Project Spotlight: chrislloydauthor.com
As usual, it’s been too long since I shared a recent client project on my blog - and so I’m very happy to be sharing with you a recent website project of mine that was a real joy to work on from start to finish!
The Brief
Chris is a celebrated author of two crime series. As his latest series is set in Occupied Paris, he wanted a website that had a noir feel to it. The covers for the books have this vibe, and the colours are predominantly red, white, black and grey, so he was keen to continue that feel throughout most of the website and the pages that dealt with this series.
However, Chris has also written a crime trilogy set in modern-day Catalonia, and wanted a brighter, more contemporary feel for just those pages.
Chris already had a Wordpress website, but he wasn’t particularly happy with the way it looked, and he wanted his new website to be more rewarding for visitors, hence adding a blog to the site too. Chris was keen to give visitors a reason to stay, sign up to a newsletter, and build more of a relationship with them.
He was also fed up with Wordpress (a refrain I hear unsurprisingly often from authors!) and wanted a site that would be much easier to update himself.
We moved his domain across to Squarespace and went for a dark, moody feel throughout the site - in keeping with his new crime series’s covers - but we also kept some lighter tones of yellow and turquoise on the pages for his Spanish crime series.
It was so great working with Chris as he was super organised with his content and knew exactly what he wanted from his new website - which basically makes my job a dream!
The Details
Web design package: Custom web design
Version: Squarespace 7.1
Fonts used: Bebas Neue, Trade Gothic Next Condensed
View the site here: chrislloydauthor.com
Chris’s Verdict
“I love my new site. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like, and I had some clear design ideas, but it’s so much better than I’d hoped for. It conveys exactly the feel I wanted it to, visiting it is an enjoyable and engaging experience, and I feel proud to have it as my calling card in the world. Charlotte is so skilled, professional and insightful, that you really can’t fail to end up with the perfect website. It’s also an incredibly enjoyable experience, not only because Charlotte is such a pleasure to work with, but because it really took me back to the basics of what I wanted not just from the website but also from my writing in general.”
The Post-launch Q&A
Before working with Charlotte Duckworth Studio, when it came to my website I felt …
Frustrated and fed up with my old Wordpress website – it was impossible to update. I also knew I wanted a complete revamp of my website.
What fears or hesitations did you have before deciding to work with Charlotte Duckworth Studio?
None. I'd already seen websites that Charlotte had done for other author friends, and I'd been hugely impressed by them. I knew I was making the right decision.
How do you expect your new site to change things for you?
I think it will engage more with visitors. It gives a much clearer image of what my books are about and what I want readers to feel. It's also given me a huge boost of confidence and desire to use my website fully – it makes me want to interact, and to think of new ways of engaging with readers and offering a lot more content and a better experience. I'm hoping it will gain me more readers.
For someone on the fence about working with Charlotte Duckworth Studio, what would you say to them?
Go for it. Really, really go for it. The whole experience is the perfect blend of professionalism and enjoyment. The process that Charlotte has for building your website from scratch is so complete and so designed to make you take a very close look at what exactly you want your website to do, and Charlotte is so skilled, professional and insightful, that you really can't fail to end up with the perfect website. It's also an incredibly enjoyable experience, not only because Charlotte is such a pleasure to work with, but because it really took me back to the basics of what I wanted not just from the website but also from my writing in general.
How do you feel about your completed website?
I love it. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like, and I had some clear design ideas, but it's so much better than I'd hoped for. It conveys exactly the feel I wanted it to, visiting it is an enjoyable and engaging experience, and I feel proud to have it as my calling card in the world. It's the perfect platform that inspires me to do more with my website, and all the related promotion – I really can't wait to use it to its fullest potential.
Is there anything you feel could have been done to improve your experience?
I really can't think of any way it could be improved. The package was so well thought-out and designed, it covered everything. You have so much experience and insight, you thought of things either long before I could have, or that would never have occurred to me in the first place! It was also so wonderful being able to ask you all sorts of questions, and you always had the time to reply and give just the right solution.
Would you recommend Charlotte Duckworth Studio to a friend who also needed to build an author website?
Too right I would! I've already told a couple of friends, and I won't have any doubts in boring everyone with how much I would recommend it.
Want help with your author website? Discover my three different services for authors here →
