to track and invoice for time worked; only mentioning because Dubsado includes time tracking which can be applied to invoices, so you don't really 'need' Toggl if you already have Dubsado.

Dubsado* – 💙 Use It

Dubsado's features include basic time-tracking, and that makes it super easy to apply tracked time to a client's invoice. It's less useful though, as a contractor that's asked to provide more traditional timesheets (a log of time tracked).

ClickUp* – 💙 Use It

ClickUp also includes basic time-tracking, but it doesn't have any invoicing features so this presumably works best for internal time-tracking, either for your own knowledge of your time, for your team's workload management (see who has too much vs too little work on their plate), or just for your own tracking with the knowledge that you have to create & send the invoice elsewhere. The cool thing about ClickUp's time-tracking is that this can be built into the tasks themselves, and that task list can be shared easily with anyone.

The distinction worth making:

Rize and Timing are best for self-auditing — understanding your own patterns. Toggl is great for service-work, client billing or contract work where you're tracking billable time that you intend to collect a check for. ClickUp is task-oriented, but easily sharable, however it can't actually send an invoice. Dubsado is project-oriented, but can be easily applied to an invoice to collect payment. Pick based on which problem you're actually trying to solve! (You don't need all of these!)

Finance

Nobody got into web design because they love bookkeeping. But ignoring this category is how you end up handing your accountant a shoebox of receipts every April, crossing all your fingers & toes, and hoping for the best. 😂 Here's what I actually use to keep my financial house in order now.

QuickBooks Online* — 🧡 Love It

Been using QBO for years and it's my primary accounting software — tracking all debits and deposits, generating reports, and making sure I'm never caught off guard at tax time. I do a quarterly check-in with a bookkeeper too, so April is never a surprise. It's not 'fun', but it works well, and my bookkeeper is there to help with it when needed. That last part matters to me, more than any feature list. 😄

Novo* — 🧡 Love It

Novo is my business checking account and I've been using it for years with zero complaints. It's fee-free, ridiculously Profit First-friendly (you can create multiple "reserves" inside one account to group your money), and connects seamlessly to Stripe, PayPal, QuickBooks, Kick, and everything else in my tech stack. If you're still using a traditional bank for your business and paying monthly fees for the privilege — please look into Novo. It literally costs you nothing to use.

Kick* — 🧪 Tested

Kick is an AI-driven accounting tool with a genuinely impressive free plan (as of posting, free for up to $25,000 USD in expense transactions) — it connects to your accounts, auto-categorizes transactions, and keeps your P&L updated without you touching it. That's legitimately cool!! And it does a really good job. For anything that needs editing/adjusting, you can manually adjust it too. The reason I haven't switched from QBO is that the paid plan (where you get custom categories and reports) runs more expensive than my QBO plan, and the free plan's limitations aren't worth the switch for where my business is right now, without access to custom transaction categories. Worth keeping an eye on as they grow though. If you're just starting out and need something free to get your books in order, the free plan seems like a really solid starting point.

Xero — 🔴 Left It

Fast. One month. My bookkeeper only uses QBO and that settled it immediately, because I hated their 2020-era UI (hideous & outdated). 😂 By comparison, QBO felt a lot more modern & user-friendly.

Freshbooks, Wave, QuickBooks Self-Employed— ⚪️ Passed

Researched all three, never pulled the trigger on most of them. I tried Wave for a while, back when it was totally free, but found it hard to learn (not user-friendly) and then H&R Block bought it (I think?) and then the free plan got less & less functionally useful for me. None of them were the right fit for where my business was headed. Mentioned only because they come up constantly in designer circles and I want to be honest that I looked and chose to move on.

Dubsado* — 💙 Used it

I did use Dubsado's internal (very basic) accounting tools for the first few years of my business and it worked okay — but it was all manual entry, and tax season was always stressful as a result. Graduate to dedicated accounting software when you're ready! It makes tax season easier & less stressful, for sure.

Online Storage

Not the most exciting category on this list, but "I can't find that file" is a special kind of annoyance that costs you time every single day. Not to mention these are automatically a back-up system, so if your hardware (ie: your physical computer) dies or your cat spills water on it (🙋🏻‍♀️ hey, that's actually happened to me before!), your files are okay because they also live 'in the cloud.' So, pick a system, commit to it, and actually feel safer using it.

Dropbox* — 🧡 Love It

Dropbox has been my primary file storage for well over a decade ––maybe even 20 years now–– and I don't see that changing. The experience in Mac's file manager, Finder, feels completely native to my Mac OS. It's just there, like it's part of the operating system, which makes it easy to actually use consistently & hard to forget it exists.

Pro tip worth knowing: if you share a lot of files as downloads (lead magnets, deliverables, freebies) you can change the =0 at the end of a Dropbox share link to =1 and it'll prompt an automatic download instead of opening the file in the browser where the viewer has to manually select a 'Download' button. It's a small thing, but genuinely useful. 🙌

Google Drive — 💙 Use It

I have Google Drive through my Google Workspace account and have since 2016, but I use it so little that I've been on the same 30GB limit since 2016 because I keep everything in Dropbox. That said, Google Drive has its own useful bag o' tricks and it's own office suite of 'free' (included) business software, like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc. Plus, if you swap /edit at the end of a file link to /copy it will prompt recipients to make their own copy of the file before they even see it, which is great for sharing templates or resources you don't want people editing directly, or that aren't that tech savvy & can't figure out how to make a copy as easily from the standard share link.

If you're choosing between the two:

Neither is objectively better than the other. It really comes down to personal preference and which devices you live on. Pick one, commit, and stop splitting your files between both.

Password Management

I'm putting this one bluntly: if you don't have a password manager, get one before you finish reading this post. Not tomorrow. Today. The number of designers running their entire business on recycled passwords, passwords saved in their browser, or in a notes app full of login credentials is genuinely concerning. 😬 "In today's day and age," we have way too many accounts to keep track of, so in my not-so-humble opinion, these have kind of become a necessary part of life.

1Password — 🧡 Love It

It's cheap at about $30-60/year for single or family users, last I checked, but it feels completely native on a Mac, and works seamlessly across all my devices. It's the password manager I'd recommend to basically anyone in my audience without hesitation. It can help generate new passwords, it can also manage the two-factor authentication codes so you don't need a separate authentication app, and more.

One thing worth knowing if you share access with clients or contractors: sharing a password through 1Password is super easy, but it does reveal the actual password to the recipient, which means they can save & use it directly without needing to be added to your 1Password account if you don't change it afterward. Useful to know depending on how you manage shared access.

Other options:

A few of note are LastPass, Dashlane, and ProtonPass, etc. If I could no longer use 1Password for any reason, ProtonPass would be my next stop — it's more privacy-focused and worth knowing about as an alternative. It's also never had a data leak.... *cough* like-LastPass-did! *cough*😬🤭

Email Inbox Management

Nobody talks about this category and so many people need help with it. Your inbox is either a tool that works for you or a source of high-grade anxiety that lives in a browser tab that you're afraid to click/open. These tools exist to fix that second thing.

Canary Mail — 💙 Use It

Canary Mail is a unified inbox app that pulls all your email accounts into one place — great in theory, and genuinely good in practice for personal accounts. It has a lifetime payment option, basic features like GIF access, snooze, reminders, and email sharing, and it's a solid alternative to Apple Mail if you find Apple Mail as annoying as I do. 😂 It's very similar to Spark, by Readdle, which I used for ~10 years until the price became higher than the value (my opinion).

The caveat: I tried using it for business email as a sub for something like Missive or Front (shared inboxes for teams), but since I don't have a team I just tried this instead. For me, it wasn't a good fit for business purposes. It also forces some weird standardized styling on marketing-style emails & newsletters, so some things look weird or are hard to read & it SUCKS in dark mode (luckily I rarely use that myself, preferring light mode). Some tools are personal tools, and this is one of them. Use it for that, and find something else for your business inbox.

Superhuman* — 🧡 Love It

Expensive, but worth every fucking penny! I don't say that lightly about an email tool. 😄

Superhuman is not a unified inbox — it's intentionally the opposite. It keeps each email account completely separate so you can focus on one at a time instead of drowning in everything all at once. I honestly thought I'd hate that, because I've been using a unified inbox system for YEARS (Apple Mail, Spark, Canary, etc) and Gmail's browser mail is annoying because it separates my inboxes from each other. BUT, I didn't hate it. I actually love it. 😂

It can (optionally) be used almost entirely on keyboard shortcuts, which sounds intimidating until you realize it means you can process emails at a genuinely alarming speed. The built-in AI tools make triage, drafting, and follow-ups significantly faster, generating email responses on command, auto-drafting replies that are ready to go when you open it & are ready to edit & send, and the built-in calendar features are WICKED SMART, pulling up the day you reference while writing any email so you can see the day you're talking about without doing anything to pull it up. They also include some scheduling features and booking pages, and even AI personalization options to make those drafts sound more like you. The ask AI features are incredibly useful too, for when you need to 'look for an email' or find something specific but aren't sure what you're looking for. I can't gush about it enough, frankly!

That said, yes, it's expensive. I know. But Superhuman was recently acquired by Grammarly, which means one subscription now also comes bundled with Superhuman, Grammarly, and a few other tools together for the same price — which can change the value calculation considerably.

If your inbox(es) genuinely stresses you out and you use Gmail for your business email, this is the tool I'd try first. You'll feel a bit confused at first, and then promptly realize how effective it is, fall in love, and never look back!

Streak — 💙 Used It

Streak is actually just a Chrome extension that overlays Gmail in the browser with CRM-lite features, like leads management, automations, basic bulk email sending, pipeline tracking, and more. It's great if your inbox feels completely unmanageable and you actually use (& enjoy using) Gmail in a web browser. I'm not one of those people, so Superhuman is the better fit for me, — but back when I did use Gmail in the browser, Streak helped organize my inbox a lot. Worth a try if browser-based Gmail is your preferred world. 

Databases

This category confuses people because it overlaps with both project management AND forms, depending on how you use them. So let me clear it up upfront: databases are for storing, organizing, and managing information. Think of them as the filing cabinet in your office, or even your brain.

Notion* — 🧡 Love It

Notion is beautifully & visually simple, very flexible, and great for anything where the visual layout of information matters. I use it to house internal resources, external-facing resource pages (sharable with students & members, etc), and anything that needs a custom page layout or embedded content. It's not a great spreadsheet replacement — think of it as a pretty, flexible wiki. Fair warning: Notion starts with a blank page, and that blank page syndrome is real. If you're not someone who enjoys building systems from scratch, the setup process might actually break you. 😂 But for nerds who love tinkering with data & systems, it's super fun to use for the right reasons.

Airtable* — 🧡 Love It

If Notion is the pretty one, Airtable is the more powerful one. Numbers, formulas, dates, automations, linked records — it does things Notion simply can't do at all, or can't do as well. I use it to manage Club member data, monthly call schedules, onboarding forms, support and audit requests, surveys, and more. It'll eventually house my lead inquiry management system too, which I'm actively building out. Airtable beats Notion at almost everything except visual page design. Both have a place in my stack, but for different reasons.

My honest comparison:

Neither Notion nor Airtable is a great dedicated project management tool — you can technically do task management in both, but you'd be building the system for it yourself and it won't feel as intuitive as a dedicated PM tool. Use ClickUp, Asana, or Trello, etc. for tasks. Use these for data management. Don't understand the difference? Airtable guru, Ashley from Systems Over Stress builds something in both, side by side, in this video, to show you the differences! She's not a fan of Notion, obviously, but it's a side-by-side comparison for data management.

Digital Products

Digital Product Delivery & Checkout

If you sell digital products — courses, templates, workshops, anything downloadable — you need a way to handle checkout, delivery, and access. Here's what I've tried, used, chosen, and why.

ThriveCart* — 🧡 Love It

I purchased ThriveCart with a one-time payment in 2021 and it handles all of my digital product checkouts and course delivery for shop templates. It's significantly more powerful than anything Squarespace offers natively for this purpose, and the one-time payment model made it an easy decision at the time. It houses my courses, tutorials for software templates I sell in the shop, and manages the actual product listing, and processes the payments with both Stripe & PayPal, but doesn't take their own cut of the payment (only Stripe or PayPal take their cut).

Important caveat worth knowing: ThriveCart has since introduced recurring payment options for some of their features, so whether it remains a lifetime payment for new customers depends on the plan and features you choose. Verify current pricing before assuming it's still a one-time deal.

Circle* — 🧡 Love It

My community —the Club— is hosted on Circle, and has been since it launched in 2023. I love it because it feels most like Facebook, which means members adapt to it quickly without a super steep learning curve. That matters more than most platform features when you're trying to build an active community. It's pricey though, and the plan I started on no longer appears to be available to new members, so factor current pricing into your decision & whatever you charge for your members. It's totally worth a higher price for the right community builder, just go in with eyes open on your own expenses to manage it.

ThriveAcademy — 🤫 Coming Soon!

ThriveCart's upcoming community & (new) course hosting platform (launching later in 2026), will compete directly with Circle, Skool, Podia, Thinkific, and other community + courses tools. When I get access to it, I'll test it before making a decision; definitely keeping an eye on it — especially given the existing ThriveCart integration in my stack, but I honestly don't expect it to 'feel' like Circle does, and that ease-of-use goes a long way.

Other options I researched or tried:

MightyNetworks (tried it, didn't love it), Skool, Podia, Kajabi, Thinkific, Heartbeat (researched heavily, almost pulled the trigger, but decided on Circle). I only mention these because because they come up a lot and I want to be transparent that I looked at the landscape before committing, but haven't tried them all myself. Some are more expensive than others, and all of them have slightly different features, and wildly different UIs, so check them out & decide for yourself!

Checklist: Create Your Full Tech Stack

If you made it this far —first of all–– hi 👋🏻 you're my people. 😄

Below is a list of all of these tools covered in this post, organized by category and rated. You can expand any category to browse, or "Expand all" if you want to see everything at once.

You can save a shortlist of tools you're considering! To do that, check the box next to any tool and it'll get added to the selection panel at the bottom. From there you can write in the current plan rate for each one to see a running total of what it'd cost, and copy that whole list to your clipboard to paste & save it somewhere —in your notes app, ClickUp task, Google Doc, wherever you plan your business stuff!

A couple of things worth knowing before you dig in:

• Links marked "Affiliate link" may earn me a small commission if you sign up after clicking there, — but at no extra cost to you, it just helps me fund these long-ass deep dives! Tools marked "Gifted" were provided free in exchange for an honest review, with zero editorial input from the company. And anything marked "Coming soon" means I'm actively testing it and a full review is likely on the way.

• This tool does NOT save your input, and there’s no analytics or anything, so results are private to you, and no email is required to get your results.

So… hi. It's been a minute. 🤭

I'm not going to act like this was a planned sabbatical. I didn't send a "see you in spring" email and peace out gracefully. I just… went quiet — well, not entirely, but mostly. The blog went dark after September 8th, and my YouTube channel along with it. The only thing I managed to squeak out since then was a phishing scam warning in February, which, not exactly the triumphant return content I had in mind. 😂

And if you noticed the silence & wondered where I've been —hi. I see you! Thank you for still being here!

Here's what happened

Last fall burned me out; I felt it coming, and I was still caught off guard when it happened. 😂 🤦🏻‍♀️ Back-to-back things from August to December, including re-recording my entire Ultimate Client Portal System course right before Black Friday sales usually happen, and then planning for a 2-week vacation over Christmas where we were traveling and I'd be totally out of the office... It was a lot.

After we got back from Christmas vacation & visiting our families, we quickly realized Luna needed a vet checkup, after finding a few new lumps & bumps that made me nervous.

Within a week of that checkup, Luna was diagnosed with Stage 3 Lymphoma. If you've seen my YouTube videos or hung out with me on our monthly Club calls, or Paige Brunton's monthly student Q&A calls (she's a fellow Squarespace educator & I co-lead those with her every month), you already know Luna — she's usually somewhere in the background, sleeping or doing her thing, completely unbothered by whatever I'm trying to record. 🐾

We caught it fairly quickly, so we have a lot of different treatment options and we jumped on them. She's been doing chemo since February, which sounds scarier than it actually is for dogs — the side effects are minimal compared to what humans go through, thankfully. The hard part is that the nearest oncology specialist for doggos isn't exactly around the corner, so treatment days basically eat the whole day by the time we make the trip there and back. It's been... a lot of very full weeks. 🥴

So you don't have to ask, in case you're wondering: the realistic prognosis is what it is. Unfortunately the chances of permanent remission are extremely low — somewhere around 5% of dogs stay in remission for the rest of their lives — so we're not pretending otherwise. We're just taking it day by day and soaking up every extra minute we get with her while we can keep her healthy over the next year, and hoping for the best outcome possible, given the situation.

Most of my energy these past few months has gone into the Club — keeping that space running well and being present for the wonderful people inside it — which meant the blog and YouTube quietly took a backseat. Not forever. Just for a while!

Here's the thing about disappearing when you run a one-person show:

• there's no team member to alert people, ie: "Hey, Katelyn's taking an unexpected break from content!" on your behalf.

• there's no out-of-office message on a YouTube channel, either.

• you just… vanish, kind of unexpectedly, if you're unprepared for it (ie: content is not scheduled out further than the next week, lol ––which, it wasn't.)

And then it feels weird. And then it feels weirder the longer it goes. And then at some point you're like "how do I even start again?" because you're no longer in that old schedule/habit — and THAT becomes its own little trap.

So I'm not over-explaining it. I'm not hoping to tickle your guilt-strings. I'm just showing back up as a human, with a life outside of my business, that suddenly got partially in the way. Like I said I would, but with honesty about the 'why' and sharing what I can so that maybe it'll help someone else to know this shit (burnout, overwhelm, life, etc) can truly happen to anyone/everyone sometimes.

By the time November hit, I was running on fumes I didn't even realize were fumes until the tank was already empty.

Burnout is such a sneaky thing. It's not always the dramatic collapse. Sometimes it's just… the frog in the slowly boiling water suddenly going, "Oh! Oh no.... This is bad." And by then, you're already cooked. 😂

I spent most of January doing what I probably should've been doing in December: actually resting. Taking care of my husband while he was sick. Watching Luna for signs of anything serious while we waited for her appointment to arrive. Catching up on the literal mountain of notifications that had piled up while I was in survival mode & then away on vacay. Basically, being a person, not a content machine.

Not exactly the "new year, new me" energy. 🤭

My takeaway from all of this

A longtime client —someone I've worked with since 2020— mentioned in January that a friend of hers does all her annual planning in January instead of December. On purpose.

• Because December is for the holidays, the family stuff, the chaos of travel, gift-giving if you participate in that, holiday sales, and rest when/where you can get it.

• January is when you actually have the headspace to think clearly again.

I almost laughed out loud because it was so obvious and yet I'd never once considered doing that! My clients already know I take December off from client work, and as she told me this strategy of her friend’s, I realized that now January is going on that list for me too — each “off-time” scheduled for very different reasons, because I’d just experienced what life can be like without scheduled breaks (even when you LOVE your work).

The clarity I kept chasing in January didn't show up until February, and then Luna got smacked with the cancer diagnosis, plus I was also summoned for jury duty (with multiple draw dates over Q1 this year), and oh––did I mention I got RIDICULOUSLY sick while we were on vacation? I was coughing for WEEKS.

The fog of burnout, overwhelm, and life’s general BS doesn't lift on anyone's schedule but its own. So, no New Year's resolutions this time, no annual review or word of the year, and no "here are my goals for 2026" accountability post. But I'm genuinely okay with that. 😂

The in-between isn't wasted time. For me, it's been the pause before things click back into place as I pivot and adapt to my new schedule and focus-levels.

What's coming this year 👀

Okay. The fun part —because a LOT has actually been happening behind the scenes— and even more is coming! So let me catch you up. 😃

First, what's already done that you may have missed:

• I've been quietly updating old blog posts that needed a serious overhaul — a whole category of them just got fully edited and refreshed, and they're so much better now. If you've ever searched my blog for email marketing content, go take another look. 😏

• I've also re-recorded about 80% of my Ultimate Client Portal System course in November, and have added 10+ new updates this month alone! 😮‍💨 If you're already a student, you can see exactly what's been updated right here. It's getting better & better with time, thanks to your feedback! And heads up, the price is going up this summer. So if it's been on your radar, keep your eyes open for a sale before that happens. 👀

• I've also been slowly doing a deep dive, optimizing the SEO on important pages of my website — working through the updates that are already making a difference! Thanks to SEOSpace*!

• And I've been showing up every single week inside the Club with fresh Monday Mindset posts for my members.

So yeah. A lot has been going on, even when it didn't look like it from the outside! I've still been here, replying to blog post & YouTube comments, and hanging out in my inbox and in the Club too.

Next: what's coming up

New blog posts and videos are back on a regular schedule — starting with this one, obviously. 😄 Topics on the horizon include website platform comparisons, client feedback tools, quiz funnels for your design business, and more. Stuff that's actually useful!

Speaking of what's coming soon — on April 14th, I'm co-hosting a free workshop with my friend and fellow designer Kadie Smith that you're not going to want to miss! More details on that soon, but mark your calendar now, and join Freeloaders in the Club so you don't miss that announcement where you can add the event to your calendar!

And later this spring, Diane Whiddon and I will be releasing our annual web design financial trends report — compiled from survey submissions we're collecting right now (more on that in a sec 👇). That report is genuinely useful data for solo designers trying to figure out what everyone else is charging, spending, and struggling with. Keep an eye out for when it drops.

I'm not trying to flood you with everything at once. My goal is one solid, useful thing at a time — not a panic-posting firehose just to prove I'm back. 🤣 I'm just excited to dig back in & get back to work!

The favor: pretty please, take our survey! 🙏

We need your responses!

It's a small one, I promise — and honestly, it's for all of us. Inquiring minds want to know what's actually happening in the web design world right now, and I'm just as curious as you are.

My friend and fellow designer Diane Whiddon, of Sway Rise Creative, and I are running our annual web design financial trends survey, and we need more responses!

Last year we hit 151 submissions, which gave us enough data to actually say something meaningful about what designers are charging, what tools they're using, what's working. This year we wanted more — because more data means a better, more useful report for everyone in the community.

It's anonymous. It takes about 5-7 minutes, and we're not using it as a marketing tactic to build our lists. Anonymous means you can submit without us knowing who you are, if you choose!

The results help web designers understand the bigger picture of what's actually happening out there — the stuff you'd normally only know if you had a very chatty designer friend group with no filter. LOL

If you've got a few minutes and a willingness to help your fellow designers —or a curiosity to see what's happening in other people's businesses since last year— seriously, please take this survey!

Thanks for sticking around

Whether you've been here for years & watching from the sidelines, or you stumbled across this post hunting for Squarespace tips — hi, welcome, I'm glad you're here & I hope ya stick around for the fun!

This space is coming back to life after a much-needed break, and I'm doing this at a pace that's more sustainable, with content that's actually worth our time. 😊

See you in the next one! 💙

If you're reading this, you may have received a suspicious email claiming to be from me or my business, Launch the Damn Thing®.

Or, if you're a fellow designer, your clients might be getting similar emails pretending to be from you.

I'm writing this post to:

1. Warn my clients about ongoing phishing attempts

2. Help fellow designers protect their own clients

3. Create a central place to track updates and share information

What's happening in this scam?

Starting in late November 2025, for me, multiple clients began forwarding me suspicious emails that appeared to come from my business. These emails claimed their Squarespace websites needed urgent "compliance audits," "security reviews," or updates to meet new accessibility standards.

Here's the problem: I never sent those emails.

Since then, I've received reports from multiple clients about these phishing attempts, and the scammers have changed their tactics several times, using different email addresses, languages, and messaging strategies.

But this isn't just happening to me.

Squarespace has confirmed that scammers are impersonating legitimate web design professionals across their Circle partner program, targeting clients who have previously worked with designers. Squarespace's security team has investigated and found no evidence of a security breach affecting Squarespace or its partners. These scammers are likely just using bots to find publicly available information contact clients.

It’s not just Squarespace users & designers being targeted.

Meaning, it’s platform-agnostic. These scammers are impersonating web designers who use basically any website platform, including WordPress and Showit, too.

For my awesome clients: how to spot a fake email

Basic red-flags:

• I never send an invoice that doesn't also have a service agreement attached to the initial invoice payment.

• We'll almost always meet face-to-face on video first to discuss the work prior to working together, OR you've reached out to me directly on your own, OR you've booked a service package directly through the options in this official client portal (which I began using in late 2024).

❌ It's NOT from me if:

• The email address doesn't end in @launchthedamnthing.com — These scammers have used Gmail addresses like info.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com or katelyn.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com (note the Gmail domain)

• The email asks you to reply "YES" to proceed — I would never ask you to respond this way for services.

• It mentions urgent compliance deadlines or threats — Squarespace is not conducting mandatory audits that could suspend your website, and if there’s an issue that involves suspension they’d contact the website owner directly from @squarespace.com

• Sending an Upwork or Fiverr link – I don’t use freelancer platforms, so these & other platforms like them will never be part of our booking process.

• It involves a phone call of any kind – I haven’t contacted my clients via phone in almost 10 years, and have no plans to start again.

• It looks/sounds/feels like a form letter – Only in very rare circumstances do I send the same email to a mass group of clients & when I do, it won’t look like the examples shared below.

• It's missing my identifiably charm & personality — If it doesn't sound like me, uses too few emojis/GIFs, or lacks exclamation points... it's probably not me! 😂

✅ It IS from me if:

• The email comes from an official @launchthedamnthing.com address, AND 👇🏼

• We've discussed the project via video call first — I almost always speak with clients via video before any money is exchanged, or you’ve booked the service yourself from emails to me, requesting help, or from my client portal, AND 👇🏼

• It sounds like me — Hopefully you know my voice and style by now! 🤞🏻

Can scammers fake my email address?

Short answer: Yes, they can, but your email provider will usually catch it.

While it's technically possible for scammers to make an email appear to come from my real @launchthedamnthing.com address, most email providers (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) have security measures that flag these fake emails.

If you receive an email that looks like it's from me:

1. Check for warning banners — Gmail and Outlook usually show warnings like "This message may not be from who it claims to be" if something's suspicious

2. Look closely at the sender — Click on my name/email to see the full details and any security warnings

3. Trust your gut — If something feels off or urgent, it probably is

4. Verify through another channel you’ve used with me in the past — Message me through the client portal, DM me on social media, or email me directly from an old thread to verify it before taking any action

The golden rule: If you receive ANY email from me requesting payment, urgent action, or asking you to reply "YES" to proceed—even if it looks legitimate—please reach out to me through a separate channel (message, DM, or an email you initiate) to verify before doing anything.

Your email provider is working to protect you, but a quick double-check never hurts! 💛

Examples of real phishing emails reported to me

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The content from those screenshots is pasted below into this dropdown accordion:

• SUBJECT: Action Required: Prevent Store Downtime & Compliance Issues

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: Katelyn Dekle <katelyn.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com>
  Date: Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 3:08 PM
  Subject: Action Required: Prevent Store Downtime & Compliance Issues
  To: <CLIENT EMAIL>

  
  Hi CLIENT NAME,

  This is Katelyn, I hope you’re doing well.

  I wanted to reach out as there have been recent Squarespace platform updates that are impacting many site owners. As part of these changes, a number of websites have been flagged or temporarily gone offline due to misaligned technical settings, outdated configurations, or missing SEO and compliance elements.

  Because we’ve collaborated before, I’d like to offer you a complimentary website audit. It’s a straightforward review to ensure your site is technically sound and fully aligned with current platform and SEO best practices, helping to prevent any potential visibility or performance issues.

  If everything is already in good shape, you’ll have peace of mind knowing the site is fully aligned. If anything needs attention, I’ll clearly outline the findings so you can decide how you’d like to proceed.

  There’s no cost or obligation. If you’d like me to go ahead, simply reply “YES”, and I’ll get started.

  Kind regards,
  Katelyn Dekle
  Founder, Launch the Damn Thing

  https://launchthedamnthing.com/https://launchthedamnthing.com/

• SUBJECT – Urgent Update Squarespace EAA/AAA/AAT Compliance Required by 2026

  From: Launch Damnthing <info.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com>
  Date: Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 11:36 AM
  Subject: Urgent Update Squarespace EAA/AAA/AAT Compliance Required by 2026

  Hello,

  This is Launch the DamnThing we previously collaborated on your Squarespace website, and I'm reaching out to ensure your site stays compliant and secure.

  Squarespace has recently begun conducting compliance reviews across all hosted websites. These reviews include checks on security configurations and license verifications. Sites that do not meet the updated standards risk restricted access or even temporary suspension.

  Squarespace is aligning with the European Accessibility Act (EAA), American Accessibility Act (AAA), and Australian Accessibility Terms (AAT). These standards must be met by February 12, 2026, with existing content updated by June 20, 2026.

  Squarespace may now require additional updates.To help you stay protected, I can perform a quick compliance audit to verify that your site meets all current requirements.

  If you'd like me to proceed, simply reply "YES," and I'll start the audit right away.

  Warm regards,
  Launch the Damn Thing
  Squarespace Partner | Website Security Specialist

• SUBJECT – Oggetto: From Launch the damn thing: Important update for your Squarespace site

  Inizio messaggio inoltrato (using Italian this time):

  Da: Katelyn Dekle <hello.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com>
  Data: 4 dicembre 2025 alle ore 23:53:30 CET
  Oggetto: From Launch the damn thing: Important update for your Squarespace site

  Hi,

  This is Katelyn. We worked together on your Squarespace site. I want to help you stay ahead of a new platform check that now includes your robots.txt file.

  Squarespace is reviewing every site for security settings, license validation, and robots.txt accuracy.

  Sites that fail these checks can face restrictions or removal without notice.

  Your current robots.txt file shows all paths blocked. This hurts your site performance because search engines cannot index your pages. Robots.txt guides crawlers, protects sensitive paths, and supports healthy traffic. When the file blocks everything, your visibility drops.

  Your previous setup may no longer match the latest requirements. Squarespace also added new rules that affect how robots.txt should work.

  I can run a fast robots.txt and security audit. This confirms your file is valid, your site is verified, and your settings match current standards. This reduces the chance of downtime and keeps your site accessible.

  Reply YES and I will begin the audit.

  Best,
  Katelyn
  Squarespace Partner | Website Security Specialist

• SUBJECT – Oggetto: Re: Important: Review Needed to Keep Your Squarespace Site

  Inizio messaggio inoltrato (using Italian this time):

  Da: Launch Damnthing <info.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com>
  Data: 2 dicembre 2025 alle ore 02:37:01 CET
  Oggetto: Re: Important: Review Needed to Keep Your Squarespace Site Secure

  Hi,

  i Just followed up about your squarespace site recent platform updates are affecting older sites, and I've seen cases where pages or features start breaking if updates aren't done in time.To prevent any issues, I recommend completing your site audit and updates before Dec 5. This keeps everything compliant, secure, and running smoothly with the latest squarespace standards.Would you like me to get started today so we can have everything ready before the deadline?

  If you'd like me to proceed, simply reply "YES," and I'll start the audit right away.

  Warm regards,
  Launch the Damn Thing
  Squarespace Partner | Website Security Specialist

  –––––

  On Sun, Nov 30,2025 at 4:54 AM Launch Damnthing <info.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com> wrote:

  Hello,

  This is Launch the Damn Thing we previously collaborated on your Squarespace website, and I'm reaching out to ensure your site stays compliant and secure.

  Squarespace has recently begun conducting compliance reviews across all hosted websites. These reviews include checks on security configurations and license verifications. Sites that do not meet the updated standards risk restricted access or even temporary suspension.

  Since our last project, some settings may have changed, or Squarespace may now require additional updates. To help you stay protected, I can perform a quick compliance audit to verify that your site meets all current requirements.

  If you'd like me to proceed, simply reply "YES," and I'll start the audit right away.

  Warm regards,
  Launch the Damn Thing
  Squarespace Partner | Website Security Specialist

• SUBJECT – Re: Important: Review Needed to Keep Your Squarespace Site Secure

  From: Launch Damnthing <info.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com>
  Date: Mon, Dec 1, 2025 at 8:40 PM
  Subject: Re: Important: Review Needed to Keep Your Squarespace Site Secure

  Hi,

  i Just followed up about your squarespace site recent platform updates are affecting older sites, and I've seen cases where pages or features start breaking if updates aren't done in time.To prevent any issues, I recommend completing your site audit and updates before Dec 5. This keeps everything compliant, secure, and running smoothly with the latest squarespace standards.Would you like me to get started today so we can have everything ready before the deadline?

  If you'd like me to proceed, simply reply "YES," and I'll start the audit right away.

  Warm regards,
  Launch the Damn Thing
  Squarespace Partner | Website Security Specialist

  –––––

  On Sun, Nov 30, 2025 at 4:53 AM Launch Damnthing <info.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com> wrote:

  Hello,

  This is Launch the Damn Thing we previously collaborated on your Squarespace website, and I'm reaching out to ensure your site stays compliant and secure.

  Squarespace has recently begun conducting compliance reviews across all hosted websites. These reviews include checks on security configurations and license verifications. Sites that do not meet the updated standards risk restricted access or even temporary suspension.

  Since our last project, some settings may have changed, or Squarespace may now require additional updates. To help you stay protected, I can perform a quick compliance audit to verify that your site meets all current requirements.

  If you'd like me to proceed, simply reply "YES," and I'II start the audit right away.

  Warm regards,
  Launch the Damn Thing
  Squarespace Partner | Website Security Specialist

• SUBJECT – Important: Review Needed to Keep Your Squarespace Site Secure

  From: Launch Damnthing < info.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com>
  Date: Sun, Nov 30, 2025 at 11:39 AM
  Subject: Important: Review Needed to Keep Your Squarespace Site Secure

  Hello,

  This is Launch the Damn Thing we previously collaborated on your Squarespace website, and I'm reaching out to ensure your site stays compliant and secure.

  Squarespace has recently begun conducting compliance reviews across all hosted websites. These reviews clude checks on security configurations and license verifications. Sites that do not meet the updated standards risk restricted access or even temporary suspension.

  Since our last project, some settings may have changed, or Squarespace may now require additional updates. To help you stay protected, I can perform a quick compliance audit to verify that your site meets all current requirements.

  If you'd like me to proceed, simply reply "YES," and I'II start the audit right away.

  Warm regards,
  Launch the Damn Thing
  Squarespace Partner | Website Security Specialist

Email addresses used by scammers mimicking me:

• info.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com

• hello.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com

• katelyn.launchthedamnthing@gmail.com

Common subject lines:

• “Action Required: Prevent Store Downtime & Compliance Issues”

• "Urgent Update Squarespace EAA/AAA/AAT Compliance Required by 2026"

• “Important: Review Needed to Keep Your Squarespace Site”

• “From Launch the damn thing: Important update for your Squarespace site”

Common claims made:

• "We previously collaborated on your Squarespace website"

• "Squarespace has recently begun conducting compliance reviews"

• "Sites that do not meet the updated standards risk restricted access or temporary suspension"

• References to European Accessibility Act (EAA), American Accessibility Act (AAA), and Australian Accessibility Terms (AAT)

• Deadlines like "February 12, 2026" or "June 20, 2026"

• "Simply reply 'YES' and I'll start the audit right away"

• Claims about being a "Squarespace Partner" or "Website Security Specialist"

What should you do if you receive one?

If you're my client:

1. Don't panic — Your website is fine. Nothing is wrong, and no action is required.

2. Don't reply, click links, or agree to any services — These are scams designed to steal money or access to your accounts

3. Report it as phishing/spam — Use your email provider's reporting feature:

   • For Gmail addresses: Report as phishing through Google

   • For other providers: Use your email client's spam/phishing report feature

4. Report it to Squarespace — Forward phishing emails to reportphishing@squarespace-security.com

5. Forward it to me — Send it to hi@launchthedamnthing.com so I can track patterns and add updates to this post

6. Delete it — Once reported, trash it

If you're unsure whether an email is legitimate:

Please reach out to me directly!

Send me a message in our client portal, DM on social media, a DM in my community if you’re a member, or forward the email to me. I'd much rather you double-check with me than fall for a scam. Even if you're not currently a client, please always feel free to verify!

Protect your account going forward:

While this scam does NOT involve a Squarespace breach, it's always a good time to review your security practices:

• Use strong, unique passwords — Squarespace's password security tips

• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) — How to set up 2FA on Squarespace

• Review security best practices — Squarespace's complete security guide

• Learn to identify legitimate Squarespace emails — How to verify if an email is really from Squarespace

For my fellow designers: this could affect you too!

If you're a website designer reading this (this scam is expanding to other platforms like Showit, WordPress, etc), you may be targeted next.

ℹ️ What we know:

• Squarespace confirmed no breach — Their security team investigated and found no evidence of platform or vendor breaches

• Scammers are impersonating Circle partners & web designers in general — They're offering "critical website updates" for a fee and posing as designers who previously worked with the clients

• Scammers are likely using public information — They're probably going through designer portfolios and reaching out to clients they find via basic Google searches

• It's not just Squarespace anymore — Reports suggest Showit & WordPress designers, as well as other platform specialists, are being targeted too

• A LOT of other designers (& our clients) have already been affected — You're not alone if this is happening to you

• Squarespace & Showit are both taking action — Squarespace specifically is sending notifications to users with admin permissions, posting in their public forums, and discussing internal product changes to improve security. I know Showit is also aware & asking you to let them know if you know this is happening to your clients.

✅ What you can do:

1. Warn your clients proactively — Don't wait until they get an email. Send a heads-up now.

2. Use my template — I've shared an email template below that you can adapt for your own clients

3. Document everything — Keep records of phishing attempts and report them to your platform's security team

4. Reporting to Squarespace — Forward any phishing emails to reportphishing@squarespace-security.com

   • Or your whatever platform you build websites on

5. Share this post — Help spread awareness in your designer communities

6. Report attempts in the UK to: reportfraud.police.uk

7. Monitor the official forums — Keep an eye on Squarespace’s Circle Forum thread announcements & updates:

   • this Squarespace's Circle Forum thread, Phishing email impersonating me

   • this official announcement thread in the forum: Update on ongoing scam affecting Circle Partner Clients

❌ What you shouldn’t do: (my opinion)

1. Don’t email the phisher/scammer directly by sending a cease & desist, etc request, because this gifts them:

   • your email address,

   • your real email signature,

   • your tone of voice used in emails,

   • how you sign off / typical salutation, and

   • any other meta data you may not realize hides inside your emails, that they can use to further replicate you & pretend to be you

Email template for your clients

Feel free to copy, edit or adapt, and send this to your own clients. Let's protect each other!

Hi everyone!

I'm popping into your inbox with a quick but important heads-up.

This week, several web designers (including myself) have had clients receive phishing emails impersonating us. These messages pretend to be from [YOUR BUSINESS NAME] and claim your [PLATFORM] website needs a "compliance audit," "urgent update," or "security review." Even if the scammer's wording doesn't perfectly match the kind of work we did together, I want you to know what's going on.

📣 I want to be crystal clear:

Those emails are not from me. They're scams, spam, or phishing attempts.

They're currently sending from Gmail addresses or other fake domains that I don't own or manage, and the senders are not associated with my business in any way.

If the email feels off or doesn't sound like me... it's definitely not from me!

[PLATFORM] is already aware of this impersonation issue — several designers have had their clients contacted with emails like these. [Platform]'s security team has investigated and confirmed that there is no evidence of any breach on their platform or with any third-party vendors or partners. These scammers are likely just going through portfolios and reaching out to whoever they can find online via public information.

✅ What you should do if you get an email like this:

• Please report the sender's email address as phishing/spam inside your Gmail/Outlook/etc.

• Please ignore and delete any email claiming to be from me that is not sent from an address ending in @[YOURDOMAIN].com

• Do not reply, click links, or agree to any audits/fees/updates

• Forward it to me at [YOUR EMAIL] so I can track and report it
  

💬 Those scam emails typically claim things like:

• I "worked on your website previously" (true for many of you, which is why the scammer is using that angle)

• [Platform] is doing "mandatory compliance reviews" (they are not)

• Your site could lose access unless you respond (you will not)

• You should reply "YES" so I can "start the audit" (I would never do this)
  

⛔️ None of that is real or legitimate.

[Platform] does not run audits like that, and I don't offer surprise compliance checks. If your site ever actually needs updates, I would contact you directly using my official email address: [YOUR EMAIL] . [Add your own communication preferences here.]

🛡️ You're safe — no action is needed.

Nothing is wrong with your website and nothing is required from you. This is someone trying to sound technical and urgent just to scare people into responding.

If you ever receive something suspicious (or just… weird), please feel free to forward it to me anytime. Better safe than sorry, and I'd much rather confirm something is fake than have you second-guess it!

Thanks so much for taking a moment to read this — and for being one of the people I enjoy hearing from in my inbox! 💛

[YOUR NAME]

🔄 Updates & new reports

I'll be updating this post as new phishing attempts are reported. If you receive a suspicious email you want to share, please:

• Comment below with details (you can share the sender's email address, subject line, or general content, but PLEASE do not include the recipient’s email address)

• Email or DM me directly at hi@launchthedamnthing.com

• Report it to Squarespace at reportphishing@squarespace-security.com (or other platforms, where applicable)

• Report it to your email provider as phishing/spam

Timeline of known phishing attempts for LTDT:

(oldest to newest)

• October 10, 2025 — Squarespace sent official announcement to Circle partners about the scam

• November 30, 2025 — First report received from one of my clients

• Early December 2025 — Three more clients reported four separate emails & scammers began using client’s language in subject lines for my international clients

• December 2025 — Squarespace sent broader phishing warning to all customers

• February 11, 2026 — New attempt using references to Acts/laws in new scare tactics

• March 12, 2026 –– new attempt using ‘Squarespace platform updates’ claiming it’ll impact ‘down time’

• March 16, 2026 –– new attempt using ‘Squarespace platform updates’ claiming it’ll impact ‘down time’

🔗 Official Resources & Links

Report phishing:

• Squarespace Security Team: reportphishing@squarespace-security.com

• Report Gmail phishing: Google's phishing report guide

Squarespace official announcements:

• Circle Forum Discussion: Phishing email impersonating Circle partners

• Official Squarespace Update: Update on ongoing scam affecting Circle partner clients

Squarespace security resources:

• Security Best Practices: Squarespace security tips

• Strong Passwords Guide: Password security

• Two-Factor Authentication: How to enable 2FA

• Verify Squarespace Emails: Is this email really from Squarespace?

💬 Questions or concerns?

If you have ANY questions about whether an email is legitimate, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm here to help, and I'd rather answer a hundred "Is this real?" messages than have one person fall for a scam.

💬 Comments & reports

Have you received a phishing email?
Share details in a comment below to help others spot the scam!

Your website is gorgeous. Your content is on point. But if your images are bloated megabyte monsters, you're basically asking visitors to go out & grab a coffee while they wait for your pages to load.

And spoiler alert: they won't wait around.

I see this a lot with both DIY sites, editing templates, or even business owners updating custom websites after the site launches during maintenance.

Y'all will spend hours perfecting the site design or edits, then you upload massive 5+MB images straight from Unsplash (or worse –your originals from Lightroom or Photoshop!) without a second thought. 😬

But I'm not here to shame you. 😂

I'm here to help you understand why this matters and teach you how to fix this shit once and for all!

Part 1: How to Optimize Images BEFORE Uploading to Your Website (easy!)

PART 1

Part 2: How to Optimize Images AFTER Uploading to Your Website (hard)

PART 2

Why large images actually hurt your website traffic

Let's talk numbers. I'll make it quick ––promise!

ℹ️ Helpful reference tip:
Mbps = megabits per second, which is how internet speed is measured
Megabits ≠ megabytes → there are 8 megabits in 1 megabyte, so internet speeds are actually slower than they sound!

According to Speedtest.net's Global Index, the average global internet speed is around 90 Mbps for broadband and 48 Mbps for mobile. But let's get geeky for a second—fiber users might see 200+ Mbps, cable typically runs 50-100 Mbps, DSL maxes out around 25 Mbps, and standard Dish or DirectTV satellite internet? Often just 12-25 Mbps. Mobile varies wildly from 10 Mbps (3G areas) to 100+ Mbps (5G).

So here's the ugly truth: when someone visits your website, their browser has to download every single image & piece of content on that page. If you've got 20 images at 5MB each, that's 100MB (or 100,000 KB) of data their device needs to process—and that's just the images, not counting all your other content on the page!

To put this into perspective, here's exactly how long those massive images will take to load on different connection types:

Loading times are for images only—doesn't include other page content like text, CSS, or scripts.

But here's the kicker: according to StatCounter, about 59% of all web browsing happens on mobile devices. That means the majority of your visitors are experiencing those slower mobile speeds, making that 17+ second load time a reality for way too many people hitting your site ––if it has those larger images!

The result is pages that may load slower than dial-up internet circa 1999. 😬 And we all know how patient people are these days—so they're not gonna stick around for that. 🫠

Google's been pretty clear about this too—page speed is a ranking factor that's considered when they decide where in search results your site ranks for your keywords and slower sites get buried in search results.

SOURCES:

• https://www.speedtest.net/global-index

• https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet

Those chunky images aren't just annoying your visitors; they're also actively hurting your SEO.

Doesn’t Squarespace convert these images for us?

This is a great question ––and the answer is NO. Not yet. I asked Squarespace Support about this exact thing because I was under the same impression you are if you’re asking this question, that their new conversion process released this summer (2025) intended to help us convert images from JPG or PNG to WebP would do the job for us... but that is not the case.

As of fall 2025, the conversion is still new & Squarespace Support told me specifically on August 26, 2025:

I asked: "Can you tell me whether the new WebP feature released might help with this? (ie: is Sqsp resizing &/or converting existing images for us now that WebP is available?)

They said: "So the WebP format helps to reduce loading time within Squarespace sites, and it may help out, but it doesn't adjust the file size of it, it just converts it. I'll share our guide for reference: https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/206542517-Formatting-images-for-display-on-the-web#h_01JZQN7QNZ54XGKX62402VC846"

And the Help Center article they shared, says:

“When you upload an image to Squarespace, we convert it to the WebP format and display that version in your site content. The original file remains in your asset library, and any edits made to the file will apply to any WebP versions on your site. You can also upload WebP files directly to your site.”

So at least for now (until that changes) they ARE NOT also resizing or optimizing the image files, only converting them.

As a result, the converted WebP file size may still be too large (larger than recommended to use on websites) if the original file size was huge to start with, because some file size reduction may occur during the conversion, but it won't change the dimensions of the image itself, which is part of what reduces the file size for the image. So if the image was already too large to start with, then this process is still a must!! 🫠

Example: Converted vs Optimized Images

• I downloaded a random horizontal/landscape image from Unsplash which downloaded at 3358 pixels wide by  2239 pixels high.

• I tried 3 different methods to optimize it, to see which produced the best result:

  • 1️⃣ converted it from JPG to WebP with PixResize, without changing the dimensions, and keeping the quality at 100% = resulting file was LARGER than the original

  • 2️⃣ converted it from JPG to WebP with PixResize, without changing the dimensions, and adjusting the quality to 80% = resulting file was SMALLER than the original, but still above recommended file size

  • 3️⃣ converted it from JPG to WebP with PixResize, changed the width to 2000px, and adjusted the quality to 80% = resulting file was under recommended file size limit for web

Key takeaway: Converting to WebP alone isn't enough—you need to optimize quality AND dimensions for the best results.
Source: Images in this example were processed with PixResize.

Thankfully…

Squarespace Now Supports WebP Images (finally!)

This probably flew under the radar for a lot of people: Squarespace recently updated their asset library to support WebP files. This is actually a huge deal, but most people are still uploading JPEGs and PNGs like it's 2015, but the internet has better file formats now that are optimized specifically for web-use to help deal with this quality vs speed issue I just mentioned. 👆🏼

Before this update, you were stuck with using:

1. JPEGs (decent compression, no transparency)

2. PNGs (great quality, but often larger file sizes)

3. GIFs (fine for animations, terrible for everything else)

⚡️ Squarespace Circle Members:

Please go upvote this feature request to make it easier for us to manage our asset library efficiently, and replace oversized images without creating broken or missing images throughout our sites!

Now you can upload WebP files, which are basically the Swiss Army knife of image formats. They're smaller than JPEGs, support transparency like PNGs, and can even handle animation like GIFs. It gives you all the benefits with none of the drawbacks.

Where it gets tricky, is for anyone with an existing website, because you may be sitting on a library full of oversized images that need some serious intervention ––and unfortunately (at least not on Squarespace) the process of replacing the offenders isn’t simple.

Understanding image file sizes

Kb vs Mb

Okay, so now you understand the digital-gravity of why image sizes matter, but now you need to know what sizes to aim for. Right? What’s good vs bad.

So let’s break it down:

• Kilobytes (KB): 0 - 1,000 KB

• Megabytes (MB): 1,000+ KB

But first, let's get our bearings on the full spectrum of file size terminology, so you understand where website images should fall in the grand scheme of digital storage:

Now that you can see the full picture, here's the tiny sweet spot where website images should live —it's way smaller than you think!

Your goal is to keep every single image under 500KB, but ideally under 250KB.

Squarespace recommends staying under 500KB per image. SEO experts like Henry from SEO Space say 250KB max. I'm team 250KB, especially if you're running an image-heavy site or a larger site like mine with lots of content across the whole thing.

Think about it this way: if you're trying to stay under 250KB but your images on average are 5MB/ea (that's 5,000KB), you're literally 20 times over the recommended limit. It's like showing up to a big dinner with family/friends and bringing along 20 different desserts for just 10 people. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

And just like when you leave that party after taste-testing all of that after eating your meal, you’re gonna pass out from the sugar overload ––and your site’s going to pass out too when it tries to load all that. 🤭

How to check your current image file sizes

On Mac, this is ridiculously easy. Open your image folder, click the view options icon, and turn on "Show item info." You'll see the pixel dimensions right under each image thumbnail.

Want the full details? Right-click any image and select "Get Info" (or press Command+I on your keyboard). This shows you the exact file size & dimensions, etc. If you see anything measured in megabytes, we've got work to do!

Pro tip: when you download stock photos from Unsplash—even through Squarespace's built-in stock library—you're getting large but high-resolution files by default. They're beautiful, sure, but they're also website speed killers.

WebP vs JPEG vs PNG (which format to use & when)

Here’s a quick & easy breakdown of common file formats, and what each of them are good or bad at, for the purposes of your website:

Need more details? Here's a deeper dive into each format:

WebP (new champion)

1. Smallest file sizes while maintaining quality

2. Supports transparent backgrounds

3. Can handle animation

4. Perfect for literally everything

5. Squarespace compatible (finally!)

JPEG (old reliable)

1. Smaller than PNG usually

2. No transparency support

3. Good compression

4. Fine for photos, not great for logos with transparent backgrounds

PNG (quality queen)

1. Excellent quality

2. Supports transparency

3. Often larger file sizes

4. Great for logos and graphics

GIF (animation specialist)

1. almost always huge (2-20mb typically)

2. supports animation and transparency

3. quality is usually terrible

4. only use when you absolutely need animation

THE BOTTOM LINE FOR WEB USE:

Source:

https://caniuse.com/webp

Use WebP whenever possible. It's basically better than everything else, in almost every situation, and with 95% global browser support, you don't need to worry about compatibility.

Optimal image dimensions and file sizes for websites

Here's my current formula for web-optimized images in 2025:

1. Maximum dimension: 2,000 pixels (width OR height, not both)

2. File size: Under 250KB

3. Format: WebP when possible

4. Quality: 80% (the sweet spot for compression vs. quality)

Why 2,000 pixels? It's large enough to look crisp on high-resolution screens but small enough to keep file sizes reasonable, if using WebP file formats.

Going bigger than that is possibly overkill for web use, though background graphics (images used as a background in sections) can be up to 3,000 pixels max (wide or high).

How to bulk optimize images, step-by-step

Manually resizing images one by one is about as fun as watching paint dry, or waiting for water to boil, or your coffee to brew if you have a bad hangover. That's why I'm kind of obsessed with PixResize by Square Stylist—it's free, works in your browser, and can batch process dozens of images in seconds. No account needed to use it.

Skip straight to 15:57 to see the step-by-step process!

How to optimize new images for your website

Step 1: Sort/select images by orientation

Separate your landscape (wider than tall) and portrait (taller than wide) images.

This matters because you'll set different dimensions for the largest edge in each batch.

Step 2: Process landscape images (batch 1)

1. Drag all of your landscape images into PixResize

2. Leave 'Filename Prefix' blank unless you want to rename all your images using whatever you type there

3. Set the width to 2,000 pixels (leave the height blank!)

4. Leave quality at 80% —unless you feel comfortable adjusting

5. Format: choose WebP from the dropdown

6. Keep "maintain aspect ratio" toggled ON

7. Click Process

8. Wait for the green 'success' notification at the bottom (center) of the page

9. Then click Download

Step 3: Process portrait images (batch 2)

1. Drag all of your portrait images into PixResize

2. Set the height to 2,000 pixels (leave the width blank!)

3. Repeat steps 5-9 from above

Step 4: Uncompress the files

1. On a Mac, you can just double-click the .zip file to uncompress it

2. Delete the .zip file once you have the folder with visible files inside (should only take 1-2 seconds after double-clicking the .zip file in step 1!)

3. You'll have 1 .zip file per batch, so repeat for the other .zip file you haven't uncompressed

Step 5: Clean up file names

PixResize adds "processed_" to the beginning of each filename if you left "Filename Prefix" blank. But on a Mac you can bulk rename your files in one go by:

1. Select all the files you want to rename or make changes to

2. Right-click somewhere on that selection

3. Choose "Rename" from the dropdown on the left side of that rename popup

4. Then use the "Replace Text" input field to type "processed_"

5. And in the "Replace with:" input field make sure nothing is there

That fast process will literally 'replace' "processed_" with nothing, removing the addition to the file names all at once.

How to optimize existing oversized images for your website

Already have images uploaded to your website that need fixing?
This process helps you identify and replace oversized images without having to guess which ones are problems:

Step 1: Scan your website with SEOSpace*

1. Use the SEOSpace Chrome extension on the page you want to check (or, if your plan allows, run an audit on the entire site)

2. Go to the page you want to work on, then click the SEOSpace extension icon in your browser

3. Select "Scan without keyword" for a faster general scan, or “Scan with a keyword” for a more in-depth result

4. Wait for the scan to complete and review your suggestions

Step 2: Identify oversized images

1. Click on the "Images" tab in the SEOSpace results

2. Look for images with file sizes over 250 Kb to 500 Kb (anything showing MB or over 1,000 Kb is too big)

3. Note which images show concerning file sizes (like the 2,318KB example from my demo)

Step 3: Download & optimize problem images

1. Select the oversized images you want to fix

2. Click the "Compress and download" button at the bottom of the list of oversized images, or selectively download individually from the “Compress & download” icon on each image

3. SEOSpace will automatically optimize and download those images for you

4. Wait for the download to complete - they will download individually, one at a time, no matter which option you chose (bulk or individual selection)

Step 4: Review optimized files

1. Sort the files by size and review the new file sizes; they should be significantly smaller (like 250 Kb vs 2,318Kb)

2. ⚠️ Notes:

   • SEOSpace downloads these images as a JPEG format during optimization.

   • Since SEOSpace isn’t also converting the images to WebP, any PNGs will lose their transparent backgrounds in this process when converted to JPGs, and will need to be optimized from the original file not in Squarespace or downloaded from SEOSpace, to avoid ‘filling’ in that background color with white or black.

   • If you need transparent backgrounds preserved, use the PixResize method above instead.

Step 5: Replace images in Squarespace

1. Navigate to the specific website page or asset library location where the oversized image lives

2. Remove the old oversized image from its current location on the website page

3. Upload the newly optimized image(s) in its place, to replace the old oversized version(s)

4. Remove the old oversized image from the Asset Library too, so you won’t accidentally re-use it

5. Save your changes and refresh the page to verify the replacement worked

Step 6: Clean up your asset library

1. Search for any original oversized files in your asset library by filename (if you know it)

2. Delete the old versions to prevent accidental reuse

3. Check that deleting them doesn't break other instances where that image was re-used

4. If you find any broken images that you know you’ve fixed, clear your browser’s cache & cookies for the past 24 hours & refresh the page or visit that page in a private/incognito window to double check whether the replacement worked

⭐️ Pro tips:

1. Start with your most important pages (homepage, services, contact) rather than feeling overwhelmed by trying to fix everything as fast as possible.

2. Once you’ve worked through those pages, then check your most high-trafficked pages (pages with the most views or visits)

3. Once you’ve worked through those popular pages, then use your site-audit scan with SEOSpace to check the pages with high or low scores & fix them one page at a time.

4. Remember: this process is more time-consuming than optimizing before upload because you have to go track them down to replace them one-by-one, so use the PixResize method above for all future images to avoid this extra work!
   
   
   

Real Results: 5MB Images Reduced to 180KB

Here’s what this process actually accomplishes:

• Before: 4.9MB image (that's 4,900KB)

• After: 180KB WebP image at 2,000px wide

Same visual quality. Same crisp appearance on your website. But the optimized version loads literally 27 times faster.

Multiply that across every image on your site, and you're talking about the difference between a site that loads in 2 seconds versus 30+ seconds. That's not just a better user experience—that's the difference between keeping visitors and losing them to your competitors.🤯

Best practices for uploading images to Squarespace

Once your images are optimized, uploading them to Squarespace is straightforward, but I do have a few extra tips:

1. Create folders in your asset library to organize your images into related groups (backgrounds, stock photos, blog post images, logos, headshots of me, etc)

2. Drag and drop multiple files at once onto the asset library or use the ‘Upload’ button

3. Don't panic if you see an exclamation mark on the progress icon—refresh the page and your missing images will probably appear, despite the ‘warning’

4. Check the count by selecting one image, then clicking "Select All" to see if the entire group includes everything you just uploaded

Pro tip:
If you want to see file sizes in Squarespace (which are annoyingly hidden), click the three dots next to any image and select "File Details" or double-click on any image in the Asset Library. You'll see dimensions and file size—perfect for confirming your optimization worked, and for getting a larger peek at the image anytime ya want.

Step-by-step guide to optimize your website images

For those of you with an existing library of images that need fixing, here's exactly what you need to do right now:

• Start with SEOSpace* (free or paid plans):
  Scan any page on your Squarespace site with this Chrome extension and it'll show you exactly which images are oversized on that page and where they are to quickly swap them out. Even better? It can compress and download optimized versions for you, so you can replace them manually without guessing which images need help.

• Upgrade to SEOSpace’s* DIY plan for site-wide audits:
  Instead of checking pages one by one, for larger sites you can get a complete overview of your entire website's SEO optimization & health score. You'll see specific recommendations for your actual site instead of generic advice.

• Grab my free cheatsheet:
  It has all the technical specs, recommended tools, and even pre-sized Canva templates to help!

• Start with your homepage:
  Use SEOSpace* to scan your most important &/or most high-traffic pages first—it'll show you exactly which images are slowing things down and help you fix them.

• Replace strategically:
  You don't have to fix everything at once. Use SEOSpace's* features to tackle one section at a time, focusing on your highest-traffic pages first.

• Batch process new uploads:
  For future images, use PixResize to convert and resize in bulk before uploading to prevent the problem from happening again.

• Re-submit your sitemap:
  After you make a bunch of changes, resubmit your sitemap to Google Search Console so it knows how to change your site’s ranking in search engines!
  

SEOSpace* tutorials to help with this process:

At 15:06 I show you how I use SEOSpace to find, download & optimize oversized images

How to use SEOSpace* to find & fix images on your Squarespace website

Skip to 1:16 to see how to submit your Squarespace sitemap to Google Search Console

Sweet Brown said it well:
nobody has time for slow websites!

How image optimization improves SEO & user experience

Fast-loading websites aren't just nice to have—they're actually essential for things like:

1. SEO rankings: Google prioritizes faster websites

2. User experience: Nobody waits for slow pages anymore

3. Conversion rates: Faster sites convert better (less people bailing; more people staying!)

4. Mobile performance: Especially crucial for mobile users

5. Bandwidth costs: Smaller images = lower hosting costs + keeps our website platform’s pricing reasonable

Having a website that loads instantly feels professional, intentional, and best of all ––unnoticed. 😂 In other words, it loads so quickly no one notices the speed & they can focus on your content instead.

It’s like you actually know what you're doing. 😉

5 most common image optimization mistakes

I see these same mistakes over and over:

• Mistake #1: Uploading images straight from the camera or stock sites without any edits, changes, or optimization

• Mistake #2: Thinking "bigger is always better" for image quality ––nope!

• Mistake #3: Using PNG for everything because "it's higher quality"

• Mistake #4: Ignoring file sizes completely and wondering why the site is slow

• Mistake #5: Not taking advantage of WebP format when it’s available

The truth is, most people just don't know this stuff matters.
They focus on design and content (which are important!) but ignore the technical foundation that makes your online-home a fun & useful experience for your audience.

Best free & paid tools for image optimization and resizing

Beyond PixResize, here are the tools that make image optimization painless:

1. SEOSpace*: a Squarespace-specific SEO tool by Henry Purchase, SEO expert

2. PixResize: Free bulk resizing and format conversion

3. Squarespace Asset Library: Now supports WebP (finally!)

4. Canva: it doesn’t have WebP export options yet, but it does have JPG and PNG options (with transparent backgrounds on PNG or GIF), which you can then convert to WebP with PixResize!

5. Mac Preview: Built-in tools for basic resizing and renaming files

The key is to find a tool or workflow process that doesn't make you want to throw your laptop out the window and pull out all your hair. Bulk or batch processing is your friend here ––and getting into the habit of optimizing images before ya put ‘em on your site.

Start optimizing your images:
grab this free resource!

The crazy thing is, the entire process of optimizing & renaming your images for web takes maybe 2-5 minutes total once you know what you're doing and get the hang of it.

It’ll take a bit longer if you’re also finding existing ‘offenders’ (too-large images on your site) but it’s important to do, despite the time it takes, in order to dramatically improve your website's performance, user experience, and search rankings. So it’s always faster to do this before you add images to your site, not after.

But you don't have to figure it out alone. You can grab a copy of the comprehensive cheatsheet that covers everything we talked about today, plus a bunch of stuff we didn't have time for in this post—like specific dimension recommendations for different types of content, pre-sized Canva templates, and a complete resource list of tools.

Grab the free Image & Video Best Practices cheatsheet here
and stop letting oversized images hold your website back.

Now stop reading and go optimize some images! Your website’s better SEO health score is waiting. 🚀😉

Want more website optimization tips?
Check out this post next for a walkthrough of the cheatsheet info!

I get it. The $20-40 monthly rate for software like Dubsado or HoneyBook, or whatever CRM you've been eyeing, can make your wallet cry a little.

When your business is new, spending $20, $40, maybe even $80+ per month for software feels absurd when income is low and your time feels somewhat expansive without leads or clients coming in yet.

I know, because I've been there.
That sticker shock is real & I’ve felt it too.

What nobody tells you is, when you're comparing that software’s price to your current budget of exactly zero dollars: you're already paying way more than any CRM costs, if you DIY everything. You're just paying with your time, your sanity, and your sleep.

It's time we did the math on what "free" is actually costing you so you can learn this lesson much sooner than I did!

Why "Free" Client Management Systems Cost New Designers THOUSANDS

Right now, you're probably duct-taping your client management together with Google Docs, email templates you copy-paste into Gmail every damn time (or, like me, ya forget you even have email templates if they’re not easily accessible 😬), sending invoices via PayPal one at a time, and if you're fancy maybe you’re using software for sending contracts but you’re on the free plan.

It’s free though, right? Nope.

CRM costs vs. DIY time (real numbers for web designers)

I'm about to hit you with some hard math, so ya might need to sit down first.
Phew. Okay. Are ya ready?

Option 1: Hire a VA

Decide to outsource the basic admin work to someone else? Great. Here’s what that could look like:

1. 10 hours per month at a starting rate of $25/hour (or higher; that's on the lower end)

2. 10 hours x 12 months, x $25/hr = $3,000+ per year

Option 2: Keep doing it all yourself

Oof, that was more than you thought it’d be, wasn’t it. Okay, so back to square one?
If you decide to DIY these admin tasks and just “make time” to do them, here’s that might look like:

1. The same 10 hours per month of admin work

2. If you charge $40/hour for your design work (again, a very low, entry-level rate here!)

3. That's 120 hours per year × $40 = $4,800 in billable time

Billable time, is time you could be spending on actual client work that PAYS YOU rather than essentially paying yourself to do this work. (ie: not working on paid services for a client, but you still gotta pay yourself in the meantime)

Option 3: Get a decent CRM

That math was brutal, right? If you’re thinking, “Shit. 😒” Then a CRM is looking pretty damn cheap now, ain’t it. 🤭
So, let’s pick that software tool based on needs + your actual budget.

1. Dubsado*, HoneyBook*, Bonsai*, Moxie, Bloom, Indy ––whatever software you choose

2. A CRM will set ya back roughly $200-$500 per year and less than $50/month, on average.

3. And it’ll do 60-75% of that admin work automatically with the right set up, saving you a metric-ton worth of time to spend on paid work instead of unpaid admin work.

You're VERY likely spending at least $5k a year on tasks that a $500-or-less/yr software could help you manage. And that's just the time you're actively working on this stuff.

Where Web Design Admin Hours Actually Go

These are the kinds of tasks where your time is bleeding out:

• Payment Wrangling: Manually sending invoices, following up on or chasing late payments, sending those awkward "hey, you forgot to pay me" emails that make you want to hide under your desk, and breaking up total invoice amounts into multiple separate invoices, each of which you’re sending manually… 🫠

• Contract Mess: Creating ‘new’ contracts for every client, sending them through Adobe Sign, Google Workspace’s new document sign feature, Dropbox Sign, DocuSign, PaperSign, ––etc, keeping track of who signed what and when in a different place than your invoices or lead forms live, figuring out when to send the contract email manually if they pay overnight but you’re not at your desk to quickly send the contract while you have their attention, and having mini heart attacks when you can't remember if the contract was signed before you started the work... 😬

• File Management Hell: Manually creating new project folders for every new client project, organizing project files in those folders, trying to remember where you put that logo variation from three weeks ago, spending 20 minutes looking for one damn file, fixing permissions issues if you forgot to send an ‘anyone with the link’ shareable folder. 🤦🏼‍♀️

• Email Archaeological Digs: Sifting through your inbox trying to find that one conversation with your client about specific project details, scrolling back through day/weeks/months of emails because you don't have a central place for client communication about that project, and getting distracted by other shit (emails) you’ve forgotten to deal with while you scroll… 😒

• Lead Response Limbo: Getting inquiry forms on your website but only responding when you get back to your desk & see the inquiry form submission email notification, manually booking consultation calls with back-and-forth availability questions over several emails, –or worse –playing phone tag until you catch them at the right time & now they *gasp* have your phone number to text you at will… 🫩

• Template Copy-Paste Inconsistency: Writing the same emails over and over again while thinking “what did I say the last time I wrote this”, tweaking them slightly for each client even though they're basically identical, maintaining different versions of the same template across various platforms, and of course manually sending them each time… 😳

Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so.
I’ve done ALL of those things over the earlier years in my business, and it sucked up way more time than I ever thought, –until it didn’t.

Hidden Business Costs Web Designers Ignore

Just wait—because it actually gets worse. #sorrynotsorry

That $4,800 calculation is just for the time you're actively working on these tasks.

It doesn't include:

• The Mental Load:
  The constant low-level stress of keeping track of everything in your head instead of having systems that help you handle it efficiently.

• The Mistakes:
  Forgotten follow-ups that cost you clients &/or miss deadlines. Double-booked calls. Lost files. The professional embarrassment of asking a client to re-send something you should have organized properly in the first place.

• The Opportunity Cost:
  Every hour you spend on admin is an hour you're not spending on marketing, skill development, or high-value client work –which PAYS YOUR BILLS.

• The Scale Problem:
  As your business grows, this manual do-everything-myself approach becomes exponentially more time-consuming. You're building a house of cards that will eventually collapse at a predictably inconvenient moment ––because no time is convenient when you’re overwhelmed &/or practically in burnout.

• The Burnout Factor:
  When you're doing the job of 5+ different people (marketer, salesperson, designer, project manager, accountant, etc), something's gotta give. Usually, it's your sanity & your personal life. #hellopeoplepleasers

How Dubsado* (Any CRM) Changed My Design Business

I started my business in 2015, and by 2017, I was drowning in my own DIY "free" system. I'd tried 17 Hats (haaaaaaated it), moved to Bonsai (loved it!), and was researching Dubsado because Bonsai didn't have all the features I needed at that time (like breaking up larger invoices & allowing multiple payments, etc).

The idea of paying $200+ a year for software made my bootstrapping DIY-heart (& my very new business bank account too, –let’s be honest!) cry.

What made me pull the trigger, was realizing how much time it took me to do all these "free" admin tasks and the literal opportunity cost of not being able to quickly respond to potential clients while I was at my full time day-job. If I got 1 or 2 new leads per month, I damn sure didn’t want to miss them when they reached out asking to work with me –just because I was “at work” and couldn’t respond until my lunch break or when I got home that evening!

To be honest, with manual processes, I was spending more time managing my business than actually doing the work I wanted to leave my full-time job for. And worse? It felt unprofessional to send an email with a new ‘thing’ each time I sent an invoice, a contract, project details, scheduling a meeting/call, etc. Forgetting things, dropping balls, not being able to help clients with ‘how to sign’ their PDF contract, and overall just looking unprofessional because my systems weren’t systems, and they weren’t efficient for anyone involved.

That's when I realized I wasn't comparing apples to apples.
I was comparing the cost of a tool to the fantasy of everything being free, when the reality for me was that "free" systems are the most expensive option of all.

The Reframe That Changed Everything

Here's the mindset shift that changed how I thought about business expenses forever:

Stop comparing the cost of tools to zero.
Start comparing them to the alternatives.

When your brain says "this software is too expensive," pause and ask: compared to what, exactly?

Because your real options aren't "pay for software" or "pay nothing."

Your real alternatives are:

1. Pay a VA to help you out by outsourcing some of the workload
   Even if you only pay them for 2-5 hours/month, a few months a year at $25+/hr, that’s still $300-750/year & for a busy service-based business. Eventually, even that won’t be enough time to help you manage each project so you’ll still end up doing some things yourself, in addition to that.
   
   

2. Keep paying yourself and do it all ‘for free’
   You probably have to pay yourself more than $40/hour though and all of that time adds up fast! If you charge $50-100/hr, that entry-level DIY cost of $4,800+ per year turns quickly turns into $6,000-$12,000 in lost billable time for work you’re DIY-ing for ‘free’, instead of letting a software help you manage it.
   
   

3. Use software that handles the admin work way more efficiently
   Paying $200-500 for a tool that helps you wrangle clients, silo your project emails/communications, keeps all your templates in place, sends automatic email replies, sends forms or reminders at ‘the right’ times, and lets you see which stage of the process each active client is in, etc ––is literally worth every penny of the other options, and yet it cost SIGNIFICANTLY less. 15-30x less, to be exact.
   
   

You Don't Need to Use Automations Right Away

I know the idea of setting up complex automation workflows can feel overwhelming when you're already stretched thin, or just unfamiliar with the tool, and setting up automations when you’re not confident can mean mistakes happen (trust me, I know from experience). But the good news is: you don't have to start there.

The beauty of tools like Dubsado isn't just the fancy automation options (though those workflows are perfection, once you're ready for them). Again, the most important part is that they give you a central place to store:

1. All your contract templates for various services, that include auto-fill fields for important information like the client’s name, the total invoice amount, project/service start dates, and more.

2. Every invoice you've ever sent, to any client, AND all the payment schedules, due dates, reminders, etc.

3. Your complete client list and project history, in one place, and OUT of your email inbox; look back & easily see what Jane hired you for & when, or if Joe ghosted you when you sent the last proposal.

4. Email templates for all of your client communications, so you stop rewriting the same damn messages over and over and over again, while still making them FEEL personalized with those auto-fill fields.

   • I know you think every client email needs to be completely customized, but it doesn't! It really doesn't. The core information is the same each time you send an email for a specific action (send proposal, etc) —you're just adding their name and project details.

5. Professional & customized form templates that makes you look like you actually have your shit together, and know what the hell you’re doing without spending hours reinventing the wheel for each client.

Obviously, you can send everything manually at first and just automate the basics, like a standard ‘hey, I got your inquiry; thanks for reaching out’ automated reply when someone fills out your ‘lead capture’ or CRM’s inquiry form. The main starting value of a CRM is in having everything you need in one place instead of scattered across 8 or more different platforms or locations:

1. basic Squarespace forms,

2. GDrive folders & docs,

3. form builders for questionnaires,

4. invoicing platforms for payments,

5. contract platforms for legalese,

6. Gmail & saved email snippets,

7. contacts list / address book,

8. scheduler platforms, etc…

Decide on your process. Set it up in a tool, and let it scale WITH you.

This Applies to More Than Just CRMs

This "real cost vs. sticker price" math works for pretty much every business tool you're on the fence about:

• Scheduling software instead of the back-and-forth email dance to find a meeting time.

  • Breely, Cal, Acuity, Calendly, TidyCal, etc

• Project & task management tools instead of trying to track everything in your head and random notebooks.

  • Project management → Kitchen, or portal features within CRM tools like Honeybook, Bonsai, Dubsado, Moxie, etc

  • Task management → Asana, ClickUp, Trello, Notion, Monday, ToDoist, etc

• Accounting software instead of the annual panic attack at tax time when you realize you have no idea where your receipts are.

  • Quickbooks, Freshbooks, Wave, Kick, etc

• Professional design software instead of trying to make Canva do things it was never meant to do.

  • Adobe Creative Cloud, Serif’s Affinity suite, Figma, Canva’s Pro plan, etc

The pattern is always the same: the monthly cost looks scary until you calculate what the alternative is actually costing you in time, missed opportunities, and professional credibility.

How to Calculate Your Real Web Design Business Costs

If you want hard data on this for yourself (and you absolutely should), here's what to do:

Track your own time (temporarily)

Track your time for 2-4 weeks. Here’s a few options I can happily recommend:

• Toggl (free, or $108/yr web or desktop/mobile app),

• Daily Time Tracking (a $30/yr Mac OS app),

• use Toggl’s free Timecard calculator here temporarily, or

• Rize (free, or ~$110/yr desktop app) to automatically track time with the help of AI.

• Timing ($108/yr desktop or web/mobile app) privacy friendly automatic time-tracker with the help of AI.

Organize the time tracked

Set up categories for different types of work so you can see where your time is actually being spent, if you decide to use a time-tracking app (versus the manual calculator):

1. Billable client work

2. Admin/systems stuff

3. Marketing

4. Business development

5. The random rabbit holes you fall down

At the end of few weeks of you tracking your time, you'll have real numbers on what realistically sucks up your time, and you can prioritize looking for a tool that will specifically help you mange that thing better.

Service Package Fee Calculator

Calculate your hourly rate

Next, figure out what your real hourly rate is. Not what you think you want to charge, but what you actually need based on your expenses, and your experience, and the value of what you offer. Take your monthly revenue and divide it by the total hours you worked. Not just your "billable" hours—all of them. This is your actual hourly rate, and it's probably lower than you think.

Now do the math. How many hours per month are you spending on tasks a CRM could handle? Multiply that by your real hourly rate. Compare that number to the cost of the software.

The results might shock you into action.

CRM Investment vs. Expense for New Designers

You're actually already paying for a CRM, even if you aren’t paying for a tool.
YOU ARE the Client Relationship Manager. You're just paying with your time instead of your credit card. 😬

Your time is your most limited resource. It’s the only thing you can’t ever get back. You can make more money, but you can't make more hours in the day.

When you buy back your time with the right tools, you're not just saving money—you're buying yourself more freedom. Freedom to take on better clients, work on more interesting projects, charge higher rates, actually have a weekend, maybe even take a vacation without your phone buzzing every five minutes or feeling obligated to bring your laptop “just in case” a client needs you...

That CRM isn't an expense – it's an investment in your sanity, your professionalism, and your ability to scale beyond the chaos of DIY everything.

Small business systems actually matter

I know all of this might sting a little. Nobody likes realizing they've been making expensive mistakes, or being "scrappy" or "bootstrapping" when it makes you feel less professional for DIY-ing everything.

But here's the thing: you're playing small by convincing yourself you can't afford them yet.

Every month you avoid organizing your processes and systems, is another month of bleeding time, looking unprofessional, and limiting your growth ––and therefore, your income. 🙃

Your business deserves better than duct taped shit and good intentions. And so do you!

The entrepreneurs who scale past the chaos phase aren't necessarily smarter or more talented than you. They just stopped trying to do everything manually and started investing in systems that let them focus on what they're actually great at.

Your future self —the one running a smooth, profitable business while working reasonable hours— is counting on you to make this shift, so what are you waiting for??

Ready to stop hemorrhaging time on admin tasks? Level up your client project management game and check out my Ultimate Client Portal System course where I break down exactly how I use dedicated tools and processes to create a premium client experience that has people sharing their praise left & right, –including my own clients!

Stop manually creating project folders in your client portal every time a client signs on the dotted line. 🤭

You've got a CRM that handles your contracts and payments like a boss, but you're absolutely obsessed with Kitchen's client portal (because honestly, who isn't?). The problem is, you're wishing it integrated with your CRM so you're not doing manual tasks every time someone becomes an official client—jumping between apps, copying names, creating folders, setting up templates...

Been there. Done that. Might soon have the carpal tunnel to prove it. 🫠

That said, now there's finally a way to automate that part of the process, so that when a client signs their contract in your CRM, a brand new templated project folder appears in Kitchen with all your templates, tasks, and folders ready to go!

And even better, ...what if I told you this automation even works on Zapier's free plan?

Yeah, I thought that might get your attention! 👏🏻

This Automation Is a Game-Changer for Solo Creative Business Owners

I've been in the design industry for about 20 years now, and I've watched solopreneurs burn themselves out doing repetitive admin shit that could easily be automated. Creating project folders manually might only take 5-10 minutes, but when you're booking multiple clients a month (hello, growth!), those minutes add up fast.

Plus, there's the mental load of doing that step manually when other parts are automated, so you are either not sure WHEN to make the folder, or you might actually forget to make it until you're trying to hit a deadline that matches up with the workflows in your CRM. Oops.

And by "mental load," you probably know what I'm talking about—that nagging feeling that you still need to "set up Jane's project folder", so the task is intermittently sitting in the back of your brain while you're trying to focus on the rest of your work.

This simple zap automation eliminates that completely. Contract signed → folder created & waiting for you to invite the client when it's ready (though actually, on paid plans of Zapier you could automate adding them to the portal also!).

Using Zapier to integrate your CRM with Kitchen, is kinda like having a really efficient assistant who almost never takes sick days or forgets to do stuff. #worthit

What You'll Need to Set This Up

Before we dive into the step-by-step setup, let's talk about what you actually need in order to follow along with this tutorial:

1. A CRM of some kind. I use Dubsado*, but this should work with pretty much any CRM that plays nice with Zapier, including HoneyBook, Bonsai, Bloom, Indy, Moxie—whatever you're using to manage your client relationships & booking services.

2. A Kitchen* account. Free or paid doesn't matter for this automation. (If you haven't tried Kitchen yet and you're managing client projects manually with PayPal or Square and... *gasp* emails + Adobe Sign... you're missing out. Their client portal is stellar, their project management features actually make sense for client service collaboration, AND their software is available with an affordable lifetime payment. ie: pay once, use it forever!)

3. A Zapier account. You can do this simple automation on Zapier's free plan. The free plan lets you create basic "if this, then that" automations, which is exactly what we need here.

That's it! Three tools you probably already have accounts in, and if you don't then you'll thank me after you do.

Dubsado’s* Plan Options

CRM: Client Relationship Management software

Dubsado’s plans are affordable and their free trial is VERY generous! BUT you can SAVE 20% OFF your first payment (month or year) with my affiliate code DAMN, or use this link to save when you sign up.

• On the free trial, you get access to all the features with no time limit and you can use all of that for your first 3 clients. After that, you won’t be forced to upgrade to a paid plan, but can pick one when/if you’re ready.

• On the lower paid plan at $20/mo (or $200/year), you get access to:

  • Unlimited projects & clients

  • Invoicing & payment plans

  • Form & email templates

• On the higher paid plan at $40/mo (or $400/year), you get access to everything in the Starter plan, plus:

  • Scheduling

  • Automated workflows

  • Public proposals

  • Multiple lead captures at once

  • Zapier integration

Kitchen's* Lifetime Pricing

Client Portal: "pay once, use it forever!"

I can't speak for you, but I hate monthly subscriptions and prefer paying annually if I have to pay recurring fees at all. So it was an incredible bonus to realize Kitchen does not charge recurring subscription fees, and offers a lifetime price at an affordable rate.

This summer, they're running a 20% OFF deal on top of that, with code SUMMER20, so you can save even more IF you sign up with that code at checkout (offer valid during summer of 2025).

For solopreneurs and small creative businesses, this is HUGE. It means you can factor the cost into a single project or two, and then it's pure profit after that, with each additional client you use Kitchen's portal.

Plus, their free plan is actually pretty useful (unlike other tools that tend to give you just enough features to get frustrated, and force you to upgrade). So you can actually just start with the free version, test out how it works & how to set it up, and upgrade to a paid plan later if you need more features. The main limitations on the free plan are file upload size limits and lack of customization in your account (custom domain, custom email address to send notifications from, etc).

Zapier's Plan Options

Automation Tool

Zapier's free plan does have limitations, as most free plans do, but for this particular automation they're not deal-breakers.

On the free plan, you get:

1. Unlimited zaps

2. 2-step zaps only (no filters, other steps, or conditional logic, etc)

   • One trigger (the thing that's being watched, which, when it happens, starts the automation)

   • One action (the thing that happens after the watched item happens)

What this means is whatever you choose as your trigger is going to create a folder in Kitchen every single time it happens. There's no "only do this if the project type is X" or "skip this if the client already has a folder." But if you choose your trigger smartly, this isn't actually a problem, and if the zap does accidentally create folders you don't want you can just delete them in Kitchen. Not the end of the world! Since it doesn't also invite the client to the folder, no one will know that extra/unnecessary folder was created but you.

If you want the fancy multi-step automation with filters and other steps in the automated workflow, you'll need a paid Zapier plan. But honestly? Start with the free version, see how you like it, and upgrade later if you decide you want the extra bells and whistles.

On the paid plans, you get everything in the free plan PLUS unlimited multi-step zaps, access to premium zaps (connect to apps like Quickbooks which requires more security, etc), plus email & live chat support.

Choosing the Right Trigger

This is probably the most important decision you'll make in this whole setup, so let's talk strategy.

You want to pick a trigger that happens only one time per client's booked service/project. Most of the time, that's going to be a contract signature. Why?

1. It doesn't matter if you're doing quick two-week projects or year-long retainers. A client typically only signs one contract per project or service agreement. They might make payments every month, but they only sign that contract once.

2. It happens at the exact right moment in your process. By the time someone's signing a contract, they're almost officially a client. (Officially, once they've signed AND paid, but you get my meaning.) Not a lead, not a prospect—a real, serious client who needs a project folder.

3. The 'contract signature' trigger is available in pretty much every CRM I checked. Whether you're using Dubsado, HoneyBook, or something else, contract signatures are a standard trigger option with Zapier.

What you probably don't want to use as triggers, are steps like:

1. Form submissions or inquiries (these happen way too early in the process)

2. Proposal views or completions (proposals don't always turn into actual paying projects)

3. Payments received (these can happen multiple times per project, but you only need 1 project folder to be created)

Trust me on this— the contract signature is your best bet for most creative businesses!

Not sure what trigger to choose?

Go to Zapier.com/apps and search for the software you’d like to use, then scroll down & look through their triggers list to see if it offers the one that will work best with your processes.

Here’s the Zapier info for the CRMs mentioned: Dubsado, Honeybook, Bonsai, Moxie, Indy, and Bloom.

Available CRM Options and Their Zapier Triggers

Since I know not everyone uses Dubsado, let's also take a quick peek at the triggers available for other popular CRMs:

1. HoneyBook* – Their "New Project Booked" trigger is probably perfect for this. It fires when an agreement is signed or a retainer is paid, which is exactly what we want.

2. Bonsai* – You've got options here—"Contract Signature" or "Proposal Accepted" if you don't use contracts. Skip the "Invoice Paid" trigger for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

3. Moxie – Moxie has a shit-ton of Zapier integrations! There's "Agreement Signed" plus about fifty other options. If you're using Moxie, you're spoiled for choice.

4. Bloom – "Contract Countersigned" (when you co-sign the agreement after the client) or "Contract Signed" (when the client signs the agreement) —take your pick based on your workflow.

5. Indy – a simple and straightforward option of when "Contract Signed."

Whatever CRM you're using probably has the trigger you need, so just look for something related to contracts, agreements, or the final step of your booking process.

Kitchen's Action Options in Zapier

On the Kitchen side of things, in Zapier’s Kitchen z/app info, you're looking for the "Create Folder" action. As of summer 2025, Kitchen has added about 40 new Zapier actions. The automation possibilities are getting pre-tty wild, which means you could add more steps to this zap IF you want!

For this particular setup though, we're focused on just creating a folder from our account's template, which means all your project structure, tasks, and content will be automatically set up exactly how you want it, –or close to it. If each project is a little different, it's easier to delete parts of the templated new folder than to create them from scratch when needed, so just delete whatever isn't relevant to that client before you send them their invite.

Now you don't 'need' to manually create folders anymore! No more forgetting to add steps in your own project tasks, no more "oh shit, I forgot to set up their upload folder!" moments. 🫠

Step-by-Step Zap Setup

Now it's time to build this automation (or edit mine, together). I'm going to walk you through this using Dubsado as the example, but the process is basically identical for other CRMs.

Step 1: Access the Template

I've created a free Zap template that you can start with, and copy directly to your Zapier account. When you click the template link, you'll see a "Try this Zap" button. Click that, and it'll open in edit mode.

Step 2: Set Up Your Trigger

If you're using something other than Dubsado, click on the trigger step, then choose "Change" under Setup. Search for your CRM and select it.

For Dubsado users, "Contract Signed" will already be selected in the Setup tab here, but if you swap Dubsado for something else, you may need to select a different trigger if it's worded differently.

Then you'll just need to connect your Dubsado (or other CRM) account to Zapier by logging in and giving Zapier permissions access to that account.

Step 3: Test Your Trigger

Hit the "Test" button to make sure everything's connected properly. You're looking for that little green checkmark next to the name of your CRM in step 1.

When Zapier tests the trigger, it may pull in a few recent contract signatures from your account, if there are any. Pick one to use as your test data.

ℹ️ Pro tip: you can actually edit the info in each test record Zapier pulls in from the test data, including the email address; you can edit any of those record details before you test the action in the second step, in case you're nervous about accidentally sending something to the client during testing! I like to swap out the email address and other basic business info just be certain ––though, the zap template is NOT setup to contact your client so they should never get anything from you as part of this automation.

Step 4: Set Up the Kitchen Action

The "Kitchen" app will already be selected in the second step.

Now, choose "Create Folder" as your action.

After that, make sure you're using the latest version of Kitchen's API (it's v3 as of when I'm publishing this tutorial). If you're not sure, you can disconnect your Kitchen account & connect a newer one, from your Zapier account settings.

Once you're sure you've connected the latest version of their API, then connect your Kitchen account to this zap, the same way you did with your CRM.

Step 5: Configure the Folder Settings

This is the fun part! 🤓 The fields with the red asterisk* are required to fill in, but at least as of publishing, the Template field isn't required (optional).

To set it up:

1. Check your Kitchen account: make sure you already have a project/folder template ready to use in your Kitchen account. If you don't have one yet, my course gives you step-by-step, copy/paste EVERYTHING to create it fast! Including onboarding steps, website specific tasks, project folder subfolder structure, and a lot more!

2. Template: Pick which Kitchen template you want to use for new folders created with this zap. If you've got different templates for different types of projects, you might want to set up multiple Zaps with filters so each one will only run when it needs to. If you're not sure where to start with that, those templates are in my Ultimate Client Portal System course.

3. Folder Name: You can get creative with the data from your CRM in this step, if ya want. You can use the project name, the client's name, their company name, or any combination of that.

4. For example, if you want folders named after the client's business, use the variable field type (from Dubsado's first step) labeled "Client Company Name." If you prefer first and last names, use "Client First Name" + a space + "Client Last Name."

5. The backslash (/) is your friend here, —it lets you open a menu that shows all the dynamic information pulled in from the trigger step's data. Using that variable data will mean each time the zap runs, the project folder's name will match the unique project in your CRM.

Step 6: Test the Action

Hit "Continue" from that part of Step 2, and then "Test" to actually test-create a folder in Kitchen using your test data. If everything's set up correctly, you'll get another green checkmark on Step 2 in the visual preview of the zap (center of the page).

Step 7: Check Your Work

Now it's time to hop over to Kitchen and see if your new folder has appeared. It should already be there, and should also have all the template's original content in it, including tasks, and folder structure, etc.

Step 8: Publish the Zap

When the zap test fires successfully, it can see the trigger in your CRM, and the folder gets created in Kitchen. If both things worked successfully, now you PUBLISH that zap! After it’s published, it’ll perform this magic trick for you for each new project starting now. (It’s not retroactive, so it won’t run for all the past contracts that have been signed, FYI. 🤭)

What Happens After the Automation Runs?

Now what? You'll probably get or see notifications in Kitchen about new tasks being assigned to you (if your template includes tasks with assignments for yourself). Great!

The next step is to check the template for anything that needs to be edited before you invite your client, ...and then actually inviting your client to the project. In Kitchen, go to the top-level folder in their project, then click "Share," and add your client's email.

From there you've got a few permission options for Folders in Kitchen:

1. Viewer: They can see & open everything but can't interact/engage.

2. Commenter: They can see, open, and comment on stuff in the folder.

3. Uploader: They can see, open, comment on, and upload new files (this is what I usually go with)

4. Creator: They can create and manage their own content in the folder (probably overkill for most projects)

Set Up Task Board Permissions (Don't Skip This Extra Step!)

Something that could trip people up are folder permissions vs task board permissions, because they are separate things in Kitchen since you may want to give clients different levels of collab access in each area.

1. If you want your client to be able to create their own tasks (like support tickets during a maintenance period), make sure they have Creator status on the task board specifically.

2. If you'd rather they just comment on existing tasks without creating new ones, give them Commenter status in the task board.

Most of the time, I go with Uploader for the overall project and Creator for tasks. It gives them enough access to be useful without letting them go wild with changes & causing confusion.

The Onboarding Process

Creating the folder is just the beginning. When you invite your client to the folder, you can include a custom message & decide whether or not to notify them (send them an invitation email to 'View Folder').

After I add the client permissions to the folder (and check the box to notify the client so they will get that emailed invite), I open their project's Messenger page (called "Conversations" in the menu) and use my saved reply template to write them a welcome message that's more specific than the plain-text one they'll see in the invite email. This lets me send a personalized onboarding message that includes direct links to their specific task board, project folder, and any other important areas that need their attention.

This way, you can essentially give them a guided tour instead of just throwing them into the deep end of your project portal & hoping they'll do things the way you want them to.

The message you send through that 'Conversations' page stays in the thread permanently until the page (or message inside it) is deleted, so you both can reference it later if needed. And if they reply to that emailed message notification, their reply shows up right in Kitchen's messenger. Pretty slick; it's one of my favorite features in Kitchen!!

Why This Beats Manual Folder Creation Every Time

I get it. Setting up automations may feel like work upfront, or confusing if your process isn't nailed down yet (ie: "so, when do I do what now? 🤔"), and maybe creating folders manually doesn't seem like that big of a deal, because honestly it's not!

But let's do some math:

Manual folder creation takes about 5-10 minutes per project (if you're fast and don't get distracted, and you use a template to create it with minimal edits each time). If you book 5 clients a month, that's 50 minutes. Over a year, that's

1. 10 hours of your life spent on repetitive admin work that could easily be completely automated.

2. 10 hours you could spend on actual client work, business development, or—crazy thought—taking a damn break.

Plus, automation is consistent in a way humans generally can't be. It never forgets to add the content guide folder. It never accidentally skips the task template setup. It doesn't have off days or get distracted by Instagram. And if there's an error, Zapier will email you & let you know about it!

Your clients get the same seamless experience every single time, you save hours on menial admin BS, and all of that makes you look more professional and organized than you probably actually are. (No judgment—we're all winging something!)

Get the Free Zap Template

I've created a complete Zap template that connects Dubsado to Kitchen, but you can easily modify it for your CRM of choice! It includes all the settings I walked through in this post, so you don't have to build it from scratch.

This template is part of my thank-you for reading this far. (Seriously, this post is long and on a maybe-boring topic, but you stuck with it—so, mad respect! 😂)

And if you want to dive even deeper into Kitchen automation and get my full multi-step Zap templates with filters pre-installed, that's included in my Ultimate Client Portal System course. Kitchen is doing some seriously cool stuff with their integrations and automation options, and with all their triggers & actions, this Dubsado connection could be just the beginning of what's possible when you start thinking about your business systems as a connected ecosystem versus of a bunch of separate tools.

Give it a try, break some stuff if ya need to, figure out what works for your specific workflow. And if you love it as much as I do, tell other creative business owners about it! We're all just trying to build sustainable businesses without losing our minds in the process.

⚡️ Grab the free template here 👇🏼

Automation Troubleshooting Tips

Automation is super useful, and if used correctly it can feel like hiring employees to help you do the work (at much cheaper rates!), ––but it's not magic. Sometimes shit breaks, and when or if it does, here are some tips to help you troubleshoot:

1. The Zap isn't triggering:
   Double-check that your trigger event is actually happening in your CRM. If you set it up to trigger on contract signatures, but your test client hasn't actually signed anything yet, nothing's going to happen. Zapier won’t run the action unless the trigger has happened first.

2. Folders are getting created but they're empty:
   This usually means there's either an issue with your template selection in Kitchen, or in your zap’s action step (part 2 of the zap). Make sure the template you chose actually exists in Kitchen and it actually does have content in it. If your internal Kitchen template does have content, then contact Kitchen’s support team to find out why the template contents aren’t applying when using the template to make new folders in Kitchen; let them know this is triggered by their API in Zapier so they can look at the correct details on the backend.

3. Client information isn't pulling through correctly:
   Check your field mapping (those variable fields) in the Zap. If your CRM has changed their field names or data structure recently, it could break the connection. You may also try selecting a different field in those variables, to see if you get different results.

4. Too many folders are being created:
   This happens if you chose a trigger that fires more often than you expected. Switch to a more specific trigger (like contract signature instead of payment received), or upgrade your Zapier account to a paid plan so you can add a filter step, in between the trigger & action steps, to reduce how frequently the action is run (ex: only create new folders for specific project types).

5. Seeing error messages in Zapier:
   Ask ChatGPT or Zapier support for help to troubleshoot. ChatGPT has actually been very helpful when I run into errors or have questions about Zapier. You can even take a screenshot & upload it to ChatGPT, describe what’s happening vs the goal, and it can understand the context. Definitely worth using to help double check your set up & more!

With a simple two-step zap, most issues are pretty easy to fix once you figure out what's actually going wrong, and errors are unlikely to happen. The more steps you add, the more complex the automation becomes, though. Don't be afraid to test things and break stuff while you’re testing, —that's how you learn!

Advanced Tips for Power Users

Once you've got the basic automation running smoothly, there are some next-level tricks you can try:

1. Multiple Zaps for different project types:
   If you offer different services with different Kitchen templates, set up separate Zaps for each and add a filter step in between the trigger & the action, asking Zapier to look at the Dubsado/CRM project it found, and check whether it matches a specific criteria before performing the action step. (This requires a paid Zapier plan.)

2. Next step automations:
   If you're feeling super comfortable with Zapier and with Kitchen, you can add steps to the zap for whatever happens after the folder is created, such as inviting the client to the folder, sending the onboarding message, etc.

The Impact of Automations in Your Business

Here's what actually happens when you implement this kind of basic automation:

1. You onboard booked clients a little faster. There's less friction between "yes, I want to work with you" and "here's your project portal where everything lives." Clients can get started immediately instead of waiting for you to manually set things up.

2. You look more professional. Clients can get their project access within minutes of signing their contract, depending on your setup. It feels seamless and organized, which reflects well on your business & reassures them that you are going to do what you said you would, building trust.

3. You reduce mental load. No more sticky notes reminding you to set up project folders. No more "oh shit, I forgot to create Jane's workspace" moments at 11 PM while you're laying in bed.

4. You could scale your workload more easily. When you're ready to take on more client work, your systems can handle it without you necessarily working more hours on the admin side.

5. You make fewer mistakes during onboarding & projects are more repeatable. Automation is consistent. You won't accidentally forget to include important folders or templates, because the template + automated zap is doing that part for you. Make it once, reuse it over and over, in exactly the same way.

This isn't just about saving time (though that's nice), it's more about creating systems that let your business grow without burning you out or building a desire to burn down the whole business.

Common Questions & Concerns

"What if I need different setups for different types of clients?"

Set up multiple Zaps with different triggers AND filters for each action. Or start with one general Kitchen template and customize the contents of the project folder per client after the folder is created in Kitchen.

"What if my client signs multiple contracts for different projects?"

Each contract signature will create a new folder, which is probably what you want anyway. If not, you might need to adjust your trigger or use a paid Zapier plan with filters before the action step. However, if each project needs its own folder, remember that folders in Kitchen are drag and droppable just like they are on your computer, so you can always create a new top-level folder for that client, and nest all their project folders inside that, to keep them organized together ––vs loose in the sidebar of your Kitchen account & becoming a messy string of project-named folders.

"What if I want to review projects before clients get access?"

Then this zap will work perfectly for you, because the free template I'm helping you set up does NOT also invite your client to the folder, which means you have a chance to review & edit before they gain access when you decide it's ready.

"What happens if I change CRMs later?"

You'll need to update your Zap, but the process is basically the same. Most CRMs have similar trigger options too, as we covered earlier!

Building systems that actually serve you

Here's what I want you to remember: automation isn't about being lazy or cutting corners or buying yet another software subscription. It's actually about creating a trusted group of tools & systems that free you up to do your best work while they HELP you with the backend admin stuff ––the busywork.

Every minute you spend on repetitive admin tasks is a minute you're not spending on strategy, creativity, or actually serving your clients (& making money in that process). This automation gives those minutes back to you.

Your future self—the one who's booking more clients and sleeping better at night because your systems just work—is going to thank you for setting this up along with me today!

Now stop reading blog posts and go set this up, if ya haven't already! 😉

Want more automation ideas and business systems that actually work for creative entrepreneurs? Save this post and follow along for more practical tips that'll help you build a business that runs itself.

This post might ruffle some feathers. 🤭

Here's the thing 'everybody' says, but nobody wants to admit about being "everywhere" online: it's complete bullshit. #sorrynotsorry

For years, we've been fed this lie that successful entrepreneurs are omnipresent time-traveling wizards —like Marvel's Dr. Strange— posting on Instagram, creating TikToks, pinning on Pinterest, tweeting on X, networking on LinkedIn, ...sewing posts? on Threads 😂 and SOMEhow still running their actual businesses too.

Here's what they aren't telling you: those big names you're trying to emulate, who gave you that advice? They have teams. Plural. Humans with specialized skills. AND expensive software, and systems you probably can't even replicate, let alone afford yet.

Meanwhile, you don't realize that they have so much help & support to do all of that, and you're over here wearing 75,000 different hats, trying to be Gary V., Marie Forleo, Steven Bartlett, Oprah Winfrey, and Mel Robbins simultaneously, all while wondering why you feel like a hot-mess-express that's about to explode and completely derail.

You're not failing. This outdated & unrealistic advice is failing YOU.

This multi-platform marketing myth is destroying solo businesses

I learned this the hard way. Between 2015 and 2019, I was everywhere—and I mean everywhere. Pinterest with 50+ pins a week (because apparently that was a magic number), Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and probably some other platforms I've blocked from my memory due to traumatic response. 😂🫣

With the 70/30 or 80/20 rule popular at the time for Pinterest specifically, I was trying to read every single piece of content before pinning/sharing it—70-80% curated content, 20-30% original. That PLUS creating posts & graphics for all the different platforms & keeping up with algorithm updates & changes in platform-specific best practices, etc. You can imagine how exhausting it was to vet and create and schedule, then engage with that much information while also trying to build AND RUN a business?

It felt like trying to cook a seven-course meal while simultaneously hosting a dinner party, cleaning the house, and doing your taxes. Something's gonna burn or blow up, and it's usually us.

🔥 The Bonfire Analogy

Here's what really happens when you spread yourself so thin across multiple platforms: You're trying to build seven different bonfires all at once.

You get the first one crackling, then move to the second & get that one going strong; by the time you're lighting the third, the first one may be dying out, so you rush back frantically adding kindling, —but now the second fire is barely flickering, and the third is roaring out of control.

Round and round you go, never getting any of them to the safe but roaring bonfire you were hoping for, because you're constantly in damage control mode and unable to focus on any one of them before one or more of the others pull your focus.

Even with all those fancy scheduling tools—Tailwind, Later, Planoly, Plann, Metricool, Creator Studio, whatever the 'cool kids' are using now—you still have to create the content. You still have to source it, write it, design it, and schedule it.

AI can't do all of the creative heavy lifting (yet). Plus, let's be real: do you even want to consume tons of content that's entirely AI-generated & published without a human? Because I sure as hell don't. And neither do your potential customers. Content created exclusively (only) from a robot is not helpful or relatable for humans.

Why the “Be Everywhere” Strategy FAILS Solopreneurs

We'll label these like Seinfeld episodes —and if you don't know what I'm talking about then we can't be friends. 🤭 (JK!)

1. The Notifications 🔔

Every time I tried to be active across multiple platforms, I'd quickly become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of notifications or things to check. DMs, comments, likes, shares, mentions, analytics, hash tag strategies, comment/dm automations, —it's like having seven different jobs that all demand immediate attention & I don't like/enjoy ANY of them! 😂

When you're constantly checking notifications, you stop doing the work that actually makes you money. You become a full-time social media manager for your own business, which is probably not what you signed up for when you decided to become an entrepreneur. Yes, it'll probably help get your name out there and attract an audience, BUT WHY DOES THAT MATTER IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS, ANSWERS or HELP for those people you're attracting?! (ie: "the work" —meaning: content, services or products for your audience)

2. The Attention Deficit 😵‍💫

When you're spread thin across platforms, none of them get your best work or effort either. You're creating mediocre content for 7+ different places, instead of exceptional content for just one or two.

It'd be the same if you were in seven different relationships all at once, —somebody isn't getting the attention they want or deserve, and you're always exhausted trying to keep everyone happy. (Tell me you watch TLC's Sister Wives without telling me you watch Sister Wives. 😂)

3. The Burnout 🫩

This is arguably the main one. When you overextend yourself trying to maintain a presence everywhere by yourself, you WILL burn out. It's not an 'IF' situation. YOU WILL; it's just a matter of time.

The problem is, when you're a solo entrepreneur, burnout doesn't just affect your marketing—it affects your entire business. Without a team to help you, or tons of software to support & run a lot of these processes...as long as you're the only person in your business and if you crash, everything STOPS.

No systems? No backup software running in the background? No work, and maybe no safety net. Just you rocking back & forth in the corner, wrapped in a blanky, muttering to yourself with whatever energy you have left, which probably isn't much. 🫣

The Solution: pick ONE thing & get good at it

Revolutionary concept: Focus matters.

Instead of trying to be everywhere, pick one platform that you actually enjoy using and get really, really good at it. I know, it sounds too simple. But simple doesn't mean easy, and it doesn't mean ineffective either.

The one-platform strategy

For me, that platform started with blogging about 10 years ago. I added all the social media channels because I thought I had to, but I've been blogging for nearly 10 years, as of posting.

In 2022, I started adding YouTube videos to my blog posts as a companion piece that went WITH the article—7 years after my first blog post.

Here's how it works for me now:

1. I create one piece of long-form video content (the video in this blog post)

2. I turn that video's transcript into a blog post (repurposing the original content to a different medium)

3. That one piece of content shows up in multiple places: YouTube, my blog/website, search engine results (like Google), and now even AI chat responses (like ChatGPT and Perplexity).

One piece of content works across multiple touchpoints.

So it's not about being everywhere—it's about being findable with quality content that actually helps your audience, on a platform/medium you enjoy & can do consistently without overwhelm.

Why this strategy works for solopreneurs

1. It's way more sustainable.
   You're not trying to feed seven hungry platforms on a kid's allowance-sized budget. You're creating one really good piece of content and maximizing its reach, purposefully avoiding unnecessary work for yourself.

2. It builds authority.
   When you consistently show up in one place with valuable content, people start to see you as the go-to person for that topic. You become known for something specific instead of being forgettable everywhere. This is the ultimate goal, AFTER you master the sustainable marketing method you choose.

3. It's manageable for one person.
   You can actually do this by yourself without 3 different softwares, systems & automations, without burning out or hiring a team. 😏🤷‍♀️

“But Katelyn, How Do I Choose Which Platform?”

Great question. Here are my suggestions:

1. What do you actually enjoy?

This isn't a trick question, —promise! If you hate being on video, don't choose YouTube or TikTok or Instagram Reels. If writing makes you want to stab yourself in the eyes, maybe skip the blog-first approach. You're going to be showing up consistently on this platform for months (years, even), so pick something that doesn't make you want to fake your own death by 1,000 paper cuts. 🔪🩸

2. What are you naturally good at?

Are you a natural storyteller? Maybe podcasting or YouTube could be your thing. Do you love taking photos and have an eye for design? Instagram might be a better fit, especially now that posts will start showing up in Google searches soon (if they haven't already by the time you're reading this). Are you a word nerd who can explain complex topics simply? Blogging could be your superpower. Do you love live/in-person events? Maybe workshops or networking would work really well for you! — Play to your strengths, not against them.

3. Where does your audience actually hang out?

This one requires a bit of research, but it's crucial. If you're targeting busy executives, they're probably not scrolling TikTok during their lunch break. If you're trying to reach creative millennials, they might not be actively engaging on LinkedIn.

Don't guess—ask your current customers or ideal clients where they spend their time online.

The Timeline: Why 3 Months Isn't Enough

Here's where most people screw up: They pick a platform, try it for a few days or weeks, don't see immediate results, and either quit or add another platform to the mix.

Stop. doing. this!

If your business is new and your existing online presence is closer to nil/zero, you need to stick with your one platform for at least six months before you decide whether or not it's actually working or not. Preferably longer. Give yourself time to get good at this strategy, to get comfortable with it, to reach a point where it feels easy. And while you practice this strategy, CHECK YOUR ANALYTICS. Not to find out what your effort is worth (yet), but to get better at making decisions based on facts –not feelings.

When we are doing something uncomfortable, our brain tells us to stop and we can create any number of totally fake reasons to support that decision.

Meaning, excuses like:

1. Eat this cookie or piece of cake, it won't mess up today's diet if no one knows I ate it. 🤤

2. Speed just a bit more than usual; cops usually aren't on this stretch of highway & I probably won't get a speeding ticket. 🚔👮

3. I'll finish the course modules next month when I have more time; it can wait and I can make time later. 😏

4. Just one more episode before I go to bed... I know I have to wake up early, but that's tomorrow-me's problem. 📺

5. I have bills to pay, but those shoes are TOO cute to pass up! I can pay something late if I need to. 🤔

We all do this. We tell ourselves little half-truths or create justifications that feel good in the moment but sabotage our long-term goals. Our brains are absolute pros at manufacturing convenient stories that help us avoid discomfort.

And that’s where we get into dangerous territory. Because when those feelings start masquerading as facts, or when we confuse temporary emotions with logical conclusions… we start making decisions that don’t serve us or our business.

That brings me to one of the biggest mindset shifts you need to make if you’re in this for the long haul:

FEELINGS are not FACTS.
CORRELATION does not equal CAUSATION.

Just because you want something to be true, or feel like something is/should be true, doesn't mean it actually is.

This is something we all do. It’s human nature. Humans feel a lot of things. And the older I get, the more I notice how often this can show up, —even when I think I’m being rational and logical.

But if we’re at least a little self-aware, we can (hopefully) catch ourselves before we act on emotions alone and make decisions that aren’t grounded in reality.

Feelings vs actions

Today’s societal norms like to tell us “your feelings are valid” — and yes, that’s absolutely true. But that message has quietly mutated into a cultural belief that our actions based on those feelings are valid too. And that’s… not true. Whatever FEELING you feel in a given situation is valid, but how you ACT based on those feelings may not be.

Life example:
You come home from work angry. Totally fair — your feelings are real. But snapping at your partner or roommate who had nothing to do with it? Not fair. The anger is valid. The reaction isn’t. If you take that feeling and turn it into a behavior, you’re offloading your emotional baggage onto someone who didn’t pack it. That’s not emotional regulation, it’s misdirected fire.

Correlation vs Causation

Just because two things happen at the same time, or near each other, doesn’t mean one caused the other.

Life example:

Let’s say every time you grab your keys, your dog spins in circles like a caffeinated raccoon in a bounce house. You might think, “Grabbing my keys makes my dog do the Zoomies.” But keys don’t cause Zoomies. What’s really happening is that your dog has learned to associate the sound of keys with something exciting — a walk, your departure, or maybe snack time. So: grabbing your keys correlates with the chaos, but it doesn’t cause it. If you pick up your keys at 2 a.m. and go back to bed? Dog’s still spinning. Because their little dog-brain thinks it means something.

When we confuse correlation with causation in our own lives, we start doing the human version of barking at keys:

• 🌀 “They didn’t reply = they must be mad.”

• 🌀 “My launch didn’t work = Mercury is in retrograde.”

Coincidence is not causality. And “vibes” or feelings are not data.

Making better business decisions

Business is rife with this kind of faulty thinking.

• 💡 “My product isn’t selling — it must not be good.”

• 💡 “Leads aren’t moving forward — my pricing must be too high.”

Let’s pump the brakes, because those are feelings, not facts. Data is what actually helps us make better decisions, so let’s suss it out!

Example:

• Your product isn’t selling. But did the sales page get enough eyeballs? If only 50 people saw it, and the standard conversion rate is 1–2%… that’s one sale. Not a failure. Not a bad product. Just not enough traffic.

  • 🧠 No sales yet + low traffic ≠ bad product

• A lead doesn’t book right away after a discovery call. Do they tell you your price is too high? No? Then maybe it’s a timing mismatch, a decision-making delay, a convo with their biz partner that hasn’t happened yet.

  • 🧠 Lead not booked yet + positive discovery call ≠ your services are too expensive

When our feelings LIE

Here are some examples of how this shows up in daily business decisions:

• You feel like no one’s buying your product — but maybe your sale notifications are off. If you don’t check the dashboard, you might pull a product that’s quietly performing well.

• You feel like no one’s watching — but if inquiries are up, the content is working. You’re just measuring the wrong thing.

• You feel like your email list is full of bots because no one replies — but if they click your links or buy your stuff, they’re real. Just quiet.

Since adding YouTube to my long-game strategy in 2022, I’ve been learning with every upload. And while I’m not exactly swimming in subscribers (2.5 years in, still under 2.5K), the data shows it’s helping my business regardless of the growth speed.

Every video is practice. Every blog post is a rep. But if I judged success on feelings alone? I’d have given up long before now!

So: check your data. Pay attention to your thoughts & feelings, but don’t rely on them alone. Don’t bark at the keys. 😉🔑 🐕

Questions to ask yourself after 6 months of consistency

1. Is there a return on the time/money I'm investing in this?

2. Am I enjoying the process (most of the time)?

3. Are people finding and engaging with my content?

4. Is this bringing qualified leads/customers to my business?

5. Do I feel like I'm getting better at this?

If the answer to most of these is yes, then keep going. If not, it might be time to try a different platform—but stick with just that one. If that means changing platforms, post something that says 'I'm moving over to [platform name], so find me over there!' to let people know you didn't just disappear/quit/give up.

When (& How) to Add a Second Platform

Eventually, you might want to or feel ready to expand your reach by adding another medium for your marketing strategy. But here are my rules:

1. Wait until you're actually pretty good at the first one and seeing results

"Good" means you've been consistently creating content for at least 6-12 months, you have systems in place, it feels easy, and you're seeing some kind of return on your investment (whether that's leads, sales, or just people finding your stuff).

2. Choose something complementary

If you're killing it on YouTube, maybe add a blog. If you're a blogging machine, consider starting a podcast or YouTube channel. If you're on Instagram, maybe add Pinterest. If you're on Twitter, think about trying Threads. If you're doing in-person marketing, pick up more live events or start some live workshops. Pick something that works with/alongside your existing strategy, not against it. If they are too different from each other, and you're still a one-person show, then it will quickly feel overwhelming & you'll stop/give up before you see results.

3. Have a plan for repurposing

Don't just add more work to your plate. Figure out how to turn your existing content into something that works for the new platform too. One piece of content, multiple formats. This might mean buying subscriptions or software (the most cost-effective solution, honestly), vs hiring a contractor to help.

4. Set boundaries

Decide upfront how much time you'll spend on the new platform and stick to it. Don't let it cannibalize the energy you're putting into your main strategy or they could both explode/collapse!

Permission to Stop Doing What You Hate

Here's your official permission slip: You don't have to be everywhere; by itself, "should" is not a valid reason.

You don't have to be on Instagram if you hate/suck at taking photos. You don't have to be on TikTok if dancing/singing makes you cringe. You don't have to start a podcast if the sound of your own voice makes you want to crawl into a hole. You don't have to blog if it stresses you out. You don't have to go to/host live events if crowds make your heart race in all the worst ways & public speaking is your worst fear.

Other people don't run your business. They don't pay your bills. They don't know your strengths, your capacity, your income or expenses, and your goals. So why are you letting their "shoulds" dictate your strategy? 🤔

The “but everyone else is doing it” trap

Every time someone tells me they "should" start posting on social media, I'm always asking them why: "Have you successfully run your business using social media before now?"

The answer is usually some version of no, and is usually related to some version of FOMO and "should".

So why start now?

• Because you feel pressured?

• Because some marketing expert told you it's the only way?

• Because you're comparing your behind-the-scenes to everyone else's highlight reels?

Let's be real: none of those are good reasons to add more to your already full plate.

Pick one. Get good at it. Build an audience there. Then, if you want to and have the capacity, consider adding something else.

But please, for the love of all that’s holy, stop trying to do everything at once.

The secret of success

Ready for it?
Consistency beats omnipresence every single time.

I'd rather see you show up reliably in one place for a year than sporadically across seven platforms for three months before burning out and disappearing entirely.

Your audience needs to know where to find you, and so do the algorithms in these platforms. They need to trust that you'll be there when you say you will. They need to see that you're committed to providing value in that space. If you need to change your consistency, that's fine –but be consistent with the change too.

Going from every other week to 1x month? Fine, do what you need to do. Switch from weekly to 2x monthly? Okay, do what you need to do. But DON'T post when you feel like it with no recognizable schedule, because that's the best way to become invisible.

You can't build trust when you're scattered across the internet like digital confetti. 🫤

No BS: A Quick Recap

1. Stop trying to be everywhere.

2. Pick one thing.

3. Get good at it.

4. Build something meaningful there.

Your future self—the one who isn't burned out from trying to manage seventeen different social media accounts—will thank you.

Your business—the one that gets your full attention instead of your scattered energy—will thank you.

Your sanity—what's left of it after years of platform-hopping & shiny object syndrome—will definitely thank you.

You don't need to be everywhere to be successful.
You just need to be consistently valuable somewhere.

Your people are waiting for you there—not scattered across the entire internet, but in that one place where you show up as your best, most focused self!

What platform are you going to focus on?

Drop a comment and let me know—I'd love to cheer you on as you stop doing #allthethings and start doing the right thing for you, instead.

I see this question a lot: "How do I use Kit with Squarespace when Squarespace already has email campaigns?"

I get why people are confused & why this trips everyone up, because Kit works completely differently than platforms like MailerLite or FloDesk. With those systems, you need a separate automation for every. Single. Freebie. delivery.

But Kit has a genius-level built-in feature where you can deliver your opt-in gift directly from the form's settings. No need for multiple automations to deliver all your freebies. And no complex workflows that make you feel like you need a computer science degree to manage your freebie funnels.

One form does all the heavy lifting for you so you can focus on using automations to do things that truly matter.

I've been using Kit (previously called, ConvertKit) for years, and I'm gonna walk you through exactly how to set this up from start to finish. We're talking form selection, design, settings, embedding on Squarespace (or any website builder for that matter), and testing the whole damn thing to make sure it works.

Because nothing's worse than thinking you've got it all set up correctly, only to realize your subscribers aren't getting their freebies. 😬 Oopsie.

Why Use Kit Email Marketing with Squarespace

Before we dive into the step-by-step stuff, let me explain why this combo works so well.

Squarespace is brilliant for building beautiful websites. Like, stupidly good at it. But their email marketing? It's... fine. Basic. Gets the job done if you're just sending newsletters and other very basic use-cases, but if you want to build real email automations, segment your audience, or create funnels that actually convert subscribers to buyers ––or at least convert them to fans, you're gonna hit walls pretty fast. And at first glance, it might look like Squarespace users are limited to the built-in Email Campaigns feature (an add-on subscription cost) or MailChimp which has a direct integration with the 'Newsletter' block, but that's actually NOT your only option! Squarespace works with any email marketing platform, Kit included!

Kit, on the other hand, was built specifically for content creators & small business owners who want to grow their email lists (and hopefully also make money with them). The free Newsletter Plan gives you up to 10,000 subscribers (which is honestly utterly bananas) and one automation, before needing to upgrade to a paid plan.

Compare that to MailerLite's measly 1,000 subscribers limit on their free plan, or FloDesk's 30-day trial for all features or their free plan which limits you to JUST collecting subscribers but not contacting (emailing) them, and Kit suddenly becomes a no-brainer.

Plus, as I said, Kit plays nice with any website builder, not just with Squarespace. You're not locked into using their landing pages (though they're decent if you want them). You can embed the subscribe forms anywhere on your Squarespace site and they'll pull in your site's fonts automatically to match your branding.

It's the best of both worlds—Squarespace's gorgeous design capabilities and Kit's robust email marketing features ––aaaaand you can do all of that for free until you've grown to 10,000 subscribers, if you're just getting started & only need the basics.

Kit Form Types: Inline vs Modal vs Landing Pages, etc

Inside your Kit account, from the top navigation bar, click on Grow, then select Landing Pages & Forms. From there, you'll be able to set up all your forms AND deliver whatever freebies or opt-ins, per form.

From the Landing Pages & Forms page, click + Create New. Then you'll see two main options:

1. Forms - These are embeddable forms that you can add anywhere on your site, in one or more areas (per form).

2. Landing Pages - These come with their own design and their own URL because they work as standalone pages, linked from any linkable thing on your site (buttons, text, images, etc).

For Squarespace users & people who are newer to email marketing, you'll probably prefer the Forms option since you'll be embedding it on your existing website page(s).

Once you decide on the style of form, then you get to pick what type of form behavior you want:

1. Inline - Sits right inside your content (blog posts, homepage, footer, wherever you want)

2. Modal - Pop-up that covers the entire page when triggered

3. Slide-in - Slides in from a corner (less intrusive than a Modal, but still sort of a pop-up)

4. Sticky bar - Sticks to the top or bottom of the screen (less intrusive than Modals or Slide-Ins, but customizably visible)

For this tutorial, we're going to use an Inline Form because it's the most popular, and potentially least annoying for our visitors.

Choose a Form Template Design

Once you've picked "Inline," you'll see a bunch of design template options. They all do basically the same things, so pick whatever gets you closest to what you want it to look like visually.

The one exception is the Claire template (which may or may not still be named 'Claire' when you set this up at a later date), which gives you just the form fields with minimal styling & no other elements (images, titles, etc). This is perfect if you want maximum control over how it looks on your site, because you design whatever goes around/with it and just embed the form fields + subscribe button by themselves, if ya want.

For this example though, I'm picking the Charlotte template because it's simple, uses an expected/familiar design, and it has a nice image + form combo that works well for most freebies.

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How to Design Kit Forms for Squarespace

Swapping the Background Image

First, let's change out that generic stock photo. Click on the image in the design, then look at the righthand sidebar to see what it's settings are. From there, you should see a background section and with a button labeled "Edit" or "Replace." Kit has an Unsplash integration built-in, so you can search for something that actually relates to your freebie ––or you can upload a photo (JPG or PNG) of your freebie if you have one ready.

Pro tip: If using a stock photo, pick an image that matches your brand colors or at least doesn't clash horribly with your website, if you don't have a mockup of your freebie yet. If you want to make a mockup, use Canva!

Writing Copy That Actually Converts

This is where most people mess up. The default text is usually something bland like "Get our guide!" Nope. Not gonna cut it. 🫣

Your headline needs to be specific. Instead of "Get our free checklist," try "Get the 47-point checklist for moving without losing your mind!" or "Download the exact website launch checklist I used to get my first 1000 website visits." See the difference? Specificity works!

Kit Form Field Setup: Name & Email Best Practices

By default, you'll probably just see an email field in these form templates, but I recommend adding a name field too because addressing people by their actual name in emails makes a huge difference in open rates, engagement, click rates, and even conversion rates if you plan to sell things. Wouldn't you rather interact with an email that said, "I'd love to help you with that, Katelyn! Buy X here." vs "I'd love to help you with that! Buy X here." Better with the name, right?! Yep. 🙂‍↕️😃

Here's how to add it:

1. Click the circled plus sign ⊕ icon to add another input field

2. Select "Custom field" in the righthand sidebar

3. Choose "First name" from the second dropdown setting

4. Make it required (trust me on this) so people will actually fill it out

5. Drag it above the Email field, in the preview area to reorder them (& move the Name field to the top, above the email field)

Why first name only? Because asking for someone's full name is unnecessary for this situation so it may feel invasive. You don't actually need their last name to send good emails before they've bought anything from you.

Important: Make sure the Name field comes FIRST, then Email. People are impatient & creatures of habit. They expect these fields to show up in that order. If you flip it, they'll much more likely to accidentally put their email in the Name field and vice versa, then get frustrated when the form won't let them submit it, and maybe give up & abandon the form entirely.

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How to Customize Kit Form Button Text and Colors

Change that button text from the generic "Subscribe" to something that matches your freebie. "Subscribe & get the checklist" or "Download the guide + Subscribe" works way better. Using both "subscribe" and some form of CTA works great for transparency, so they know they'll be joining your email list when sign up to get their freebie & the people who confirm are happier to get emails from you.

Also, if pink isn't your vibe (it's definitely not mine, despite my cute headband in this post's video), you can change the button color & shape to match your brand. To change the shape from sharp rectangular corners, to rounded, to pill shaped, play with the border radius in the button's settings. The higher the number, the more pill-shaped, the lower the number, the more rectangular.

Standard px (pixel) values for that Border Radius setting are:

1. 0px (sharp corners, rectangle shaped)

2. 5px (soft rounded corners)

3. 30px (large rounded corners, pill shaped)

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Remove Kit Branding from Forms (paid plans only)

If you're on a paid plan, you can turn off the "Built with Kit" text by clicking on those words in the form editor/preview side, then unchecking the box to show that in the righthand settings area.

Free plan users are stuck with it, but honestly, it's not the end of the world if you can't get rid of it for a while.

Adding Custom CSS to Kit form styles

Change the ‘ugly’ neon green success message color with Custom CSS

In the form’s General Styles panel, there is a CSS area where you can add the following code snippet:

.formkit-alert-success {
    background-color: #fff !important;
    border-color: #000 !important;
    border: 3px solid;
    color: #000000 !important;
}

Improve the layout of the input fields + subscribe button with Custom CSS

In the same CSS area of the General Styles panel, add the following code snippet:

.formkit-field {display: flex !important;}
.formkit-field:first-child { display: flex !important;}
.formkit-field:last-child {display: flex !important; }
.formkit-input { display: flex !important; }
@media screen and (min-width: 800px) {
.formkit-field {
margin: 0 5px 15px 0 !important;
flex: 1 0 20% !important;
}
}

Kit Form Settings: How to Deliver Lead Magnets Without Automations

This is the part that makes Kit different from every other email platform, so pay CLOSE attention!

After editing your form's design template, click on Settings from the upper righthand menu, and you'll see a few tabs within a popup. Let's walk through each one.

General Settings

Under the success message, change the default text to something more helpful for your potential subscriber. Instead of just "Thanks for subscribing!" try something like: "You're in! Check your email to access your [name or type of specific freebie]." This tells them exactly what to do next and sets the expectation that they need to check their email to get it.

Kit Incentive Email Setup:

Auto Confirming Subscribers (aka: Double Opt-in is OFF)

I’m gonna go against the grain here & tell you why I think you should leave my double opt-in ON in Kit, instead of telling you how to turn it off. 😂

1. you don’t pay for unconfirmed subscribers bc you can’t contact them until they confirm from the incentive email you're sending via the form's settings

2. confirmed subscribers have better engagement because they literally CONFIRMed they want to be there; they give you better open rates & click rates, which is better for deliverability long term & for your sales conversion rate if you sell in any of your emails

3. Double opt-in is HIGHLY recommended for compliance with anti-spam laws; Kit even tells you why they don't recommend you auto-confirm subscriber if you try turning Double Opt-in off in the form settings

4. the incentive email ALSO confirms the subscribers while delivering the freebie they are opting in for, which is relatively unique as most other platforms I’ve used make double opt-in a literal double (2 step) process; Kit’s form settings give you an option to deliver the opt-in when they click the button in that email, AND ALSO confirms them if auto confirm is OFF, & the URL for the button in the incentive email is the variable code for confirmation: {{confirm_url}}

See Kit's help desk article for more information on the incentive email, or this article about why you should NOT use the auto-confirm features.

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Double Opt-in Freebie Delivery

Double Opt-in ON by default in Kit, but it's the way they handle the double opt-in process that made this not-hidden secret a small-but-mighty part of the reason Kit quickly became my favorite email marketing platform. Instead of sending your subscribers 2 emails each time they subscribe AND creating a separate automation to deliver a freebie if someone fills out a particular form, you actually set it all up right here in the form's settings.

Click Edit email contents and you'll see Kit's most basic email editor (they use an older editor for this), but it gets the job done.

Here's what you need to edit in your incentive email:

Subject Line:
Make it clear their freebie is inside. Something like "🎁 DELIVERY: Your checklist is inside!" or "Here's your free guide!"

Email Body:

1. Start with a friendly generic greeting (you can't use their name here because they haven't confirmed they want to be on your list yet)

2. Thank them for being here

3. Tell them what to do next: "Click the button below to confirm your email and access your checklist"

On The Button:
Change the text to something like "Confirm and get my checklist" or "Get my checklist & Confirm"

Here's the key thing to understand—this one email does TWO jobs:

1. It confirms their email subscription (the double opt-in requirement)

2. It delivers their freebie

When they click that button, Kit both confirms they want to be on your list AND redirects them to whatever you're giving them. Two birds, one stone. 👏🏻

How to Upload Files vs Link to External Content in Kit

After you've written the email, you need to exit the email editor & go back to the form's settings panel, to tell Kit where to send people when they click that confirmation button.

• You DO NOT add the link to the button itself in the incentive email!!

• DO NOT remove the default link value which should look something like this: {{confirm_url}} ––or your subscribers will have trouble actually confirming their email subscriber status when they click to get their freebie.

You have two options to deliver the opt-in/freebie:

1. Upload a file: If you've got a PDF, a docx, csv, jpg, or any other file, just upload it directly to Kit. When people click the confirmation button, they'll be taken to a download page where they can preview & download the file.

2. Link to something: If your freebie lives somewhere else (Google Docs, a Canva template, a page on your website, access to a Custom GPT, etc), just paste the URL here. Again, when they click the confirmation button in the incentive email, they'll be taken to this link to access their freebie.

Kit Advanced Form Settings: Repeat Subscriber Behavior

Under the Advanced tab, you can control what happens when someone who's already subscribed sees the form again.

The default is "Continue to show the form," and I recommend leaving it that way. Why? Because people sometimes forget what freebies they've downloaded. If you hide the form after they've subscribed once, they can't get access to that stuff again if they lose it, or if they've unsubscribed and want to subscribe & download that freebie again ––they can't do that if they can't see the form.

Letting them re-download or re-subscribe is way better (for both of us) than getting emails asking where to download that freebie again.

How to Embed Kit Forms in Squarespace (Step-by-Step)

Now your form is set up and ready to go. Next, let's get it on your website!

First, make sure you Publish the form in Kit by clicking on the Publish button in the top righthand corner of the form editor. You can't embed it until after you click that button & it's published by Kit, even though the embed button shows up before/to the left of the Publish button, which might suggest you embed then publish. No. Publish first, then embed. You can try it the other way around, but it won't work (trust me; I've made that mistake too!) 🤭

Once it's published:

1. Then you click Embed

2. Copy the JavaScript code to your clipboard (it'll be the first option, though, any of the option will work if you know what to do with them)

3. Head over to your Squarespace website

4. Open the page where you want the form to go, then go into Edit mode for that page

5. Add a Code Block (or an embed block, either should work)

6. FYI: Squarespace's new pricing plans handle Code & Embed blocks differently as of 2025; Basic Squarespace plans will need to use Kit's HTML option to embed the forms, Core Squarespace plans & higher can use any option to embed the forms. Learn more about this from Squarespace's current pricing breakdown &/or this Help Center article on Code Blocks.)

7. Paste in the code

8. Save and you're done

The form will pull in your site's default fonts automatically, which is why you don't see font options in Kit's form builder. Pretty nifty! 😊

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How to Test Kit Forms Before Going Live

Before you announce your new freebie to the world, make sure ya test it to make sure it works the way you expect & the incentive email looks good. Use your own email address (or junk address), fill out the form, and make sure:

1. The success message appears correctly

2. You get the confirmation/incentive email

3. The confirmation button actually works

4. Your freebie downloads or the link goes to the right place

I've seen too many people skip testing and then realize their automation was broken after 50 people tried to sign up. Don't be that person! 😬

Pro tip for testing:

A lot of people do a couple rounds of testing and then 'run out of email addresses' to test. With more industry-standard tools like Kit, reusing email addresses might mean that the tests don't work if you're already subscribed. If this happens, and if you have a Gmail or Google Workspace email address, you can format your email with +test between your prefix (what comes before the @ symbol) and the domain.com (what comes after the @ symbol). This will give you any number of unique email addresses to test, each of which are 'fake' temporary alias email addresses that will still come to your inbox so you can test the whole process from start to finish. Just make sure that each time you use one, it's different than the ones you've used before, otherwise Kit may think this is an existing subscriber trying to resubscribe.

Some examples:

1. if my email address is hi@launchthedamnthing.com → then the fake test emails could look like: hi+test@launchthedamnthing.com or hi+test58@launchthedamnthing.com

2. if my email address is katelyn@katelyndoeswebsites.com → then the fake test emails could be: katelyn+test@katelyndoeswebsites.com or katelyn+omgnotanothertest@katelyndoeswebsites.com

3. if your email address is yourname@yourdomain.com → then your fake test emails could be: yourname+testanything@yourdomain.com

Kit + Squarespace Integration Examples

Now, let's look at how this actually looks in practice.

Example 1: Kit Inline Form with Custom Squarespace Design

On my blog's home page, I have a freebie for a cheat sheet. Instead of using Kit's pre-designed form template, I used the Claire template (remember that one is just the form fields) and built my own design around it.

I've got a couple of image blocks above the form that shows what the cheat sheet looks like + some text describing what they'd be signing up for, then the Kit form below it. The form could work by itself, but having that visual makes it way more compelling & I got to set it up however I wanted without designing that bit in Kit.

Example 2: Kit Landing Page for General Newsletter Signup

I also have a general newsletter signup form that lives on its own page & has its own link. This one doesn't have a specific freebie though; it's just for people who want to join my list for regular updates & to hear more from me.

Since there's no incentive here, the messaging is different on that one. Instead of promising a download, I'm telling them what kind of emails they'll get and why they're worth reading.

The form also includes checkboxes where people can tell me what they're most interested in. These are set up as tags in Kit, which lets me send more targeted content later when applicable.

Because this form has its own URL, I can't (don't want to) embed it onto my website, but I can link to it from anywhere on my site! So I have a link to it in my Footer and sometimes I have a link to it in 'ads' like this one:

Kit Free Plan vs Paid Plans: Features Comparison for 2025

Here's whatcha get on Kit's free Newsletter plan:

1. up to 10,000 subscribers (most competitors give you 1,000 or less)

2. 1 automation (perfect for a welcome sequence for new subscribers)

3. Forms

4. Basic segmentation

5. Decent email editor

6. Better email deliverability

The only real limitation is that you can't remove the Kit branding or opt-out of the Creator Network, but honestly, if you're just starting out and trying to grow your first 10,000 subscribers, those 2 things are a pretty small price to pay, IMHO.

Once you outgrow the free plan, their paid plans are competitive with other robust platforms and you get access to advanced automations, better reporting, and all the bells and whistles you might expect.

Comparing MailerLite’s vs FloDesk’s Free Plans in 2025

MailerLite:

1. up to 1,000 subscribers

2. up to 12,000 monthly emails

3. basic automations

4. organize your audience (segmentation)

5. no email design templates

6. chat & email support for 14 days

7. paid plans start at $9/mo and increases with the size of your audience

FloDesk:

1. Forms

2. organize your audience (segmentation)

3. access to all usage, brand settings, and form types

4. can't contact your subscribers until/unless you're on a free trial or a paid plan

5. free trial of paid features lasts 30-days

6. paid plans start at $38/mo for email marketing, or $59/mo for all features, including checkouts

7. or get 50% OFF your first year with my code DAMN50

Check out these posts next to learn more about email marketing platforms:

1. find out which of these 5 platforms might fit you best (newbie comparison)

2. get a comparison between FloDesk & Kit (deep dive comparison)

3. FloDesk vs Kit: subscriber preferences & link actions (advanced tutorial)

Common Kit + Squarespace Setup Mistakes to Avoid

Don't Overcomplicate the Confirmation Process

I see people trying to set up complex automation sequences for freebie delivery when Kit's built-in incentive feature does exactly what they need. Keep it simple! You can use those automation features later for better things. 😉

Don't Skip the Double Opt-In

Yes, turning off double opt-in means people get their freebies faster. But it also means you're not complying with GDPR and other privacy laws, plus you'll potentially get worse deliverability & your subscribers tend to be less engaged (because they weren't there "for you" in the first place; just there for the free shit). The extra step is worth it & Kit makes it easy for everyone.

Don't Use Generic Copy

"Get our free guide" doesn't make anyone excited. Be specific about what you're offering and why someone should care enough to subscribe to get it, download/open it, and actually use it.

Don't Forget to Test

Seriously, test your forms before you promote them! Nothing kills momentum like a broken signup process. Whomp, whomp. 🫤

Keep it simple

Email marketing doesn't have to be complicated. Kit + Squarespace is honestly one of the best combinations out there for creators who want beautiful websites AND powerful email marketing.

The key is understanding that Kit works differently than other platforms & has purposefully made this process simpler. Once you understand that the freebie delivery happens in the form settings (not in a separate automation), everything else becomes much easier & faster.

Now stop overthinking it and go set up your first form! You've got freebies to deliver and an audience to build. 💪

Want to see more tutorials like this? Let me know in the comments what else you're struggling with in either of my favorite platforms: Kit or FloDesk!

💁🏻‍♀️ Quick Legal Disclaimer (because I have to)

Before we dive into all this analytics talk—I need to throw in the standard "I'm not a lawyer" disclaimer because, well, I'm definitely not a lawyer! 😅 Everything I'm sharing here is based on my research and experience as a web designer, but it's not legal advice.

Privacy laws, international regulations, and compliance requirements are complex, constantly changing, and honestly pretty confusing even for the experts. Your situation is unique—your business, your audience, your platform setup, and where you're located all matter. What works for me might not be the right fit for you. So please, do your own research, consult with an actual attorney if you're unsure about compliance stuff, and make decisions that feel right for your specific circumstances. I'm just here sharing what I've learned along the way, not telling you what you legally must or must not do. Cool? Cool.

This post combines my hands-on experience using Squarespace, Google, Fathom, and Termageddon for myself or with clients, and includes some AI research (using both Perplexity and Claude) to make sure I wasn't missing any recent (published) legal developments. However, it was edited by me prior to posting. All sources are cited at the end of this post.

Now, let's talk analytics! 🎯

Squarespace Analytics vs Google Analytics vs privacy laws + GDPR might be boring, but this is something I've been paying attention to here & there for a while now because this whole analytics situation is way more complicated than it ought to be.

Or… maybe it just feels that way to me (but I doubt it).

When you're making a new website, for years & years, everyone said to install Google Analytics to “really understand” how visitors use it, even if your website platform includes their own built-in analytics, like Squarespace does.

But recently, you might’ve been hearing whispers about privacy laws and cookie banners and suddenly you're spiraling down a rabbit hole at 2 AM wondering if you're accidentally breaking international privacy laws?

Yeah. That's where we're going today. It’s not a fun or sexy topic, and I’ll happily also admit up front that I’m NOT an expert here, but I will share what I’ve learned so far & feel fairly confident about.

After diving deep into this mess (because apparently I enjoy deep dives & research), I've got the full breakdown on Squarespace Analytics vs. Google Analytics vs. those privacy-first tools you might’ve seen/heard someone else talking about.

Plus, we're gonna talk about what happens when you throw legal compliance into the mix—because surprise! That shit actually matters, and now even Google is paying attention.

Why Analytics Compliance Matters on Squarespace & GA4

Nobody tells you this when you making a website in 2024 & beyond… but your analytics choice isn't just about seeing how many people visited your site. Now it’s also about legal compliance, data ownership, user experience, and whether you'll be able to take your data with you if you ever leave your current platform.

And if you're thinking "but I'm just a small business owner with like 50 visitors a month"—stop right there.

The law doesn't care about your traffic volume. If you have EU visitors (and you probably do, but if you don’t now you likely will soon), you're playing by GDPR rules whether you know it or not.

Comparing Squarespace vs GA4 vs Fathom vs Plausible

First, let’s look at the details of 4 popular website analytics options.

Squarespace Analytics:
An Easy Option

Squarespace Analytics comes built into your dashboard—no setup, no fuss, no additional code to install. It tracks your basic traffic, where people come from, what pages they're looking at, and if you're running an online store, it'll show you sales data too.

The interface is clean, visual, and designed for people who just want to see "am I getting visitors?" without needing a PhD in data analysis.

✅ Pros

• Zero setup required — it's already there, tracking from the start

• Super beginner-friendly — if you can read a graph, you can understand these reports

• Integrated with everything else — your analytics match up perfectly with your Squarespace commerce data

• No additional monthly fees — it's included in whatever you're already paying Squarespace

❌ Cons

But here's where things get interesting (and by interesting, I mean potentially problematic):

Limited depth. Squarespace Analytics shows you the basics, but if you want to dig deeper—like understanding user behavior patterns, setting up conversion funnels, or tracking custom events—you're out of luck because it can’t do that.

Data export limitations. If you ever decide to leave Squarespace, you lose your entire analytics history because it’s not exportable. All those months or years of data? Gone. It stays in Squarespace, just like your Netflix watch history stays in Netflix if you cancel.

Accuracy issues. The numbers can be inflated or inconsistent compared to other tools. I've seen sites where Squarespace Analytics showed dramatically different visitor counts than Google Analytics running on the same site.

Legal compliance concerns. By default, Squarespace Analytics uses cookies and collects visitor data (IP addresses, device info, location) that could be considered personal data under GDPR and other privacy laws.

⚠️ The Legal Reality Check

Even if you're just starting out with minimal traffic, if you have website visitors from anyone in the EU, you're technically required to comply with GDPR. That means getting explicit consent to collect their data before any data is collected.

The good news? You can adjust Squarespace's settings to be more privacy-friendly:

• Disable analytics cookies until someone consents via your cookie banner

• Turn off the activity log to stop collecting IP addresses and location data

• Restrict non-essential cookies in your advanced privacy settings

The bad news? Making these changes will make your analytics data less accurate and reliable. The other bad news? This helps, but still does not currently comply with foreign privacy laws. (More on that in a minute!)

⭐️ Best For

Total beginners who want simple stats and aren't planning to leave Squarespace anytime soon. If you're just starting out and want to see basic traffic patterns without any technical setup, this works, but be warned that it’s not completely legally compliant.

Google Analytics (GA4):
A Powerhouse

Google Analytics is the industry standard for a reason—it's incredibly powerful, free for most use cases, and integrates with basically every marketing tool you've ever heard of.

GA4 (the current version) tracks detailed user behavior, supports custom events, offers advanced segmentation, and can handle multiple websites and apps from one dashboard. It's kinda like having a data analyst living in your browser, if you know how to use it.

✅ Pros

• Incredibly powerful — you can track almost anything and create custom reports for any scenario

• Free for most features — unless you're processing massive amounts of data, you won't have to pay Google a dime

• Integrates with everything — Google Ads, Search Console, YouTube, email marketing tools, you name it

• Data export options — you can export raw data via CSV files & import wherever you want/need to (taking your data with you)

• Future-proof — Google probably isn't going anywhere & they keep adding features

❌ Cons

The learning curve is brutal. GA4's interface is confusing as hell, and the terminology feels like it was designed by robots for robots. I've been using Google Analytics for years, and in GA4 I stare at the dashboard like "what am I even looking at?" 😂

Privacy concerns are real. Google Analytics collects a lot of user data, and there are ongoing legal challenges in the EU about whether it's fully compliant with GDPR.

It can be overkill. If you just want to see basic traffic stats, GA4 is like driving a Ferrari to check your mailbox. I mean… it'll get you there, but do you really need to drive a car a few feet/meters, or could you just… I dunno… walk? 🤭

⚠️ The EU Legal Situation (Important)

Here's the complication: several EU countries (Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) have ruled that Google Analytics violates GDPR because it transfers EU user data to US servers (where it’s stored), where it could potentially be accessed by US government surveillance.

Google Analytics doesn't appear to be technically "illegal" EU-wide, but the legal risk is real. If you're using GA4 and get hit with a compliance issue, you're liable, not Google. 🤦🏼‍♀️

The core problem isn't really about GA4's privacy controls (though they've improved). It's about the fundamental issue of transferring EU data to the US, and that's not something you can fix with settings, because it’s not up to us –that’s up to Google.

⭐️ Best For

Advanced users who need deep analytics, custom reporting, and don't mind investing time to learn the platform. If you're running multiple sites, need detailed conversion tracking, or want to integrate with advertising platforms, GA4 is probably worth the complexity. BUT use it at your own (potential legal) risk!

Fathom* Analytics:
A Privacy-First Favorite

Fathom* is built specifically for people who want useful analytics without the privacy nightmare. It tracks the essential metrics (visits, referrers, pages, conversions) without using cookies or collecting personal data.

The dashboard is clean, fast-loading, and designed to give you actionable insights without overwhelming you with options.

✅ Pros

• Privacy-first by design — no cookies, no personal data collection, GDPR-compliant out of the box

• Actually easy to use — the interface makes sense to humans, not just data scientists

• Fast and lightweight — doesn't slow down your site like other third-party analytics scripts

• Data export supported — you can take your data with you if you switch platforms

• Transparent pricing — no hidden fees or confusing tiers

❌ Cons

It costs money. Plans start at $14/month for up to 100,000 monthly pageviews, which isn't huge but it's not free.

Less granular than GA4. You won't get advanced segmentation, custom events, or the deep behavioral tracking that power users want.

May not integrate with every marketing or business tool you're using (though they're adding integrations regularly).

⚠️ Legal & Privacy Benefits

Fathom* offers EU data residency, meaning data from EU visitors stays stored on servers in the EU. They're designed to avoid triggering GDPR consent requirements for analytics, and they're widely considered one of the most legally compliant options available.

⭐️ Best For

Most designers and small business owners. If you want clear, actionable insights without legal headaches or complex setup, Fathom* hits the sweet spot. It's especially good if you value privacy and don't want to deal with cookie banners just for your analytics.

Plausible Analytics:
An Open-Source Alternative

Plausible is similar to Fathom*—privacy-focused, cookie-free, and GDPR-compliant by design. It tracks basic metrics without personal data collection and offers a clean, simple dashboard.

The big difference is that Plausible is open-source, so you can self-host it if you want complete control over your data.

✅ Pros

• Privacy-friendly — no cookies, no personal data collection

• Open-source — you can self-host for complete control, or use their hosted service

• Simple and clear — easy-to-understand dashboard

• Transparent pricing — straightforward monthly fees based on traffic

❌ Cons

• Paid for hosted version — starts at $9/month for up to 10,000 monthly pageviews

• Similar limitations to Fathom* — less advanced features compared to Google Analytics

• Self-hosting requires technical knowledge — if you want the free version, you need to manage your own server & the location of that server will matter if you want to remain compliant

⭐️ Best For

Privacy-conscious users who want simple analytics and either don't mind paying for hosted service or have the technical skills to self-host.

Analytics Options by Experience Level

⭐️ Just Starting Out – (0-6 months, low traffic)

Squarespace Analytics + proper privacy settings for simplicity.

Fathom*/Plausible if privacy is more important to you.

If you're brand new and just want to see if anyone's visiting your site, Squarespace Analytics works fine—just make sure you configure the privacy settings properly and add a cookie consent banner.

If you're privacy-conscious or have EU visitors, Fathom* or Plausible are worth the small monthly fee for peace of mind.

⭐️⭐️ Growing Business – (6+ months, increasing traffic)

Fathom* or Plausible are ideal for actionable insights without the complexity of Google’s.

Google Analytics (GA4) offers more features, if you want to invest time learning how to use its deeper insights and advertising integrations.

At this stage, you’ll want analytics that will grow with your business. Fathom* and Plausible offer great insights without the legal headaches, while GA4 gives you more power if you're willing to climb the possibly-hellacious learning curve & risk noncompliance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Established Business – (2-5+ years, higher traffic, complex needs)

Google Analytics is still king for depth of data collected, which is why its compliance is called into question, because that data is potentially surveilled in a country that isn’t the user’s.

To my knowledge, neither Fathom* or Plausible can compete with Google Analytics feature-for-feature. That said, if privacy is important to you, reach out to Fathom*/Plausible to find out what’s possible with their platform (ie: event tracking, etc) on higher level use-cases before deciding to use Google instead.

Termageddon* + GA4: GDPR/CCPA Compliance for Squarespace

If you decide to stick with Squarespace Analytics or Google Analytics, you absolutely need proper privacy policies and cookie consent management. This is where Termageddon* comes in, because –in my humble opinion– Squarespace’s built-in tools aren’t enough yet because technically their analytics data is stored on US servers, just like Google’s.

What is Termageddon*?

Termageddon* is a SAAS company (software as a service) which generates & updates a Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy (among other policies) tailored to your specific site and what you’ve put on it. They also offer an included Cookie Consent Tool (powered by Usercentrics) that lets visitors accept or decline cookies before they use the website (ie: before data is collected).

What makes services like Termageddon* special, is that they have an active legal team looking for privacy law updates & pushing updated policies to your website (once the policies are installed successfully) wherever possible. If they can’t auto-update the policy for you, they’ll notify you of changes that require new information (answering a few new questions) so you can make the changes yourself.

Their support team is TRULY INCREDIBLE, and after years of using them myself I still can’t stop talking about them. If you ever need support, get confused, while using their services, –just ask! They’re always happy to help, and tend to go above & beyond wherever possible.

For Squarespace sites, you’ll add Termageddon’s* consent tool installation code (a quick copy/paste) to your site, and it automatically helps your website visitors manage cookie consent for analytics and other tracking tools, which includes third-party embedded items that often have tracking, like:

• YouTube videos (Google owns YouTube & each video has analytics)

• Other video embeds (Vimeo, Wistia, Loom, etc)

• Posts from basically any social media platform (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, X/Twitter)

• Forms, (email subscribe forms, contact forms, checkout forms, scheduling forms, etc)

• Reviews from third-party apps (such as Elfsight’s popular Google Reviews widget, or Yotpo, etc)

But,  I’m not  “collecting data”

As you can see, it’s much easier than you might think, to be collecting “data” on your website’s visitors without even realizing that’s what you’re doing. That’s because “Data” on the web can mean a LOT of different things, from credit card info, to names & email addresses, to the user’s IP address (their internet address, in non-geek terms), to the user’s activity on the page.

Of course, for most of us, this data is not collected maliciously; it’s literally just part of doing business, to do things like:

• Take payments for services or products, because we must collect basic information to process the payment.

• Schedule calls, because we must embed a form with a calendar & let visitors use it.

• Accept inquiries, because it’s easiest to use a form so we can request specific information before we respond, but often forms have some sort of reporting features.

• Understand how well/not well our website is working, because we have to analyze how our visitors use it in order to make sure it keeps working & remains helpful to the public.

Inevitably, that data is collected & stored somewhere. Right now, according to the EU’s new laws, data on non-US citizens (ie: EU residents, for example) can’t be stored in the US.

But if it’s true that Google isn’t technically responsible for managing where it stores this data for its users & their website visitors, and somehow it’s actually considered legally OUR responsibility not to use Google Analytics… then WE are the ones at risk.

My opinion is that Google should be responsible here. As their users, we can’t dictate where Google stores their user’s data, but they are the largest analytics provider in the world, with regard to websites. Google is also the most robust analytics option, which means a huge portion of online business operations are using &/or reliant on Google (GA4) & can’t switch to a less robust platform because their business operations still need those analytics to make decisions & nothing else is quite up to the task in a compliant way.

Google should ultimately be responsible to figure out how to store user data on the correct servers, as that’s literally their business –not ours; we’re just using their tool. They have too many existing users reliant on them to get their shit together, a large portion of which may not even be aware of the legal risks they’re up against.

Termageddon’s* Legal Protection

• Informed consent — analytics only run for visitors who've given explicit permission, via the Consent Tool

• Transparency — your policies explain exactly what data is collected, how it's used & how it’s shared, for anyone that cares too look/know

• User control — visitors can opt out of non-essential cookies anytime (ie: data collected or cookies that aren’t necessary in order for the site to function)

The Squarespace-Specific Tip

Termageddon’s* Co-Founder, Hal, shared a quick tip that could save you a headache later:

Even if your Squarespace site is still in staging [draft; not published yet] and you haven't activated reCaptcha [on any forms] yet, go into your Cookie Policy and Consent Tool in Termageddon*, click 'Add Service' → 'reCaptcha' and change the category from Functional to Essential.

This prevents form issues once you do add reCaptcha to your site. Since reCaptcha is technically third-party, the consent tool turns it off by default—but by marking it as Essential ahead of time, your forms will work properly for all visitors.

The Reality of Compliance

Using Termageddon’s* tools brings you into strong compliance with major privacy laws, but here's the thing: as long as you're using US-based analytics (Squarespace or Google), there's still some unresolved legal risk for EU visitors due to cross-border data transfers.

It's not a failure of your consent process in that case, it's a limitation of using US-based platforms when serving EU visitors.

At this point, you might be wondering if you can just stop showing your website to EU visitors, rather than figure out compliance. Believe me, I get it! This shit is annoying, and confusing as hell, ––and FFS–– we’re just trying to run a damn small business, not become the next Amazon. 😂 I hear you! I have two thoughts on this:

• It’s not logistically easy to do. In fact, it’s much more difficult to prevent EU citizens from accessing your site at all, in a failsafe way, than it would be to just become compliant. 🙃

• It’s not fair to exclude people from your business just because of where they’re located, especially not when the intention of the law is to PROTECT its citizens from undue surveillance. 🫤 Were I them, I’d want that protection my damn self.

How 2025 Changed Analytics Privacy Laws (GA4 + Squarespace)

Some legal stuff has happened recently that have completely flipped the analytics world upside down. I'm talking about changes that make choosing privacy-first analytics less of a "nice to have" and more of a "holy shit, we actually need this now" situation.

*Source information is linked throughout this section!

The Legal Foundation Just Cracked Wide Open

In January 2025, some major changes happened to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB)—basically the US watchdog that the EU was counting on to keep American companies in check. Three members got removed from the board, leaving it completely non-functional.

Here's why this matters for literally anyone using Google Analytics or Squarespace Analytics: The EU-US Data Privacy Framework is what allows companies like Google to legally move your visitors' data from EU servers to US servers. The European Commission specifically pointed to PCLOB's oversight as a key protection for EU citizens.

With that oversight now gone, European Parliament members are asking hard questions about whether those data transfers are still legal.

Privacy groups are gearing up for challenges that could potentially invalidate parts of the framework, though the timeline and scope are uncertain.

• Translation for my designer friends:
  That legal foundation your Google Analytics setup relies on for EU compliance? Yeah, it just became significantly less certain.

• Translation for business owners:
  If you have any EU visitors (and you probably do), this adds another layer of legal uncertainty to using US-based analytics tools.
  

Courts Started Actually Enforcing This Stuff

In May 2025, a Brussels court basically said "nope" to the Transparency & Consent Framework —the system that Google, Microsoft, and Amazon use on what court documents indicate is about 80% of websites to manage user consent.

The court found multiple GDPR violations, including sketchy data security, improper consent requests, and basically lying about what they were doing with user data. Since Google Analytics relies heavily on this system, this ruling suggests potential compliance challenges for businesses using the platform, though the full implementation timeline is still developing.

• For my Squarespace designers:
  This is why that Termageddon* setup I mentioned becomes even more critical. The consent frameworks everyone's been relying on just got legally challenged.
  

The Enforcement Numbers Are Actually Scary

Remember when GDPR (back in 2018) felt like this abstract thing that would never really affect small businesses? Well, GDPR fines hit €1.2 billion across Europe in 2024, with total penalties since GDPR started now exceeding €5.88 billion. France's data protection authority doubled their enforcement actions to 87 in 2024. They're not messing around anymore.

This isn't a future threat, unfortunately. This is happening to real businesses right now, and it's only getting more aggressive. 🫣

Squarespace Had to Level Up Their Privacy Game

Speaking of real impacts, you probably noticed updates to Squarespace’s cookies management. On January 31, 2025, Squarespace updated their entire privacy policy, implementing way more comprehensive GDPR compliance requirements. They now require enhanced data protection obligations for EU/UK users and provide better cookie banner customization tools.

• For my Squarespace users:
  This means your website platform is taking this seriously, but it also means you need to be more intentional about how you set up your privacy settings and cookie management.
  

Microsoft Just Made Things More Complicated

Oh, and Microsoft Advertising now requires mandatory consent signals for all EU/UK/Swiss visitors starting May 5, 2025. This extends way beyond GDPR—they're responding to US privacy litigation too.

If you're running any kind of advertising (which many businesses are), this adds yet another layer of consent management complexity to your tech stack. 🫠

Privacy-First Tools Are In The Spotlight

All this legal chaos is driving massive adoption of privacy-focused analytics. Plausible Analytics now serves over 15,000 paying subscribers and recently added AI traffic tracking for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI platforms—features that traditional analytics struggle to match while maintaining compliance.

The pricing is getting competitive too:

• Fathom* starts at about $15/month for up to 100k monthly pageviews

• Plausible starts at $9/month for up to 10k pageviews

• Simple Analytics (not evaluated in this post, but is a similar option) positions itself as the budget option starting with a free limited plan, or $15/month for up to 20k monthly pageviews

According to market research, the privacy analytics market is projected to grow from $5.37 billion in 2025 to $45.13 billion by 2032—reflecting industry expectations of increased demand driven largely by these evolving compliance requirements.

More Legal Complexity Is Coming

New Standard Contractual Clauses are expected in Q2 2025, which means even more documentation requirements for data transfers. Over 16 comprehensive US state privacy laws are expected to be in effect by the end of 2025, creating this patchwork of compliance requirements that's honestly giving ALL OF US a headache just thinking about it. 😐

What This Actually Means for You

• If you're a web designer:
  Start suggesting privacy-first analytics as a compliance-first option. Your clients are going to need guidance to wade through this BS, and being in-the-know puts you in a position to offer real value and peace of mind by choosing tools & platforms that proactively try to protect their users from legal risks like this.

• If you're a business owner:
  The legal landscape appears to be shifting toward favoring tools that don't require complex consent management or cross-border data transfers. Do your own due diligence, talk with privacy law experts & figure out which of the available options will work best for your specific situation.

• For everyone: The "just use Google Analytics because everyone else does" advice has just become seriously outdated for anyone that’s risk-averse and has the budget for peace of mind while our governments & giant tech corporations battle it out.

The bottom line? Privacy-first analytics tools like Fathom* and Plausible eliminate most of these legal headaches by design. They don't collect personal data, anonymizing everything for us in real time, while not requiring complex consent frameworks, and they don't transfer data to jurisdictions with uncertain legal protections.

While this legal situation continues to evolve (and honestly, who knows what's going to happen next), choosing analytics tools that are compliant by design, rather than compliant by configuration is looking like the smart long-term play.

Your future self will thank you for making the privacy-conscious choice now, rather than scrambling to fix compliance issues while under threat, when you're also trying to focus on growing your business. 🎯

Fathom vs Plausible vs GA4 vs Squarespace: Analytics Pricing

Let's talk numbers, because we’re all experiencing the “not another subscription” vibe these days:

• Squarespace Analytics: "Free" with your Squarespace hosting plan (but you're locked into their ecosystem)

• Google Analytics: Free for most users (enterprise-level users pays significantly more than on other platforms)

• Fathom* Analytics: $14/month for 100k pageviews, price scales up with traffic

• Plausible Analytics: $9/month for 10k pageviews, $19/month for 100k pageviews

• Simple Analytics: free for basic users, $15/mo for 20k pageviews, $20/mo for 100k pageviews

• Termageddon* (for legal compliance): Around $10-15/month for privacy policies and cookie consent, comes with automatic updates & notifications when automatic updates require your attention

Best Analytics for Squarespace + Legal Compliance Advice

For most new designers and small business owners:

• Start with Fathom* Analytics + Termageddon* for legal compliance.

• Yes, it costs about $25-30/month total, but you get clean analytics, privacy-first solutions for legal compliance where it matters, and tools that will grow with your business. The peace of mind alone is worth it.

If budget is super tight and you're just getting started:

• Squarespace Analytics with proper privacy settings + Termageddon*.

• This will cost about $120/year or $12/mo.

• Just know you'll probably want to upgrade to something more robust as you grow, and you won’t be able to export your historical traffic data from Squarespace when you want to begin tracking analytics in another platform.

If you're technically savvy and need advanced features:

• Google Analytics + Termageddon*

• Many established businesses that “need” GA4 to track ads, and funnels, etc, may have no choice in which analytics tool will work best for that business, but if that’s the case then those businesses would find the most benefit in beefing up their Privacy & Cookies policies, and getting adequate consent tools to let visitors manage their privacy as much as possible.

• Now that you know the risks, I’d strongly advise these businesses to talk with a privacy law expert &/or privacy law attorney to find the best solution for your business and your unique situation.

Picking the Best Privacy-Compliant Analytics for Your Squarespace Website

Your analytics choice isn't just about pretty charts anymore. Instead, it's about legal compliance, data ownership, and building a sustainable business foundation around protecting our visitors.

Privacy laws aren't going away. In fact, they're getting more strict. Client expectations around data protection are rising, not falling. And honestly? Most of us don't need the complexity of Google Analytics for day-to-day decision making.

Again, the idea that all websites should be using Google Analytics is becoming quickly outdated. Privacy-first analytics tools like Fathom* and Plausible offer a better experience for most small businesses, without the legal headaches or learning curve of robust & complex tools like Google’s GA4.

Whatever you choose, make sure you're covering your legal bases with proper privacy policies and cookie consent. The $10-15/month for Termageddon* is way cheaper than dealing with compliance issues later, when you’ve been found noncompliant.

Your future self will thank you for making the privacy-conscious choice now, rather than scrambling to fix legal issues when you're trying to grow your business.

Pick something and stick with it long enough to actually use the data, too. The best analytics tool is the one you'll actually check and make decisions from—not the one that just looks pretty or sounds good, but you ignore it into perpetuity because you don’t understand how it works. 😅🤭

Want to Dive Deeper?
Here's Everything I Used for This Research 🤓

Click below to see the full list of sources referenced while writing this post, if you're the type who loves to fact-check everything (respect!) or just wants to go down your own research rabbit hole...

• See sources referenced in this post

  Fair warning: If you start clicking through these, you might end up in the same research rabbit hole I fell into. 🤭

  Legal & Policy Updates:

  • Trump's Sacking of PCLOB Members Threatens Data Privacy | Lawfare

  • Parliamentary Question on Trump Administration Data Protection Consequences | European Parliament

  • What the PCLOB Firings Mean for the EU-US Data Privacy Framework | Center for Democracy and Technology

  • Threat to EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Analysis | CMS Law

  Court Rulings & Consent Framework Issues:

  • EU Ruling: Tracking-Based Advertising Has No Legal Basis | Irish Council for Civil Liberties

  • Transparency & Consent Framework Not GDPR-Compliant | Ailance

  • Brussels Court of Appeal Rules on IAB Europe and TC String | DLA Piper

  GDPR Enforcement & Fines:

  • DLA Piper GDPR Fines and Data Breach Survey: January 2025

  • Overview of CNIL's Enforcement Actions in 2024 | Hogan Lovells

  • CNIL Publishes 2025-2028 Strategic Plan | Hunton

  Google Analytics Compliance Status:

  • Is Google Analytics 4 GDPR-Compliant? | Usercentrics

  • Is Google Analytics GDPR-Compliant? | Piwik PRO

  • Google Analytics GDPR Compliance Guide | SecurePrivacy

  • Is Google Analytics 4 GDPR Compliant? | Cookiebot

  • Data Protection Authorities Say No to Google Analytics | Loyens & Loeff

  Privacy-First Analytics Platforms:

  • Plausible Analytics

  • Fathom Analytics

  • Simple Analytics

  • Matomo Analytics

  Platform-Specific Privacy Updates:

  • Squarespace Privacy Policy

  • GDPR and Squarespace Guide | Squarespace Help

  • Microsoft's New Cookie Consent Requirements | Lexology

  Technical Implementation & Consent Management:

  • GA4 & Google Consent Mode Integration Guide | SecurePrivacy

  • Does Google Analytics Require Cookie Consent? | TinyCookie

  • New Changes in 2025 with Google Analytics 4 | Whistler Billboards

  Data Transfer & Legal Framework Updates:

  • New EU Standard Contractual Clauses Analysis | Taft Privacy Insights

  • Upcoming EU Commission Consultation on Data Transfers | Loyens & Loeff

  • 10 Key Privacy Developments to Watch in 2025 | Wiley

  Market Analysis & Industry Reports:

  • Data Privacy Software Market Size & Growth Analysis | Fortune Business Insights

  • 64 Alarming Data Privacy Statistics for 2025 | Termly

  • Privacy-First Google Analytics Alternatives Guide | Zyxware

  Squarespace Privacy Policy Resources:

  • Privacy Policy for Squarespace Websites | Free Privacy Policy

  • Privacy Policy for Squarespace | Privacy Policies

  • Privacy Policy for Squarespace | TermsFeed

Dreading content collection processes? Here's the exact system I use to gather client info & content for website projects, before I turn it into website copy, ––saving my clients HOURS submitting the content, and saving me HOURS editing it while designing the website.

Let's be real: content collection used to be the bane of my existence. It used to be an awkward dance of trying to pull copy out of clients who either give you novels of information or simple three-word answers. That shit was time-consuming & often gave me more questions than answers. 😵‍💫

But I've finally begun to crack the code on a system that makes content collection actually enjoyable—for both me and for my clients.

I'm talking about a setup that gathers everything I need upfront, then uses AI to turn those responses into the first draft copy for the homepage, about page, service pages, and more!

You're not alone in ‘Content Collection Hell’

Before I explain/show you my solution, I want to validate something for you first: if content collection makes you want to hide under your desk, you're not broken. This is quite literally the biggest operational nightmare in the entire web design industry. It’s realistically a problem that’s so universal that entire businesses have been built specifically to solve it. Content Snare, for example, serves over 1,600 companies across 63 countries and was founded specifically after interviewing dozens of agencies who all had identical content collection nightmares.

Another great example is my favorite Client Portal software (with a one-time payment!), Kitchen.co* which, like Content Snare, was created by a web design agency that had similar problems in-house & literally created Kitchen* to solve it for themselves. They used it internally for years before releasing it to the public, so now we can use it too!

The research is pretty sobering.
According to industry surveys and designer testimonials:

• ⏱️ Projects often reach 80% completion before grinding to a complete halt waiting for content

• 📧 Email management alone consumes about 4-5 hours per client project

• ⏳ Designers lose approximately 40-50 hours per month chasing content

Some horror stories from the trenches reportedly include clients taking "2 years to come up with content" and projects "freezed up for nearly 10 months" while designers wait for basic information. One Content Snare founder interview revealed: "Almost without fail, the biggest problem web designers face is getting content from their clients... It is the biggest pain in the ass!"

Look, I've been there because we’ve ALL been there. At my old in-house design job, during lunch breaks I used to read Clients From Hell regularly (remember that site?! Now it’s called ‘Not Always Right’), nodding along to some of the horror stories I read about clients who ––for example–– thought "freelancer" meant "free work" and was shocked he/she got an invoice from the designer even after discussing prices before doing the work. 🤭😬🫣

This is exactly the reason why I’ve been on a mission to create a system that helps me manage the project processes necessary to keep projects on time, content all in one place, and maintain both my own sanity & my clients’ during a creative process that can otherwise be quite daunting!

For years I used ‘task management’ apps like Notion, ClickUp, or Asana to do this. But in late 2024, I’d had it!! I was breaking up with using PM tools for project management with external parties (ie: our clients, who are not ‘users’ on our accounts). I decided it’d been a few years since I’d last looked for good ‘client portal’ systems so I did a deep dive (see the results of that client portal research here), looking for a solution that would NOT overlap too much with my CRM, Dubsado (or Honeybook, etc) and was reasonably priced.

Yeah, you can use Content Snare to manage projects outside of the onboarding & booking processes handled in a CRM like Dubsado or Honeybook ––for a whopping $35 - $215+ monthly extra subscription, depending on the plan you choose… but when prices of everything else are going up, an added annual expense sounded pretty shitty to me. 🤷‍♀️

But asking clients to create accounts in MY task-management-app-of-choice just to work with me? That also felt like friction neither of us needed/wanted.

When I found Kitchen*, I realized it gives me everything I loved most about my Notion system (and fixed things I didn’t love too), but with way less setup for clients and way more functionality for project management with someone who’s not on my ‘team’ (a paid user in my account). Plus, Kitchen actually wants to be a client portal. Like… it literally was designed for exactly that purpose, and ONLY that purpose. It’s not trying to be anything else too, it just is what it is. Using Notion was me trying to force a note-taking app to do something it wasn't really designed for, just because it was flexible enough to try it.

I created the Ultimate Client Portal System which includes this specific Content Guide form + AI prompt setup (which I’m about to walk you through) because I was tired of watching talented designers get bogged down in emails, while losing money on delayed projects and feeling like they were constantly chasing their clients for the information we need to get started.

My system does three critical things:

1. Lessens the workload on clients by asking smart questions instead of expecting them to create content from scratch for every little thing

2. Fills in the gaps with AI so incomplete or short responses can still become usable website draft copy

3. Relies on ONE single easy-to-use platform where both designer and client (even without a password) can go for everything project-related—no more scattered emails, lost files, or "where did you send that again?" moments

This isn't just about making my life easier (though it absolutely does)! My intention was to create a client experience that actually works for people who aren't professional copywriters and don't know what’s needed or how to write it.

And before you ask—no, this isn't a secret process. My clients know I use AI to help with copywriting because, hello, I'm not a copywriter! That's not the service I provide. But what I can do is create a system that makes their lives easier and gets me better content to work with if they don’t have a copywriter to help. (Though I do have a few copywriters I’ll recommend to my clients if they have the budget to hire help –that’s always more ideal.)

Now, let’s see how this whole thing works!

Inside My Kitchen* Client Portal

Clients can log in with or without a password, to MY Kitchen account (meaning, they don’t have their own account with Kitchen). They can log in with just their email & a magic link code, set a password on their own if they want, and even set up Two-Factor Authentication for their login if more security is important to them.

Here’s what’s inside my actual client portal, so you can see where the content guide form fits into the overall system, and peek at what my clients see every day while they’re working with me on a project.

A simple dashboard

When clients log into Kitchen, they see a clean, LTDT-branded version of their project hub. No overwhelming menus &/or confusing navigation, because they only see THEIR project(s) in the portal and their Home dashboard shows what they’ve visited recently so they can jump back in quickly.

When I log in, as the owner/designer, I see all my non-archived projects via:

• Recent folders across the top of the Home dashboard for easy access

• Quick create menu for adding new items, from the bottom of the Home dashboard

• Browse options to see/access everything in one place, from the top of the sidebar menu

• Listed projects in the sidebar for all my active projects & client-facing resources

• Inbox to easily manage notifications, updates & messages

Each client gets their own sidebar folder with a custom icon (usually their brand favicon), so I can tell which folder belongs to which client at a glance and they feel more at home in being in the space. Inside each project folder, they have access to:

Essential project tools

• Tasks (‘Boards’): Where all the “magic” (project’s task management) happens. I've got lists for:

  • Homework (their to-dos)

  • To-dos (my tasks for transparency & so I don’t forget anything!)

  • Doing (updates for work in progress)

  • Done (status updates for completed tasks)

  • Waiting (anything on hold)

• Messenger (‘Conversations’): Direct communication without email chains, but also allows each of us to reply to messages from our inbox without losing those pieces of the conversation in the portal

• Project Files: A central spot to upload brand assets, photos, videos, whatever

  • Files also have built-in approval buttons AND comment threads with pinnable comments to leave feedback on specific areas of the file preview

• Content Guide: The form they fill out to submit their website’s information (more on this in a sec!)

• Embedded Scheduler: So they can book any required or ad-hoc meetings for the project, within my availability

• ‘Extras’ Folder: A private-to-me folder for stuff they don't need to see yet, or that I need to get out of the way but am not ready to delete

The whole setup is designed around making both our lives easier. They know exactly where to find things, it’s easy to log in, it feels familiar, easy to navigate & use, ––and I know exactly where everything is.

My Content Guide Form Template

Over the past 10 years of running my business, I’ve tried extracting info from endless email chains &/or discovery calls, and I’ve tried countless different ways of using tasks or custom forms per page of the website, to collect the content & info necessary to create a unique website that fits my client’s business. At one time, I was sending 10+ form/questionnaires with Dubsado, breaking the content collection down per page of the site (1 form for Home, 1 for About, 1 for Services ––you get the idea)! In task management apps, I created massive lists of tasks organized by statuses based on the phases of the project. In the Homework phase, when using ClickUp the client filled out multi-page Google Doc workbooks, and when I switched to Notion, I recreated those workbooks in Notion pages within their template… 😳

It was a lot to manage, sift through & keep updated for me, and likely also felt daunting to clients without my reassurance & guidance along the way as they had (inevitable) questions.

Now, I use a single comprehensive Tally form that does the heavy lifting upfront, with built-in conditional logic to hide fields/questions that aren’t relevant to their business (shortening the form, wherever possible).

Why Tally?

I’m using Tally.so* for the Content Guide form because Tally feels a bit like Notion, so the interface felt familiar and easy to use.

I'm also using their free plan, because it offers more than enough features (including their conditional logic and signatures) without a subscription or even entering a credit card! I tried building something similar in other form builders, but nothing else quite came as close to what Tally lets me do without paying a dime AND also let me templatize my form to share with students so they don’t have to recreate the wheel.

A ‘generic’ form, customized for each client

Here's a little Tally secret that'll blow your mind: you can pre-populate specific fields in the form using hidden fields + variables in the share link’s URL. When I send a client their form link, I can automatically fill in their name and email address for them, like this:

• tally.so/your-form-url?name=Sarah&email=hi@sarahtakesphotos.com

Keep the ?name= then fill in the blank, keep the &email= and fill in the second blank, with your client’s info. When that client opens the form, it already feels personalized even though it's the exact same generic form I send everyone.

NOTE:
This doesn’t work unless you have the form setup to plug in those variable values using Hidden Fields in the form ––but my template already has that setup so it’ll be plug-and-play for you!

5 parts (pages) inside the form

The form is split into five main sections, and I'll walk you through what makes up each one. 👇🏼

Part 1: Brand Personality & Style

This section is all about understanding who they are and how they want to be perceived. I'm not really asking surface-level questions—I'm digging into the psychology behind their brand choices & the FEELING they want their brand & website to have, which influences my design choices.

• Car Type Exercise: I show them different types of car and ask which one they'd choose + why. This isn't about cars—it's about values & what the car represents to them. (Someone who picks a Jeep tells me they're a bit more adventurous. Luxury car? They value premium experiences. Prius? Eco-consciousness matters to them.)

• Interaction Words: I give them several lists of positive adjectives & character traits to help me narrow down what ‘personality’ their brand should have. For example, a list of words that must describe every client interaction—things like "professional," "warm," "efficient," "creative." Instead of making them think of descriptors from scratch, I'm giving them a menu to choose from.

• Never Words: Just as important—I’m also providing a list of negative descriptions and asking what should never describe their business. This helps me understand their boundaries & what they’re afraid of being perceived as. (Example: things like "manipulative," "amateur," "boring.")

• Client Feelings: Asking how they want their clients to feel gives me insights on how to talk about, show, organize, and design their content. (Example: cared for, confident, empowered, inspired—these emotional vibes can shape everything.)

• Website Inspiration: Instead of vague "make it look professional" requests, I ask for specific website examples (or for a Pinterest inspiration board) and what they like about what they shared.

• Style Personality Visuals: Are they feminine, masculine, or neutral leaning? I show custom-made visual examples of what I mean by each, so there's no confusion.

• Colors & Fonts: I ask if they already have a color palette and font styles chosen. If they say yes to having brand colors, they see detailed questions to get their color codes for the palette. If no, those sections disappear entirely. Same with fonts; no wasted time on irrelevant questions!

Part 2: Business Content

• Logo files: logo & alternate logo files, designed icons or graphics, patterns, favicon/browser icon, etc.

• Business Info: their ‘about’ page / business story, what makes them different from their competitors, etc.

• Service Info: package details for up to 3 services, process details, competitive advantages

Part 3: Essential Business Information

• Contact Info: contact preferences, business hours, average response time, social media profile links,

• Contact Form: what they want to collect in the inquiry form & which field types if they care

• Answering Questions: listing common questions & answers they say over-and-over for FAQs

• Optional Competitor Analysis: check their competitor website for weak spots or keyword inspiration to bolster my client’s website & SEO strategy

Part 4: Proof & Credibility

• Testimonials: Space for up to 3 testimonials, or the option to share/upload a document listing more than 3 they want to use on the website

• Credentials: Certifications, experience, or anything that builds trust or proves their industry authority & expertise

• Primary Goals: What do they want the website to accomplish, and in what order (listing common goals for them to choose from)

Part 5: The Legal Stuff

• Legal Policies: Here's where I educate rather than decide for them. I explain why they need privacy policies and should have terms of service, give them resources if needed (Termageddon*, or Creative Law Shop’s The Foundry™️*), and let them choose their approach. Again, conditional logic helps to simplify wherever possible.

• Website Accessibility: I explain that I'll make accessibility decisions based on my current knowledge, and they need to be okay with that approach.

• Disclaimer Notice + Signature: I make sure they understand the information I’m providing is for educational purposes only & I remind them to do their own due diligence before deciding which option works best for them, whether they follow my suggestions or not.

Writing the website copy

Once they submit their form, Tally sends me an emailed copy so I know it's been submitted/completed. My clients submit their ‘homework’ at least a week prior to starting the website design, so I don’t always need to do anything right when I receive their submission.

From form to website copy in minutes

When the project begins later, I use their form submission (what they typed, selected, etc) alongside AI to fill in the gaps and write the first draft of their website copy.

The prompts ask AI for help looking for these specific pieces of information in the form submission, then using that to determine their niche, tone, and messaging, BEFORE we draft the website copy. The personality questions help AI write with their brand’s personality/vibe, and my custom AI prompts work with the specific questions from my content guide, to bridge the gap between a general framework + the specific information submitted that’s based on each client’s unique business.

––In a matter of MINUTES. Not hours. Because fuck that! 😂

The AI prompt system

I copy all their responses and head over to Claude (my AI tool of choice for longer content writing), but you could use ChatGPT instead if that’s your preference.

Specifically my AI prompts are designed to:

1. Identify their target niche based on all the personality and business info they shared

2. Extract their unique voice from how they described themselves and their values

3. Create page-by-page, section-by-section, website copy that sounds like them, and complements their unique business

The result? Homepage hero sections, about page copy, service descriptions, team bios, FAQ content—all written in their voice using their specific information.

Using Claude vs ChatGPT

Since we're talking AI tools, I’ll share what works best for me.

First: PAY for the tool you decide to use. Sadly, ––and I say this from personal experience as an AI-skeptic myself–– the free plans are shit for customizable content. If you don’t need to achieve a specific ‘sound’ in the written content, then free plans work just fine. But if you’ve never liked anything you’ve gotten back from using AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT, I’d bet anything it’s at least partly due to using the free plan. The paid plans are DRASTICALLY better. And no, I’m not an affiliate for either tool, that’s just a fact!

Second: figure out which one you list best for this purpose. I actually do pay for both ChatGPT and Claude, but for writing website copy—like actual paragraphs of content—Claude consistently gives me better/longer results. ChatGPT is fantastic for bullet points, high-level overviews, and data analysis (too). But when I need flowing, natural-sounding copy that doesn't sound robotic & a minimum word count (vs a maximum)? Claude wins every time. Ask Chat to write a 2,000 word blog post & tell me I’m wrong. 😂 Claude can actually do that.

For this specific use case (turning form responses into website copy), I’ve found Claude almost always writes way more content and it sounds more human to me in the first draft. You’ll still need to do some editing, of course, and your experience may vary, but that's been my experience after months of testing both.

That said, if you’re just a Chat user, you can absolutely use ChatGPT for the research part first, if you want; then try writing the page copy section by section (one prompt at a time). It’ll do much better if you break it down into segments with just one thing to focus on at a time.

The Complete System: Portal → Forms → AI

Here's how it all works together:

Client onboarding flow

1. Client books project and gets forever-access to my portal in Kitchen

2. Welcome video & onboarding message explains how everything works

3. Content form link is shared in the Portal & in a ‘homework’ task with a due date

4. Client fills out comprehensive form at their own pace

5. I receive their submission and later run it through AI with my custom prompts to guide it

6. Website copy gets generated based on their specific responses

7. Content gets refined during the design phase (by me) and later by the client during revisions

Why this system actually works

• For Clients:

  • No endless content calls. No more "I don't know what to write" overwhelm. They answer questions about themselves and their business, and later website copy magically appears!

  • During the project, they have a direct line to me from the portal or from their inbox so they never feel in-the-dark about anything.

  • After the project, clients have post-project access to resources to help them manage their website and easy access to book more projects if they need my help.

• For Me:

  • No more pulling teeth to get information or follow-ups from me to chase down content. No more starting from scratch on every project because everything is templated.

  • I have one place to access EVERYTHING for the project: from files to messages & tasks. If I ever can’t find anything, I can search for it. If I need to add something else for a specific project or client, I can.

  • Kitchen’s portal features don’t negatively overlap or interfere with my other necessary tools as a business owner (my CRM: Dubsado, or my task management app: Asana)

• For the Project:

  • Easier processes lead to happier clients & simpler projects.

  • A clear structure & location to put everything, helps reinforce boundaries for everyone.

  • Better content leads to better websites. When copy actually reflects their personality and goals, the whole site comes together more cohesively.

Real Results: What my students & clients are actually saying!

The difference is night and day, even from my own client’s perspective!

Here are some of the feedback I'm getting from my own clients.
Both of these ladies are repeat clients who used my old Notion or ClickUp ‘portal’ system with me in the past! 👇🏼

And here are some rave reviews from my students who took my Ultimate Client Portal System course to set up their own portal system for their clients:

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Setting Up Your Own Version

Want to recreate this system for yourself? Here's what you'll need:

The tools

1. Kitchen* (for client portal): Yes, it's a paid tool, but the time savings and client experience improvements justify the cost

2. Tally* (for forms): Start with their free plan—it's legitimately robust

3. Claude or ChatGPT (for AI copy generation): Paid versions give better results for this use case!

4. Termageddon*: partner’s like us (designers) can use it for free on our own website, which helps familiarize us with it for use with our client’s sites & we get commission when our clients choose it.

The mindset shifts

• Stop trying to be a copywriter if that's not your service. Use AI to bridge the gap between client information and usable copy.

• Hire a copywriter if you want truly great website copy. AI doesn’t replace their expertise & experience ACTUALLY using the copy & getting results.

• Embrace transparency with clients about your processes. They likely don't care that you use AI—they care that the end result sounds like them–– but tell them if you’re using it; don’t hide it!

• Invest in repeatable, easy-to-use systems that save both you and your clients time. The upfront setup pays dividends on every. single. project. #promise!

Beyond the Basics: What's next?

This content collection system is just one piece of a bigger client management puzzle. Once you've got smooth content gathering down, you can focus on other areas like:

• Project timeline automation

• Feedback collection workflows

• Invoice & payment processing

• Post-launch support systems

The goal isn't to automate everything—it's to automate the stuff that doesn't need your creative brain, so you can focus on the parts that do. 😉

Main takeaway:

Content collection doesn't have to suck. With the right systems & tools (+ AI prompts), you can turn the most industry-dreaded part of website projects into something that actually adds value for everyone involved, including yourself.

Your clients get copy without being forced to write it themselves.
You get comprehensive information upfront.
Projects move faster & feel more professional.

And honestly? When a client says "This is the most organized process I've ever experienced," it makes all the setup work worth it!

The system I've shared here took years to hone, then months to refine, but now it runs like clockwork.
Every new client gets the same smooth experience, and I don't have to reinvent the wheel each time.

If you're tired of chasing content, tired of generic copy, and tired of helping clients who understandably don't know how to articulate what they want—this approach might just change how you work, forever.

Your future self (and clients) will thank you for making this switch.

Have follow-up questions? Drop them in the comments!

Diane Whiddon (of SwayRiseCreative.com) and I jumped on a livestream to walk through the Web Design Industry Financial Outlook for 2025 report—our survey of over 150 web designers, mostly from Q1–Q2 this year, in 2025.

If you want the full backstory you can read it here (why we decided to do the survey, etc) —but we wanted this post to stand alone.

Diane said, “Everybody was releasing trend surveys..." but they "didn’t tell me what I needed to know. So we thought—let’s ask the money questions.”

We knew the usual business survey style, but our focus was hard finances, real outcomes, and how designers are actually thinking about their revenue. Getting people to actually take the survey was... kind of an adventure. We ended up with 151 responses, which was waaaaay less than the 1,000 we were aiming for, though 150 was our minimum goal & we did hit that at least.

As Diane said, "we were so disappointed in that we really wanted to get a thousand and we were just convinced we would get a thousand but people were really reluctant to share this information even though we were like 'Look it's anonymous we're not going to collect your emails'" for marketing purposes!

Actually, Diane almost got kicked out of a couple Facebook groups for just trying to share the survey link & asking people to take it. It was very interesting to observe the different community reactions and to see the difference between sharing this in a group that was not a Squarespace designer group, versus the reactions from people in groups that were WordPress designers.

The Squarespace-centric groups really highlighted the community aspect & were really supportive of our collective effort to get & provide the information for free, while the other groups (non-Squarespace-centric) were more competition-oriented and protective, not willing to share the survey because it "might" be perceived as promotion just because on the landing page we were sharing we felt it was important to give context for who we are & why we're asking these 'hard' questions about finances in order to build enough trust with respondents to get honest answers. 🤦🏼‍♀️ That distinction seemed totally lost on the WordPress crowd! (And no, we did not add anyone's email address to our email lists or send marketing materials to them; we only used it to deliver the report when finished & send the link to this live chat about it, ––as promised!)

The Big Picture: We’re Optimistic But Anxious

Here's what surprised me most: despite everyone's fears about AI, the economy, and rising costs, web designers are still cautiously optimistic. On a scale of 1-10, the average optimism level was around 7. Two-thirds (about 63%) of respondents expected to increase their income this year, and another almost 30% felt their income would be similar this year. Only 7.3% of people reported they thought their income would decrease in 2025, which is actually much lower than I figured that assumption would be.

But here's where it gets interesting—when we asked about financial stability compared to 12 months ago, twice as many people said they felt worse than those who felt better. Diane had a great insight about this: "when you compare this question to the first question of how optimistic you are it becomes really interesting because twice as many people were like I feel worse but I'm still hoping I'm optimistic."

It's like we're afraid but hopeful at the same time, as Diane put it. She also noted that this makes sense with how things are fluctuating: "I think it's because like they probably felt slightly different at this stage in the survey than they did when at the beginning... it's like oh I've got this I am awesome I'm a badass then there's a new AI tool that drops and we're like crap all the jobs are gone... we're just all over the place right now."

The Financial Reality Check

The data point that completely shifted how I think about my business was this: over a third (35%) of respondents said they have zero months of financial runway & they're living month-to-month. Less than 10% had six months or more saved up. While about 40% have about 1-3 months of safety net, and another 16% have between 3-6 months saved up.

We both thought that was pretty interesting! Diane summed up the broader context perfectly: "I mean you know when eggs are a buck an egg [laughed] and we've got things like that, you know, it's just stressful right now and I think people are a lot more discerning when it comes to paying for expenses for their business."

This is why Markup's $79/month pricing felt so tone-deaf. Through no fault of our own, just by keeping your existing business running, your monthly expenses suddenly jumped because every software company decided to raise prices after Black Friday/New Year sales were over. You're not changing anything in your business, but you have to hustle for more clients just to break even.

What's Really Scaring Us

The top fears among web designers aren't surprising if you've been in this industry for a while:

1. Getting clients - This is the eternal struggle, honestly

2. "Why won't they pay me what I'm worth?" - The pricing battle we all fight

3. Impostor syndrome - That voice saying "I don't know what I'm doing"

What's interesting, Diane noted, is that all three of these are really mindset issues, not tactical problems. When she finally raised her prices significantly, it wasn't because she suddenly got better at design or learned some new skill, it was because she got fed up with charging lower prices and just decided to change them because she had to.

When I finally raised my prices significantly, it wasn't just because I had gotten better at design, I just started to realize that my take-home pay essentially from each project was ridiculously low which wasn't sustainable. So if I was charging $2,000, maybe my take-home pay from that would be about $1,000 of that, and that wasn't enough to feel like my business was successful. I actually discovered the issue after reading Profit First, because I didn't really know how to fix that until I read it. After that then I was like 'Oh I get it now I've been doing this wrong for like a decade.' 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

That's the thing about pricing—you may be waiting for some external validation. As Diane noted, "when you start out you're like, 'well I'm going to when I know enough, when I get the right kind of client, when I have the right experience, when my website looks a certain way...' It's always these external metrics that you're holding out there, but honestly I have found that every single time I've raised my prices... it's always been within me."

She's absolutely right! When I finally raised my prices, it wasn't because I'd suddenly learned one specific new skill—I had actually been gaining capabilities over time through both education and experience, but I hadn't been raising my prices to match that growth. Every time I've successfully raised my prices, it's been an internal shift. I just decided I wasn't going to accept less anymore, because I couldn't keep helping people and pay my bills at the old rates.

Client Sensitivity Reality

About half of respondents said their clients have become more price-sensitive in the last year. This tracks with what I've been hearing from my members in the Club too.

As Diane said, "my one-on-one clients have not been getting more price sensitive, but the people who are buying my lower ticket things were getting way more price sensitive... I was selling more custom websites so more $5,000 - $9,000 projects, but I was selling fewer design days and my lower ticket things."

It seems like people are either going all-in on big investments or being really cautious with smaller expenses.

An Education Spending Mindset Shift?

Possibly the most telling part of the survey: last year, the most popular education budget was $500 - $2,500.

This year? The most popular answer was either $0 - $500, or "I'm not buying anything this year."

If you add up the percentages of people spending $0 - $500 with those not buying anything at all, that's over half (51.3%) of respondents drastically cutting their education spending. That's a massive shift from the mindset of "I'll invest in high-ticket courses to get where I want to go" to "I'm going to bootstrap it this year."

I'm almost wondering too if part of that is a shift of, 'I've learned enough for right now,' and people are starting to pull out of that 'I don't know enough' mentality. Maybe partly because they're forced to at this moment, but also maybe they're just realizing they've taken a lot of courses, haven't implemented everything yet, and they're going to go back through what they've purchased.

So the question is, have we already learned enough for now?

As Diane pointed out, it can also "be a defense mechanism too, you know, you want to keep buying, you don't feel good enough to start on your own, so you keep buying more education."

We think this trend is going to accelerate because of AI because knowledge isn't as scarce as it used to be. When you can get detailed answers from ChatGPT about things that used to require a $2,000 course, it's changing the value proposition of traditional education.

Course & Membership Pricing Specifics

The survey showed a clear shift in what people are willing to pay for education, because the sweet spot for courses used to be $500 - $2,500 or even $3,000 - $5,000, but now it seems much lower.

1. About 67% said they'd pay less than $1,500 for a course

2. Another 13% of respondents said they weren't buying any courses at all this year.

3. For monthly memberships, most people (about 75.6%) prefer to stay under $100/month,

4. About 64% of those people are staying under $50/mo.

This doesn't mean education is less valuable—it just means we need to think differently about how we package and price it, including how we back up the cost for the investment. Maybe that means we just need to create more accessible entry points like breaking larger courses into segments and allowing students to purchase it in sections, similar to how Rache of SquareStylist broke up her signature course Standout Squarespace* into 2 parts purchasable together (bundled) or separate. Or maybe that means more people need payment plans. Or maybe it means prices are slightly inflated and some just need to cost less & deliver the same core content. 🤷‍♀️ You'll have to decide what feels right for you!

With my Ultimate Client Portal System course, which focuses on the setup & management of a dedicated Client Portal using Kitchen.co*, I purposefully chose to keep the course under $400 at launch even though I know it's likely worth more, because I wanted to make sure it remained accessible for you.

How I feel about this education shift

I actually feel very sad about the recent shifts in education, generally (not just in the online space, in grade schools, colleges & universities, etc too). I don’t have a degree (though I did nearly graduate before dropping out due to lack of funds & scheduling issues with the commute to classes & work) BUT, well-rounded educations aren’t worth much now. Even if I had a degree like my past co-workers, they got paid the same salary that I did and none of us were making more than $20/hr or had benefits packages. So of course, increasingly, whether it’s correlation or causation, we’re looking at “college” more & more like a waste of money & time because frankly, it is. As long as inflation keeps increasing, and wages can’t keep up, and university tuition (in countries that don’t provide higher level learning for free) continues to climb –– no amount of student loans can justify the cost/investment.

So we look online for unaccredited ways to learn, which is what I did, because my college program didn’t tell me how to run my own web design business anyway!

Look, I'm always glad we have access to more knowledge via the internet! I love taking courses. I’m an avid reader myself, and love a good documentary (on practically anything) because I enjoy the process of learning something new & interesting.

On the other hand, we’re already devaluing critical thinking more and more each year (as a global community, seemingly), and now we can just ask AI to think for us but we don’t always know how to vet those answers for the facts. My husband is a deep thinker who probably would've pursued a degree in philosophy if he'd thought it would've been a profitable career path, –but sadly, that just doesn't seem to be the case (even before AI).

So, I just don't see this going in a positive direction, in regard to devaluing deep thought on our own, becoming more reliant on external tools to “think”, ––and less value in learning for the sake of learning, to become more well-rounded & empathetic people.

My question is, will having access to AI strip us of our desire to be curious without it? 🤔

How This Changes Our Business Strategies

All of this data made Diane completely rethink her business model. She'd been focusing on getting more custom website clients—those $5,000-$10,000 projects—and building out her team to handle that workload. But looking at these survey results, she realized she was potentially leaving out a huge group of people who want to learn from her but can't afford a $10,000 custom website.

As Diane explained, "I think I'm leaving out a whole swath of people who would invest in me and want to learn from me, or would want to work with me in some way and want to know what I know, but don't want to pay $10,000 for a custom website for their business. Maybe they're more DIY, they want to do it on their own ,they're just starting out, or maybe it's like a side hustle."

That's what led her to create her AI Photo Factory course. She'd been seeing all these expensive brand photo shoots—$20,000-$30,000 productions with professional directors, location shoots, outfit changes, the whole deal. But as Diane said, "you can do all that now for, you know, a couple of days worth of work in an AI if you have the skills and tools... with a $10 Midjourney subscription." She priced her course at $297 for the founding member launch, and a lot of people told her it should be $800 or $1,200. But as she explained, "my list is still really small because I'm a one-to-one business" and based on the survey data, she knew fewer people were willing to spend that much on education right now. She said, "I'm just not going to worry about the price so much first; let's get people in the door, and let's make it really robust, and build it out. But all of those decisions were based on what what I saw in the survey."

What We're Prioritizing (and what that tells us)

When we asked what skills designers are most financially incentivized to develop in 2025, the top three were:

1. Design skills - Still the foundation of what we do

2. SEO - Always valuable, always in demand

3. AI - The new frontier

I am super curious to see how that breakdown changes between when we ran this survey in Q1 and Q2, and next January because I think those top three are going to be flip-flopped. I have a feeling those rankings are going to look very different by next year!

The Software Struggle Is Real

When we asked about software expenses, 31% of people budget between $500 - $2,500 annually for their business tools. But 12% are spending less than $500 per year total. That's like ChatGPT or Claude, and Squarespace, ––or just two software subscriptions, right?! Neither of us really understand how that's possible for late beginner or even intermediate businesses & older, but we have to assume they're just using the free plan on stuff wherever possible. 🤷‍♀️

At one point last year, Diane was spending about $900 a month just on apps and software, not including contractors. That's over $10,000 a year! As Diane said, "that was just, that was just terrible, and I was like, we can't ––no–– this is this is ridiculous; I cannot do this." 😂

Least justified software

Of the least justified software expenses the most common mentions were (in order from most mentions to least mentions): None/Not Sure, Adobe, Honeybook*, Weglot, and Zoom.

Zoom makes sense since so many people are switching to Google Meet these days, since it comes with your Google Workspace plan, Zoom has become rather redundant software; it just took us five years after COVID to realize, 'oh I'm already paying for this feature over there.' 😬

Most justified software

Of the most justified software expenses the most common mentions were (in order from most mentions to least mentions): Canva, Squarespace, Adobe, CRMs (in general), and SEOSpace*.

It's interesting to note that Adobe made BOTH the most justified and least justified lists, which Diane perfectly captured in this statement: "Adobe is one of those things, you either love it or you hate it. It if it's your go-to, you're a pro, you're like a magician with it, it's amazing, –but if you're not I mean there's just so many other things." She also pointed out that "the fact that Canva's listed as the most justified software expense kind of says... weaknesses" about Adobe's accessibility.

And I have to agree with Diane's assessment of the Adobe vs Canva conversation, because I finally cancelled my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription in the fall of 2024 after paying for it for about 4 or 5 years, and am actively switching over to using Affinity's apps because they're highly compatible industry-standard-level design software with a one-time fee, or pay as you decide to upgrade pay structure. Before that I had always used the Creative Suite software, which I owned outright when I purchased it. With Adobe Creative Cloud, even on the discounted plan I had over those years, by the time I cancelled it I'd paid more (about $1,900 total in ongoing subscription fees) than 'Creative Suite v6' which was the last version of it that I owned before Creative Cloud was released & you couldn't use their software without a subscription any more.

I think people are just fed up with subscription-based softwares and are dropping what they can, when they can, especially when the company doesn't seem to give a shit about its audience/customers, ––and all of Adobe's customers definitely have felt that way at some point over the years! Throw Canva's affordable plan & time-efficient design features into the mix, and Affinity's apps... and we aren't surprised that Adobe showed up in both of these least/most justified software lists. 😏

The big question on everyone’s minds:
Is AI going to take our design jobs?

We have to talk about AI. I know, I know—it's both terrifying and exciting and confusing all at once.

First, about half of survey respondents said they were likely to invest in AI-related software, but only a third were also planning to invest in AI education, which means roughly 60-70% of respondents either want/feel obligated to use AI but might not know how to do get the most out of it.

Our Thoughts on AI & the Future of Web Design

We ended the livestream talking AI impact—and I want to bring that conversation into this post, because I'm sure you've wondered or thought about it too.

My initial knee-jerk reaction is often something akin to, 'we're all screwed' when I watch the doom-and-gloom interviews with AI experts that are popping up everywhere now. But the optimist in me is mostly like 'no, I refuse to believe that; I'm capable of figuring out something to pivot to and can adapt.' I definitely find that I'm having to limit my consumption of a lot of these recent doom and gloom interviews on channels like Diary of A CEO (which I normally LOVE), because it's just not productive information for my brain to have, ––in order to be a productive business owner and do my job, continuing to help people like you, RIGHT NOW.

Diane made an valid point about the core threat too: "knowledge jobs in general are just going to be less and less valuable as AI takes off and provides more people with that kind of stuff, which is a threat to people like us, because that's our knowledge." It's "what we've spent a lifetime acquiring, but also that's what people pay us for is what we know, and if they can get the same information from ChatGPT it's going to be a threat." But then she also reminded us: this industry has always been changing! As she explained, "I've been at building websites since 2006; I can't tell you how many times I've been up against it... the economy crash in 2007... here I am trying to launch this web design business and in those days people didn't even really know what a website was for, they didn't see the benefit of it." She continued with examples that I resonated with too: "a few years later there was the whole Facebook page / 'I don't need a website anymore,' nobody's going to have websites, everybody's going to have a Facebook page... and you know... there have been tons of those! I remember when Parallax came out and it totally changed the way websites were laid out. I had spent all these years training myself to be a genius at the body, the sidebar, a header, and a background, like I know how to do that beautifully and now all of a sudden there's these big sections."

Her conclusion was perfect: "if you're new to this industry and you're terrified about AI, just be like 'oh this is web design, yay'. It's just going to change every every two three years and become something completely different, and you just got to roll with it; you know, that's tech."

As we navigate this bumpy era, something I read recently said, "we can't control our first thought, but we can control our second." I loved that! Our first thought might be panic about AI, or worry about pricing, or stress about the economy, but the second thought? That's where we can choose to focus on what we can actually control and take action from there. My own process now: read headlines when/if needed so I’m staying in-the-know with how the industry is changing, but then stop doom-scrolling (or doom-watching, in cases like those interviews from Diary of A CEO), and focus on what I can do right now.

AI is just really fast acceleration that's hard to keep up with. Yeah, knowledge jobs are being threatened. But web design evolves. Like mobile-first, parallax, and Facebook-page-only eras—it’ll shift again. Designers, like everyone else, must adapt or 'die' trying.

Like the locals have always said in every part of the U.S. that I've ever lived in, "if you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes." I suppose the same could be said for web design, because if ya don't like how it is right now, just wait five minutes… because it'll change/evolve again. 🤭

So we're approaching AI as a helpful tool to enhance our work, not as a threat. You do you—but it'd be smart to add AI skills of some kind into your toolkit, or you may get left behind. 😬

Moving Forward: Adapting to Reality

Running this survey taught Diane and me that staying connected to what's actually happening in our industry—not just what we think is happening—is crucial for making smart business decisions.

For example, the survey data helped me think about my current (as of posting) website redesign. When we were running the survey, I couldn't really think of any direct correlation between what I've decided to do and what we were learning from the respondents, but since then as I'm redesigning my website, these details are sort of living in the back of my head for what designers are looking for and how to maybe place those things higher up in the navigation ––adjusting the userflow.

The data helped me understand my split audience better, because before it was mostly geared towards one-on-one services which is less of a focus now, than the education side of my business. So now I'm going back through everything with the intention of having a split audience and needing to figure out how to reorganize my website so that it speaks to either person for whatever they came to me for help with.

For both Diane & I, the survey data has informed several key decisions:

1. Creating more accessible price points for people who want to work with us but can't afford custom website prices

2. Being more intentional about software expenses and cutting tools that don't directly contribute to revenue, wherever possible

3. Focusing on practical AI applications that solve real business problems rather than just cool tech for tech's sake

4. Pricing based on market reality, rather than what we think things "should" cost

What's Next

We're planning to run this survey again next year, and as Diane mentioned, "we're going to start announcing it in end of December / beginning of January and then we'll get the results out earlier." By doing it earlier in the year for 2026, we'll have data to compare to from 2025 and that'll get even more interesting and nerdy!

Hopefully, we'll get more than 151 responses next time, too. As Diane said, "hopefully people will remember it and tell their friends." The more data we have, the better insights we can provide to help all of us make smarter business decisions.

The web design industry is changing rapidly, but we're not helpless. We can gather data, share insights, support each other, and adapt together. Sometimes the best thing we can do is just acknowledge that things are weird right now and we're all figuring it out as we go.

And as Diane concluded, "that's enough. That's always been enough." 👏🏻

Want to dive deeper into the data?

Check out the full report here and watch our full discussion in the embedded video at the top of this post. Let us know in the comments if any of these insights are affecting your business decisions—we'd love to hear how you're adapting!

Questions for You:

1. How are you dealing with dual audiences in your business? (if applicable)

2. What pricing-related mindset shift are you working on?

3. How are you experimenting with AI in your design process?

4. What software was most/least justified in 2024 and 2025 so far, for you?

Leave a comment below!

I wanted to give you a peek inside my Kitchen account today so you can see that part of the process!

There have also been some exciting new changes coming down the pipeline lately, and I wanted to show you just how ridiculously easy it is to get a client project set up—even if it's not connected to your CRM or task management tool.

This is literally the exact process I use with basically every single client, just using different project templates each time.

Quick note before we dive in:
I am an affiliate for Kitchen.co*, which means if you purchase through my link, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This post is not sponsored though—I'm just sharing a tool that I genuinely love and my experience using it in my business!

Why am I sharing my process for using Kitchen*?

If we haven't met before, my name is Katelyn. I run Launch the Damn Thing® and I've been a graphic designer since 2006 (chyeah, –long time!), so I've worked with a TON of clients on countless projects over the years.

That means I've tried a LOT of tools & software, and have developed a LOT of systems and processes, both of which are topics I could happily talk about all day—and that's exactly what I'm sharing today.

So let's peek into my Kitchen account and I'll show you exactly how I start new client projects in Kitchen, which is my client portal software, in case you weren't aware. Okay? Okay! 😁

Inside My Kitchen.co Account

This is the inside of my Kitchen* account—specifically the home area. When you first log in, you'll see your recent folders, your recent items, and if you scroll past that, you'll also have a quick create menu so you can start anything brand new (from scratch) pretty quickly.

Let's take a look at the template I use, before we actually use it. I keep it in my archived folder because I want to be able to:

1. View it to check details

2. Restore & edit it when I need to make changes

3. Turn that version into a new template

4. Archive it again to keep it out of the way

This approach gives me a "living, breathing" template that I can update whenever needed. It also means I don't have to recreate the template from scratch every time, or if there's something wrong with the template-making process because the archived version (what the template was made from) can also just be duplicated if necessary. To update a template in Kitchen, I just make the change, then create a new template from that updated version, and delete the old template if I want to. Easy peezy!

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What's Inside My Template?

a task ‘Board’

The task “Board” is where all of my project-specific to-dos live, including all the homework tasks I give my clients. I can quickly assign due dates & tasks to clients, delete anything from the freshly copied template that's not relevant to a particular project, and that way I don't have to recreate the project structure every single time.

Some tasks on the Board are actually for myself—just to keep me from having to remember every little thing. Because that's the whole point of systems, right? 😅

When we go back to the main project folder, this is the landing page that clients see when they log in—which is why I've made it somewhat attractive. I've branded the icons for each page in the folder (Task Board, Messenger, Project Files, and Deliverables) and given them specific icons that visually connect what each item does in the portal.

a live chat (‘Conversations’)

I also have a messenger (Kitchen calls these “Conversations”) where my client & I can have a live chat-style experience in each project, or wherever one is needed. When I send a message, it shows up in their inbox too and they can actually respond to that email, which will then show up in Kitchen* for both of us. It keeps everything in sync and super easy to use. I love it—it's amazing!

They're adding some exciting new features very soon (maybe even this week if we're lucky!), so keep your eyes peeled if you're already using Kitchen.

I also have an embedded Tally form for their content guide so clients have easy access to that for giving me whatever content I need for the website project, which allows me to use conditional logic to show/hide only the questions relevant to their business (hiding the others that aren't applicable).

an upload ‘Folder’

There's also a project Folder system that give my clients an area to drag & drop in their files for the project. This follows the ‘K.I.S.S.’ method —ie: "Keep It Simple, Stupid"— which is what I teach my students in the Ultimate Client Portal System course.

Here's how my folders are organized:

1. One folder for Documents (no sub-folders)

2. One for Brand Assets (no sub-folders)

3. One for Photos (2 sub-folders)

4. One for Videos (2 sub-folders)

5. A hidden folder for deliverables (that I'll reveal later when the website has launched & the final payment has been made)

Documents & Brand Assets

Inside the Documents sub-folder, there's nothing—clients can literally drag and drop whatever legal templates they need to share for me to install onto the site. Same for the Brand Assets sub-folder—it's completely empty but gives them a place to add logos, graphics, icons, fonts, patterns, or whatever else they need to share.

For Photos and Videos

I've created sub-folders inside each of those to help with file organization without overwhelm:

• Photos

  • Stock photos

  • Photos of them/their business

• Videos

  • Stock videos

  • Videos of them/their business

I also include little descriptions of what goes inside each folder—for example: "Your story, greeting, thank yous, testimonials, licensed stock photos for commercial use." (Hint, hint, they need a license for some of that stuff! 😉)

private folders

The Deliverables folder starts as a hidden (internal) folder where I put everything I've designed or edited with the intention of handing it off to the client as a tangible file or template they can walk away with when the project is over. Clients can easily bulk download or upload anything directly from there. I also keep a private (basic) Kitchen* doc to use as a notepad as needed, though I don't always need to use it.

Anything I create that I don't need right now or want to hide temporarily, I just dump in the private folder labeled 'Project Archive'. Clients don't see this folder because the privacy level is set to "internal" —which would be me, and my team (if I had one). Clients can only see the four main folders when they log in to the portal & open their project.

How to Quickly Recreate This Setup for New Client Projects

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With that in mind, let's recreate this setup for a test project so I can show you just how quickly I can create this system. I don't have Kitchen directly integrated with Dubsado (my CRM) or Asana (my task manager), but Kitchen* does have lots of Zapier triggers and actions, so you could potentially automate parts of this process.

Here's my typical workflow:

1. Client signs, pays, and books their project through Dubsado

2. Project is officially on the calendar and I've received the initial payment + service agreement signature

3. I go into Kitchen, then open my Templates menu

4. Select the template I want to use

5. Click "Use Template"

6. Edit the new copy for that specific client project

For this demo, I'll name the copy "Demo for YouTube Video" and keep it in my Home location in the sidebar.

Right now, all my folders are individual projects for individual clients, but if you're working with repeat clients as you continue to use Kitchen, you might prefer to create a folder with their name or initials, or business name or biz initials, and then have multiple project folders inside the client folder so they have one place to check all their projects with you.

Here's my current set up:

• XX: Package Name/Project Type

Soon though, I'll have it set up like this:

• Client Name A (or Business Name)

  • XX: Package Name/Project Type 1

  • XX: Package Name/Project Type 2

  • XX: Package Name/Project Type 3

• Client Name B (or Business Name)

  • XX: Package Name/Project Type 1

  • XX: Package Name/Project Type 2

  • XX: Package Name/Project Type 3

This makes it easy to find anything in their project from the list when ya need to, and/or organize it later.

When selecting what to duplicate after you've chosen your template & selected 'Use Template', you can also uncheck (deselect) anything you don't want to copy over in each individual copy you make from the template. Since my template is empty and pretty much structural only, I'll bring everything over & delete specific items I don't need from the copy.

After clicking save, Kitchen* quickly recreates the entire system for me in about 30-60 seconds or less (likely depends on the size of the template).

When it's done, I have the "Demo for YouTube Video" project almost ready to go, with a few tweaks!

If you already have your client's brand assets or can pull it from their existing website or socials, you can upload their logo or browser icon to represent their folder in the portal. If not, Kitchen has tons of icons to choose from, and you can pick the color for the icon using their slider or set custom brand colors.

You can also change the cover image for their main project landing page if you want. My students in the Ultimate Client Portal System course have a pre-sized Canva template they can use to design custom covers for their clients. An example of the cover might be to put in a 'label' which names the project type they've just opened, or shows off their logo, etc. The cover is similar to that on Notion pages; very slim & narrow across the top of the screen.

The Magic of Templates - everything's already there!

Now I have that same list of tasks from the original template but I didn't have to recreate them all manually—such a time-saver! All their homework is already there too, just requiring a few minor edits.

Here's a fun Tally form tip too:

You can actually pre-populate your client's name and email in the homework form if you add a special string to the end of the URL. When they open it, their information will already be filled in so they can jump right in and get started. (This requires setting up hidden fields in your form, which I include in my template, provided to students.)

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The Client Invitation Process

Next, I invite the client to the folder by clicking "Share" from the top-level project folder, selecting "Clients" tab from the popup menu, and typing in their email address. Once the invite has been sent, this gives them access to all the pages inside the project folder I just shared, including tasks, etc.

If the client is new & has never been invited to your portal before, you'll have an opportunity to type a quick message in plain text (no rich text formatting) to let them know what the invitation is & why they're getting it.

If your client has been invited to your portal before, they will NOT receive an invitation email with a message like the first time, instead they'll just be notified they've been invited to a new resource, and/or whatever other notifications you've/they've set for their profile.

Here's where we need to be strategic:

I don't assign tasks to them right away after inviting them (whether they are new or not), because I don't want them getting an overwhelming flood of notifications as I perform the next steps!

So here's what that process looks like. 👇🏼

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Impersonation Features in Kitchen*

See What Your Client Sees & Turn Notifications OFF

Instead, I go to the client profile in my Kitchen* account and click the three-dot menu in the upper righthand corner to select "Impersonate." This is REALLY important because now I'm able to see Kitchen through their eyes & act as if I were them.

This is one of the super important things about using a dedicated client portal system—because you can't do this with tools like Notion, ClickUp, Monday, or other collaborative 'project management' tools you've probably used before.

When I'm acting as the client with this impersonation feature, I'm literally seeing everything as them. So I go to their profile icon in the top right corner while impersonating them, click on Notifications, and turn EVERYTHING off. I make sure all toggles are off before switching back to my own account to customize the rest of the portal for them, by assigning due dates & tasks, etc.

Assigning Tasks & Adding Helpful Links

Now, with their notifications OFF, I can assign all their tasks without bombarding them with notifications. Before doing this though, I'll delete any tasks that aren't relevant to this specific project. For instance, if they already have a website that we designed last year so we're just adding new stuff to it and I'm still an admin on it, I'll remove the 'share Squarespace login' task so they see less overwhelm.

After assigning tasks, I take it a step further by adding direct links to relevant folders in the task descriptions or custom fields on tasks (where applicable):

1. Go to the brand assets folder and copy the link from the page menu

2. Return to tasks and edit the description

3. Replace the generic text with a direct link to their specific folder

4. Repeat for photos, videos, and other important resources

This extra step makes everything so much easier for clients to get around in the portal, because they won't have to hunt to find what they need when they need it. It takes a few extra seconds for us during set up, but creates a much better experience for our clients.

Turn Strategic Notifications Back ON

Once everything is set up, I go back into their profile through impersonation and turn on ONLY the strategic notifications that matter for my process:

1. When someone invites them to a resource

2. When a Thread is created

3. Message is sent in thread

4. New message is sent

5. Task is due

I deliberately avoid turning on "mentions" because it's too easy to get duplicate notifications that way, and unlike with Notion, @mentions (tagging people) aren't necessary in order to get notified about changes because there are other options which can trigger notifications. The goal is to give them minimal in-app notifications, minimal browser alerts, and minimal email alerts—notifying them only about the most important things.

You should test this setup yourself to see exactly what notifications clients will receive, and take note so you can repeat what works best for you & your process.

Sending Your Onboarding Message

The last step before I finish the setup process, is sending an onboarding message. I look at my saved replies and pick the pre-written email that matches this project type. Then I'll customize it with their name and project details before hitting send.

When clients receive this email from Kitchen*, they get a notification that I've send them a message, which includes the complete message with all the links to tasks, messenger, files, etc. and tips for using the portal.

All those links I added earlier while editing the onboarding message now become incredibly useful! Clients can click directly into specific tasks, the messenger, or files without hunting around, –right from their inbox. They can also click to view the conversation, which takes them straight to the messenger in the portal.

If they respond with a message, like "Great, thank you so much!" I'll get a notification inside the portal showing their reply in the Messenger & in an emailed copy in my inbox, —even if they responded to the emailed notification rather than through the Messenger in the portal.

Kitchen also shows a little email icon to indicate when messages were sent via email versus through the portal, and I can also see exactly when clients viewed messages thanks to the little eyeball icon that shows the date and time they looked at it.

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Process Recap: the entire system in about 10 minutes!

So that's basically all there is to it!

My easily repeatable process is:

1. Use my CRM to book the project, take the payment, get the contract signed

2. Go to Kitchen* and use my template to create a new project folder

3. Edit the template as much as possible first

4. Invite the client to the project folder

5. Turn ALL of their notifications off

6. Set up everything they need access to (assign tasks, etc) that you couldn't do until they were in the portal with you

7. Turn strategic/select notifications back on for them

8. Use a pre-written onboarding message template to send them a welcome message from the Messenger page

9. Link up everything in the message that will help them find whatever they need access to

10. Hit send and I'm DONE!

It actually doesn't take that long, and the experience for clients is really simple, easy, and streamlined. They don't know (or need to know) that I'm using Asana to manage my own tasks, Dubsado to book projects and manage client relationships, and Kitchen to collaborate with them during the project. It all looks seamless from their perspective.

Try Kitchen* for FREE!

Hopefully that's helpful to see exactly how this process works from start to finish! Maybe it even gets you excited about trying Kitchen for yourself. 😃

They do currently have a free plan (as of posting), though that may or may not change in the future, but you can always try it for free on a free trial if it disappears! If you love it, make sure you take advantage of their lifetime payment option. (Spoiler alert: you might become a big Kitchen fan pretty quickly. 🤩)

Their affordable lifetime payment option allows you to pay once and never pay again, while keeping access to all these features. Go to launchthedamnthing.com/Kitchen* to take advantage of that offer, which is pretty fucking cool in an age where seemingly EVERYthing is a subscription!

READ MORE:

If you've been considering giving Kitchen a try, check out my Client Portal Systems blog post where I break down different client portal options and why having a dedicated system matters so much for client experience.

LEARN MORE:

For those of you who are already using client portals but want to level up your systems, my Ultimate Client Experience Guide gives you a step-by-step process for creating memorable client journeys from start to finish!

That's all I’ve got today! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about my setup process or if you've tried Kitchen yourself. I'd love to hear about your experience too!!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely love and use in my own business. The opinions expressed here are based on my personal experience with Kitchen.co.

Finding the right software stack for your design business pretty much feels like trying to build a house with ZERO construction or architectural training & tools you've never seen or heard of before. 😂

You know you need something to manage clients, keep track of tasks, and collaborate on projects—but which tool (or tools) actually do what?

I've spent nearly a decade dragging myself & my clients through different software platforms (thank you to all of my early clients who were guinea pigs in this process –& never complained! 😅). Over time, I've realized there's a fundamental misunderstanding about what these different types of tools are designed to do.

Quick disclosure:
While I am an affiliate for some of the tools mentioned in this post, I've personally used most of them myself—some for years, others for shorter periods. This overview is NOT sponsored; it's just me sharing my experience after using these apps for almost 10 years in my design business!

The problem? Most designers think these tools are interchangeable, –but they're not. 😬

Trying to use a hammer to cut wood or a saw to pound in nails, could maybe still work to do those jobs… but it’ll be a LOT harder & take a LOT longer. Again, could you make it work? Maybe, with a hell-of-a-lot of effort. But you'd be making your life way harder than it needs to be.

So let's clear the air on the differences between CRMs, client portals, and task/project management tools—what they each do really well, what they don't, why your clients probably secretly hate your project management tools, and how these different systems can actually work together easily IF you know which ones to use & when.

The Fundamental Differences: CRM vs PM vs Portals

Let's break down what each of these tool categories is actually designed to do:

CRMs (Customer Relationship Management)

A CRM is designed to track leads and manage your sales pipeline. Think of it as your business admin assistant, a virtual assistant, or even entry-level new business manager that works ‘round the clock for you while you do other tasks, eat, play, and sleep. 😏

When a potential client fills out your contact form telling you they’re “interested in one of your services, what are the next steps?" the right CRM can handle that inquiry automatically. It can send them your scheduler in an automated email reply, point them toward pricing information or even booking forms, —all without you lifting a finger!

CRMs handle all the business admin work:

• Contracts → sending the terms AND getting the signature

• Invoices → asking for payment AND getting the money

• Quotes and proposals → setting the basic scope of work AND getting approvals

• Payment processing → processing one-time AND recurring payments

• Payment schedules → automatically adding predefined payment plans to invoices

• Automated payment reminders → managing automatic payment reminders AND related automations

• Initial client communication → replies, follow-ups, check-ins, reminders, thank yous, receipts, etc

Examples of CRMs include Dubsado*, HoneyBook, Bonsai*, Bloom, Indy, and Moxie, –among others!

Check out this blog post for a full list of CRMs I researched that also had Client Portals

At between $7-40 per month, a good CRM is literally like hiring an assistant for $1-2/hour who works around the clock, 24/7. When you think about it that way, the investment makes a lot more sense! Plus it’s waaay cheaper than paying your first team member before you’re got the budget.

Client Portals

A client portal is entirely different. These software systems are specifically designed to help service providers collaborate with guests.

The crucial distinction? Your clients don't need their own account with the software company. They're YOUR guests, not customers of the portal platform. 🤯 That means your clients won’t be onboarded or marketed to by the software company & they don’t need a full ‘free plan’ account with them either, –or even a username and password!

Client portals provide:

• Client-facing collaborative workspaces

• File sharing capabilities

• Feedback features for collecting revision requests on assets or files

• White-labeled branding to match your business

The best example I've found is Kitchen –hands-down– which we'll talk more about later!

PM Tools (Task/Project Management Tools)

Task management software is designed to manage tasks, –plain and simple. The key difference? Everyone accessing the system must have their own account with that software company.

This means if you invite a client to collaborate in Asana, Trello, ClickUp, or Notion, (or any other PM tool) they need to create their own account with that platform first—complete with a username and password, –potentially exposing their information to yet another tech company for marketing, data leaks or hacks, etc.

Task and project management tools provide:

• Internal task organization

• Project & task management for ourselves

• Task calendars, recurrence reminders, and deadlines

• Internal team collaboration (with employees &/or contracts working on behalf of our business/brand)

Examples include: Trello, Asana, Notion*, ClickUp, Monday, SmartSuite, and Todoist.

Check out this blog post for a breakdown of how to pick ‘the perfect’ PM tool

These PM tool apps are primarily designed for internal use—for you and your team members, contractors, or employees –if you have any. They were not originally built with client-facing collaboration in mind as long as those collaborators don’t want to use or have their own accounts in that same software, even though many offer "guest" features that sound like the same thing. (They’re not.)

Why Your Clients Secretly Hate Your PM Tool

If you've been using Asana, Trello, or another PM tool as your client portal, your clients might be smiling to your face and cursing your software choice behind your back. 🤭 🙈

Here's why:

1. Yet Another Account to Create

Your clients are required to create yet another account with a username and a password for a tool they probably weren't already using. If you're a designer who loves Asana's list-style task management, that doesn't mean your clients share that same preference; they may prefer Trello, or maybe they’ve never heard of either software before! You're basically saying, "Hey, adopt my workflow style temporarily just to work with me!"

Our brains often work differently from our clients'—after all, they're coming to us because we have specialty skills they don't. So why should we expect them to naturally adapt to our preferred organizational systems if it requires too much effort on their part?

This is especially a pain-point if your projects are on the SHORTer side, like mine (2-3 weeks at most), –versus larger & more drawn out projects that can span several months or years.

2. Unwanted Marketing from the Software Company

As soon as your client creates their account, they’ll start getting email marketing and onboarding notifications from the software company—on top of your communications. It's communication overload!

I don’t know why this thought never occurred to me before now, but it never has. 🤦🏼‍♀️😂 But think about it, you just gave that software company a new customer they can try to sell to so they’re going to… –yep, you guessed it– try to sell their software to that new customer. 🫤

I get it, they’re a business too & they have employees to pay. But not all circumstances are giving them a paying customer, –so wouldn’t it be nice if they could unsubscribe from onboarding & marketing emails while they signed up? (ie: make sure they never get those emails?)

3. Overwhelming Learning Curve

Every software has its pros & cons, as I talked about in this blog post, ––and as I mentioned in this post, nothing is ever perfect.

With that in mind, remember that every tool is different and even if many of the concepts are the same, they each have their own learning curve. From, “where is the calendar, to how do I comment on tasks or mark something as complete?” Because every app is different, there’s no way you could ever make a one-size-fits-all tutorial video teaching clients how to use it with you to manage the project or see task updates as we work. The guide that would work for Asana, won’t work for Notion, and neither would work for Trello or ClickUp. 😵‍💫🥴

Most clients don't have the bandwidth to learn a complex new system just for one project, though all of mine have put on a brave face & told me they’d try! (If you’re reading this, I appreciate you!) Honestly though, as much as they likely don’t want to try a new app, –we also don't have the bandwidth to teach them how to use a tool they'll never use again once our project ends. It’s just a waste of both our time –and there IS a better option.

4. It Doesn't Feel Like YOUR App

When clients log into Trello or Asana, they feel like they're using Trello's or Asana's interface even if they’re working with you in your workspace or account. It’s not YOUR branded experience with your colors, your logo, your website URL, and notifications coming from your email address.

That creates a disconnect in the client experience you're trying to create and uplevel!

Also, maybe they worked with someone before that required them to use a tool like this one (or the same one) and they’re immediately concerned that they’ll be getting 5,000 notifications in their inbox every time anything is updated (hello, ClickUp –I’m talking to YOU here!).

Ease their worries immediately without showing a recognizable brand in the tool itself ––by masking it with yours. (ie: white-labeling)

Why Kitchen* is an actual Game-Changer

Now that you understand why typical PM tools make terrible client portals, let's talk about why Kitchen is different –even though it handles tasks, file sharing, and has some CRM features.

Kitchen* was engineered and developed by a web design agency specifically for web designers. They understood our pain points from the start and built the platform with the understanding that we'd be inviting guests who would NOT also be Kitchen's direct customers.

This is a huge distinction! With Kitchen:

• Our clients (guests) don't need to create an account with Kitchen, directly or indirectly

• There's no username or password, —they use a magic link sent to their profile email instead

• Everything is white-labeled with your branding (URL, email notifications, colors)

• It feels & looks like YOUR software, not a third-party tool

Because clients log in through YOUR branded subdomain (mine is clients.launchthedamnthing.com, for example), receive notifications from YOUR email address, and see YOUR brand colors, the entire experience feels custom-built for your business. That means they’re much less likely to wonder about the adverse side affects of using this portal software with you!

Kitchen* also offers features like:

• One-time payment options (lifetime payment option = no recurring subscription)

• Basic quotes and invoicing capabilities

• Payment collection via Stripe, Square, or PayPal (& more)

• File locking tied to invoice payment (clients can't download deliverables until they've paid)

• A basic address book for client information

• Basic embeddable contact forms for your website

• Live chat style conversations with threaded replies

• Easy ways to embed third-party content (forms, schedulers, docs, and more)

If you don't have an official CRM yet, Kitchen* can handle the basics while you focus on building your business. And when it’s time to upgrade those basic CRM features, you’ll be ready to fork out for a tool like Dubsado, Bonsai or Honeybook, etc.

My Actual Workflow: How I Use All 3 Tools Together

This is the question I get most often: "Are you using Kitchen instead of Dubsado? Are you still using Asana? If you’re using Asana, what happened to Kitchen? Or if you’re using Kitchen, are you still using Dubsado? How do all these tools work together?"

Here's my actual workflow:

1. Dubsado* (CRM) handles my leads (inquiries), proposals, contracts, invoices, and all the administrative tasks around booking & managing clients. When a prospect wants to move forward, I use Dubsado to send them a contract, proposal, and invoice, then collect their payment & send their thank you & receipt/confirmation emails.

2. Once they've signed and paid their deposit/initial payment, I switch to Kitchen* (client portal) to manage the actual project-specific work & collaboration (including file sharing, messages, and project-specific tasks). I send them an invitation from Kitchen, essentially passing them from Dubsado to the client portal in Kitchen.

3. In Kitchen*, we manage all project tasks, file sharing, and communication for the duration of the project. Everything happens in this one place that feels like MY branded experience, not a third-party tool, and the client has easy access to me to ask questions, provide feedback, and access any resources I’ve provided along the way (or during support).

4. Behind the scenes, I use my own task management system (this could be Asana, Notion, or whatever works for you) to organize my own internal tasks (and team collaboration, if you have one –I don’t). My clients never see this though, because they don’t need to—it's just for me and anyone working with me. I use Asana for managing my content creation workflow, my list of affiliate links, keep track of ideas, product updates & links, and recurring business tasks (and a LOT more that I won’t bore you with!)

5. When the project nears completion, a Dubsado workflow (automation) automatically triggers based on the time since the project started, initiating my support processes and sending a review form with reminders and next steps. My client stays in my Kitchen portal, because we may work together again, and Kitchen doesn’t require ‘offboarding’ with no time limits or max capacity limitations on how many “Clients” we can have in the portal. They have access to support resources in the portal too.

This system gives clients a seamless experience while giving me all the tools I need to stay organized and efficient.

Which ones do I actually pay for?

That’s a trick question! I pay for all 3 now, –but that wasn’t always the case!

• I tried Dubsado for FREE for my first 3 clients (no time-limited trial, thankfully!) and upgraded when I was confident in my setup which meant I could take my time. If you do try it, get 20% OFF your first payment (month or year) with my affiliate code, DAMN.

• I tried Asana free for a long time before I upgraded to a paid plan for some more features, like using Rules and Custom Fields –but you may never want/need those & their free plan is very good!

• I tried Kitchen for free first, and set up as much as I could before deciding it was worth paying for, then customized it ever further. Best $300 bucks I’ve spent on 1 software tool in 5+ years! NO JOKE.

Which Tools Do I Recommend?

If you're just starting out, you don't necessarily need all three types of tools right away. You can start with one and add others as your business grows & you begin to experience pain points that these tools solve/fix/ease.

• For CRMs: I personally use and love Dubsado, but HoneyBook, Bonsai, and Bloom are also solid & reputable options depending on your specific needs. For a full list of potential CRMs, check this post.

• For Client Portals: Kitchen is my top recommendation by far. Honestly, literally nothing else compares for web designers ––and I looked at 20+ other apps to find one! #seriously

• For Task Management: This is most personal to your workflow style. I've used Asana, Trello, ClickUp, and Notion at different points. Pick what works for YOUR brain, since clients won't see this – it’s all YOU. For a full breakdown of which tool is closest to which analogue/off-computer style, check this post next.

When Should You Add Each Tool to Your Stack?

What do you need MOST to have a business? You need a way to:

• get inquiries from interested people

• send & sign legal agreements

• take payments / collect money

• book appointments into your calendar without loosing your mind

So, depending on what you do or don’t already have, then examine your biggest pain points.

• Start with: A free, dedicated task management app so that ALL of your business tasks don’t ONLY live in your head. The biggest lie I tell myself regularly is that I don’t need to write “that” down, because I’ll remember ––spoiler alert, I never remember. 😬😂

• Next, add: a CRM like Dubsado if you're struggling with sending/signing service agreements, managing late payments & sending reminders, and other client-relationship-related admin tasks. Even something cheap & affordable like Breely* may be a perfect lite-CRM option that can do all of those basic things until you’re ready for an app like Dubsado.

• Then, add: A client portal like Kitchen* if client collaboration is your biggest pain point and you just want a way to get clients out of your inbox & see what you’re working on while you’re working on it. Especially helpful if you’re nervous about your processes & systems, don’t know how to manage clients AND projects, or if you have a bunch of clients & your email-only management system has you feeling chaotic, lost & overwhelmed.

Key Takeaways About These Tools

1. CRMs are your business admin assistant, handling leads, contracts, invoices, and payment processing. Sometimes they can also automate parts of your processes for you, keeping your process consistent & predictable with each client.

2. Client Portals are collaborative workspaces where clients can interact with you, without creating accounts with the software company, eliminating the management of more accounts & passwords while providing easier access to you as the service provider.

3. Task/Project Management Tools are for internal organization and team collaboration, not designed primarily for client interaction if they aren’t working in or for your business; it’s a great place to write down your ideas, processes, products, services, research, notes, list of tools & login URLs, quotes, course lists, manage marketing efforts, and more!

4. These tools are NOT interchangeable! Each category serves a specific specialized purpose, and any crossover features are often limited compared to their dedicated/specialized counterparts.

5. Using all three together creates the most seamless experience both for you and your clients, and keeps each part of your business in its own lane –avoiding chaos like the productivity-plague it is.

Making the Switch

I know you might be thinking, "This sounds great, Katelyn, but I'm already using Trello for everything and the thought of changing my whole system is overwhelming." Trust me, I get it! I've been there too. (After all, I have literally tried 20+ project management apps over the last 10 years, and I’ve migrated my own data between at least 5 of them. 😂 )

If you're currently dragging your clients through Asana or forcing them to use ClickUp with you & you’re not happy with their adoption of the system/process or their effort is lacking, –don't worry about overhauling your entire process overnight. Baby steps are totally fine here! 🙂 The win here is that you finally recognize the problem and there IS a solution.

Start with looking at what's causing the most friction right now. Is it getting contracts signed? Maybe start with a proper CRM. Is it collaborating with clients on design feedback or completing their homework? Maybe Kitchen should be your first priority instead.

The good news is that all of these tools have ways to connect with each other if that’s important to you. You can even set up Zapier automations to pass information between systems so you're not manually doing everything yourself. (Though honestly, I haven't even needed to set those up yet with my current workflow between Dubsado & Kitchen!)

Remember that you're making this change to create a better experience for both you AND your clients! Every time I've upgraded my systems, I've wondered why I waited so long to do it. Your future self will thank you, –I promise!

Today’s Takeaway:

Listen, at the end of the day, understanding these fundamental differences between CRMs, client portals, and task management tools has been an actual game-changer for my business AND my sanity. I finally have the right tool for each job, instead of trying to hammer in screws, or drill in a nail, and getting frustrated about why it's so hard. 🫣 😂

AND these are all business expenses, which DECREASE your tax liability. The more you spend on your business, the less total profit you have & the fewer taxes you’ll owe. –Just sayin!

These aren't just expenses, either – they're investments that save you time, enhance your client experience, and honestly, protect your sanity. When I think about how many hours I've saved not having to explain Asana/Trello/ClickUp/Notion to confused clients, or how much more professional my process feels with a proper client portal... it's honestly priceless.

The whole point of this post wasn't to convince you to go buy a bunch of new software. It was to help you understand what each tool actually does, so you can make smarter decisions about which ones you actually need right now.

So what's next for you?

Are you already using the right tools for the right jobs? Have you been trying to make one tool do everything and feeling the friction? Let me know in the comments—I'd love to hear where you're at in your systems journey!

Hey there! So I've got a confession to make right out of the gate—I've spent AN EMBARRASSING AMOUNT OF TIME testing project management tools. Like, a truly horrifically ridiculous amount. We're talking actual years of my life obsessively jumping from app to app, searching for that mythical "perfect tool" which would magically solve all my organizational problems. 😬

Quick disclosure: I'm an affiliate for some of the tools mentioned in this post, but I've personally used 98% of them (some for longer periods than others) & researched the others. This isn't sponsored content—just me sharing my real experiences after being deep in the PM tool trenches.

Spoiler alert:
The “perfect app” doesn't exist.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news! 😂

But here's what I've discovered after all this wasted time (so you don't have to make even a small percentage of the same mistakes I have): the closest thing to "perfect" is simply the tool you'll actually USE consistently. And whether you'll stick with a tool often boils down to how well it matches the way your brain naturally organizes information—specifically, how you'd take notes or manage tasks on paper, –off the computer.

Today I’m gonna take you through my wild journey of task management obsession, what I've learned, and how to actually choose something that works for YOUR brain, so you can make a more informed decision about what’ll work best for you –and stick. with. it. 🙌

The ‘Perfect’ Tool DOES NOT Exist

Grab a cup of coffee, a cozy blanket, and pull your chair a lee-ttle closer, because this might be the most important thing I'll say in this entire post.

The endless search for “the perfect task management app” is a complete waste of time.

I know that sounds bizarre coming from someone who's made countless videos & posts reviewing software and showing you how I use different tools. But I'm serious. I’ve practically tried them all, so I can say this with confidence–the perfect task management app, the perfect project management software—they simply don't exist.

Why? Because everyone's idea of "perfect" is different! What ClickUp thinks is perfect is worlds apart from what the Asana team thinks, which is totally different from what the Notion company believes. Every software, on some level, tries to be all things to all people, but they can't possibly solve everybody's unique problems or address everyone’s preferred work styles.

Every single tool you try is going to have pros and cons. That's just how it is. So approach this whole journey with that knowledge, because it'll save you a ton of time and frustration.

I Learned This Lesson the HARD Way

My timeline of task management tools is honestly embarrassing (or maybe it should be) but I’m happy to share it anyway 😂 because maybe you'll see yourself in my story—and maybe you'll avoid my mistakes!

I started my task management journey with Asana. That was the very first one I'd ever heard of, probably back in 2014 or 2015. I liked it initially, but I couldn't really wrap my head around how it worked, because each ‘project’ had it’s own list and that meant essentially I had multiple spiral notebooks or legal pads & my tasks inside them couldn’t see the other lists. Meaning, I didn’t know how to make them work together, or organize them, or even see ALL of my tasks without opening each ‘project’ to see what I needed to work on each day.

In hindsight, it did all of those things, but I just didn’t know where/how to learn to do those things in the tool. At that point, I didn't know there were Asana experts & users teaching people how to use tools like those, so I just got confused and Googled, looking for alternatives.

That's when I found Trello.

I LOVED Trello. It felt like digital sticky notes to me! It was colorful and visual, I could put card covers on there and change the background color. It just allowed me to work while allowing me to display things that showed off my personality & make it fun to look at (shocking, I know 🙃).

I loved it so much that I even implemented Trello for the art department at my full-time job. We had four designers, and every designer had their own board in Trello with their individual work listed on that board in different statuses/columns. Our customer service reps could search Trello to figure out who had which order & what status it was in, without asking us every time. It worked beautifully for our team!

But when I started using it for my freelance work, things got messy. Clients had to learn a whole new tool, and I wasn't great at teaching them how to use it with me. Plus, clients had to create their own free Trello account to use it with me, –and I realized that if each project had its own board, I couldn't see dates across all my projects in one view. At the time, Trello had no global account-wide calendars or views or inbox, and the only option for cards with dates was a ‘power-up’ by a third-party company with a separate subscription that I didn't want to shell out for.

You get what you pay for, basically.

Next, I tried ClickUp. I imported everything from Trello, and when it came into ClickUp, I was like... what just happened to all my tasks?! It was organized in statuses, but I thought it was imported incorrectly because the columns were wrong & grouping them by something I couldn’t figure out... I was completely confused. ClickUp just wasn't intuitive for me AT ALL. I tried really hard—probably stuck with it for 3-6 months—but ultimately abandoned it and went back to either Trello or Asana (I honestly can't remember which).

The funny thing is, that’s not the last time I tried ClickUp. 😂 I’ve taken courses on how to use it (because it’s that in-depth & data rich, that taking a course is warranted) from multiple people. (The best one is from Process Driven, called How to ClickUp*, or their membership which teaches how to use both ClickUp and SmartSuite*.) The last time I used ClickUp for over a year before switching again (back to Notion), because like Notion, it’s just too easy for me to play in there & ultimately overcomplicate things, making a mess that’s hard to contain and manage.

List of PM Tools I've Tried, to Date

Get ready to laugh at this ridiculously long list. 🫣🤣 I've tried so many tools that I literally can't even remember all of them!

Affiliate links are marked with an *asterisk!

• Akiflow

• Apple Notes

• Apple Reminders

• Airtable*

• AnyDo

• Artful Agenda*

• Artist of Life Planner

• Basecamp

• Blitzit

• Coda

• Evernote

• Full Focus Planner

• Goodnotes

• Google Tasks

• Griply

• Milanote

• Motion

• Noteshelf

• Quire

• Reclaim

• SmartSuite

• ToDoist

• Wrike

• ZenKit

And that doesn't even include Trello, Notion*, Asana, and ClickUp, which were my main systems at different points!

Why Did I Use Notion for So Long?

In 2020, I discovered Notion and quickly became obsessed (after first feeling thoroughly confused) because it allowed me to build whatever I wanted. That was/is unique compared to everything else I'd tried.

I stuck with Notion for a long time (~4 years!) because I genuinely loved using it. Some people say it's ugly, but I find it simple and clean. They cut out a lot of visual noise that you find in tools like ClickUp, where the running joke is that it gives you tons of things to “click on” and look at, making things look cluttered & you can’t fix that in ClickUp.

Notion lets you have as much or as little of that visual complexity as you want, which really appealed to me. My brain kind of malfunctions when I start to see a lot of clutter while trying to focus. Maybe you can relate? 🤷‍♀️

It was also incredibly affordable when I found it— at like $48 a year, which was the cheapest thing I'd ever found, besides free plans –obviously. ClickUp came pretty close with their plan at around $5/mo ––both have changed their pricing since those good ‘ol days, though.

So I stuck with Notion until I realized, just six or eight months ago & about 4 years into it, that I'd tried literally everything I could possibly try, bought every template that should’ve helped, and watched countless videos that made building in it fun but not productive. I'd bought my templates from super organized, highly efficient people, but their systems were too complicated for me to manage stuff successfully, long-term.

Notion for task management specifically got way out of control. It felt chaotic. Soon I realized I couldn't find things anymore because it was TOO customized —and that's coming from someone who is detail-oriented and loves managing details! If it’s too complicated for ME, it's probably too complicated for many other people too.

I now use Notion primarily for note-taking and writing/editing, support ticket forms, and public-facing databases (now that we can embed published pages built in Notion into other platforms), – but I've given up on using it for task management after trying for years. Notion is just not great for task management, at least not for me.

Full Circle: Using Asana

And because the universe has a great sense of humor, –guess what? I just switched back to Asana this year. 🙈 Again. 😂

If I had just stuck with Asana from the beginning and pushed through the learning curve, I would have wasted SO much less time (literally 10 years) trying to find the perfect tool, only to realize it doesn't exist.

But the upside is that I did all the research for you! I've tested & tried them all –practically– and figured out what each seems to be best & worst at, so you don't have to waste years in exploration like I did.

The perfect tool doesn't exist—that's the first and most important lesson.

How to Choose the Right Task Management App for you

The next thing I want to talk about is how these tools work and how you should think about them based on your analog style, when you’re exploring your options & deciding which one to try for yourself.

Yes, your analog style! By that, I mean: off-computer, off-digital, –how do you prefer to take notes or write down tasks on paper?

👇🏼 There are four main categories:

If you like spreadsheets & graph paper...

If you're a spreadsheet type of person who likes graph paper or something similar, then ClickUp, SmartSuite, or Monday might be a good choice for you. Those are all highly analytical, data-rich, spreadsheet focused task & project management softwares that will let you get pretty granular.

Other tools like Asana, Notion, Zenkit, even Trello now, etc can have spreadsheet views of your tasks too, but these 3 (ClickUp, SmartSuite, and Monday) seem to almost specialize in that view & do it best or in the most robust way; to the point that these 3 are best known for that type of use-case/view.

Airtable is spreadsheet focused too, but it doesn’t do task or project management as well—it's crazy-good at managing & creating databases though, but I wouldn’t consider Airtable for tasks.

If you like seeing things in rows and columns with lots of data, custom fields or properties, love filtering and sorting, and generally think in spreadsheet terms (like Google Sheets &/or Excel), tools like ClickUp, SmartSuite, or Monday are going to feel natural for you.

If you like sticky notes...

For people who are sticky note fans, you're probably going to gravitate more toward Trello or Milanote because they both specialize in a more card-style (or sticky-note) interface.

Milanote is more like a whiteboard, so you can literally post sticky notes & other types of content all over the place in any of your boards, while Trello is more of a rigid system of Kanban columns on separate boards so it feels like sticky notes but in a more organized methodology. It's a little less flexible/customizable, while Milanote gives you more freedom in how you see your stuff.

Kanban view, perhaps popularized by Trello, has since been adopted by pretty much every other project & task management tool out there, so you can still get that sticky-note/card style task view in columns in other tools like Asana, Zenkit, ClickUp, Notion, and more. BUT –at least to my knowledge– the kanban style originated with Trello so it still does that style best. IMHO.

So, if your desk or wall is covered in colorful sticky notes right now, these visual tools will probably feel most natural to your brain.

If you like bullet journaling...

If you're into bullet journaling—where you buy a blank journal (usually with dot grid paper) and create your own system by drawing whatever you want on each page, —then you're going to LOVE Notion*.

Notion gives you nearly-full control over what you build in it. You can make databases, import images & video, embed GIFs, create your own headers & graphics to add to the page & make it pretty, and embed all kinds of widgets for weather & countdown timers & calendars, etc. It's incredibly flexible and can be as pretty or simple as you want it to be.

Notion has other views of data too, like ClickUp & Asana, so if you’re using ‘databases’ in Notion you can rearrange your data into list, table (spreadsheet), gallery, kanban, calendar, timeline, etc –even chart views now. That said, what Notion does best & is most flexible in, is how you arrange your data on the page, outside of databases or wikis, in their system; so using a combination of regular ‘blocks’ for text & headings & images, etc alongside databases will work best & be the most flexible while also providing structure when you need it.

If creating your own custom layouts and systems is your jam, Notion is probably going to feel like home for you.

If you like checklists, legal pads &/or spiral notebooks...

If you're a notepad, legal pad, checklist, or spiral-bound notebook kind of person, you're probably going to lean more toward Asana, which is a project-based, list-focused tool with a simple interface, especially on its free plan.

Just like you would write a list down on lined paper, Asana makes it very simple with a checkbox for every task so you can see if it’s either Incomplete (To Do) or Complete (Done), without the need for statuses & custom fields or properties.

So you don’t assume incorrectly (as I did), here’s a couple quick tips that I didn’t mention in the video!

• “Projects” in Asana keep those tasks in that particular ‘project list’ siloed or separate from your other projects in your account, –BUT you can see all tasks from all projects from the My Tasks area in any view you like (including Calendar & Kanban).

• On the free plan of Asana, you can use the recurring task feature and make use of custom Tags instead of custom fields if you’re not ready for a paid plan quite yet. (Custom fields are only on paid plans, for things like statuses in a multi-stage process that needs more than DO and DONE, etc)

• If one tasks needs to be seen or added to multiple projects, you can do that inside the task’s details! Don’t know how I missed that before… 😂 No more duplicate tasks!

Again, other tools can do this simple checklist style too, but Asana truly does this best!

If simple checklists, lined notebook paper or legal pads are your go-to, Asana will likely feel like the closest digital representation of that for your brain.

Think about your analog task management

So as you begin to explore your options & make a decision, think about how you're actually going to use it on the computer vs how you’d prefer to do those things on paper.

Do you need a whiteboard? Do you want sticky notes? Do you prefer a legal pad? What makes you most comfortable when you're taking notes or making to-do lists? Then find the digital tool that most closely matches that analog experience –and don’t overlook what they’re “known” for because that’s the feature they’re probably best at building/offering for users.

This approach is going to help you pick a task management app that you’ll actually USE consistently because it feels most natural to you. It doesn't matter if Amy Porterfield or some other business-influencer is using something different—if it works for YOU, you'll actually use it, and that's the whole damn point. 😉

Reality Checks on the Tools I’ve Used Most

Of the four tools I've spent the most time using, here are my reality checks—the honest pros and cons:

Asana

✅ Pros: Simple, stable, intuitive, powerful

❌ Cons: Deceptive pricing. They advertise at ~ $10 - $11/mo, but they require a minimum of two seats/users on all paid plans. So even if you're working alone, you still actually pay for two people.

In 2020, when I first realized this, to be honest it absolutely infuriated me! I even messaged their support about it—I was like, "This is absurd. Why don’t you have a plan for just 1 user? I don’t have anyone else using this with me.” You should just charge me $22 a month if that's your intention. Don't tell me you're charging $10 per person and then make me buy two people! 🤭🤦🏼‍♀️😂But that's been their approach for a long time & when I asked in 2020, they said they had no plans to change it. Since they haven’t, I guess they meant it!

So Asana can be on the expensive side because you end up paying about $22 for what's essentially a single-user account, but technically for 2 people/users/seats. They don't have a plan specifically for solopreneurs, which was the reason I originally left. On principle.

That said, it’s by far the easiest to learn, to use, and actually does keep me focused on the tasks at hand –not on the platform I’m using– and maybe that’s more important. 😬

ClickUp

✅ Pros: Data-focused, highly customizable, robust, feature-rich

❌ Cons: Overwhelming and a bit buggy. They introduce new features about every two weeks, which means they're not really spending much time perfecting the features they already have. So it tends to be buggy, which is a very common complaint among ClickUp users (eg: stability).

If that's not a deal-breaker for you, great! But if it is, it's going to annoy the hell out of you.

ClickUp does have a very unique hierarchy of tasks, allowing you to see everything in your entire account in any view you want—Kanban, list, calendar, whatever—with any/all the properties displayed however you need to see it. You can group, sort, and filter those views however you like, too.

But seriously… do most solopreneurs really need that much data, control, or information? 😬 I think people with teams could maybe use that level of complexity & communication options (chat features + commenting, etc), but those of us running businesses by ourselves? Probably not so much.

ClickUp is data-rich and highly customizable, but that's both its strength AND its weakness, making it overwhelming for many users.

Trello

✅ Pros: Visual, stimulating, simple, fun to use, easy to learn

❌ Cons: Their siloed approach, where everything is condensed to a single board for each project, limits the global view of all your calendar dates or tasks across projects without power-ups or a paid plan.

Now that Trello is owned by Atlassian, they’ve added a lot of new features I’ve never used myself, and have changed their pricing to match. They appear to have solved all of my original complaints about segmented or separated tasks & due dates (which I’m sure I mention in multiple older posts about Trello), but those new view features don’t appear to be on free or the cheapest paid plans, as it's likely a feature they've reserved for higher-level users.

Notion

✅ Pros: Flexible, very customizable, fun to use

❌ Cons: Without starting with a template, it requires you to build EVERYTHING yourself, and if you don't want to build your own systems, guess what? You'll hate (or be very confused by) Notion.

I actually like building systems and organizing stuff—that's fun for me! But unfortunately, what playtime isn't, is actual work. 😂

So when I go into Notion intending to ‘get things done’ I’d often end up playing within the platform instead. That's one reason why it became overly complicated and messy for me—I was constantly tinkering instead of doing my actual work. 😁

Also, I think it’s important to note that if you start with a template in Notion, and you don’t know how to use any of their features yet, –you’re likely to get totally confused & think the platform is useless or stupid. So it’s worth diving into their help docs to learn how the platform works, or picking a template that comes with lots of guidance so you can get the most out of it!

Biggest Mistakes, Lessons & Takeaways

Shiny-Object Syndrome

My biggest mistake was leaving a tool that was working (Asana) on a maybe-silly principle, only to end up coming back to it about 3 different times. 🤭

Why? Ten years into my business journey, I desperately need to be able to focus on actually getting shit done (eg: doing the tasks, not just managing them), not trying a bunch of new tools and potentially switching again because I found something shiny that I'm obsessed with for two months before I use it up & spit it out too. I've got to stop getting seduced by new apps, new features, and stuff that looks cool on the surface, but are features that I'll never actually use, don't truly need, or are just a distraction from getting the work done.

Project Management Tools are NOT Project Delivery Tools or CRMs

One of the other reasons I left Asana was because –maybe famously– clients reportedly hate using it with us and really wanted my clients to have a space to:

• see what I’m working on while I work on it (transparency)

• see & follow deadlines, do their homework, etc

• use it to provide feedback or ask questions while we work together

But I was always nervous about clients getting too many notification emails, or training them how to use it when I wasn’t 100% sure how to use it my damn self. 😂

That’s a huge reason why I moved to & built my Client Portal in Notion, because their guest invitation system is much simpler, there are much less notifications emails, and I could make the interface maneuverable for the client & teach them how to use it with me because I understood how to use it myself.

Now that I’ve found Kitchen*, my whole outlook on this has changed!

When you bring a client into a dedicated task management software like Asana, Trello, ClickUp, Notion, etc as a guest:

• they get onboarded by that company, via email (Hi NAME, here’s how to make the most of X tool you just signed up for!)

• they get marketing emails from that company too

• they have to have a login (username & password) for a software they probably weren’t already using themselves

• they need you to guide them through using it because it’s unfamiliar for them

But when you can choose your Project or Task management software without considering how clients can interact & engage with you in it, then you get to pick what works best for YOU only and that might mean you pick something different that you’ll get more out of.

And when you choose a separate dedicated software for your Client Portal, like Kitchen*, a lot of barriers & issues are removed, making collaboration with clients MUCH simpler & easier for BOTH people. Here’s what changes:

• they DON’T get onboarded by that company via email, because they designed it to work with guests who will probably never need their software & they aren’t fishing for new customers

• they DON’T get marketing emails from that company too, because they aren’t also being onboarded

• they DON’T have to have a login (username & password) for a new software, but they can choose to set one up if they want, along with Two-Factor Authentication, empowering them to make their account more secure if it’s important to them.

• they DON’T need as much guidance from us because we can control so much of it for them, we can see how they view the platform from their account if we need to troubleshoot anything

• they DON’T get ‘too many’ notifications because we can set that for them after we invite them to the portal & before we begin to assign tasks, send messages, & share content with them in it.

• it becomes an EXTENSION of our website, if white-labeled, because notifications from the portal arrive from our familiar email address and the link they bookmark is based on our website’s link, and the colors match our brand, so it doesn’t feel like someone else’s software

Constant Migrations Waste Truckloads of Valuable Time (& Money)

I have to stop wasting time with constant migrations. Moving data between tools takes up precious calendar space that I could be using for, you know, actually making money or growing my audience & providing helpful content for you! Instead of spending hours in a silo doing internal work that doesn't directly generate revenue.

If you're not considering your own organizational patterns—how your brain naturally works—then you're going to end up like me, picking something just because someone else said it was cool, or because you think it’ll work better than what you currently use.

But if you don't actually like using it, you won't stick with it. And that's the whole point of task management! If you're not managing your tasks, what are you doing with your day??!

If you constantly move your to-do list around, and if time is money, then you’re wasting a lot of it moving your shit around and not actually working on much of anything. It’s frankly a miracle that I’ve gotten this far, –despite all the exploration I’ve done! 😂

PERFECT is the Enemy of DONE

Remember that perfect is the enemy of done. You're not going to find anything that's absolutely perfect. If you're looking for that, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but ya ain't gonna find it. 😬 ”Perfect” doesn’t exist.

What I Wish I'd Realized Sooner

What I wish I'd known before starting this whole journey is that the free plans really are enough for most new solopreneurs, especially those who are new to task/project management tools &/or making less than $50k/year, because your business isn’t complex enough to need all those extra features –& your budget isn’t as likely to support the payment for it yet either.

Try the free versions of ClickUp, Notion, Asana, or whatever other option interests you most. Most tools offer a free plan specifically because they know you don't yet understand what you need & they WANT to ‘reel’ you in by giving you ‘just enough’ to make you interested & actually find it useful first so you’ll decide to stick around. So start there! Don't jump into a paid plan before you need it, because you likely won't need those advanced features for a while.

The tool you'll actually use consistently is the "perfect" one for you specifically. If I say I love ClickUp and it's the only tool everyone should be using, but you try it and hate it and never open it, –guess what? That's not the ‘perfect’ tool for you!

The whole point is to actually USE the software to do the job it was created for. If you never use it, it doesn't matter how "perfect", affordable, or "all-in-one" it might be—it's failing at its primary job when you don’t actually USE it. 🫣

Your needs will evolve over time. But across all stages of growth, the simplest option that can scale with you—whether you're a team of one or twenty—is going to be easiest to maintain long-term. More features aren't necessarily better!

Data Migration Tips

If you do try a PM tool for a while, give it a real shot, and realize you hate it, now you're facing the dreaded migration task of moving all your tasks & info into a different tool, –well, I've got plenty of experience with that too! 😂

Here's my biggest migration tip: Start fresh in your new tool.

Don't try to move everything over at once. Just add the stuff you know you absolutely need to track, like:

• recurring tasks to remind you to record your expenses if you do your own bookkeeping

• check & renew trial websites in your Squarespace account so you don’t ‘lose’ any of them if they’ve been expired too long

• Annual tasks like LLC renewals, changing/updating the copyright year in the footer of your website, and updating your website’s legalese

For all those "maybe someday" ideas? Let them stay in the old system. If you remember them, great! You know where to find them in the old software (in theory). If not, well... they probably weren't that important anyway. 😬 Just sayin’!

There are some things just not worth the time moving over. The old data still exists in the previous software, so you can always go lookin’ for it if needed. Otherwise, you can gradually migrate things as they become relevant or important, rather than trying to do everything at once.

Example: I'm not going to spend months migrating four years of Notion data into Asana. I just don't have time for that! I'm only adding/importing what I need right now and will build out my account from there.

Permission to Stop Searching for Perfection

My final thoughts? We’ve established that I'm currently using Asana. I know, it's bizarre—I went full circle and literally came back to where I started. I can't guarantee I'll still be using it in 10 years –given my history of exploration– but I'd really like to stop trying new PM Tools altogether for a LONG time.

I recently took a masterclass from Kate Scott on her Asana setup, rightly/comically called Get Your Sh*t Together* based my system on that, and I'm just putting blinders on and using it. Full disclosure, if you’re already in her Scale with Templates* course to learn how to create a website template shop for Squarespace, then you already have access to the free version she did for her students first!

Anyway, ya know what? After seeing how Kate organizes her Asana account –I realized what I’d been doing wrong in all my past attempts, and now I actually really like using it, because I finally understand how to make the most out of it, without taking a whole damn 50+ lesson course on ‘how to use Asana’.

After trying all the complicated options like ClickUp and Notion, simple feels nice. It gives me room to breathe, think, and actually use the tool to do the thing it's meant for—getting tasks done. –I know. What a concept! 😅

So here's what this whole post was really about: giving you permission to stop the endless search. I want you to stop asking what everyone else is using and just try something that seems closest to how you’d do those same things with pen & paper. Hopefully that’ll get ya closest to whatever method feels easiest & most natural FOR YOU.

If you like it, stick with it. Put your blinders on if it's working! Don’t get distracted by shit you don’t need. (I’m talking to myself too, here. 🤭)

If you know where your tasks are, how to find what you need to work on, have due dates, and can assign things to yourself—that's all you actually need to start with! If at some point the tool genuinely stops working for you because it's missing crucial features after you business has grown a bit, then sure, look for something else.

But don't switch just because, "Wow, I see that Notion lets you embed GIFs while managing tasks, and I can't do that in Asana." 😬

’Neat features’ won’t help you actually get things done! It might be cool, but it's not productive. If it doesn't directly affect your revenue-generating process, you need to say, "That's really neat, but…” [insert your reasoning here.] Like, “No thanks; I'm sticking with what works." 💁🏻‍♀️

What task apps have you tried?

So now I'm curious—what project management or task management tools have you tested? How many different systems have you bounced between? Are you like me, or have you been smart enough to pick one thing and stick with it? Let me know in the comments!

This is your permission to stop trying all the things and just pick something that works for YOUR brain—not something that’s ‘perfect’ (because we've established that doesn't exist) but good enough to actually use consistently.

If you need to bookmark this post and come back to it periodically because you tend to get distracted by shiny new tools, go ahead and save it. Perhaps even set a recurring reminder in your task management app (whatever one that may be!) to reread this when you feel the urge to switch systems again. 😳🫣🤪

Remember: the perfect tool is simply the one you'll actually use.
Everything else is just a distraction from the real work you need to do.

Now go get shit done! 💪

Remember what I said about PM tools NOT being a Client Portal?

Here’s how to use a dedicated Client Portal system & keep clients OUT of our task apps! 👇🏼

Are you an AI skeptic too? I'm happy to admit that I was absolutely an AI skeptic. I didn't realize I was, but I was using the free plans of everything and I didn't know how to use any of it properly, so the output I would get was pretty shitty. That just fed into my confirmation bias: "Yeah, this stuff sucks. I don't know what other people are using this for." 😂

Today I'm gonna tell you how that's changed.

Quick note before we dive in:
I am an affiliate for some of the tools mentioned in this post, but I've actually used all of them myself and still use many of them daily. This overview isn't sponsored—it's just sharing my real experience as a fellow business owner trying to figure this stuff out.

Who Am I & why would you care?

If we haven't met before, my name is Katelyn. I run Launch the Damn Thing®. I'm a graphic designer, turned web designer, turned educator. It's been quite a journey! I've been doing this thing since 2006 as a professional designer, and now I've been a business owner for 10 years.

Now, let's talk about my AI journey because a few of you have been asking lately & it’s still a hot topic in general. I bet it will continue to be a hot topic for a long time, and I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon, ––much to (potentially some of) your dismay. 🤭

Why I Was an AI Skeptic

In other words, what was I doing WRONG? 😑

First things first, while I wasn’t anti-AI, I was a bit AI-averse. The first AI tool I used might have been the built-in stuff in Notion, ClickUp, or Loom. Notion’s built-in AI actually wasn't that bad & it generated content faster than the free plan of ChatGPT (at least back then; that may be different now). I was using it to help me rewrite something I'd written that needed to be simplified or elongated, brainstorm, etc and it did a decent job.

But here's the thing—none of those AI tools ever, ever, ever, –EVER– sounded like something I actually wrote myself &/or needed very little editing. And that's one of the reasons why I was like, "How does this tool make someone more efficient?"

I eventually started using ChatGPT a little, finally breaking down & creating a free account. I also subscribed to the Foundry™️* and started using their custom GPT (AskLex) that Paige Hulse built for contract amendments, edits, customization, writing disclaimers, etc. At that point, I started to see & understand a little better how AI worked, but I was still on the fence for how to use it more because, again, it never wrote anything that sounded like ME.

In some circumstances, that was good—like with the Foundry™️*, it's not supposed to sound like Katelyn, it's supposed to sound like an attorney. But in my own ChatGPT, I wanted it to write a blog post that sounded like me based on an idea I gave it, or my video transcript, or revise an email that sounded like me, – and I could never get it to do anything worth a shit! 😂

I was never happy with the output. Until...

What Changed My Mind About AI Tools

I was in a co-working session with my friend Diane. We were planning some marketing promotional stuff, and she was using Claude to not only generate some ideas but also to write the emails for those ideas. After she got the whole first email written in seconds—and I mean these were LONG emails—she would copy/paste that draft into Kit* (her actual email application) and then go through and edit it before sending.

I was floored how quickly she was knocking out these emails that had always taken me HOURS to write, and it actually sounded like HER too. It was coming up with stuff that was actually useful & related to her actual business information, her website, past posts, her services, etc!

Then I thought, "Oh, I get it now. She's paying for the premium plan." 🤦🏼‍♀️

The reason all AI tools I’d used had sucked for me up until this point is because the FREE plan is genuinely limited and is drastically different than the paid versions—a surprise to no one (or maybe anyone/everyone?) but me. So I immediately created a free account in Claude specifically, to test it while she worked, and I think I ended up buying a year of it within like a week of that, because they were having a special so I saved a bit on my first year.

What I found was that I do prefer the output from the free plan & paid plan of Claude (from Anthropic) versus my free plan of ChatGPT (from OpenAI).

For me, what Claude creates for me is much closer to what I would actually write myself, so it requires much less time spent editing, and because most of it originates from my own content (like this blog post was drafted based on my own video’s transcript), it’s all my content anyway!

ChatGPT’s free plan could only ever generate content around 800-900 words for anything, and we all know I tend to be pretty long-winded— so that length never worked for me. Especially since Google prefers (or deems more valuable) blog posts that are closer to 2,000 words & up, assuming that longer content provides more detail & context for the topic.

I loved Claude’s interface more than ChatGPT too, so I quickly/easily decided NOT to pay for both of them just to test it out & to keep my free plan of ChatGPT, but only pay for Claude.

What Makes Claude Different Than ChatGPT?

Recently, while prepping for this episode of the Squarely Speaking Podcast where Diane & I talked about how we use AI in our businesses, –I was doing some research on Claude because prior to that episode Claude had told me it had a built-in constitutional approach with some ethical guardrails & that had made me curious to learn more about what that actually means.

So I found this video from AI Master which discusses some of the differences between Claude & ChatGPT, and this video was made prior to Claude’s update which allows it to see the internet for deep research, like ChatGPT has been able to do for a while.

In that video, the guy mentioned that there are core differences in how the AI behaves & that Claude is more transparent about the fact that it can make mistakes & it’s not as susceptible to making up answers when it doesn’t know something.

Interesting! So I did some more digging, and here’s some of what I found:

Claude says, about itself:

My prompt: “What makes Claude different than ChatGPT? I've heard Anthropic designed Claude to be more accurate & ethical, so as not to do any harm.”

It responded with the following answer:

You're right about Anthropic's approach with Claude. There are several key differences between Claude and ChatGPT related to Anthropic's focus on creating AI that's more accurate, ethical, and aligned with human values:

❶ Constitutional AI approach: Claude was developed using Anthropic's "Constitutional AI" methodology, which establishes core principles the AI should follow. This approach aims to create AI that's helpful, harmless, and honest by design.

❷ Transparency focus: Claude is designed to be more transparent about its limitations and more likely to acknowledge when it doesn't know something rather than making up information.

❸ Reduced hallucination: Claude has been specifically optimized to reduce "hallucinations" (generating false information) compared to other AI systems.

❹ More nuanced ethical boundaries: Claude is designed to be thoughtful about ethical questions rather than being either overly restrictive or permissive. It's trained to consider context and nuance.

❺ Alignment with human values: Anthropic has invested heavily in techniques like constitutional AI and RLHF (Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback) to better align Claude with human values and expectations.

Rather than being designed primarily to seem as capable as possible (which can sometimes lead to overconfidence), Claude was developed with a strong focus on being accurate, helpful, and honest while minimizing potential harms. This is why in situations where it's uncertain, Claude will generally acknowledge those limitations instead of making something up to appear more knowledgeable.

This approach means Claude might sometimes decline to answer certain questions or acknowledge uncertainty more openly than other AI systems, but it's part of the commitment to being trustworthy and reducing potential harm.

Anthropic’s history & the company’s start

This Forbes article says that “Anthropic was born out of safety concerns” and,

“Brother and sister Dario and Daniela Amodei left their executive positions at OpenAI to launch Anthropic in 2021. Dario had been leading the team that developed OpenAI’s GPT-2 and GPT-3 models. When asked in 2023 why he left OpenAI, he could credibly point to the lack of attention OpenAI paid to safety, responsibility, and “controllability” in the development of OpenAI’s chatbots, especially in the wake of Microsoft’s $1 billion investment in OpenAI, which gave Microsoft a 49% stake in OpenAI LLC.”

Not only, that, the article goes on to say,

“The Amodeis were quite serious about baking ethics and safety into their business after seeing the warning signs at OpenAI. They named their company Anthropic to signal that humans (anthro) are at the center of the AI story and should guide its progress. More than that, they listed Anthropic as a public-benefit corporation (PBC) in Delaware. They join a rather small group of about 4000 companies – including Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Kickstarter – that are committed to their stakeholders and shareholders, but also to the public good.”

🔗 Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timabansal/2024/01/16/openai-or-anthropic-which-will-keep-you-more-safe/

This Time Magazine article says,

“Anthropic’s seven co-founders all previously worked at OpenAI. In his former role as OpenAI’s vice president for research, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei even wrote the majority of OpenAI’s charter, the document that commits the lab and its workers to pursue the safe development of powerful AI.”

🔗 Source: https://time.com/6983420/anthropic-structure-openai-incentives/

And as Diane & I have noticed while using Claude ourselves, sometimes Claude will refuse to answer a question it thinks isn’t ethical, as we talked about it in our AI episode. Diane explained that she asked it a generic question about where he audience was located, specifically wondering what countries or regions or places that niche tend to hang out most often, but Claude assumed she meant their literal addresses, which of course it wouldn’t provide (or make up), ––which is a great example of a refusal to do harm, such as violate people’s privacy, as that’s what Claude thought she was asking it, without her additional context to her question. 🤭

So my experience of using Claude seems to prove that they really have designed it to prevent it from misleading users, providing false information, and potentially doing any harm with the content being generated, ––which I really appreciate!

Specialized AI Tools I've Actually Paid For

1. RightBlogger AI toolbox ($29/month)

The first stand-alone AI tool that I purchased (relatively expensive) was RightBlogger, and I have to say, I still highly recommend it if you're a content creator or business owner who doesn't know how to use AI yet. It helps you generate highly specific things without needing to prompt the AI yourself, making it super easy to generate useful results!

If you don't know how to ask AI to do something, RightBlogger will be your new favorite tool, because each type of task it performs has the prompt built-in for that specific thing, meaning you don’t need to learn how to ask it properly. They've got like 80 or 100 micro-tools within their platform that help you get content for things like:

• YouTube video descriptions with chapter timestamps

• SEO titles

• SEO descriptions

• Draft outlines for blog posts

• Listicles (list-based articles, like “10 things you can do on vacation in Hawaii”)

• Social media captions

• Email marketing subject lines

The list goes on and on! So if you want to start using AI and aren't sure how to prompt it to create or write things for you, RightBlogger is a fantastic tool to start with and it will quickly become your best assistant!

I used it multiple times a week for weeks and months until I got comfortable with generating there, and started figuring out how to write better prompts myself. Now I'm starting to switch over to Claude for a lot of those things, because I know what to do now— and because of that, I can control the output better. But RightBlogger is where I started & it made dipping my toe into AI, way more comfortable & useful!

They're a little on the pricey side at about $29/mo a month, but I wouldn't recommend paying for a year upfront until you know whether you like using it or not. Start with a month at a time until you decide you like it and know how you'll use it. Then pay for a year if you want to save a little money.

I actually recommend that pay-monthly-first approach with all subscription based tools. When you're first trying something and aren't sure if you want to commit to a full year, just do a monthly subscription first! I know it's more expensive per month than the monthly rate if paying annually, but it'll save you IF you decide you don't like it down the road & want to cancel.

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2. Motion task management ($50/month or ~$350/year)

The second AI tool I tried was Motion, which is a task management system at usemotion.com (not to be confused with the client portal software of the same name, at motion.io –they’re not the same company).

I tried it for a while last fall because, as a solopreneur who works alone, I was looking for a tool to basically be my assistant and tell me what to do every day. My brain was tired of making decisions & planning things in my busiest season, and Motion does exactly that! It connects to your Apple, Google, &/or Outlook calendar(s) and puts everything in one place: events, tasks, docs, etc. It also micro-manages your tasks, allowing you to enter your task name, details, priority level, due date, and if you want to break it up longer tasks into smaller chunks.

For example, if I tell Motion to split a task into multiple chunks—like for my Launch the Damn Thing® Club where I do share weekly wins every Friday afternoon to share what I've checked off my own to-do list & open the door for members to do the same —it would break that one-hour task into 15-minute increments split across 4 days. So, every day I'd have one 15-minute task to go in and type what I did that day in the post draft.

I really liked that for a while, and it worked well while I needed it. However, Motion is on the expensive side—around $350 for a year if you pay annually, or about $50 a month if paid monthly. While you save a ton by switching to annual (so of course I did...), now I’ve decided I no longer like the auto-scheduling system and have moved back to Asana (because I'm crazy-pants) and have essentially lost half my payment since they don’t offer pro-rated refunds. 😒🤷‍♀️

All that aside, Motion is HIGHLY AI-powered. AI runs that entire tool because it has to figure out where to put your tasks (individual, recurring, and project tasks) into your calendar, fitting them around your calendar events & meetings. It puts your tasks into your calendar for you and helps you time-block around your events based on when you tell it you want to work, and moves tasks automatically from day-to-day if you don’t mark it as complete, telling you when you’ll miss a deadline if not done soon.

If you block out a whole day after tasks are assigned to that day, it automatically moves all the tasks for you, rearranging everything as needed & alerting you when something won’t fit into your work hours.

It's probably great for teams, but for just me, I decided I wanted more control. When things started showing up in my calendar in an order that felt out of sync with the energy level required to do that task, I realized I was manually moving stuff around anyway, which turns off the automatic task-scheduling in Motion, ––and it was becoming more like Asana or ClickUp (without AI task scheduling) anyway. So I really just need to do this myself and put on my ‘big girl pants’ and do the damn thing!

So that was the second AI thing I tried & paid for. I still highly recommend it, if that's what you want, because it does do its job VERY well! —It just wasn't a fit for me long-term, because I work best when my workload is more fluid & based on my day-to-day energy levels, vs literal time available to work. 😬 (Whether that’s a good thing, or not… LOL)

3. Other AI Purchases

I also paid for ClickUp's AI add-on at one point and separately for Notion's AI add-on. These could be effective for you too, depending on your needs, but eventually I cancelled those add-on services too.

I did also pay for Loom’s AI add-on, and still use it after a year or two. It helps automatically create chapters in my Loom videos and some other things that are still worth it for me. I’ve been a long-time user of Loom (since 2019) and I still use it ALL the time, for a LOT of things, which made that add-on genuinely helpful for my workflows & processes.

I’ve also paid for Midjourney, here and there in 2025, to generate stock photos when I had trouble finding specific things in Unsplash or Pexels for client projects, and Descript which uses internal AI for various things. More on those in a second!

5 Ways I Actually Use AI in My Business Now

Now what am I using for AI? I still have RightBlogger for the rest of the year, but I did turn off auto-renew (because I find I use it less compared to the accuracy & control I can get with Claude), and I cancelled Motion.

Here are the five-ish ways I'm using AI in my business:

1. Content Transformation (Video → Blog)

The first & most time-saving way I use AI in my business, is helping with content transformations. When I do a podcast or video for YouTube and turn it into a blog post, I use AI to help me transform the content. To do this, I use a couple of different tools:

First, I use Descript to upload the video file and transcribe it. It helps me find all the filler words like, "ums," "ahs," "likes," and "so's" (those are my big ones), and remove them if I want. It also adds chapter markers for distinct topic changes in the video which create chapters in the video if uploaded from Descript to YouTube directly, and help break up long transcripts into sections with headings.

When the transcript is done and the video is edited, I can publish to YouTube directly from Descript or export the video file and upload it manually.

Then I take that transcript and (copy/paste) give it to Claude to generate a blog post based on my video transcript (my own words). Since my videos typically start as an outline just to keep me on-topic, the transcript of the final video isn’t written by AI at all. I record the video using my outline as a guide, which gives me a very long transcript (usually 6,000-9,000 words), and Claude can turn that into a 2,000-3,000 word blog post.

It filters out all the stuff that's only useful in the video but won’t be in the blog post. Then I can edit and tweak that blog post. Claude also helps me with:

• video & blog title ideas

• SEO titles

• SEO descriptions

• Tags for YouTube

• YouTube descriptions

• blog post URL slugs

• tags & category suggestions for the blog post

The reason I do all of this is because it actually does make the process SO MUCH shorter and more efficient. If I did it all manually, it would (& has) literally taken me days ––hours & hours & hours. This way, I can get it all done in one day if I want.

2. YouTube Strategy & Optimization

Another part of the process is YouTube optimization. I can use these AI tools to:

• Write the YouTube description

• Generate tags for the video

• Brainstorm titles

Recently, I even started using Claude for strategy related to YouTube. Since Claude can now search the internet, I can ask it to look on YouTube for creators talking about a specific topic and to show me a list of 10-20 titles for those high-performing videos. This helps me see patterns in titles that potentially get that video higher traffic. After it literally gives me a list, it can also help me see patterns in what the common words & phrasings are, which helps me test how to write my titles to help get more views. This is something I hadn't tried before, until the last few weeks prior to posting, but it's working well so far!

3. Strategic Business Planning

Another way I'm using AI is for strategic business planning. When you work solo, you have no one in your home office (or at your dining room table, couch, etc) to ask for feedback or help with strategy sessions and brainstorming.

Except maybe your dog, who—let's be honest—isn't super helpful… 🤭🦮🐾 because who are we kidding, they love EVERYTHING we do! 😂

So what I do is ask Claude questions like, "Look at my website (give it your link & business name) to learn a little about me. Now look at my About page, and read these blog posts." I can copy the content on the whole blog post page (Command/Ctrl + A to select all, then Command/Ctrl + C to copy) and paste that content into Claude and say, "This is my story and all the info from my About page, etc. This is my Services page. Help me figure out how to X, Y, Z."

If you're getting too few inquiries, for example, you could tell AI to help you look at your website and figure out what to tweak.

You could even export your analytics from Google Analytics (or Fathom Analytics), upload those files to Claude, and say, "This is what we're working with for traffic and visitors and what they're clicking on. Based on that information and what I gave you on my Services, help me fix my services page to get more inquiries &/or more qualified leads." And it will help you work toward that goal!

It's kind of incredible the things you can ask Claude (or ChatGPT) to do.

Some specific ideas I've used Claude for, related to this strategy tactic:

• Website messaging and user flow collaboration: I'm doing more education in my business now, so I need to revamp my website structure to make the user flow more strategic for both services and the educational paths. I'm using Claude to help plan that strategy before implementing anything.

• Financial decisions: For example, I could upload our anonymous survey results for Claude and ask, "Based on this anonymous information, help me decide whether I should change the price of this particular product." It has given me some very insightful information when evaluating data from form submissions! Could be your contact form, client feedback/reviews, or anything you can export as a CSV, etc.

4. Operational Efficiency

Another way I'm using AI is for administrative and operational based work, such as:

• Brainstorming email content when I’m running out of ideas or am not sure how to write a response to a unusual email

• Improving forms & questionnaires that I templatize & offer to my students (inside the Ultimate Client Portal System course)

• Edit an affiliate agreement(I used AI from the Foundry™️* to customize the Affiliate Agreement template for my affiliate program)

• Write social media captions (As you might know, I'm not a social media person. I don't use it much for business promotion—I'm just on it because I have to be, and I rarely check it. But when I actually needed to promote something, I had Claude help write captions and develop a strategy for LinkedIn and Instagram.)

• Ask random business questions, vs Googling it (especially when/if I already have Google’d it, but can’t find helpful answers)

5. Time-Tracking Insights

One of the last ways I'm using AI in my business is for time tracking and productivity insights. This has been a huge wake-up call for me! I started using Rize.io* to track my time and figure out what I'm working on versus wasting time on.

Here's the problem with manual time tracking for me & why it never really helps me understand anything: I'd start tracking, then get an email that divides my attention. Or my dog Luna starts whining because she needs to go outside, and the back door is on the other side of the house, so I get up, walk around to let her out, and come back to my desk. When she barks to tell me she’s done, I get back up again & go to let her back in, give her a poddy treat, etc. Maybe with all of that, I hear a ding for my inbox, or see a DM or a text, which REALLY makes things worse (focus-wise).

When things like that that interrupts my work or focus, maybe I forget I hit start or stop on the time tracking, or I might switch to three different apps doing three completely different tasks. At that point, I don't even know what I'm tracking—I'm just tracking the time I’ve been sitting at my desk, which really doesn't help me evaluate how I’m spending that time & that was the whole damn point! 🤦🏼‍♀️

So manual time tracking has never been very helpful because of stuff like that, which feels like very ‘normal-life’ stuff. Maybe you don’t have a dog, but you’re home with small children during the day, and you’re also making meals or doing laundry while you work, etc which produces the same results ––less focused & effective time tracking & no real insights. 🙃

Rize is an AI time tracker that monitors what applications you're using and how long you're focused on each one.

For example, if you open Asana for task management and then open your email, it might ask (if you set it to), "Getting distracted?" You can answer yes or no, and choose to end that focus session if you don’t need the distraction reminders anymore. After each week & month you use it, Rize gives you an automatic chart of how you've spent your time working, and it's mind-boggling how accurate it is!

For the first week or two of using Rize, you'll need to check the categories to make sure tasks are properly labeled (marketing, research, email, communication, etc.). After you help it learn what you're doing and what applications fall into which category, it just reports for you. At that point, all you have to do is make sure it's running in the background when you want it to track for you. It knows when you’re done for the day and when you take breaks too, when mouse activity stops.

Talk about things you (don't?) want to know! I did NOT want to know exactly how much time I was spending in categories like social media 😂 but now I actually know, and I can make different decisions! I'm trying to get better at context switching, avoiding distractions, and not having too many apps open at once, which helps me focus on the task at hand –finishing one before starting another.

I don't expect to need Rize long-term, though. I'm using it now because I needed help focusing & knowing what’s sucking all my time up each day. Hopefully, I'll learn enough from using it periodically that I’ll only need it in bursts during particularly chaotic seasons in my business, and can pay for a month at a time going forward, etc.

For now, I have it for a year to try & help me get a sense of how long my projects & tasks “really” take so I can make better judgements on my workload schedules, etc.

Bonus! AI Image Generation

One tool I didn't mention in the video, but have been using a lot more lately is Midjourney. I talked about it in last week's Squarely Speaking podcast episode about writing sales pages in 5 minutes.

Midjourney has been a game-changer for creating custom stock images for blog posts, social media, marketing materials, designs, and templates. As a designer, I appreciate having high-quality, unique visuals without spending hours creating them from scratch or hunting them down from various sources.

In 2025, I've been using it to:

• Generate custom featured images for some client blog posts

• Create social media imagery that match a brand aesthetic

• Design mood boards for new projects

• Create specific stock photos for banner images on websites (need a photo of a super-yacht in the open ocean, at night, with lights on, in an aerial view? I gotchu!)

• Create specific imagery for my content guide workbook/questionnaire for clients (also templatized & shared in the Ultimate Client Portal System course)

The learning curve with Midjourney's prompt engineering is real, but once you get the hang of the basics, you can create stunning visuals in minutes rather than hours of searching & potentially buying images you don’t end up using.

What Makes a Great AI Prompt?

So that's a wrap on how I'm using AI. I know this wasn't super specific and it wasn’t a tutorial, but I hope it gives you some ideas if you've been a skeptic like me and haven’t been sure how to make using AI in your business actually helpful or worth the time learning. These are tools and tricks you can try to see if they help you go faster, do more, or be more efficient.

One last tip is that AI is most useful when you talk to it and give it a plan, some constraints, a goal & some context. For more on that strategy, check out the Squarely Speaking podcast interview where Diane and I talk specifically about AI. She shares her strategy for what makes a good prompt, and we walk through some demos so you can see it in practice!

the takeaway:

I went from being an AI skeptic who thought all these tools were basically overhyped, to incorporating them into my daily workflow in ways that genuinely save me time and help me make better business decisions.

The key was finding the right tools (primarily Claude for me) and learning how to use them effectively. Don't make the mistake I did of just trying the free versions and giving up—sometimes the paid tools really do offer significantly better results!

Start small, experiment with one tool at a time, and focus on solving specific problems in your workflow, rather than trying to AI-ify everything at once –because these days, with AI built into many of the tools we use, that’d be easy to do but not very helpful/useful. 😉

What about you? Are you using AI in your business yet? I'd love to hear which tools you're loving (or loathing) in the comments below! 😁

So here's a fun little backstory for ya... We were all set to host Neal Mann (co-founder of Noan) on this week's Squarely Speaking Podcast when—classic entrepreneur life, am I right?—he had a family emergency and had to cancel last minute.

Instead of panicking, Diane and I did what we do best: we winged it! 🤷‍♀️

We pivoted to something we've been geeking out about behind the scenes anyway—how we're using Claude to completely transform our content creation workflows. And honestly? This might have turned into one of our most actionable episodes yet!

👇 Watch the replay here or keep reading for the full breakdown 👇

My Claude Conversion Story (AKA: The Day My Jaw *Actually* Hit the Floor)

Let’s jump back in time to a random co-working day with Diane about a month before. We're both working away, and Diane casually mentions she needs to write a whole bunch of marketing emails for an upcoming launch –while we were coworking.

I practically snort-laughed. "Yeah, right. Suuuure you are." 🤭😆

I mean, who just sits down and cranks out 10+ marketing emails in one go? That's like... impossible! …Right?? 👀

But then I watched as Diane opened her Claude account and started a new Project, fed it a bunch of her blog posts, dropped in her about page, added her homepage copy, and then wrote this massive, detailed prompt. Next thing I knew, before my very eyes about 15 minutes later, she started getting perfectly-written emails, one after another, all sounding EXACTLY like her & incorporating her story/experiences.

My jaw almost literally dropped to the floor. 🤯

"Wait––” I demanded, staring at the screen in confusion. I was so stunned with her results that I couldn’t really even form the words to ask useful questions!! 😂 Finally, I just asked if she was on a paid plan, –realizing THAT was my problem with using AI.

Posts from the chatgpt
community on Reddit

The difference between what I had tried with the free version of ChatGPT, and the paid versions of internal AI add-ons for platforms like ClickUp, Notion, and Loom, –even Descript, and they produced results NOWHERE near this. What Diane was doing was like comparing a tricycle to a Ferrari. Instead of vague requests, she treated Claude like an actual human assistant (–duh! 🤦🏼‍♀️), giving it…

Real context about her brand and business style, like this:

1. Specific examples of her writing to learn from

2. A detailed brief with exactly what she wanted

3. Super clear instructions about tone and voice

4. Specific warnings about what NOT to do (because AI looooves getting carried away!)

She also shared that image post from a Reddit thread, which was originally posted by the creator of ChatGPT/Open Ai (or something), which lists the anatomy of a good prompt, following Diane’s example of combining: examples, details, instructions, and warnings. But let’s break it down a bit further!

Diane’s 4-part prompt formula:

• What I want: Example, "You are a stellar copywriter with a talent for writing compelling hooks and creating conversions. I want you to help me create a newsletter sequence."

• How I want it: Example, "Write it in this style: professional, direct, clear, friendly." (She avoids "fun" because it makes Claude sound weird, with greetings like "HEY BUSINESS SISTERS!" –which...no. Just no. 😂)

• What to watch out for: Example, "Don't make it too cutesy. Keep it concise. Please do not do your AI thing where you're in love with your own words and just keep saying things."

• Context: This is where she dumps in everything about her niche, audience, unique approach, etc.

After watching this magic happen right in front of me, I immediately signed up for the Claude paid plan, paying for just a month to start. And hoooooly crap, what a difference paying for these tools makes! The free AI tools just can't compare.

Less than a week later, I upgraded from monthly to the annual subscription & I’ve been using the hell out of it! 🤣

Why Claude Hits Different (And Why We're Both Obsessed)

I've played with both Claude and ChatGPT, and there are some pretty big differences that have made Claude my go-to creative partner:

It actually sounds like ME (cursing, emojis, –and all!)

Recently, someone asked what the main difference was between free ChatGPT and paid Claude, and I blurted out, "It can curse and use emojis!" I kinda wish I was joking, but that's honestly a game-changer when you're trying to maintain a brand voice that's, well... a little spicy, like mine. 🌶️🤭

In my pre-Claude era, while using the free version of ChatGPT or Notion’s AI, etc. nothing I ever got from AI sounded like what I’d write myself, and it required so much editing that I might as well have skipped the AI process entirely & just started with my own writing ––and that kind of defeats the purpose!

It's wildly responsive to prompt changes

During our livestream, I mentioned something fascinating I'd learned about Claude – small prompt changes can create dramatically different outputs, while ChatGPT tends to give more similar responses regardless of how you tweak your request. Claude is super responsive to nuanced instructions.

To hear more about that from the source, watch this video next, from the AI Master YouTube channel.

It feels odly... human?

This is slightly embarrassing to admit, but sometimes I catch myself thanking Claude after it gives me a good response. Diane actually greets it sometimes, with "Hey Claude, how's it going?" before starting her prompts. We both laughed about this because it feels strangely like having a humanized relationship with an AI chat bot.

There was also a hilarious moment that Diane shared in the episode replay, where she accidentally typed "tf" and hit enter instead of deleting the typo. Claude launched into this whole apology thinking it had confused or upset her, going: "I can see how you might be confused by my response..." We were dying laughing because it felt like dealing with an overly apologetic coworker & she’d hurt his feelings! 🫣🫥😶‍🌫️

It's built with ethical guardrails

I also just found out from the same video (that I shared before, from AI Master), that Claude was actually designed to produce more accurate results with stronger ethical considerations. Sometimes it even flat-out refuses certain requests if it thinks they could cause harm. While this can occasionally be annoying when you're trying to do something legitimate & you forget to give Claude context to specify what you’re asking, I appreciate the caution.

Diane shared this example during our episode, that she’s asked Claude questions like ‘where do they (my audience) live?’ and Claude politely refused to answer, instead suggesting she check her CRM for that information, assuming she meant what are their addresses. But what she actually meant, was what countries or states, or international regions are most of her audience viewing her site from which is waaaaaay less specific or intrusive! 😂

As Diane put it during our livestream: "I like Claude better for style and tone, but it annoys me when I ask it a question and it's like, 'Well...'" We both cracked up at how Claude occasionally feels like that overly cautious friend who's always like, "I dunno, are you SURE about this?" 😂

What I'm Actually Using Claude For (in real projects!)

Since becoming a convert, I've completely reorganized my workflows around using Claude!

One person asked about our real-world applications of AI, so here's my current project breakdown:

• Squarely Speaking podcast - Content planning, writing show notes from the episode transcript, promotion copy, guest questions, our own show notes, etc

• Website redesign - Planning user journeys, content re-structuring, CTAs, sales page copy, FAQ ideas, etc

• Financial survey for web designers - Question development, analysis planning, promotional copy (social media posts), share requests, results analysis, etc

• Affiliate promotions - Email sequences, landing pages, content gap comparison (what’s different between this [paste] and this [paste] content?), post-launch thank you emails, etc

• Blog content - Outlines to use while recording the video, topic ideas, post drafts based on the video transcript, title options, tag & category ideas, SEO titles & descriptions, post URL slug ideas based on search traffic & bounce rates, etc

• Client management - Proposal templates, follow-up systems, analyzing content submitted for homework, writing website copy based on content submitted, creating stock photos, etc.

One experiment I'm super excited about (which I mentioned during the livestream) is exporting all my client questionnaire responses from their form submission in Tally, and having Claude analyze each submission to create website copy suggestions. This is especially handy for clients who struggle to articulate their USP or brand voice.

One of our live questions on the episode asked if we're always using AI to write from scratch or if we sometimes write a bit first. For me, it definitely depends on the project and my brain state that day.

Sometimes I'll ask Claude for an outline or a draft first to see if I vibe with the direction or to brainstorm when I’ve got writers block, but most of the time Claude is writing something based on content I created first (such as this live episode, and then using Claude to generate this blog post draft from that episode transcript, then editing the draft until I end up with the final published article you’re reading now).

That said, I never just copy stuff straight from Claude & paste it wherever I’m planning to use it, without reading through it first, checking for accuracy & making any adjustments to make sure it’s up to my high standard of quality. ☺️

The 5-Minute Sales Page Hack (I Still Can't Believe This Works)

The absolute highlight of our episode was Diane's live demo of creating sales page copy with Claude in under 5 minutes. I was blown away all over again watching this, and live viewers were getting pretty excited about it too.

Here's exactly what she did:

1. Already found a sales page structure she liked (one she'd made for a previous project)

2. Copied ALL the content - text, buttons, everything - via Cmd + A (or Ctrl + A)

3. Created a new chat in Claude

4. Gave it context: "I am a web designer and I need to create a sales page for a client of mine. You are a brilliant conversion copywriter with a talent for great hooks and getting people to buy courses."

5. Added client details: "My client that needs the sales page is Jessica. She is a social media manager launching a Facebook ads course."

6. Dropped in specific course details: it’s a 6-week course, there are weekly calls, a student Facebook group, AI prompts for social media captions, Canva templates for social media ads, the course costs $597 for the first enrollment launch, with payment plan options

7. Asked Claude to "write a compelling sales page for her based on the format of this (pasted) sales page copy"

8. Pasted in the example sales page content

The results? Claude wrote a completely customized sales page for Jessica's course that included:

• Headlines and hooks tailored to Facebook ads

• Bullet points for all the features and benefits

• Pricing tables with the payment plan options

• Testimonial placeholders

• Call-to-action buttons with the right messaging

And all of that took LESS THAN 5 MINUTES!

As I watched Diane do this live, I was thinking about all the practical applications:

• Client work when you need placeholder copy ASAP

• Template shops where you need sample content for the template

• Your own sales pages when you're feeling stuck & need ideas

• And more that I haven’t thought of yet!

Planning User Journeys With Claude

During our livestream, we also talked about how I’m using Claude for higher-level strategy work like planning website user journeys and creating website content from my content guide workbook which clients fill out as part of their homework, before the project begins.

The "Client Whisperer" Technique

This is something I've been playing with lately. Have Claude analyze the client questionnaire (form) submission to extract the actual needs hiding behind what clients think they want. It's amazing at identifying patterns they haven't clearly articulated.

What this looks like:

• Client fills out your workbook form

• You can export that submission data & give it to Claude in a new chat

• Ask Claude questions to help work out

  • their niche,

  • what the user’s journey should be given what the client wants to sell & offer visitors for free (blog, freebies, etc)

  • what to write on the pages of the website,

  • write SEO titles & descriptions that match recommended character lengths from SEOSpace*

Persona Development Sprint

One of my favorite applications! Claude can generate realistic user personas based on your client's target audience description in minutes. These are gold for helping us decide on the intended ‘user journey’ and create a navigation path that guides visitors through the website in the way that will be most helpful for the subject matter & goals of the website. Along with creating purposeful content hierarchies in order to decide where certain pages need to exist in the navigation areas, this brainstorming session speeds up this exploration process by acting as a team member & strategist to help us get the ball rolling more quickly & accurately.

Content Map Translator

We've all had clients dump a ton of disorganized content on us, right? (No? Just me? Pshhh, ––get outta here with that shit! 😂 ) Not everyone’s as organized as we are & that’s okay! Now we don’t NEED them to be, because Claude can transform these raw materials into a structured content map with primary and secondary pathways, making sense of the chaos for us, and helping us decipher any madness. 🤭

Portfolio Fiction Workshop

For new designers building their portfolio, Claude can write compelling & interesting fictional client briefs that showcase specific skills, in order to build a website for a specific use-case to live in your portfolio. (ie: a fake website, done on the same level as one you’d build for a ‘real’ client!)

For example: "I need a portfolio piece showing off my design skills for building websites for Coaches & Influencers on Squarespace." → Claude helps build a realistic fictional brand with user journey challenges to solve in your design.

Journey Validator

My absolute favorite idea we discussed: having Claude role-play as different user types to test your planned user journeys, identifying potential friction points before you build.

Now that Claude can look at website links, you can ask it to go look at your site and then come back to answer questions about it. This is something I’ve been doing for my own site lately as I plan to restructure the navigational areas & make things more organized on the backend. Claude’s been massively helpful at rethinking my website’s user-journey as my business has pivoted more toward education, and brainstorming ways to make the process of discovery to fan, much easier for you guys. Excited about these upcoming changes!

Other AI Tools We're Loving

Claude might be our ride-or-die, but we're experimenting with several other AI tools that fit into our web design workflow:

Midjourney

Both Diane and I are using Midjourney for creating custom stock images and graphics. It's become an essential part of her brand package offerings, and a super useful as-needed option for me when I need a specific type of image for a website build, but can’t find what I want quickly or easily.

Napkin AI

Diane gave a quick demo of this cool little tool during our livestream, and several people in the comments were asking for the link. It turns text prompts into beautiful branded graphics for blog posts! You paste in your text, and Napkin AI generates multiple visualization options you can customize with brand colors, then export in whatever format you want for the website &/or project deliverables. It’d be a great way to create visual aids for explanations that you need more than words to convey, or for any of your readers that are visual learners.

Squarespace's built-in SEO AI

This got a big thumbs up from both of us during the episode. It's surprisingly good! As Diane said, "It's a great example of how AI is being integrated directly into the tools we already use."

We talked about how AI is now being built into everything – Asana, Notion, ClickUp, Squarespace – and it's getting to the point where you almost need a checklist to remember all the AI options available! Though as Diane pointed out, soon everything will have AI built in, so it'll just be more of a question of "how does this specific tool I'm using implement AI?"

One person asked a great question about SEO and AI text, which we addressed on the livestream. The key thing we emphasized is that AI content should be a starting point that you then enhance with your own expertise, not something you just publish verbatim. Google is getting better at detecting purely AI content, but thoughtfully & carefully edited AI-assisted content that adds real value still performs well in early/mid 2025.

Learn more about this option from Squarespace’s Help Center here, or this YouTube video from Christy Price.

Questions Answered in this Episode

We got some awesome questions during our live Q&A. Here are the highlights:

“Should I write something first or have Claude write from scratch?”

It depends on your project and comfort level. For a sales page where you have a templated framework you like, going straight to Claude works pretty well, then edit that drafted copy. For more exploratory content, asking for an outline first lets you see if you like the direction, then you can play with that & brainstorm further to get more specific.

“How much does the paid version matter?”

SO. MUCH. The quality difference between free and paid AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude.ai and (I assume) Open AI’s ChatGPT; it’s literally night and day. Both Diane and I consider our Claude subscriptions essential business expenses that pay for themselves in time saved. In the first month of using Claude, it’s helped me speed up my content creation workflows so much that I’ve been able to crank out content faster & better ––making weekly videos + blog posts + newsletters start to feel doable again.

“Can Claude help with SEO?”

Yes! Not only can Claude help write SEO-optimized content, but you can actually upload your analytics data and have Claude analyze it to tell you which posts are performing best and why, then suggest content strategies based on those insights. You can also ask it to write your titles & descriptions following recommended character lengths from SEOSpace* which is something I do frequently and it does a great job!

“Can it create accessibility-focused content?”

This came up as a suggestion while making a list of notes before our live episode, and we both thought it was genius. Claude could potentially even review your site for accessibility issues and suggest improvements – another thing we're adding to our to-try list!

My favorite “Holy shit this actually works!” Moments

The most valuable moments from our episode were sharing those "holy crap, I can't believe this actually works" examples from our real businesses:

Email Sequences

Like I mentioned earlier, watching Diane create an entire multi-email promotional sequence in one sitting with Claude was my initial lightbulb moment. She's created as many as 6-ish emails in a row for a product launch, and with content based on HER business that sounds like HER written voice! 🤯

Website Copy

We're both using Claude to draft core website content including some sales page copy, which we then edit and refine. The key-to-my-heart (& productivity dreams) is that starting with Claude-generated content means we're never facing the paralyzing blank page wondering what to say about anything, anymore! 💪🏻

Blog Posts

Claude is fantastic for creating outlines I can use while recording video content (to keep me on track!), and creating drafts of blog posts based on that video’s transcript so I don’t have to write the damn thing from scratch after recording & editing the video first. Yes, including this one! (Though I've heavily edited and personalized it, because, ya know, Google's not a fan of pure AI content. 😉)

Content Analysis

One person asked about using AI for SEO, and we shared how we're going to try uploading analytics data to Claude for analysis and having Claude identify patterns and opportunities we might have missed. 😳

User Journey Maps

Planning out the ideal website flow based on different user types is soooo much faster & easier with Claude's help – it can generate multiple journey possibilities in minutes, and help us brainstorm which options should work best for what types of audiences in our niche. This is especially great if you have a split audience like I do! (Do-It-Yourself, vs Done-For-You) 🗺️🧭

This episode’s takeaway:
Use AI as your creative partner, not your replacement!

The biggest takeaway from this episode of the Squarely Speaking Podcast? 😁 AI tools like Claude aren't about replacing your expertise or your creativity. They're about giving you a jumpstart so you're not staring at a blank screen, wasting time while you ask yourself too many questions and overthink EVERYthing.

You still bring your unique perspective, knowledge, and client understanding to the table. Claude just helps you get that first draft done in minutes instead of hours.

Whether you're creating client website copy, drafting blog posts, or building your own marketing content, Claude can be that collaborative partner that gets you 80% of the way there in a fraction of the time!

As Diane perfectly put it during our livestream: "Having AI be able to do those tasks is a game changer. Template copy is placeholder copy anyway!" And we can always tweak as we go, when we put that copy to work on our websites.

Want some AI prompt formulas?

Fill out our Financial Survey for Web Designers to get Diane’s AI Prompt Guide for web design imagery and content. It's packed with all the Claude and Midjourney prompts she uses daily. Plus, you'll get the full report of financial trends in the web design industry once it's complete in May!

Have you tried using Claude or other AI tools in your web design workflow?
What's been your biggest "wow" moment? Drop a comment below and let me know!

Perfectionism is a beast when you're running a business solo. No team to bounce ideas off of, no boss forcing you to hit deadlines, ––just you and your increasingly high standards spinning in an endless loop of "I’m not good enough yet."

I get it, because I live it too. You might not know it from my super-casual, easy-going vibes, but internally—as an Enneagram Six—things are happening in here. 👉🏼🧠 ALL. THE. TIME. My brain is constantly running scenarios, spotting potential problems to solve, and wondering how to make things better.

So how the hell do you overcome perfectionism when there's nobody else to hold you accountable or pull you out of that loop??

That's what I want to discuss today. –Not how to eliminate it completely (because –spoiler alert!– you probably can't), but I CAN tell you how I fight it in ways that actually move my business forward with way less fear, instead of keeping me stuck in that loop. Hopefully this will help pull you out of that loop too!

4 Uncomfortable Truths About Perfection

① Nothing (& No One) Is ‘Perfect’

First things first: nothing is ever perfect. Especially not in the digital business world, where things move at lightning speed.

Case in point: this year I finally gave into buying an annual (vs monthly) Midjourney subscription after it’s been popular for more than a year. Just two weeks ago, I caved & switched from a periodically paused monthly subscription, to annual because I’ve been using it a lot for stock photos & stuff like that. Then BAM—ChatGPT drops their image generator. Suddenly, everyone's like "Midjourney is going to die" and I’m all… 🙄😒

We literally just can’t keep up with everything.

“Perfection” can’t be a thing when the business landscape changes daily, especially now in this AI era. The best we can do is day-to-day management, which requires being agile and flexible—two things perfectionism absolutely destroys.

👉🏼 Oh, and in case you’re wondering what I’m doing about the Midjourney vs ChatGPT issue: the upside for now is that in my free ChatGPT account, the images take forever to load so Midjourney is way faster & generates 4 images at a time, so it’ll be fine to stick with what I have for now. 🤭

② ‘Perfect’ Is Subjective

Beyond that, perfection is entirely subjective. What I see as perfect, you probably don't. What you see as perfect, the next person thinks is missing something crucial that they should’ve noticed. 😂 It's all just different perspectives, which means one singular idea of ‘perfect’ doesn't actually exist. I could argue this point all day (and definitely have, with myself).

Need some examples? I gotchu.

• Maybe you’re trying to perfect the thumbnail graphic for your blog post because you want people to pin it, so you make it ‘perfect’ for you but then nobody pins the graphic because your idea of a perfect thumbnail is different than your audience’s and it didn’t catch their attention.

• Maybe you’re trying to figure out the perfect pricing for your service packages, but what you think is perfect (ie: pays your bills AND your paychecks) might be “too expensive” for your past clients, so you’re afraid to publish that new number.

• Maybe you know you need to hit Publish on your new website, but it doesn’t look as good as Jane’s in your Facebook group, so you keep tweaking it…for another month hoping to finally make it comparable to hers.

All of those are great examples of things I’ve done myself in the past, and they hold us back from moving forward and making progress. The truth is, you’ll never know if the thumbnail graphic you made is clickable/pinnable, or if the pricing is right, or if the website is “good enough” until you do it. Until you publish/share/promote/do those things, you have no data to evaluate other than your own fears.

③ Imperfect People Don’t Make Perfect Stuff

Beyond the fact that no one is perfect, and ‘perfect’ itself is highly subjective, –we ourselves are imperfect which means what we create/do/think/etc is too.

We're flawed human beings with:

• Limited attention spans, which dictates what we notice & observe in our day to day lives with distractions EVERYwhere.

• A tendency to miss important details, because we’re so easily distracted with #allthethings.

• Blind spots we don't even know we have, which limits our awareness –and leads me to my next point.

④ We Can’t Know Everything

This last one's a real kick in the pants. Are you ready for this? 😬🤭

There are absolutely many things I still don't know after running this business for 10 years, and in 10 more years, there will STILL be many things I don’t know. There are even aspects of graphic design I'm unfamiliar with, despite graphic design being my degree program in college, and working in the industry as a professional designer from 2006-2020, before I went full-time freelance.

That's just part of life—we can't know everything.

And because we don't know what we don't know, perfection remains perpetually out of reach.

5 Necessary Mindset Shifts to Fight Perfectionism

If we can't achieve perfection (and I think I’ve just established that we can't), then we need to change how we think about progress, mistakes, and what "good enough" actually means. Here are the 5 mindset shifts that have helped me the most:

① Wrong Isn't Bad

The most common fear I see in new business owners is that they're terrified of making wrong decisions, because it wastes time that time they can't get back. Or maybe they’re afraid of the consequences of that bad decision, whether it makes them look like an obvious amateur, or they’re scared of what their friends/family will think, etc.

But here's the thing: in business, it’s much harder to make a wrong decision than you think, because every "wrong" choice is also a learning experience and an opportunity to avoid that in the future. The lesson is the valuable part, not the mistake itself.

👉🏼 the takeaway:

Sometimes what feels “wrong” is just our amygdala (ie: our survival-focused part of the brain). If you’re trying to make “the right” decision & you’re not sure what to do, take notice of what your fears are around that decision. Are you’re worried about being judged & what people will think about you? Are you worried about looking like the amateur that you are? Write them down, then ask yourself: what’s really the worst that could happen? And if it did, would you actually die of shame or fear? Probably not. Okay, so… what might actually happen if you did it anyway? 🤷‍♀️

Going from vague to specific disengages your survival-mode fears, because your brain can’t reason the logic chain of causation & causality of what’s going to happen next in the chain of events. Getting into the specifics of it, all of a sudden the fears seem less horrible/scary. To go deeper down this rabbit hole, watch this interview with Alex Hormozi & Steven Barlett on the Diary of A CEO podcast, at timestamp 00:14:15 where Alex talks about fear vs. logic and how to play it out in your head to help combat your fear, because the fears come from being vague.

② Failures Are Valuable Lessons

Everything you choose to do –even if it turns out to be the "wrong" decision– teaches you something that helps you do better next time. As long as you're applying those lessons going forward, that "wrong" decision was actually worth making, because of what you learned from it.

It took me a somewhat grueling five years before I saw any real traction in my business. Five. Years. It didn't have to take that long, but it did because I had never built a business before, didn’t know what I didn’t know, and struggled massively with perfectionism so it took much longer to learn from my failures & mistakes.

I'd think, "Wow, I'm bad at that" after trying it once for a short time, getting no/undesirable results, and then try something completely different instead. But that's not the lesson!

The real lesson is usually more specific. For example:

• that particular approach didn't work for my audience, but maybe that’s because I didn’t try it long enough to give it a chance to work (things often take longer than you think),

• that price point didn't match my client’s budget, so I need to find different people with a different budget,

• that marketing channel wasn't working because that’s not where my people hang out, not that the method is wrong/bad.

When you find the actual lesson in each ‘failure’ or mistake, it's never a waste of time. Think of it like learning as a kid—when you touch something hot and you get burned, you learn very quickly not to do that again so getting the burn wasn’t a waste!

I grew up on a small hobby farm with horses, cows, goats, dogs, cats, etc. In middle & high school, my chore was to feed the horses in the afternoons when I got home. One time, while lazily sliding into the open space between fence boards rather than using the gate, I accidentally touched our electric fence wire with the big metal feed scoop on my way out to the barn to feed the horses. After that jolt, you better believe I never made that mistake again! 🤣 The lesson was of course crystal clear: don't touch the electric fence with anything, –especially not metal objects– and be much more careful when I’m around it.

👉🏼 the takeaway:

Learn from failures, bad decisions, wasted time & money, and mistakes. And as long as you're learning something from them, it's time/money well spent that will actually HELP you do it differently/better next time.

③ Perfect Is Boring

Being ‘perfect’ isn't relatable because it's not achievable. Or, it's not achievable because it's not relatable. —Either way, perfection creates distance rather than connection. The more perfect you try to make things, the less your audience will be able to relate to you & your business.

I can't stress this enough: perfect things become boring pretty quickly. I think that’s why people who seem to have the perfect life, often find a way to screw it up & create some drama/interest, whether it’s quit & change careers, have an affair, cut all their hair off or dye it pink, sell their house & buy a van #travellife. Whatever it is, –we all have our own way of keeping things interesting, because…

Not only is perfect ‘boring’, there’s also something about perfection that feels inauthentic and totally unachievable anyway.

When people like Oprah Winfrey or Marie Forleo say "you can do this too," ––to the not-quite-six-figure-entrepreneurs, it feels completely unrealistic without them also following up with “Trust me, –I’m not perfect either!” They’re making a point to remind us that they are NOT perfect & they still fuck things up sometimes.

Why? Because they’re aware that to us, they appear to have ‘perfect’ businesses. We only see what they want us to see: their lifestyle, their film sets, pretty rooms in their houses, their pictures of extravagant vacations, their curated Instagram feed, their extensive websites, their teams, their marketing, their income, etc. They have to interrupt that stream of ‘perfection’ to remind us that even though they’ve achieved more than we have, they still have a lot to learn & make mistakes too.

The constant changes (ups & downs, straightaways & curveballs) in this journey are what keeps entrepreneurship interesting. I definitely have seasons where I’m working way more hours now than I ever did at my 9-5. The difference is that it’s my choice, I love the work, it typically doesn’t feel like hard work, and sometimes as a solopreneur you have to work harder than others. It’s a balancing act!

When you reply to one of my newsletters with, "Hey, have you heard of Webvizio?" because I'm talking about doing a Markup video on what the best alternatives might be, and then I go down a rabbit hole and end up meeting the co-founder? That's fun for me! Even if that rabbit hole totally upset my entire YouTube content schedule to be able to insert that extra video/blog post.

That's life, and that's what makes this work exciting. The unexpected turns and the constant evolution –the fact that it ISN’T perfect– are what make entrepreneurship worth it, even with all the uncertainty and imperfection.

👉🏼 the takeaway:

No one notices those details you spent countless hours on –in any of your projects/tasks, so you’ll save yourself boatloads of time if you stopped trying to make everything perfect all the time. Write this on a sticky note & stick it to your computer: “Done is better than perfect.” 👈🏼 That’s your new motto!

④ Being Flawed Is Relatable & Authentic

If we accept that nothing's perfect and wrong decisions are just learning opportunities, then being flawed becomes your superpower. It makes you relatable. It makes you authentic.

The reason you probably connect well with me, is precisely because I'm not perfect. I’m just being myself, however flawed & quirky that may be.

I have awkward introverted tendencies, a few OCD quirks, and battle perfectionist hangups every damn day. I'm detail-oriented to a fault and definitely too long-winded (still reading? bless you 😂). And yet you're still here, engaging, thanking me, and asking for more.

Why? Because seeing someone else's flaws and how they navigate them gives you permission to be imperfect too.

Being yourself—whatever that looks like—is what draws people to you. We recognize & relate to the flaws!

👉🏼 the takeaway:

Practice being brave enough to be your damn self. Being you is SO much more authentic for your audience, and you’ll come off less robotic & weird.

⑤ Your Best Is Enough (Yes, Really)

In the book, Four Thousand Weeks* by Oliver Burkeman, he says something profound:

Your time is limited. Doing your best is enough because that's LITerally all you can do. If perfection isn't achievable, the next best thing is "good enough for right now"—and that's okay.

People aren't expecting perfection all the time, especially if your audience doesn't know as much as you do about your subject. To them, your "good enough" might seem incredible because they can't do what you’re doing yet (or have no desire to).

For example, if you're new to business and I've been doing this for 10 years, my version of "good enough" might seem perfect to you because you haven’t been able to achieve that level yet, but I can help you get there by giving you my "good enough" right now.

Put yourself in your audience's shoes—your "good enough" might be the perfect thing for somebody else. Which means, … that you’re “enough” is okay! Our output is supposed to change and improve over time! Each iteration gets better with practice, and that constant improvement is what makes this journey worthwhile.

👉🏼 the takeaway:

If you struggle with “good enough”, limit your goals/projects to just 1-3 at any given time. You can start other stuff, but ONLY when you’ve closed the loop on of the active 3. Stop constantly opening new jars & then abandoning them when you see a ‘better’ more interesting jar; stuff’s going bad/stale/wasted in every jar you open, and then abandon!

Moving Forward with "Good Enough"

These are the thoughts that fill my brain when I get stuck in my perfectionistic mode, and they help me push past it in my business life. (Let's be real—there are definitely areas in my personal life where I still struggle with this, because again, ––flawed human here! 🙋🏻‍♀️)

Perfectionism never goes away completely if it's your natural tendency, but you can learn to recognize it, name it, challenge it, and get past it each time with these alternative perspectives or mantras.

Remember:

• Nothing is ever perfect, especially in business

• Perfection is subjective and constantly changing

• Your "wrong" decisions are valuable learning opportunities

• Perfect is boring and not relatable

• Being flawed makes you authentic and builds connections

• Your failures contain specific, useful lessons

• Your best is enough because that's all anyone can do

The next time you find yourself stuck in a perfectionism loop, unable to launch that (damn) thing, publish that post, or send that email, come back to these reminders. Your business needs movement more than it needs perfection, and your audience needs your unique voice—imperfections and all.

You are not alone in this struggle. We're all figuring it out as we go, learning from our mistakes, and doing our best with the knowledge we have right now. And that's not just good enough—it's exactly as it should be.

So what are you going to work on today, even if it's not perfect? 🤨😃

I created this free AI tool specifically to help new content creators that make YouTube content, but are struggling to repurpose it effectively for blog posts (because who has time for that?), so this might solve an all-to-real problem for you!

It could also be helpful for bloggers who want to write a post based on a topic of any YouTube video, if you aren’t creating your own video content yet.

Honestly, I know the pain of creating an amazing video first, –only to have it sit there on YouTube when it could also be working even harder for you across multiple platforms. Otherwise, leaving that great video content on YouTube ONLY is kiiiinda like buying & learning to ride a bike, but then only ever riding it to the end of your driveway. 🤦🏻‍♀️😬

This YouTube Video to Blog Post Helper tool basically takes your automatically generated video transcript and transforms it into a short blog post draft/outline that you can actually use to turn that content into an interesting blog post. It won’t be some ridiculous 8,000-word fully-formed post (because let's be real, AI-generated long-form content usually sounds like robots trying to pass for humans), but it will be a really solid starting point that you can actually build on to make a great post A LOT more quickly. ––And yes, this is basically what I’ve been doing and it really does speed up the process!

What this helper tool actually does:

• It converts your automatic YouTube-generated transcript into a blog post outline that you can expand on

• It also helps with writing SEO titles, descriptions, and tags (for both blog & video) that don't suck, or give you extra ideas if you’re getting stuck making your own

• Optimizes your YouTube metadata for better video discovery on their platform

• It even suggests related blog links from your website if you want, and a post URL

It won’t write perfect content for you, but it WILL help you kickstart the process by giving you ideas so you don’t get stuck looking at a blank screen. 😂

You'll definitely still need to edit whatever it produces. Also, please check it for accuracy and add your own written voice into the draft as you edit.

How it works:

• Give it the basics:

  • Drop in your YouTube video link

    • (video needs to be live for at least an hour, in order to have an automatically generated transcript)

  • Pick your tone preference

  • Tell it your SEO keyword, and who you're talking to

  • Your website URL if you want related links (optional)

• Let it do its thing:

  • It processes your transcript and all that other stuff

  • Spits out an outline, some title options, and video optimization suggestions, etc

• Take what's useful, trash what isn't:

  • Copy what it gives you

  • Edit the hell out of it (this is CRUCIAL)

  • Make it actually sound like you!

Why I think it's worth trying:

• Time-saving: It's like having an assistant who gives you a rough first draft

• Idea generation: Sometimes the AI suggestions spark better ideas than what you'd come up with on your own, even if you don’t end up using exactly what it generated

• Multi-purposing: Makes 1 piece of content work in multiple places without starting from scratch for each instance

I've tested a bunch of tools like this, but this one's actually free and doesn't produce complete trash, which feels like a minor miracle in the current AI landscape. 😂

If you're already making videos, but you’re struggling to make blog content out of it consistently, give this a shot. Worst case scenario, you wasted 2 minutes. Best case, –you've got a new workflow tool that helps you show up more consistently.

And if you like it, and want to use it for A LOT more things, check out RightBlogger* for yourself.

Just remember: whatever this tool gives you is a STARTING POINT, not finished content. Edit it, fact-check it, make it sound like you, and for the love of all things holy, don't just copy-paste it directly to your site!

Let me know if you try it—I'm curious if it's as useful for you as it has been for me!

Try it! YouTube → Blog Post Helper

If you left my last video feeling a little bit blah, I did too.

The search for a decent Markup.io alternative hasn’t been easy! Nothing quite fits right, everything's a little uncomfortable in different ways, compromises had to be made, and I'm left wondering if that try-on process felt more like I was shopping for a pair of jeans, than a website annotation tool, and whether I should just wear the proverbial Pastel or Workflow ‘sweatpants’ forever. 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

In case you missed the drama, Markup.io (my long-time favorite tool for getting website feedback from clients) killed their free plan in February 2025. Not only that, they replaced it with a single Pro plan at $79/month...

$79. Per. Month.

That's nearly $950 a year for a tool that I use for about 3 days each time, a few times a year. It felt like a gut-punch to those of us who've been loyal users and MarkUp advocates for years.

So like you –if you’re reading this– I've been hunting for alternatives too, and my first post covered both Pastel and Workflow (& Ruttl… but it’s not worth mentioning here). So if you read through or watched that deep dive, you know I wasn't exactly jumping for joy about either option.

Why both Pastel & Workflow left me feeling “meh”

You can see the full review in this blog post & video, but here’s a quick recap of of what wasn't working as well for me with these platforms, –in a nutshell:

Pastel’s Cons:

1. No pinned comments on hidden elements - This is HUGE. Websites have dropdown menus, FAQs, accordions, and other interactive elements where clients need to leave feedback. If you can't pin a comment to a dropdown item, how is anyone supposed to know where to look?

2. No automatic comment grouping by page - I'm sorry, but I refuse to bounce around an entire website trying to figure out which page a comment was left on. The constant context-switching between homepage, service page, contact page, portfolio page, and blog just wastes precious minutes of my life I'll never get back. (You can filter the list of comments by page of the site, but I really wish they were auto-grouped like MarkUp’s!)

3. Three-day feedback window - While this isn't a dealbreaker for everyone, it's not ideal when you need more than 72 hours between revision rounds.

Workflow’s Cons:

Workflow came in looking STUNNING with its beautiful interface, but at $17/month, I expected more than it can currently do; it’s just too new to the game to match up quite yet. Turns out it has the exact same limitations as Pastel, just with a price tag attached.

Now, that's not entirely fair. Workflow is undeniably the most attractive platform I've seen so far. It's way less buggy than Ruttl was (IYKYK, or you saw those issues in my previous testing video), but it's still slightly glitchy.

My Takeaway:

Pastel might be the least buggy of the bunch, plus it's free, so between those two, I decided to use Pastel.

But to be honest, I’m not really thrilled with any of these options yet.

A new alternative to try: Webvizio

WITH CODE: DAMN40

* * *
❗️ OFFER EXPIRED ON APRIL 15, 2025

In the grand tradition of the universe delivering exactly what you need when you're complaining loudly enough online, … something interesting happened:

The co-founder of Webvizio sent me a DM asking me to take a look at their platform. Apparently, he saw my YouTube comparison video and reached out, saying that it seemed like I’m not very happy with the choice I've made or the platforms I’ve tried so far, and asked if I would mind looking at their platform too.

I told them I'd actually been recommended Webvizio by some of you –you know who you are!– before making that last comparison video, but I had ignored it because Webvizio doesn't have a free plan & I was specifically looking for affordable MarkUp alternatives.

And then he shared a bit of interesting news:

Webvizio has a special promotion specifically for all us MarkUp escapees – that gives us 40% OFF forever – if you subscribed before April 15, 2025. Not just for your first payment or first year, but for the entire time you have an active subscription.

That brings their roughly $30/month Starter plan down to about $17/month, —the same price as Workflow, but with WAY more functionality & fewer glitches.

They also introduced a Solor plan for less than $10/mo which was not available as of the original publish date or when I recorded the video. 🙌 Great to see!

So is it worth it? Let's do a deep dive into their platform to see what Webvizio offers... and then you can decide for yourself!

Webvizio features that might make you drool

Webvizio isn't as visually slick as Workflow, I'll give Workflow that win, but it's much closer in functionality to what we're used to in Markup. Plus, it has several features Markup never offered.

The Basic Setup

When you log into Webvizio, the interface probably looks a bit familiar if you've used Markup or Pastel at any point. You can upload files, add URLs, and even create what they call a “new board” for task management outside of asset-specific comments/to-dos.

Creating a new project is as simple as typing in a URL. For Squarespace draft sites, you do the same thing as we did with MarkUp and Pastel: append the password to the link itself, like this:

• launchthedamnthing.squarespace.com/?password=yourpasswordhere

  • add: /?password=

  • then paste or type the password after the 🟰 exactly like you saved it in Site Availability when you password protected it (and yes, it’s case sensitive!)

Once you're in a project, you have the familiar sidebar on the left for comments, on the right side is the interactive website preview, and there’s a toolbar across the top. Toggle between ‘Task’ and ‘Browse’ mode as needed to leave feedback & use the website draft to click on stuff. Change to ‘Board’ mode to see the list comments WITHOUT the website preview –a unique feature to Webvizio!

Open Links in Different Pages

When you click links in the preview area, Webvizio opens each new link in a new tab within the Webvizio platform. This might seem confusing at first, but I've actually come to like this feature because:

1. It allows you to see where you left off on other pages you’ve already visited

2. You can easily jump between pages you're actively working on

3. You don't lose your place when reviewing multi-page feedback

There’s also a tab list icon in the toolbar across the top of the preview area, where you can search through your tabs to find a specific one quickly & easily, if you end up having a lot open at once.

Comment Management ...That Doesn't Suck

This is where Webvizio starts to shine. Each comment has a ton of useful features that the other platforms don’t or gate within higher Enterprise-level paid tiers:

• Browser info tracking - It automatically records what browser, operating system, and screen resolution were used when the comment was left by whoever submitted it

• Screenshots - It captures the area where the comment was pinned, which can be viewed from anywhere in the project

• Live snapshots - These are essentially clickable or ‘working’ screenshots; not just an image

• Built-in video recording - No need for Loom or other tools, you can record right in the platform & attach those files to the comment

• Time logging - Share how long tasks take to complete by adding time to the task itself

• Labels - Color-code and name your comment categories with labels that show up on the task card

• Priority levels - Mark comments as low, medium, or high priority

• Deadlines - Set due dates for each comment

• Status tracking - Mark comments as open, in progress, or done to easily track your progress as you wade through feedback requests

–But wait, that’s not all! 🤭 If all of that looks cluttered (and it kind of is, TBH), there's a simplified view option that toggles OFF or hides the extra information & only shows it inside each task card, making the task list appear much simpler/cleaner, –which I personally prefer for day-to-day use.

Filtering Comments by Page

This was the big pain point that both Pastel and Workflow couldn't solve for me. While Webvizio doesn't automatically group tasks by page, you can filter down to see only the comments on a specific page & move through them that way.

When you activate a filter, it shows a little red dot on the filter icon to indicate that you're not seeing all comments & need to turn it back off to see the rest. Toggle between pages or reset the filter to see everything again.

But wait, it gets even better... 😆

Task Board View

Beyond the sidebar comment management, like Workflow, Webvizio offers a task board view that knocks the website out of the picture entirely so you can work through the comments without it if you want. This gives you a cleaner & simpler way to work through comments without constantly staring at the website draft.

The Board view is perfect for:

• Working through simple tasks that don't require seeing their exact location

• Dragging and dropping tasks between status columns or bulk status updates, vs selecting statuses in each comment

• Adding new tasks/comments that aren't tied to specific website elements

You can still see screenshots of comments pinned to specific elements in the website, even in Board view, so you don't lose the context. And you can easily filter and sort tasks from here too, including bulk select them to change statuses, and more.

Responsive Testing - finally!

Another standout feature: responsive mode. This gives you the ability to change the width of the screen size that the website draft is being viewed in, from WITHIN Webvizio’s platform:

• Manually set exact pixel widths

• Choose from preset device sizes (iPad Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy, etc.)

• Rotate between landscape and portrait views

What's especially nice is that it only resizes the website preview area, not your entire browser window. Plus, when comments are left in responsive mode, it records that information along with the exact pixel width being used at the time.

Project Settings & Customization

Each project has its own settings where you can:

• Change the project name or URL

• Access team features

• View activity logs (who commented what and when)

• Set up notifications (email and/or Slack)

• Integrate with other platforms

• Enable advanced features

Client Collaboration Made Simple

Sharing a project with clients is straightforward. You can:

• Send them an email invitation

• Set their role & invite them as a guest or team member

• Grab a quick copy link to share with guests (no account necessary, for them)

When clients use the sharing link, they can continue as guests without creating an account. They'll be prompted to install the Chrome extension, which enables all the commenting features.

One thing to note: if clients don't create accounts, their comments won't be attributed to specific individuals (no names, no email notifications for them). This isn't a big deal if you're working with one client at a time, but may be something to keep in mind for larger projects!

Bonus: Custom Branding

The custom branding options let you make the platform feel more like your own:

• Add your company logo

• Set a favicon

• Choose 3 accent colors that appears throughout the interface

• Customize email greetings & footers for the notification emails

It's not a complete white label option —Webvizio's colors still appear in some areas— but the ability to add your brand colors as accents makes a surprisingly big difference in how professional it feels!

The final verdict: is Webvizio worth it?

After spending time with all these platforms, here's where I've landed:

• Pastel is free but missing a couple of crucial features, especially for complex websites with hidden elements in menu dropdowns & FAQs, or lots of pages.

• Workflow is beautiful but lacks the same functionality as Pastel, is a little buggy in its “newness,” and costs $17/month; you can’t collect website feedback on their free plan.

• Webvizio isn't as pretty as Workflow or as simplistic as Pastel’s free plan, but packs in way more features & stability for less than $30/mo

For me – Webvizio hits the sweet spot of functionality, price, and usability. It solves the major pain points I had with both Pastel and Workflow, while adding some genuinely useful features I didn't even know I wanted.

Important takeaway:

I want to end by saying that choosing which of these tools to use for yourself is truly personal preference. Just because I'm choosing one over another doesn't mean you have to use the same thing.

Whether you:

• Pay $80/month for Markup because you love it and it's worth it to you

• Prefer using Loom or Google Docs for (free) feedback instead of a specialized platform

• Want to stick with what's already working for you in Pastel or Workflow, etc

There's no wrong choice here!

The reason I'm making these comparison videos isn't to show off new software just for the sake of it or because companies asked me to. It's because I too was genuinely looking for a solution after Markup's pricing change, and I figure if I'm spending all this time researching alternatives, I might as well share my research with anyone else in the same boat.

If what you've been doing is already working for you and you don't have any problems with it, then you should probably stick with it until you actually encounter an issue. But if you've been feeling frustrated with your current feedback system or tech stack, maybe one of these alternatives I’ve shared will be exactly what you need.

Whatever tool you choose, remember that the goal is the same: making the client feedback process as smooth and painless as possible. Because we all know that designing websites is the fun part—it's managing revisions that can drive us to drink. 🍷😂

PS: If you do try Webvizio, comment below & let me know what you think! I'm always curious to hear if my experiences match up with you & other designers in our community.

Quick Links:

• Try Webvizio

• Check out Pastel (free plan available)

• Explore Workflow

• Watch my previous comparison video of Pastel & Workflow