As a web developer with eight years of experience, I’m always looking for ways to help local businesses put their best digital foot forward. Recently, I signed up for Squarespace to experiment with modernizing a few outdated local sites. What started as a technical exercise quickly turned into a broader reflection on business strategy, personal expression, and the realities of running a service-based operation.
The Technical Side: Improving What’s Already There
Squarespace’s block-based builder and clean templates feel intuitive—especially coming from deeper coding work and WordPress experience. I focused on two local examples: a restaurant with a secondary prepared-foods business, and a small church.
For the restaurant, the current site blends the dine-in experience with the prepared foods service, creating confusion for visitors. In my mockup, I separated the two into clearer offerings. The restaurant-focused version prioritizes what matters most to customers: easy reservations, clear hours, contact info, menus, location, and testimonials. De-cluttering the layout, tightening navigation, and directing every section toward conversion makes the user journey smoother and more purposeful.
For the church, the site had a crowded navbar with 17 items fighting for attention. I streamlined it with dropdown categories for better usability on mobile and desktop. I also refreshed a few images and refined the overall structure to better reflect their mission and welcome new visitors. Squarespace made these changes relatively painless—though web development always involves time, debugging, and iteration. That commitment is exactly why clients hire professionals like me.
The Harder Lesson: Politics, Clients, and Trade-Offs
Working on these mockups made me confront something uncomfortable. I’m outspoken by nature and have strong views on cultural and political issues. Lately, I’ve written about topics like DEI influences in major films (including my take on Steven Spielberg’s recent work). Getting those thoughts off my chest feels good—freedom of speech is a core American value, enshrined in the First Amendment.
But here’s the rub for any service business: clients aren’t usually looking for a political pundit when they search for a web developer. A small business owner evaluating my credentials, case studies, and sample work probably doesn’t want to wade into my latest hot take. Even if they quietly agree with me, they may hesitate because they want reliable results, not controversy. The same logic applies in reverse to organizations that take strong stances on contested issues like BLM, DEI initiatives, or specific “anti-racism” frameworks (such as Ibram X. Kendi’s books). When a church or any group signals alignment with one side of a polarized debate, they risk alienating potential members from the other half.
If I were hired by either of these clients, my advice would mirror what I’m applying to myself: Focus on your core mission and broaden your appeal where possible. For the church, that might mean balancing the reading list and resources to include diverse voices on race and culture (e.g., thinkers like Thomas Sowell alongside others) or reconsidering pages that feel one-sided. For my own site, it means separating personal commentary from the professional portfolio.
I’m not suggesting silence or “go along to get along.” I’m not that type of American, and most of my clients probably aren’t either. But pragmatism matters. I plan to keep my business site centered on web development expertise, case studies, and client results. More opinionated writing can live on personal social feeds or a clearly labeled personal blog.
A Healthy Nation Disagrees
As we head toward America’s 250th birthday, it’s worth remembering that disagreement is not a bug—it’s a feature of a free society. We’ve argued for 250 years and (mostly) kept the republic. The key is maintaining space for vigorous debate without letting every interaction become a loyalty test.
Whether you run a restaurant, a church, or a web development service, clarity of purpose and excellent user experience win more opportunities than signaling. If your site feels cluttered, outdated, or unfocused, that friction costs you visitors, customers, or members.
I’d love to help refine yours. Reach out if you’re a local business ready for a cleaner, more effective Squarespace (or custom) site that actually supports your goals.
Happy Fourth of July—may we keep disagreeing productively for another 250 years.