Your business is Canadian. Your website should work like it.
Premium Squarespace website design for established women founders across Canada — built around your positioning, your pricing, and the clients you actually want.
There's no shortage of website designers on the internet.
Most of them are American. Most of them build for American markets, American pricing norms, and American client expectations. And most of them will hand you a template dressed up as a custom site, with copy that sounds like everyone else in your industry.
If you're a Canadian woman founder who has built something real — a consulting practice, a coaching business, a service firm that has outgrown its original identity — you don't need a generic site. You need one that reflects what you've actually built, speaks to the clients you want next, and positions you at the rate you've earned.
That's what Gumptious Design Shop exists to do.
You're an established Canadian founder — coach, consultant, therapist, creative professional, or service-based expert — whose business has outgrown its online presence
You're charging more (or ready to), and your website still reflects where you started, not where you are
You've worked with designers before and felt like you were being handed a product rather than a partner
You want a site that does the positioning work before a client ever gets on a call with you
WE MIGHT BE A GOOD FIT IF
A Canadian perspective on premium design
I'm Maria Fakhruddin, founder of Gumptious Design Shop, based in Toronto. Before launching this studio I spent 13+ years leading digital product design for organizations across North America — and I hold an MBA from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.
I understand the Canadian professional landscape. The calibrated way we present expertise. The difference between confidence and noise. The clients who research carefully before they reach out and expect the same seriousness in return.
My work is strategy-first, which means before anything looks like anything, we get clear on what your business is actually doing, who it's for, and what needs to be true on the page for the right person to say yes.
Then we build it. On Squarespace. Precisely.
What I build
BRAND DESIGN
Visual identity that reflects the business you're building now, not the one you started with. Fonts, colour, logo, and the design logic that holds it all together.
CUSTOM SITE DESIGN
A full Squarespace build, strategy through launch. Up to 10 pages, responsive, tested, handed off with everything you need to run it yourself.
TEMPLATES
Pre-designed Squarespace structures you adapt and launch yourself, with guidance built in.
Recent work
Karen McKenna-Quayle found Gumptious through an AI search — not a referral, not an ad. The content was specific enough that it surfaced for exactly the kind of practice she was running.
The site we built reflects the warmth and professionalism of her practice, with a clear client journey from first visit to booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Squarespace (Fluid Engine 7.1)
-
Squarespace gives you a site you can actually maintain yourself after launch — no developer dependency, no ongoing retainer just to change a headline. For service-based founders who want a premium site without a premium ongoing cost, it's the right tool.
-
Nope. Zero. Nada. Squarespace is user-friendly, and I’ll guide you through whatever you need to know — no coding required.
-
Templates: Your content, photos, and branding (fonts/colors/logo). Don’t worry, you’ll get a prep checklist so you know exactly what to gather.
Custom sites : You don’t need everything figured out. Come with a rough sense of what you’re building, any materials you already have, and a willingness to make clear decisions. Clients arrange their own photography, and I can support with creative direction to guide the look and feel. Clarity is part of the process, not something you need beforehand.
-
Yes. The majority of my clients are remote. I work with founders across Canada — Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal, and beyond. The process is fully online and designed to be clear and low-friction regardless of where you're based.
-
Gumptious is built specifically for women founders and women-led businesses. That focus shapes everything — the process, the positioning strategy, the understanding of how women in professional service businesses present their expertise and price their work.
-
Yes, I will be using this tool that I built: PageOneCopy. For custom design I will be tweaking what this tool produces to refine it further.
-
You’ll get a walkthrough for any services you pick so you can confidently edit, swap photos, or update text on your own. If you still have questions, you can always email me.
-
Template → For your 1:1 please book 1–2 weeks in advance.
Custom → Reserve at least 2–4 weeks ahead.
-
My timelines are realistic, and I’ve designed each package to get you to launch. But if something runs over (like content delays), we’ll adjust or add on extra support so you’re never left hanging.
Ready to look as good online as your work is offline?
Start with a conversation. Tell me about your business and where your site is falling short.
PAGE ONE COPY
AI-powered FREE copywriting system to help you write before you build.
Answer a few questions about your brand.
Get page-by-page copy built around your actual point of view. Not generic AI filler.
A strategic starting point that sounds like you, not everyone else.
Watch me on YouTube
Strategy, story & the occasional rant. Longer thoughts, moving pictures.