How Laura Coutts Uses Content Strategy to Inform Web Design in the Age of AI
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Started using Squarespace: 2014
Title: Content Strategist & Web Designer, Hatch Labs
With a background in content and, uniquely, having worked in city law, Circle Community Leader and Platinum Partner Laura Coutts has honed her ability to tell clear, compelling stories. Now, she’s sharing her own story—and her web design insights—with the Circle community.
She’s the head of web design agency, Hatch Labs. The self-taught web designer takes a hands-on approach to design, content strategy, and wordsmithing. These skills help boost her clients’ SEO and AI visibility while allowing her to build compelling sites across industries like education and publishing.
In this interview, Laura reveals her guiding web design principle, what she wishes she knew at the start of her design journey, her approach to AI optimization (AIO), and more.
What originally drew you to web design, and how did you get your start in the industry?
Many moons ago, I got a degree in law and communications. It seemed like a sensible idea at the time. But after a year in a city law firm, buried in billable hours and legalese, I knew I’d taken a wrong turn. I wasn’t cut out for legal life (and would have made a terrible lawyer).
So, I moved into content, first as a copywriter and editor at a real estate newspaper (it was as glamorous as it sounds), then as a digital content editor for corporates and not-for-profits. The work was satisfying, but once I had two kids, the commute and the juggle no longer worked. I needed more flexibility and, ideally, something more creative.
Web design was a natural next step. It combined the things I loved—content, structure, and problem-solving—with visual design.
I taught myself the basics: colour theory, typography, layout, HTML, and CSS. I poked around in browser inspector tools, Googled everything, and slowly figured out how HTML and CSS worked. It was a long, messy process, but I taught myself and kept at it until things clicked.
How did you discover Squarespace? Why do you continue to use it to build websites for your clients?
While teaching myself how to build websites, I was also dabbling in photography and needed a portfolio site. I’d heard Squarespace was great for creatives, so I gave it a try. After years of wrangling WordPress installs, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Less faff, no maintenance headaches, and cleaner design options.
Though marketed mainly to creatives and niche products, I quickly saw its potential for consultants, small businesses, law firms, and not-for-profits. After all, most business owners don’t want to manage plugins and platform updates, or navigate complex backends. They just want to quickly update a photo or publish a blog post without having a developer on standby. Squarespace let them do that, and it still does.
What’s one principle you follow to ensure every site build is high quality?
Start with discovery. Then, take it one step at a time.
If you open with, “What pages do you need?” you're guessing. I start with people and purpose: who they are, what they do, why it matters, and what’s not working. The client’s original brief nearly always changes after that.
Next comes structure: site architecture, user flow, and core functionality. And when the bones make sense, I tackle the content—the hardest part. People know too much about their business to explain it simply. I focus on creating content that puts the user at the core: focus on their problem, offer a clear solution, build trust, and make the next step obvious.
Design comes last. I focus on clean layouts, clear hierarchies, plenty of whitespace, and no clutter. A few key visual elements repeated with purpose and a sprinkling of custom code or plugins (if they add value). Design should support the content, not compete with it.
How has your content background informed your web design career?
I came in through content, not design, and that shapes everything I do. Sites don’t fail because the colours are wrong; they fail because the message is unclear, the structure’s confusing, or the copy tries to say too much at once. That’s my focus.
Over time, I’ve taught myself the design principles and the technical bits I need (mostly CSS) to push layouts further and clean up what built-in controls can’t. But the real work is still in the thinking: discovery, structure, and content.
What’s your go-to code snippet for Squarespace projects?
I keep a living CSS library. My most-used snippets are to customise buttons, bullets, accordions, and section padding. These small tweaks can really lift and customise a project.
Other tools I rely on include:
SquareKicker for quick visual tweaks without diving into code every single time
Will Myers’ plugins for real accordions, tabs, tooltips, mega menus, and secondary navigation
Squarespace Websites Tools PRO for the backstage grunt work: duplicate collections, table blocks, better maps, quick jumps around the editor
You’ve offered Squarespace web design services for more than a decade. What do you wish you knew at the start, and how are you looking to continue growing?
Most clients don’t need groundbreaking design. They need a site that looks good, feels right, and works. Unconventional layouts, navigation, and interactions can confuse users and bury the message. Good design supports content; it doesn’t distract.
Impostor syndrome sticks around longer than you'd expect. But here’s what I logically know, even if I don’t always feel it: being self-taught doesn’t make you less qualified. You learn by doing the work, project by project.
Don’t undercharge. Your rate should reflect your experience and the value you bring, not just your hours. If the budget’s tight, trim the scope, not your rate. Lowering your price only devalues your work.
Clients who haggle on price are usually a red flag. From my experience, these clients tend to demand more, over question, and stretch the boundaries. If you have the choice, say no.
Lately, I’ve been working with bigger clients, and that’s where I want to stay. These projects tend to be more strategic, with better budgets and fewer tiny revisions. That means I can focus on what matters, get better results, and avoid the burnout that comes from undercharging or overworking.
Squarespace is evolving, too. It’s no longer just a DIY tool, and I see real potential for more professional, design-led builds as the platform develops.
To support this shift, I’m completing a UX diploma—not to change direction, but to formalise what I already do, sharpen my approach, and bring research and strategy into bigger, more complex builds.
What’s one SEO best practice every web designer should know about, even if they don’t specialize in SEO services?
I’m not an SEO specialist, and I don’t stick around for ongoing keyword analysis (my brain prefers the novelty of the build, not the spreadsheets). But I do help clients set things up properly from the start.
My top tip? Write for humans, then mark it up so machines can follow.
That means answering real questions, using headings that reflect how people search, and keeping a clear structure: proper H1s, logical subheadings, and lists where they help. Write page titles and meta descriptions that sound like a person and give users a reason to click.
It’s not about gaming the algorithm, but making things clear—for people and search engines.
AI search results are becoming increasingly prevalent. How do you ensure your projects are optimized for AI?
The rules are still evolving, but one thing’s clear: context and clarity matter more than keywords. AI prioritises structured, relevant, human-readable content. So, the things that make a site genuinely useful to real people now also make it more legible to machines. And that’s a good thing.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
Keep it crawlable. If AI can’t access your content, it can’t use it. Keep your pages crawlable, and avoid hiding important text in images or behind scripts.
Write like a human. Use a natural tone and answer actual questions. Think: FAQs, how‑tos, comparisons, and plain-language explainers.
Structure the page well. Use proper headings (H1, H2, H3), clear hierarchy, bullet points, and logical flow to make scanning easy (for bots and people).
Link with intent. Internal links should clarify content relationships. Use descriptive anchor text, not “click here.”
Add structured data. Use schema markup where relevant (services, reviews, FAQs). Squarespace includes some by default, but others may need to be added manually.
Keep things fast and tidy. Compress images, avoid unnecessary plugins, and make sure your metadata (titles, descriptions, alt text) is in place.
How do you make the most of Circle membership and its benefits?
The extended trials make onboarding clients easier. Discounts are a nice bonus, and I don’t mind the income that Circle Referral Payments provides, either. But the real value of Circle is access and support.
Early feature announcements, a direct line to the product team when things break, and occasional previews of what’s next keep me ahead of the game. The Feature Requests Board lets Circle members request features, and while not every idea makes the cut, community input has driven some really meaningful improvements.
And the forum? Freelancing can be lonely. Being able to swap CSS fixes, troubleshoot weird bugs, sanity-check pricing, or just vent about scope creep at 11:00 PM makes a huge difference. I’ve picked up better workflows, smarter tricks, and ideas I wouldn’t have found on my own.
Key takeaways
The following are top insights from Laura’s interview:
Start site builds with discovery to understand the client’s purpose, then build the structure, add content, and finally, design
As you build each website, focus on clear messaging and structure first, rather than flashy designs
Your rate should reflect your value, and a client who haggles on price is often a red flag
When it comes to optimizing for traditional and AI search, develop crawlable, readable, and well-structured content
