Search Is Broken. Curated Discovery Is the Future
The Californer/10351894

EUROPE, U.K. - Californer -- When web designer and product builder Miles Noble was building websites for clients, he kept seeing the same challenge: finding the right tools, templates and specialist services was essential to creating the best solutions for each project, yet discovering those trusted resources had become increasingly difficult in an overcrowded digital landscape.

Sourcing the right Squarespace solution often meant navigating thousands of Google results, scattered social media recommendations and fragmented community forums. At the same time, independent creators and developers were building exceptional tools, yet many remained difficult to discover without a personal recommendation. The result was a growing gap between people searching for trusted resources and the experts creating them.

"I realised I wasn't searching for more options," says Noble. "I was searching for better recommendations".

That frustration became the foundation for SquareLocator, a new curated discovery platform designed for the Squarespace ecosystem. Launched in June 2026, SquareLocator helps designers, developers and business owners find trusted plug-ins, templates and courses through expert curation rather than algorithm-led search. The idea came directly from Noble's own experience building websites and seeing first-hand how difficult it had become to find proven digital resources.

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"SquareLocator started as something I wished already existed," he says. "As I spoke to more designers, developers and creators, I realised I wasn't the only one facing this challenge. Finding trusted tools shouldn't mean sifting through thousands of search results or relying on chance recommendations. SquareLocator is designed to make discovery simpler by connecting people with high-quality resources that have been carefully curated by experts."

Rather than attempting to list everything, SquareLocator prioritises quality over quantity, showcasing credible tools across the Squarespace ecosystem and organising them into clear categories and intuitive discovery paths. The result is a platform designed to help creators spend less time searching and more time building.

Noble believes the internet is entering a new era where traditional search is becoming less effective, AI is reshaping how people access information, and trusted human curation is becoming increasingly valuable. As algorithms generate more content and more choices, Noble believes the ability to identify relevant, reliable resources through expert guidance will become one of the web's most valuable assets.

"For years we've optimised the web for visibility rather than relevance," says Noble. "The best product doesn't always appear first; it's often the one that's invested the most in SEO, advertising or content marketing. That works well for established brands, but it poses a real challenge for independent creators and specialist developers who build exceptional products yet don't have the same marketing budgets.

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Noble continues, "The creator economy has never been stronger, yet discoverability hasn't kept pace. Some of the most innovative tools, templates and services are effectively hidden because traditional search wasn't designed for niche ecosystems like this. As AI generates more content and search becomes increasingly saturated, I think trusted curation will become one of the most valuable ways people discover verified resources. That's the opportunity SquareLocator was built to address."

Noble is open about the fact that AI played an important role in the development of SquareLocator itself. Throughout the platform's creation, AI-assisted workflows accelerated research, organised information, refined categorisation and supported content architecture. But Noble is clear that technology was used to enhance expertise, not replace it.

"It allowed us to build faster and think bigger," he says. "But AI wasn't making the editorial decisions. Every recommendation, every category and every resource has been shaped by human judgement. That's what gives the platform its value."

Although SquareLocator launches with a dedicated focus on the Squarespace ecosystem, Noble sees it as the beginning of a much broader movement towards curated discovery.

"The future isn't about building another search engine," he says. "It's about building trusted discovery systems that help people make better decisions. As AI transforms how we navigate the web, the role of human curation won't diminish; it will become essential. The platforms that succeed won't be the ones with the most information, but the ones people trust to help them find the right information. Ends