When Should You Hire a Copywriter or Website Designer?
Here’s the when (and the how, and the why, and the how much) when it comes to investing in copywriting and design.
I’m feeling kind of silly because I’ve been a website copywriter for entrepreneurs + small businesses for over FIVE YEARS and have never actually written this all down until now. Despite giving this advice in so many different ways, shapes, and forms to so many people over the years…!
So, voila: here’s the official Little Flame Creative guide on what, how, and when to spend your hard earned buckaroonies on different elements of your website (copy, design, etc).
These are my practical recommendations from my own experience + guiding a whoooole bunch of clients over the years, with the full understanding that the average biz owner doesn’t always have $10k+ to go hard on fully custom copy and fully custom design at any given time. That’s fine! That’s normal! And that’s even GOOD!
Different expenses just make sense at different phases in business.
And trust me, I am not shy about telling someone when a certain potential investment even with ME doesn’t make sense! I redirect people all the time. Sometimes people think they need all the bells and whistles with me and I actually recommend a done-with-you copy project instead. Sometimes people think they need changes to their copy and what they actually need is better branding, different marketing strategies, an overhaul of their existing offers BEFORE they make the investment in copy, etc.
So: let’s do this.
🥳 Yay! Your fledgling biz is brand spankin' new!
✅ Buy a copywriting template and use a free, simple design template, like the built-in ones in Squarespace.
(This is also the moment to DIY some simple branding + take a couple pics of yourself on your phone.)
At this point, there’s still a ton of data you need to gather + trial and error you need to work your way through before it makes sense to hire a pro. So much will evolve about your business (and quickly, too!) that you run the risk of nearly instantly outgrowing/pivoting out of any custom copy/design/branding.
Save your dollars, focus on getting a simple site up, and prioritize making it clear what you offer and how people can buy it from you.
That’s why the copy template comes in so clutch here! My Copy Companion is a great guide for this step, and of course there are plenty of others floating around out there too.
Budget: $100-$200 for a copywriting template
🌱 Okaaaay now! You have a bunch of clients under your belt, a more solid understanding of how your offers work and the transformation they provide, and more clarity on the kind of people you want to reach.
✅ This is a great moment for a lil upgrade to done-with-you website copywriting.
Through a Strategy Session with an expert, an even more juicy and structured writing process, AND pro edits on your draft, the words that you previously DIYed get a whole lot stronger.
This process helps give both you and your words a clarity and confidence boost. When you sound like, “Yup, I know my stuff. Here’s what I do, here’s why it matters, here’s the proof, and oh, here’s a bit of my awesome personality, too,” you start to feel and believe that deep down.
Budget: ~$1,500 for copywriting support
🙈 Girl, you are BOOKING and feeling like, “Hey, I get some compliments on my copy and I really think this whole business thing is going to work out! But oh my goddddd just looking at my site now makes me die a little inside…”
✅ Time for a glow-up! Semi-custom or “light” branding, plus a nicer template, can go a LONG way at this stage.
I remember this stage so well (and even considered showing you some screenshots of the first few iterations of my site but… yikes. It was not cute and I simply cannot handle showing you the ghosts of lil flames past. If you’ve been around since then, you’re the realest!)
Anyway. You can get a lot of bang for your buck here! Having a more visually polished presence at this point can give you a huge surge of “I look so legit!!!”, and it builds significant trust with future clients.
Plus, it’s a really cool milestone! It feels really exciting to see how far you’ve come and get to celebrate the investments you’ve made in what you’re saying and how you show up.
(I have a soft spot for my friend Clarisse’s amazing semi-custom brands, and of course I’ve gotta rep our joint project The Archetype Atelier here—gorgeous Showit templates plus the entire Copy Companion, all integrated together! For Squarespace, I love the templates from Blooming Design, Big Cat Creative, and GoLiveHQ, to name a few. Not sponsored!)
Brand photography is also a great idea right about now, and you can calibrate it to your needs and your budget—photographers offer anything from an hourlong mini session to a full-on brand shoot, and a good photographer knows how to take images that you can repurpose ENDLESSLY.
Budget:
$300-$1,000 for a website template
$50-$2,000 for semi-custom branding
$600-$2,500 for brand photography
🌊 You’ve got a feeling you just can’t shake. You’ve done more than test the waters—you know who you are, you’re proud of what you built, *and* you feel the glimmers of what biz could be. There are big ideas within you that you just haven’t found the words for, and it’s time to really plant your flag and own your you-shaped space in your industry.
✅ NOW it’s time for brand messaging + custom website copywriting.
Honestly, this is probably a few years in! This is deep, lasting, badass, “holy schnikes how did you see my soul and find the words for everything I want to express and make it all sound like me?!?!” work.
And I will be so for real here—a $5k+ investment should carry you for years. I never recommend it to potential clients if I don’t think their business is really in a place to make the most of it, because I get how big a deal it can be to spend this money!
When we wrap up a brand messaging + custom web copy project, you are so beyond solid and strong in your work and how you talk about it. You have what you need to go after bigger (or more aligned) opportunities, and you’re prepared to do whatever finessing you might need to do next (reach a more premium audience, shift your positioning, get more visible, etc).
Budget: $5,000-$7,000 for brand messaging + website copywriting
✅ And at any point after this, you’re ready for more custom design!
Bespoke branding and a more custom look and feel for your website are an awesome decision anytime from now into the future. You get to bring all of the clarity, insight, and messaging from the copy process into the design process (not to mention finished, polished, SEO-friendly web copy—which is an essential for your designer!).
At this point, your designer is SO much more prepared to deliver a whole look and feel for your business that will last long-term. You’re not still trying to figure out what your vibe is, or what (professional) playground you wanna play in, or who your best-fit clients are, or the overall impression you want to give. You KNOW all of those things.
And that means a skilled designer can dive right in and develop something that’s totally aligned with who you are and where you’re going. You can skip the “Am I an editorial beige or hot pink girlie?” stuff because there’s a clear representation of your voice, tone, values, and so much more for your designer to get inspired by and build on top of. Voila: a color palette, logo design, and typography selections that feel authentically and strategically SO YOU.
Since this kind of design is also likely to run you $5k+, my point from earlier stands. An investment like this should happen when your cash flow is there (you’re not gonna be in financial distress over it!) and your business is ready to make the most of it.
Budget: $5,000-$7,000 for custom branding + website design
And that’s the copywriting + design overview!
Of course, do your research, get second opinions, trust yourself, and do what’s right for YOUR business. My recommendations aren’t hard and fast rules, and there are exceptions to everything.
But my hope is that this info helps you steward your resources well, make choices that will pay off, and normalize making incremental investments over time.
Business is a long game! Nothing’s gone wrong if you proceed slowly but surely when it comes to bringing in professional creative support.
And if you have any Qs, just ask me! You can start here on the Copywriting page for plenty more info on what it’s like to work together, and you’re always welcome to DM me on Instagram.