Inside Katy Carlisle’s Mission to Make a Difference for Her Clients
Location: Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Started using Squarespace: 2013
Title: Owner, SQSP Queen
Katy Carlisle is a Squarespace designer, educator, and Circle Community Leader whose work bridges creativity, accessibility, and purpose. With a background in teaching and nonprofit work, she approaches web design with empathy and clarity, empowering clients to manage their sites with confidence and helping students learn without intimidation.
As the founder of SQSP Queen, Katy specializes in designing Squarespace websites for mission-driven organizations. Her process is deeply collaborative, and her signature teaching style emphasizes patience, transparency, and problem-solving.
In this interview, Katy reflects on her journey as a full-time web designer, shares advice for making content both human- and AI-friendly, and offers insights on maintaining strong client relationships, keeping creativity at the center of it all.
What originally drew you to web design, and how did you get your start in the industry?
When I was younger, I learned HTML and used the family computer after my parents had gone to bed to work on my Geocities website. My high school work experience was at a computer shop. I ended up studying French at university, but the dissertation topic I chose for my master’s degree was to translate and redesign two French websites.
I was a teacher before switching careers and worked at sustainability nonprofits for six years. I only started to learn more about web design out of necessity, as an agency had created a website for a project I was managing, but there wasn’t any funding to pay the developers for ongoing changes. I started Googling, and found I really enjoyed the satisfaction of figuring it all out. People say that I’m naturally good with technology, but I think a lot of it is because I’m more stubborn than most people, and don’t like our digital overlords to win. I’ll just keep going until I find the solution!
After a while, I asked my boss if I could focus on the web and tech side. She was supportive, so I started working more on the website while designing microsites for specific campaigns.
That’s what got me interested in website builders that were easier (and quicker) to use, and one day, my boss sent me a link to a really lovely website. At the bottom, it said “Powered by Squarespace,” and it was like our eyes had met across a crowded internet.
I still didn’t consider myself a web designer at that point. But after a while, I really wanted to start my own business, so I quit my job and planned to offer tech support to nonprofits. I used Squarespace to make my website, and loved it so much that I kept talking about it online and to everyone I met. A former colleague asked if I could make a Squarespace website for her business, and I needed the money, so I agreed. She loved it and asked me to do one for her husband’s business too, and then more people started to ask me. At that point I swear I had a montage like in the movies where all of the signs from the past finally flashed before my eyes and I had the revelation that maybe I actually was a web designer.
What do you find most enjoyable about designing websites on Squarespace?
I really enjoy creative problem solving and figuring out how to make Squarespace work for my clients. If they have an unusual request that may not be possible on Squarespace, I want to find a way to make it happen.
When I first started making Squarespace websites, I didn’t have much coding experience. But now, I love CSS, and I’m starting to use more JavaScript, too. I’ve always been good at languages (in addition to French, I’ve studied Spanish, Danish, Welsh, and British Sign Language, and I’m currently learning American Sign Language), so adding coding languages feels like a logical progression. To my brain, they’re all just a series of rules and patterns.
And whilst I do like designing sites from scratch, my favourite projects are where I get to build sites in collaboration with a graphic designer or agency. There’s something very satisfying about taking the static mockup they’ve created and bringing it to life on a website. Plus, it often means I get to find creative workarounds and use lots of CSS.
How has your experience with nonprofits informed your design approach and aesthetic, as well as the nonprofit clients you choose to work with?
I know from experience that funding for nonprofits can be quite limited, and there often isn’t any budget for ongoing support, so creating something that my clients can easily update themselves is an absolute priority. I get a lot of nonprofit clients who want to switch to Squarespace because their current site is just impossible for them to edit, and it’s such a joy to watch their faces when they see how simple it is.
Even when I use custom code, I’m always thinking about how I can make it client-friendly. For example, I’ll often use colour themes to create design presets in CSS, so for them it’s as simple as switching from Light 1 to Light 2, but it actually unlocks quite different styles.
I use account saved sections all the time too, so clients have templates that can be reused across the site. This keeps everything more consistent, which is important as there are often different staff members and even volunteers making changes.
I definitely have my own design style and aesthetic, and I think working with nonprofits has been a good fit because I’ve always been drawn to designs that are bold, fun, and colourful. A lot of the organisations that I work with have strong values and want to make a statement; they don’t want to blend into the background, and that suits my approach too.
In general, I work with smaller nonprofits, as that’s where I feel like I can have the biggest impact, and I can really build a relationship with the staff and volunteers. That was my own background, and the organisation that I worked for prior to starting my business is now a long-term client. I’ve actually just updated my website and added a list of the types of nonprofits I would love to work with (and why).
My absolute favourite clients are retired volunteers for a botanical garden in the UK. I call them my “plant ladies” and I’m not even joking, they all have plant-related names. Retirees are awesome to work with because they have time and are super organised! Older generations often get stereotyped around their ability to use technology, but my plant ladies were all so excited to learn a new skill. I actually provide very little ongoing support as they do such a good job managing the site themselves. I love you, plant ladies!
What inspired you to teach others how to use Squarespace?
I didn’t want to waste my teaching degree!
Seriously though, I’ve always been drawn to education. Even after I stopped being a teacher, I delivered workshops and created online courses as part of my role at the nonprofit.
After a couple of years focusing on web design in my own business, I realised that I missed being a trainer, but I wasn’t sure if there would be a demand for Squarespace training (this was 10+ years ago). So, I ran a group workshop and the vibe was just amazing; everyone was learning from each other and sharing inspiration. And, most importantly, they all built awesome websites. I got such good feedback, I knew I had to continue.
I offered one-to-one and group training for another 10 years, and even managed to run group workshops over Zoom during the pandemic. Since moving from the UK to Canada, I’ve decided to focus on in-person training again. I’m such an extrovert and I’m craving more of that in-person connection, so that’s going to be the next phase. And I’d like to get back into doing public speaking!
What aspects of your design and teaching style do you think resonate so strongly with clients and students, respectively?
Being kind and empathetic goes a long way! I used to have a bit of impostor syndrome because I didn’t come from a coding background, but over time, I realised it’s actually an advantage. I can talk to my clients in clear, approachable language instead of overwhelming them with jargon. My own clients and students really appreciate how patient I am, and the way that I explain Squarespace and web design concepts in a way that they can understand.
I also take the time to really listen to my clients and ask questions to get to the heart of what they actually need for their website, which isn’t necessarily the same as what they ask for initially. If they request a feature or design that I don’t think is a good idea, I’ll never dismiss them or make them feel embarrassed. Instead, I’ll bring them back to their goals and highlight why adding something new could be a distraction, or I’ll tell them about accessibility considerations that might not make it the best approach. Sometimes, there’s a good idea behind a bad feature request, so I’ll ask why they want to introduce it. Then, together we’ll figure out a better way to achieve the same result.
It helps that I’m very open and transparent, both on my website and in my communication with clients. My vulnerability creates a safe space for clients and students to be honest about their thoughts or concerns so we can address them and avoid misunderstandings. This leads to a better design outcome and is probably why the first drafts that I share with clients are so well-received. They’re surprised and delighted at how I’ve captured what they were looking for so quickly, but I couldn’t do that without having a good client relationship.
How have you furthered your own design education over the years?
I’m self-taught and haven’t ever taken a formal design course. This is partly because I love building Squarespace websites so much and enjoy that niche. I often collaborate with graphic designers, so I learn a lot whenever I work with them.
I spend a lot of time on sites like Landbook to get inspiration, and subscribe to newsletters such as Typewolf for typography design trends. I definitely learn best by doing, so working on a new client site always levels up my design and coding skills as I try out different ideas and explore creative options.
In the past, I’ve taken part in CSS design challenges, and my husband is a developer (we run a directory plugin business together in addition to my web design work), so we sometimes spend our evenings talking about new CSS selectors. Yes, we’re that cool.
I get a lot of my education from the Circle community too, at events like Circle Day and Circle Live, in the Circle Forum, and through communities or newsletters created by Circle members.
What SEO best practices do you employ to help your sites stand out?
When it comes to SEO, I’m very much an advocate for a human-focused approach. I think it’s really easy to get caught up in doing a little dance for search engines and getting distracted from what really adds value to your business. So, with my clients I always ask, “What makes you awesome?” I then try to incorporate that essence into the site. SEO consultants talk about “first contentful paint” and “core web vitals,” and, obviously, load times are important, but I’ve found the most effective SEO technique is making a website that people want to spend time on.
I encourage my clients to write copy that will resonate with the audience of the site, even if it means putting some people off. I help them organise their content so it’s really clear and easy to digest. I’ll also cover the basics, like ensuring all of the relevant pages have SEO titles and descriptions, and that images have alt text (Squarespace’s SEO tools are handy for this).
Clients have a tendency to use bold text rather than headings when writing copy, so I always make sure to structure the content using headings for better accessibility and SEO. I talk a lot with my clients about colour contrast for readability, too. Many of them come to me with brand palettes that aren’t very accessible, so I’ll often use a tint or shade to still make the colours feel connected whilst making the text easier to read against a background.
AI search results have become increasingly prevalent. What advice do you have for your clients or students on designing for this shift?
The first piece of advice I give to my existing clients is: breathe. If they’ve listened to me at all over the years, they will already be following SEO best practices and creating well-structured and useful content. I think people want AI search to be this radical new approach, but LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude essentially want to do the same thing as traditional search engines like Google: to provide trustworthy and relevant content to their users.
For anyone just starting to think about their search presence, the most common mistake I see is people not getting the basics right first. I’ve had so many clients who have paid an SEO consultant to audit their site, and they get a very shiny technical report. That’s great, but often the client can’t understand it, and a lot of their recommendations aren’t as applicable to Squarespace.
When I ask clients about their audience, goals, or important keywords or phrases, they have no idea. And it’s not their fault, because there’s a lot of conflicting resources online that make SEO seem more complicated than it is. I imagine it’s going to be the same with AI search.
Having said this, I am starting to suggest that clients put even more focus on providing structure and clarity to their content. This could look like adding a short bullet-point summary to highlight key points, or including an FAQ, as AI likes content that directly answers specific questions. Just like with traditional SEO, I wouldn’t recommend only writing for AI; the client’s audience should always be the priority.
How do you make the most of Circle membership?
Where do I even start? The Feature Requests Board is life. Clients also love my Circle discount, and the extended Circle trial period is so helpful.
I think the biggest benefit of Circle is the community. Running your own business can be isolating, but through Circle, I feel like I’ve found colleagues and friends that I can celebrate with, complain to, and use as a sounding board when I’m stuck in a loop.
I really enjoy helping people on the forums, and often learn something new in the process. As a Circle Community Leader, I appreciate having the opportunity to provide early feedback on new Squarespace features and being able to represent the needs of the wider Circle community.
The money from Circle referral payments is nice, too.
Key takeaways
The following are key insights from Katy’s interview:
Improve site SEO and AIO with copy that resonates with and engages the target audience longer term
Use clear, structured headings to enhance accessibility, SEO, and AIO
Set up saved sections and site styles with differing color schemes in advance so clients can easily update their site on their own
Ask clarifying questions to get to the root of client requests and deliver more effective, accessibility-friendly solutions
Build good relationships by treating clients with respect and empathy
Learn more from Katy on the Circle blog:
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