PixelHaze Academy founder Elwyn Davies is featured by Squarespace

Why This Matters

If you run a small business from a rural area or if you’re a freelancer who’s ever tried to get a digital project off the ground outside a big city, you’ll know the particular frustrations that come with it. Resources are thin. Reliable broadband can be a headache. Clients are often neighbours, friends, or relatives, so you can’t hide behind jargon when something goes wrong. Yet the need for a smart, well-designed online presence is just as fierce in places like Mid Wales as it is in London or Manchester.

For most rural businesses, hiring a full-time developer (let alone an army of them) isn’t on the cards. That’s why website builders like Squarespace help make it possible for someone with a sharp idea and lots of drive to build something impressive from a kitchen table (and in my case, a cold garden studio, with sheep watching through the window). There is a challenge, though: simplicity at first glance often hides a maze of deeper challenges as you discover what really makes a project sing.

The risk of getting it wrong involves more than just wasted hours fiddling with a template. It means missing a chance to lift an entire business or even a community by using technology effectively. I’ve made every mistake in the book since launching PixelHaze from Builth Wells in 2015, and I wouldn’t swap those lessons for anything. So when the team at Squarespace Circle reached out for an interview, it felt like a rare opportunity to shine a light on the bigger story—why getting web design right with real-world, face-to-face client work matters even more out here in the wild Welsh landscape than in any skyscraper-soaked city.

Common Pitfalls

If I had a pound for every time I heard, “Squarespace looks so easy, I’ll have my website done by lunchtime,” I’d have paid off my office kettle twice over. The biggest trap people tumble into is believing that user-friendly software removes the need to learn anything at all.

Here’s what usually happens:

• Folks choose a shiny template, drop in some photos, and go live. A week later, the phone hasn’t rung, nobody can find the contact form, and their website starts to look suspiciously like the local bakery's (or the butcher’s, or cousin Gareth’s art portfolio).
• They hit a technical wall and try to force the site to behave more like WordPress or Wix, or ring up a “techy friend” for help. Quick fixes lead to confusion, bad design, or worse: accidentally breaking the mobile version entirely.
• Training is postponed. Until the first update is needed, and the panic sets in.

The bigger danger is hidden: thinking great web design doesn’t need a proper client conversation. In rural Wales, businesses thrive on trust and coffee-fuelled chats. Without in-person feedback, I’ve seen too many sites end up mismatched, impersonal, or missed opportunities. That’s why, despite all the digital tools at my disposal, I still set time aside for old-fashioned, face-to-face meetings where ideas get thrashed out on pen and paper.

Step-by-Step Fix

Let’s dig into the system I use every time PixelHaze designs a site for a rural business or trains a client to take control after launch.

1. Commit to Mastering the Tools

The easiest way to build something average is to stop learning as soon as you “get by.” Squarespace is dead simple once you get moving, but learning to use it fully takes dedication and curiosity.

What to do:

• Start with the official Squarespace tutorials and then move swiftly to finding practical guides written by people who’ve been there (and made the mistakes).
• Block out regular time to experiment away from ‘live’ sites. Build a “sandbox” project for your own business, attempt every feature, break things deliberately, then fix them.
• Ask yourself: Can I style blog posts using custom CSS? Can I automate a form response? Do I know how to troubleshoot SEO settings when Google throws a wobbly?

2. Bridge the Gap: Training is Essential

Building a website only begins with launch; the real test is whether your client can steer the ship after launch without sinking.

What to do:

• Right from day one, plan for handover. Document every custom tweak, special integration, or “weirdness” you work in.
• Run practical walkthroughs, either in-person or over video calls. Screensharing beats written notes, every time. Give homework, not just a demo: ask the client to update a product, post a blog, or change a photo while you watch and coach.
• Turn your own knowledge gaps into training material. If you struggled connecting a payment gateway, chances are someone else will.

3. Lean Into Local: Face-to-Face Beats Everything

There’s no substitute for reading someone’s reaction in real time. Remote meetings are fine, but real magic happens over a table. In rural areas, the ability to physically meet, sketch, and laugh with a client is a serious competitive edge.

What to do:

• Offer in-person workshops, launch days, or brainstorming sessions. If not in your own studio, then in village halls or even the back room of the pub.
• Use these meetings to listen closely. Start every project with a blank sheet and plenty of daft questions (my best designs start with “What’s the oddest problem your business has ever solved?”).
• Test prototypes on the spot. Don’t wait for an email with feedback; chase out opinions before you leave the table.

4. Plug Into the Right Community

No one has all the answers. Even after years as a Squarespace Authorised Trainer, there are still moments when updates baffle me or a client request leaves me puzzled. Having a supportive creative network such as Squarespace Circle (and a few well-chosen forums) makes a crucial difference.

What to do:

• Join Squarespace Circle if you regularly build on the platform. The perks are valuable: early access to features, a network of seasoned designers, and honest answers when you’re stuck.
• For every stumbling block, search the forums before you panic. Chances are you’re not the only one wrestling with duplicate navigation or a rogue pop-up.
• Use community tips to shortcut learning, and make a habit of sharing helpful solutions you find yourself.

5. Know When to Customise and When to Step Back

Every PixelHaze client wants a site that stands out. However, custom work can quickly spiral out of control and eat up all your profit (or your patience). The real skill is knowing which template to use and recognising when to say “no” to overly complicated requests.

What to do:

• Before diving into heavy customisation, map out every change against your client’s real needs. Will that moving background video pay for itself in new clients? Will custom code break when Squarespace updates?
• Become a master at tweaking what’s already there. Small changes to style or well-placed images can deliver impressive results.
• Share examples with your clients, showing both the strengths and limitations of the platform. Set honest expectations early.

6. Measure, Tweak, and Celebrate Small Results

Building the site is the start, not the finish. What matters is how the website performs after that launch button is pressed, and whether it actually helps the business owner.

What to do:

• Use built-in analytics to track actual behaviour, not just what you think is happening. If nobody clicks the contact form, ask why instead of just adding more buttons.
• Encourage clients to update their own site regularly. Google rewards fresh content, and nothing kills a website faster than four-year-old news stories.
• Set three core goals for every project: more contacts, more sales, more credibility. Revisit each month and adjust as needed.

What Most People Miss

The technical details matter, but trust is what makes projects succeed. In communities where everyone knows each other, your reputation paves the way. If you leave clients feeling bamboozled or ignored, you lose opportunities and risk damaging relationships that last for years.

Working confidently with Squarespace is about removing obstacles and making technology fade into the background. When a client can update their own site, launch a new service, or post a local news story without anxiety, the business gains a new sense of independence and confidence. Clients who feel in control and comfortable with their website stop seeing it as a burden and start using it as a tool for real growth.

As I told the Squarespace Circle team:

“Squarespace has allowed me to build over 220 websites since I launched PixelHaze from Builth Wells in 2015, the majority of which have been for small, rural Welsh businesses. The opportunity to help fly the flag for our small corner of the world is a great reason to get up and get into the studio every morning.”

Elwyn Davies

The Bigger Picture

Over the years since launching PixelHaze, I’ve watched more than a hundred rural businesses grow with well-built websites. Some began with nothing but an unreliable broadband connection and a box of home-grown produce or a modest stack of guesthouse bookings. With the right process (and, sometimes, a lot of patience), those owners found new ways to sell online, broadened their reach, and became comfortable updating their content.

These changes impact far more than just sites and sales. When a handful of local businesses have polished, easy-to-update webpages, the entire village appears more vibrant—whether to tourists, potential new residents, or outside investors. The message shifts from waiting for outside help to taking action with the tools available. That’s what makes every new project rewarding.

Wrap-Up

Building a successful web design business or running your own website in a rural area brings unique difficulties but also remarkable rewards. Don’t buy into the myth that a “user-friendly” platform allows you to skip learning, experimenting, and meeting face-to-face. Invest in your skills, build genuine partnerships with clients, and always recognise the value of connecting locally.

Above all, practical results come from making technology support people’s work without getting in the way. Do that well, and your reputation will carry you further than any search algorithm.

Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.