You’ve probably seen the adverts: “Describe your business and get a website in 60 seconds.” AI website builders are everywhere, and it’s tempting to think an AI website builder means you can skip the web designer altogether.
We’re Sue and Inness, the developer and designer behind Instilled, and we’re not here to tell you AI is overhyped. We use it every day, and it has changed how we build websites for the better. But we also see what happens when businesses hand the whole job to a machine with no one managing the project who knows what a good website needs. Here’s how we use AI at Instilled, and why it works best in skilled hands.
Using AI to keep costs down
We use AI tools to speed up the time-consuming parts of building a WordPress website. That includes planning page structures, drafting layouts, organising content, optimising images and checking code.
Work that once took days now takes hours, and we pass those savings on to you. You’re paying for our thinking and expertise, not for hours spent on repetitive tasks a machine can now do in minutes.
We still review and refine every element, because AI supports our expertise rather than replacing it. Inness checks every layout and brings the creative flair that AI just can’t provide. Sue checks every line of code, makes sure users understand and follow the path you set, and together we check every page against your goals.
Why a DIY AI website builder often falls short
AI is very good at producing something that looks like a website. It is much less good at knowing whether that website is right for your business, your customers or the law. That judgement still takes experience. This is where we see DIY AI sites struggle most.
Accessibility. Around one in four UK adults has a disability, and many rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation or larger text. AI builders regularly produce low-contrast text, missing image descriptions, confusing headings and forms that can’t be used without a mouse. These problems are invisible unless you know to look for them. Sue builds to WCAG accessibility standards and tests the result, so your site works for everyone and you’re not shutting out potential customers.
Creative design. AI generates designs by averaging what it has seen before. The result is often polished but generic, and it can look a lot like your competitors’ sites. Inness, our creative lead, makes deliberate choices about colour, typography, spacing and imagery that reflect your brand and guide visitors’ attention to what matters.
Storytelling. People buy from businesses they understand and trust. AI can write fluent copy, but it doesn’t know your history, your values or the questions your customers ask before they buy. Without that, the words sound fine and say very little. Inness works with you to tell your story, so each page builds confidence and trust, and leads the user naturally to the next step.
Solid technical foundations. Speed, security, SEO, mobile performance, GDPR-friendly forms and reliable hosting all affect whether your site succeeds. A site that looks finished can still be slow, hard for Google to read or exposed to security risks. Sue handles these details as standard on every build, and we keep your site maintained once it’s live – vital for long-term security.
Knowing what to ask. The quality of AI output depends on the instructions it’s given. Without website experience, it’s hard to know what to ask for, or to spot when the answer is wrong. Our expertise is what turns AI from a guessing game into a precision tool.
Making changes later on. A website is never really finished. Prices change, services grow, and new content needs adding. On a DIY AI site, every update means another round of prompts, hoping the tool understands what you want and doesn’t break something else on the way. Without the skills to edit the site directly, a five-minute fix can turn into an afternoon of trial and error. We build sites you can update yourself – easily, and when you need something more, Sue will make the change properly and quickly, without any stress to you.
Why we still meet with you
Template websites often look good but bring in little business. That’s why we always meet and get to know our clients before building anything, and no AI tool can do this part for us.
We want to understand what makes your business different, who your customers are, and what you want visitors to do, whether that’s call, book, buy or enquire. These conversations then shape every page and message that we build on your website.
Conversations with us also uncover things you would never think to type into an AI prompt: the question every new customer asks, the service that brings in the most profit, or the reason clients choose you over the business down the road. Those details are often what turn a visitor into an enquiry.
The best of both worlds
AI handles the heavy lifting, so that we can focus on strategy, design and your website goals. You get the speed and value of modern AI tools, backed by people who know how to build websites that are accessible, distinctive and persuasive.
The result is a fairly priced website built to generate enquiries and grow your sales, and two people you know by name, Sue and Inness, to call when you need help.
Thinking about a new website? Get in touch to arrange a chat. We’ll talk about your business, your customers and what you want your website to achieve, and show you how we can get you there.
