Author Website

I designed the wireframes and page mockups for this site in Adobe Illustrator, then developed it using Bootstrap for the responsive grid and WordPress as the Content Management System.

Ruth is a wonderful author, and her whimsical nature and aesthetic stretched me out of my design comfort zone to create something really special. We worked hard to make sure she felt connected to and represented by the website’s theme and design.

“Excellent website work!”

 Ruth Tenzer Feldman

Old Site

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Wireframe Options and Page Mockups

We know from the Online Discoverability page on this site that author websites are the number one online discovery site that lead to the purchase of a book.

There are a handful of key parts author websites need to be effective in connecting with readers and selling books.

Here are a few we used here:

• Latest book front and center: Readers go to author websites because they like an author’s books and they like to read! They want to know what the latest book is.
• Mailing list visible with incentive for fans: The most effective way to sustain a connection with readers is through an email list. And for every book sold through social media, authors can sell between four and nine through email. The Life After Blue Thread page on this site showcases what Ruth used to create value for fans and to entice them to sign up for her email list, strengthening the bond between her and her readers.
• Author photo: Readers feel stronger connections to authors that feel they know. Having a headshot front and center makes visitors feel welcome and strengthens connections.
• Byline at the top of the page: If a visitor comes to the website via an outside link, this quickly tells them they’re in the right place.
• We also highlighted Ruth’s award-winning book Blue Thread and advertised that she’s available to speak at events.

I gave Ruth a handful of options to choose from for the homepage design. Also included are mockups for a few different page templates.

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Final Site Examples

Ruth wanted to add a button to the homepage that, when clicked, would send readers to a randomized page on the website corresponding with a year in history. She wanted it to be fun and to accurately represent her phenomenal Blue Thread book series, where a magical prayer shawl transports the protagonist through time.

Using css animations, the shawl tassels on the side of the screen in the first image below, when hovered over, slide out from the side of the screen. The second image represents the end of the animation.

Here are those and other images from the final developed website.

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