The Expert: Cheryl Laidlaw

Expertise: Award-winning web design expert and AI trainer for businesses

Specialist subjects: AI for business, digital marketing and building bespoke websites and brands

What else: Cheryl co-hosts Work the Room networking business lunches.

Media coverage: The i Paper, SME Magazine, Bristol Live, Success Magazine, Evening Standard

Company name: CeCe Digital

Past clients include: Surgeons, GPS, private consultants, dieticians, therapists, coaches and financial planners

AWARD-WINNING WEB DESIGNER SAYS:

“Artificial intelligence has changed my life in a good way – for dyslexics like me it’s transformational” 

Sometimes being a celebrated web designer isn’t enough. For Cheryl Laidlaw, a dyslexia diagnosis could have held her back. People can be judgemental about poor literacy, and while Cheryl excelled at building websites, written interaction was always a struggle. One day she was shamed by a client whose blunt response to a proposal Cheryl sent was “I can’t work with someone who can’t spell”.

Says Cheryl: “But when I discovered Apple’s ‘text to speech’ feature, I suddenly felt enabled to read client’s emails and communicate confidently, without my off-putting dyslexic spelling. I’ve since learnt to use AI in so many ways. It sounds trifling, but for dyslexics like me, AI opens doors that would otherwise be closed”. 

In the last ten or so years Cheryl has designed over 2000 websites and created over 500 brands, giving those business owners, online experts, educators and entrepreneurs more time and confidence to grow their businesses. Now 41 and Winner of the Best Businesswoman in STEM Award 2025 for her web design work for small businesses at London Web Girl, as well as being awarded gold in the prestigious international Stevie business awards. Cheryl has an uplifting career back story for dyslexics, but also for anyone who is wary of using AI in the workplace.

Says Cheryl: “Using AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude means I can ‘hack’ my way round my dyslexia, while reducing my admin workload – so for someone like me it’s a game-changer. I call myself a ‘tech futurist’ and coach business founders on how to use AI to improve their productivity and halve the time it takes to do admin tasks”.

Cheryl frequently shares her expert advice on webinars with audiences like Small Business Britain and BT Leaders For Tomorrow. She guides business owners and leaders through how to create an AI assistant to do their admin and how to use the right prompts for composing emails, writing social media posts and finding answers to technology questions.

Says Cheryl: “While I know people are concerned about AI having negative consequences, for me the arrival of these digital tools in our lives is all positive. We shouldn’t be afraid to use software that makes our lives easier, while focussing on the parts of our work that we really love doing.”  

For interviews, images and further information contact Cheryl Laidlaw at cheryl@londonwebgirl.com.