Hello First name /  

This issue is the website one. I want to make it genuinely useful rather than overwhelming, because website decisions can feel like one of those rabbit holes you fall into and don't come out of for three hours. Especially when platforms are adding in new AI tools and lots of shiny things you may (or may not) need.

 

Read on for a clear-eyed look at choosing the right platform for you, an important update on accessibility rules and a design element that sits at the heart of how readable and welcoming your site really is. 

 

I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to know what you think. Reply and tell me more!

 

Best wishes

 

Berenice

I've been working on a new website page this fortnight for a wellbeing charity, they've paused their online therapy and taking the time to restart it with care. That's meant a lot of site mapping around collecting data and payments, whilst looking at safety and confidentiality (my training as a coach and EDIB - equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging - facilitator really helps here too). 

 

People visiting the page may be coming to it at a difficult moment in their lives. It reminded me, as these projects always do, that a website isn't just a digital sales page. It's a space someone enters. The quality of that space including how easy it is to navigate, how clearly it communicates, how welcoming it feels, all shapes whether a visitor stays, trusts, and acts. That's very true whether you're a charity, a coach, or a business selling services or an author selling books. 

 

Your website is doing something the moment someone lands on it. The question is whether it's doing the right thing. The best bit is that a website is an evolution. The current site for Hello Lovely Design and Co is version 5, and it's changed over the years due to tech but also accessibility, business growth and the website just not linking in the way I'd like. All good reasons for a refresh that can happen behind the scenes so the current site is still there waiting to be retired.

I get asked this often, and I understand why. The options are genuinely bewildering and everyone seems to have a strong opinion often based on their own bias. Here's my honest, experience-based view.

 

The most important question isn't "which platform is best?" It's: which platform will you actually use and keep up to date? A neglected, outdated website on any platform does more harm than good. So before you compare features, ask yourself: how comfortable are you with technology? How much time do you have to maintain it? And what do you need your site to do? Write that wishlist down!

A note on AI and website builders across the board: almost every major platform has now integrated AI into the building and content process. This can be useful for drafting copy, generating SEO descriptions, and building a starting structure quickly. What AI can't do is make the judgement calls that a designer makes so wise choices on hierarchy, about what your visitor actually needs, about whether the site feels right for your audience. Use AI as a tool, not a replacement for design thinking.

 

If you'd like a clearer-headed conversation about which platform suits your situation, a one-hour consultation is a good place to start. Book a design consultation →

I've written about the European Accessibility Act before, but I want to update you because the landscape has changed significantly since then.

 

The EAA came into force on 28 June 2025. It is no longer an upcoming deadline, it is active legislation. If you sell products or services to customers in EU countries (regardless of where your business is based), it applies to you. Enforcement is underway, and within days of the June deadline, legal action had already been initiated against businesses in France.

 

The EAA requires that websites meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards. In plain terms, this means your site should work for people using screen readers, have sufficient colour contrast for low-vision users, be navigable by keyboard, include descriptive alt text on images, and have clear, logical structure throughout.

For most small businesses and enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and under €2 million annual turnover), the legal obligation is currently lighter but the ethical and commercial case remains strong regardless. One in four people in the EU has a disability. Brands that aren't accessible are turning away customers, often without realising it.

 

For UK businesses: the EAA is EU law, so it doesn't apply directly if you only trade domestically. However, the Equality Act 2010 already requires reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled people have equal access to your services which includes your website. And practically speaking, as accessible design becomes the standard across Europe, it's increasingly what users expect everywhere.

 

Accessibility isn't a one-time fix. Every update to your site is an opportunity to introduce new issues, for example, a new image without alt text, a colour change that breaks contrast, a form that loses its labels. Build checking it into your regular maintenance rather than treating it as an audit you do once.

 

I'm WCAG-trained and advise on accessibility for every project. If you'd like to understand how your current site measures up, I'm happy to take a look. Book a consultation →

This is one of the easiest ways to make a web design better for users, and almost nobody thinks about it deliberately.

 

Line length is the number of characters per line in a block of text and has a direct effect on how easy your content is to read. Too wide, and the eye struggles to find its way back to the start of the next line. Too narrow, and reading becomes staccato and tiring. The sweet spot, long established in typography, is somewhere between 45 and 75 characters per line, with around 65 being the comfortable middle ground.

 

On Squarespace, this is something you can influence through your section padding, text block width, and column choices. A full-width text block on a large screen is almost always too wide, your body text shouldn't stretch edge to edge. Containing it to roughly two-thirds of the screen width, or using a two-column layout, brings it back into a comfortable reading range.

 

It's a small adjustment that makes a significant difference to how long visitors stay on the page and how much of what you've written they actually take in.

The wellbeing charity website is nearly ready to launch — more on that soon. I've also been recording fresh video lessons for Self-Publishing Foundations using Loom, so if you're already enrolled, head back in and have a look. 

 

A quick note: the studio will be closed for a wellbeing week from 15 May, so if you're thinking about getting in touch about a project, now is a great time, or I'll be back at my desk from the 26th. Find me on social media, hit reply to this email, or grab a free fifteen-minute chat. Book a chat →

 

Have a great fortnight, 

Berenice