More people are starting their search for a web designer by asking ChatGPT instead of Googling. So I decided to find out where that leaves me. I opened a new chat, said I needed a website, mentioned I was based in Kingston upon Thames, and asked for recommendations.

I didn’t get a straight answer. I got a shortlist. And I wasn’t on it.

What ChatGPT Said First

The first answer named a handful of larger local agencies as the safest choices, based on team size, review volume and range of services. It then listed a few smaller studios and freelancers underneath, again without me.

So I asked directly. Why not Design by Nadja?

Once It Found Me, the Answer Changed

That’s when things got interesting. ChatGPT came back with this:

“That’s a fair question. Based on what I found, I wouldn’t rule out Design by Nadja at all. In fact, if you’re a small to medium business and value working directly with the person building your site, she’d move up my shortlist.”

It went on to list what it had found: close to twenty years of experience, a direct relationship with the person actually building your site rather than being handed to junior staff, ongoing support and SEO after launch, and reviews that repeatedly mention responsiveness and long term support.

Then it said something I didn’t expect. For a typical local project in the two to ten thousand pound range, it would be “quite comfortable” recommending me alongside one agency quote for comparison, and that I looked like one of the stronger independent web designers in the area rather than someone it would dismiss.

Good. But it took a follow up question to get there. The first answer should have already known that.

Why I Got Skipped the First Time

I asked it directly what would have changed its original answer. It didn’t dodge the question.

It said the bigger agencies surface first because they generate more digital noise. More backlinks, more press mentions, more directory listings, more sheer review volume. None of that is about the quality of the work. It’s about how much evidence of that work exists in places an AI can find quickly.

Then it pulled quotes straight from my own reviews that it clearly thought I was hiding.

“business increased substantially”

“SEO improvements already showing results”

“the difference it made to my business”

Those lines are sitting on review platforms. They’re not on my website where they’d actually do some work.

It also pointed out that I’ve got clients from ten and fifteen years back, but my site talks about being a “creative web designer” rather than someone with eighteen years of experience solving one specific problem for local businesses. And it flagged that I don’t have a dedicated page that simply answers the question someone would type into it. No “web designer Kingston upon Thames” page built to be found and quoted.

None of this was about my work being weak. It was about how little of the proof was visible in the right place.

What This Means for Your Own Business

Here’s the bit that matters more than any of the above. This isn’t really a story about picking a web designer. It’s a test, and it’s the same test your business is being put through right now, whether you know it or not.

Ask ChatGPT to recommend an electrician, a physio, a consultant, whatever you do, in Kingston upon Thames. See if it finds you. Then ask it why, or why not.

The gaps it found in me are the same gaps most local businesses have.

Proof buried in the wrong place. Your best reviews are probably sitting on Google or Facebook instead of on your own site where they can actually do some work.

No page that answers the exact question people ask. If someone searches for what you do plus your town, you need a page that says exactly that, clearly, not implied through clever branding.

Experience that isn’t stated plainly. If you’ve been doing this for years, say so in numbers. Don’t make people infer it.

Not enough evidence outside your own website. Directories, mentions, write ups. The more places say the same true things about you, the easier you are to trust and to find.

I know these gaps now because I just had them pointed out about my own business. If you want someone to look at yours with the same eye, that’s exactly what I do.

What I’m Doing About It

I’m not going to pretend the audit didn’t land. It was right. I’ve got the reviews and the track record, I just haven’t been putting the proof where it needs to be.

So here’s what’s changing. I’m building out proper case studies with real numbers instead of finished screenshots, rewriting my About page to actually say what eighteen years and one person doing the work means for you, and building the local pages that answer the exact questions people are typing into Google and ChatGPT.

If you want the short version, ask ChatGPT yourself. Just do me a favour and ask the follow up question too.