PROPOSAL

for Becky Siden

Becky Siden is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist. Having spent the last 5 years growing her group practice, she is now ready to focus on the work her heart is calling her to do: reaching and teaching others in an inclusive way that feels approachable and nurturing.

That work will look like in-person retreats and online courses that create community both in-person and digitally.

Below we’ll explore staying on Squarespace and moving to WordPress, and then lay out a few options for courses of action.

Details

Platform Options for the Website + Online Courses

You have three solid paths, depending on how much flexibility you want, how “custom” the experience needs to be, and how much ongoing maintenance you’re comfortable with.

Quick Comparison:

 1) Squarespace Courses

Courses are now a native Squarespace feature, so you could host and sell right from your current site.

  • Best for: simplicity, speed and fewer moving parts.

  • Tradeoff: less flexibility; plan-based transaction fees + video limits may add up as you scale.

2) WordPress + MemberPress Courses

Your website is the platform. Courses and memberships live inside WordPress.

  • Best for: long-term scalability, customization, SEO-led growth, integrated content library.

  • Tradeoff: more maintenance + setup complexity.

3) Ruzuku 

A simple course platform that is 3rd party so that we can use it on Squarespace or WordPress

  • Best for: low-tech overhead, quick launch, friendly teaching experience.

  • Tradeoff: less “custom brand universe” than a fully owned site.

Option A — Stay on Squarespace
(Website + Courses in one place)

Best for: fastest launch, simplest tech stack, minimal maintenance, cohesive branding.

Squarespace now supports building and selling courses directly on your site (on any website plan), using course pages + pricing plans to paywall your content.

Pros

  • All-in-one simplicity: website, course pages, paywalls, and checkout live together.

  • Brand consistency: your marketing site and course experience feel visually unified.

  • Lower technical overhead: fewer plugins, updates, and hosting variables.

  • Built-in SEO foundation: automatic sitemaps/robots.txt, structured data markup, and solid indexing support out of the box.

Cons

  • Less flexibility/control than WordPress for custom functionality and deep technical SEO.

  • Digital product transaction fees can apply depending on plan (and video storage limits vary by plan).

  • Course feature set is intentionally streamlined (great for simplicity, limiting for complex learning experiences).

Option B — Move the Website to WordPress
(Courses + Membership with MemberPress)

Best for: maximum flexibility, stronger customization, more scalable “content engine” (blog + SEO + landing pages + funnels), and long-term ownership.

WordPress paired with MemberPress + MemberPress Courses creates a single integrated platform where you own the site, the content structure, and the student experience. MemberPress Courses supports building lessons and can include features like quizzes and completion certificates.

Pros

  • Most flexible option (design, functionality, integrations, data portability).

  • SEO ceiling is higher because you can fully control technical SEO, content architecture, and advanced on-page tooling via plugins (e.g., Yoast offers schema + real-time guidance; Rank Math emphasizes meta, sitemaps, schema, redirects).

  • Unified brand + content marketing: ideal if the long-term plan includes lots of articles, resources, lead magnets, and landing pages feeding course/retreat sales.

  • Integrated membership model: bundles, tiers, gated libraries, subscriptions, etc.

Cons

  • Ongoing maintenance: hosting, updates, backups, security, plugin compatibility (I handle these for you via Housekeeping!)

  • More decisions up front (hosting, theme, plugin stack) and a little more complexity for admins.

Squarespace SEO

Squarespace includes a strong baseline: it automatically generates sitemaps and robots.txt and outputs structured data markup (schemas like blog posts, events, local business, etc.), but that structured data is not editable.
You can also add per-page SEO descriptions in the editor.

Strengths

  • Great “SEO hygiene” out of the box (minimal setup).

  • Easier for teams who don’t want to manage plugins or updates.

Limitations

  • Less control over advanced technical SEO and structured data customization (not editable).

  • More constrained when you want to build complex content architectures, advanced schema strategies, or custom functionality.

 

WordPress SEO

WordPress is “SEO-flexible” because you can add best-in-class SEO tooling. For example:

  • Yoast SEO provides real-time guidance and schema support.

  • Rank Math highlights handling meta, sitemaps, redirects, and schema.

Strengths

  • Highest customization and scalability for SEO (especially for content-heavy strategies).

  • Easier to implement advanced schema, redirect strategies, and structured internal linking at scale (with the right stack).

Tradeoff

  • Requires upkeep (updates, plugin management, performance tuning).

Choose Squarespace (all-in-one) if:

  • You want the fastest path to launch with the fewest moving parts

  • Courses are relatively straightforward (modules + videos + worksheets)

  • You’d rather trade flexibility for simplicity

Choose WordPress + MemberPress if:

  • You want the most control over brand, user experience, SEO, and integrations

  • You plan to grow a content engine (blogs/resources) that feeds course + retreat sales

  • You want a robust membership/library model long-term

Choose Thinkific/Ruzuku if:

  • You want a dedicated course-learning experience with minimal setup time

  • You want to keep the marketing site simple and separate from “school” delivery

  • You expect to iterate quickly on course formats without rebuilding your website

Pathways Forward!

Choose a Brand New Website or Step-by-Step Refresh (which can be combined!) – either on WordPress or Squarespace. 

Brand New Website – $4995

Goal: a redesigned site that feels accessible and professional, ready to expand when you are. We’ll redesign from the ground up, choosing a format and focus that elevate your work and guide people to your new content. We’ll complete this work over the course of 6 months or so, and the package includes a new logo, fonts & color palette, along with:

  • Strategy + Structure

    • Updated positioning + messaging (what you do now vs where you’re going)

    • New sitemap + user pathways (Programs / Retreats / Coaching / Supervision)

    • Conversion plan: Either a soft-launch or pilot offering to start as part of the new redesign. (full course design is not included)

    Design + Copy Assistance

    • Homepage redesign to reflect future direction 

    • Programs (hub page — “Courses, Retreats, Workshops” even if some are “coming soon”)

    • Coaching + Consulting (clean CTA + boundaries + outcomes)

    • About (story + credibility + approach)

    • Work With Me (a simple chooser page: Programs vs Coaching vs Referrals)

    • Resources (light version: 1–2 categories, email signup placement)

    • Contact (clear next step + expectations)

    Build + Launch

    • SEO-friendly page structure + redirects (keep rankings stable)

    • Email signup

    • Forms: interest, application, consult

    • Clear ethical boundaries/disclaimers

Why take this route? This redesign makes the site look like your next chapter is already underway — without forcing you to launch a course or retreat before you’re ready.

REFRESH Option 1

“Clarity + Credibility” Tune-Up – $995

Goal: make the current site feel intentional, current, and aligned—without adding new tech. Keep the same look and feel (colors, fonts) and update either on Squarespace or a light rebuild on WordPress. 

  • Remove/replace the “links may be broken” message on the homepage with a confident, forward-looking statement (still honest, just not apologizing on the front door).

  • Fix broken links + tighten navigation labels (especially around Courses/Workshops and Services) so visitors don’t hit dead ends.

  • Update homepage pathways so the primary “ways to work together” reflect where she’s headed (even if the offerings aren’t live yet) (explore design options here!)

  • Add a simple “Coming Soon” section: “Online Courses + Retreats launching in 2026” with an interest link (no payment, no platform, just signal).

Why take this route? Low effort, high impact: it stops confusion and starts positioning you for the next chapter.

REFRESH Option 2

“Soft Launch” Courses/Retreats Landing Page + Waitlist – $995

Goal: reflect the future direction and start building a list, without committing to a full course build.

  • Build out new top-level page: “Courses & Retreats” (or “Programs”) with:

    • Who it’s for

    • Topics/themes you’ll teach (2–5 bullets)

    • Possible formats (self-paced course, live cohort, retreat)

    • Waitlist / interest form (“Be the first to know”)

    • Explore design options here; then apply them to the rest of the site.

  • A matching homepage CTA: “Join the community / get updates” 

Why choose this route?

  • You can try the identity on publicly without promising dates, pricing, or logistics.

  • Start validating demand immediately.

REFRESH Option 3

“Pilot Offering” Without a Full Platform – $995

Goal: run a first program with almost no infrastructure.

Two simple pilot paths:

  • Mini-workshop series (live on Zoom) + handouts + replays delivered via a protected page, or even just email delivery.

  • Small-group cohort (4–8 weeks) sold via a simple checkout + intake form.

Site updates:

  • Add a single sales page + FAQ (explore design options here!)

  • Add an application / interest form

  • Add clear boundaries/disclaimers (especially important in mental health space: coaching/education vs therapy, crisis resources, etc.)

Why choose this route:

  • Learn what works for you and what doesn’t (teaching live vs self-paced, group size, price comfort) before investing in a course ecosystem.

Other Work

I love working with clients longterm! I get to know you and your business, how you like to communicate and what style works for you and your brand.

Work with me on:

  • New web pages
  • Worksheets and handouts
  • Slide design for powerpoint or keynote
  • Course graphics
  • Infographics to explain concepts
  • Small or large updates
  • Updates to older posts 

Or just about anything else you might need help with making look cohesive and consistent with your brand! Costs for items vary mostly by how much content there is. Short web pages and simple pdfs will cost less than more complex ones.

My Work

Recent Websites

RECENT WEBSITES

Housekeeping

Housekeeping: $50/mo (optional but highly recommended)

All WordPress sites need to be monitored and updated regularly. Some people don’t mind managing this themselves, and others just simply don’t remember or don’t want to. A site that is not updated can be hacked more easily than an updated one, so updates ARE important! But, on top of the time, sometimes when updates are made, it can break parts of the site.

This is where I offer a service called Housekeeping! Once a month I login and update all plugins and WordPress, clean up spam and the database, and fix anything that’s not working. During the month, I keep an eye on spam and hacking updates and make any adjustments that are needed to keep your site safe. It also means I’m the person you contact if your site goes down for any reason, and I’ll  work with your tech stack to get it back up and running. 

 See the full list of what’s included here. With all new sites, 6 months are included free!

Please note that changes to the scope of the project can be made at any time, but additional charges may apply.

SCHEDULE

Start Time: …?

End Time: …?

Usually I have dates here! We can get started as early as March (with homework and prep work to be done before that!)

CONTRACT DETAILS

The above pricing is effective through a start date of July of 2026
If a contract is not signed by that time, and you would still like to work with me, another proposal will be drawn up at current rates.

Accepted payment forms include personal checks via mail or all major credit cards through Freshbooks or Paypal. Payment plans are available.

Next Steps

Would you like to work with me?
I’d like to work with you!

To accept the proposal, please select the option that works best for you below.

Once you accept the proposal, I’ll send you a contract detailing what we’ve agreed upon, written in as little legalese as possible. Then, I will invoice you for the deposit.

Payment must be received before work begins – either in full or one monthly installment.

Of course, if you have questions, please ask!
Either use the form below or send me an email. Here’s hoping we get to work together!

I’m interested!
I think I’d like to move forward with:

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