Content Strategy

A Change in the Big Picture of Big Picture Web

If you've been a reader of this blog over the last 4+ years, you know that the focus of my articles have shifted as Big Picture Web has evolved. Soon there will be another major editorial shift, and I wanted to let you know why. 

Less Squarespace Tips, More Personal Branding Advice

Squarespace has been the central point of focus for this blog for the last few years. Tips, marketing advice, reviews -- I've written just about anything and everything related to the content management system because I enjoy using the platform for my own online marketing needs and because it's been part of my revenue strategy for this blog. For every visitor I convince that Squarespace is the right platform for them, Squarespace provides me with a finder's fee as a part of their affiliate program.  

A major change in how their affiliate program works will cause me to write less about the Squarespace platform and more about a new topic, personal branding, to keep this blog profitable and worth maintaining into the future. I wanted to be transparent about it with you, my reader.

A Brief Lesson in Marketing Attribution

A hot topic in the world of marketing is attribution, which is how companies measure the combined effects of all their marketing efforts and decide which marketing campaign or channel ultimately receives credit for a sale. The two most common ways to look at attribution are:

  • First Touch - This style of attribution gives credit to the first marketing channel responsible for sending a new customer to Squarespace.com and places a lot of incentive in creating awareness for the platform.
  • Last Touch - This attribution method gives credit to the marketing channel that "seals the deal" by being the last marketing effort to send a visitor to Squarespace.com prior to them signing up to become a customer. 

Squarespace's affiliate program has historically been a last touch program, which is why I spent time creating countless resources that went in-depth on the merits and features of the Squarespace product. I wanted to be that blog that pushed people from wondering about the product to being genuinely excited to try it out for themselves. 

Rolling With the Attribution Punches

The Squarespace team recently informed me that the program will be changing from last touch attribution to a first touch program, which means the incentive has shifted from creating clarity around Squarespace's benefits to creating awareness for the product itself.  

The punchline? The content I've developed over the last few years has become a whole lot less valuable overnight, and I'll need to either adapt and shift my focus or end up with four years of content and articles that are nice to read, but whose main benefit is altruism, not a helpful second source of income for my family. 

That said, Big Picture Web's content strategy will begin to shift towards personal branding tips and technology in the coming weeks in an effort to attract an audience that can benefit from my expertise and who might be in the market to create a new website.

The Only Constant is Change

If you've come to enjoy the Squarespace resources on Big Picture Web, don't worry. I'll still be publishing them from time to time. They'll just be balanced with a broader set of topics. I hope you can appreciate why I'll be making this change, and I hope the new editorial focus produces resources you'll deem helpful.

On the Internet, the only constant is change.

 

How to Add Contributors and Manage Permissions with Squarespace

Managing permissions on a website can be tricky. Some content management systems over-complicate the process of adding new contributors to your website. Squarespace's streamlined permissions and contributor management system provides a balance of granular controls and streamlined experience. ​

How to Add Contributors to Your Squarespace Website

Adding contributors to help manage your Squarespace website is a breeze. Simply navigate to the Contributors page within the Settings section of your Squarespace website.​

​Add people to your website's management roster through the Contributors page in your Squarespace settings.

​Add people to your website's management roster through the Contributors page in your Squarespace settings.

Select Add Contributor​ to start the simple workflow. Enter the name and email address of your new content manager and then select from one of the seven website roles, which define the levels of access afforded to the new contributor:

  • Administrator - Administrators have full permission to access everything on your website. Only assign this role to your most trusted team members and those who require the deepest levels of access.
  • Content Editor - These folks can update any of the content on your website but can't change core settings. This role is ideal for bloggers and copywriters.
  • Billing - This role is solely for the person who pays for the website to be able to log in and modify billing information, as well as make payments for the website. If you manage a client's website and they don't play a part in the content management, this is likely the role for your client.​
  • Reporting - This role allows the contributor to gain access to your website's web analytics statistics. They don't have permission to edit content on the website.
  • Comment Moderator - These folks can leave comments on your site, as well as edit and approve other comments. They don't have access to modify content on your site.
  • Trusted Commenter - These folks don't have access to any of the content on your site, but can bypass moderation when leaving comments if your comments are set to require moderation before publishing
  • Store Manager - A person with this role receives notifications from your store, which can be very helpful in processing orders or handling issues. They don't, however, have access to change product or store content.​
​Managing permissions on your Squarespace website is easy.

​Managing permissions on your Squarespace website is easy.

​Standard Squarespace plans come with two contributors standard, while the Unlimited and Business plans include unlimited contributors. All things considered, Squarespace's light-weight permissions settings get the job done while avoiding cumbersome contributors controls. Can you think of any scenarios not covered by Squarespace's contributor settings?

How to Duplicate Pages in Squarespace

Squarespace 6 just keeps getting better and better. Recently Squarespace released the Duplicate Page​ feature, which makes copies of existing pages on your website so you don't have to start from scratch.

Today we take a look at how easy it is to add new pages to your site based on your favorite existing pages using Squarespace's page duplication feature.

How to Copy Pages in Squarespace

​The new Squarespace Duplicate Page​ feature only works on standard page types (i.e., not blogs, calendars, galleries, etc.), but that alone should satisfy that vast majority of your page copying needs. 

To duplicate a page, simply access any page's Page Settings​ from your website's admin controls and select Duplicate Page​. 

​Duplicate a page in Squarespace with ease.

And that's really all there is to it. Once done, you'll be able to find your copied Squarespace page at the bottom of your website's navigation tree. Edit the page's settings to assign the page title and URL of your choice, then ​edit the page's content.

​Copy Squarespace pages with no effort.

Creating and editing new content on your Squarespace website has never been easier. With Duplicate Page​ for Squarespace, you can now quickly make copies of pages on your website so you don't have to start fresh each time you want to add a new page. How excited are you for this new time-saving feature?

How to Migrate from Squarespace 5 to 6

It's coming up on a year since Squarespace released the sixth version of its revolutionary web publishing software, and yet there's still a ton of happy customers using version five. Now, I know everything Squarespace releases is great, but if you're still on v5, you're missing out. Today we show you how to migrate from Squarespace 5 to 6 in 3 easy steps.​

Step 1: Tune in to Content, Structure & Style

​(Click to add to your calendar and RSVP for April 18th at 7:00 p.m. CDT.)

​(Click to add to your calendar and RSVP for April 18th at 7:00 p.m. CDT.)

The unofficial Squarespace podcast is back with a new season of Squarespace tips and news with season 3, episode 1 at 7:00 p.m. CDT on Thursday, April 18, 2013.  As an added bonus, this season Alan Houser, Brandon Davonport and I will be sharing ​tips each episode on how to migrate from Squarespace 5 to 6. RSVP now to watch live or watch the archived episode after April 18th.

Step 2: Pick Out Your Squarespace 6 Template

(Click to check out Squarespace 6's ~30 kick-butt, mobile-friendly templates.)​

(Click to check out Squarespace 6's ~30 kick-butt, mobile-friendly templates.)​

Did you know Squarespace 6 offers nearly thirty amazing new templates, and they're adding more every month? These templates contain all of the same power and configurability of Squarespace 5, and more. Check out the Big Picture Web Squarespace 6 Template Guide to learn about the advantages and differences of each template for designers, photographers, artists, bloggers, entrepreneurs, small, and medium sized businesses. ​

Step 3: Getting Tactical with the Help of Squarespace

​(Click the image to check out Squarespace's step-by-step tactical guide.)

​(Click the image to check out Squarespace's step-by-step tactical guide.)

After you've tuned in to the podcast for a dose of strategy and picked out your new template, it's time to get tactical. Squarespace put together a wonderful step-by-step help article that they maintain as they make product updates. ​Once you've completed steps 1 and 2, head on over to this Squarespace tutorial to take you the rest of the way.

Squarespace 6 is the Future

Squarespace promises to continue to support customers using v5, but Squarespace 6 will be the focus of new features as time goes on. If you haven't made the move yet, consider taking the three easy steps shared today to migrate from Squarespace 5 to 6. If you're still on Squarespace v5, what's holding you back from moving to Squarespace 6?