Building a website – Hannah Moffatt, word wrangler

1. Updates

When you update pages, update your menus

Just after Small!’s cover reveal, I changed my homepage. I thought I’d been really clever by duplicating the page rather than starting from scratch. My plan was to redesign the copy in the background, then do a grand switcheroo on Cover Reveal Day. And it would have worked wonderfully, if I’d remembered to update my menus.

But I didn’t. So if you clicked ‘home’ in the top navigation from another page, you ended up back on my old homepage instead. On the plus side, my site doesn’t get many visitors yet, so I’m not sure anyone noticed 😂

2. Pre-orders

Use a ‘Link in bio’ template for pre-orders

I’d seen other authors putting all their pre-order links on a Linktree page and assumed I needed one, too. But, thanks to a free WordPress webinar, I learned about the Link in Bio template. It looks just like a Linktree page but doesn’t take traffic away from your website. Now that’s the page I’m linking to on my Twitter profile – in the hope that anyone ordering a book (fingers crossed) might stick around to read the odd blog or invite me to a literary festival…🤞🏻

3. Get the look you want

Avoid my design mistakes with a ‘Full Site Editing’ template

WordPress have just launched a new suite of templates that look much easier to edit than this one. With the older templates, there are some things I just can’t seem to change (like the vast amounts of white space between my content blocks). With Full site editing you can control everything – dragging boxes to make them the size you want. As soon as I can bring myself to do it, I’ll make the move to a new template. Full site editing is still in beta at the moment, so it might be worth waiting a little while for WordPress to iron out any kinks. But from what I’ve seen in the demo, it looks really user-friendly, even for beginners like me. It works on WordPress.com and .org but since I still haven’t made the move to .org, the new templates could well keep me where I am for a bit longer.

I’m still learning so much about web design, and this site is far from perfect. But WordPress webinars have been really helpful. If you’re with them, I recommend signing up to get a few extra tips. (You can also take a look at this blog from me.) Good luck!

Disclaimer: I have *no* idea how to build websites (this one’s my first). But if, like me, you want a website that doesn’t cost a fortune, this might help.

1. Platform

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

There are a few web design platforms, like SquareSpace, built with newbies in mind. I opted for WordPress because I’d love to add my own code to the site one day and, from what I can tell, WordPress is one of the few places that lets you. (I did a Python coding course once and am determined to use it!)

But…it’s only easier to add code if you choose the right WordPress. Which I didn’t.

Yep, there are two versions of WordPress – with the same look and logo. WordPress.com (which this site’s on at the mo) and WordPress.org.

WordPress.com is good for beginners because…

It’s free (once you’ve bought your domain name)
It hosts the site for you
It’s designed with blogging in mind – so it’s really easy to write posts like this

There are paid options too, which you can sign up for to get rid of adverts and get a bigger choice of templates. I accidentally bought one of these packages initially, thinking it would let me add my own Python code later. When I realised I was wrong, getting a refund was nice and easy.

But WordPress.org gives you more control

Ultimately, this was the platform I should have chosen because even though you have to find and pay for your own hosting, you can also add your own code. So you get a lot more say over the final look and feel.

That said, I think WordPress.org is probably for people who already have some web design game (which I don’t). So even though I chose .com by mistake, I think I’ll stay here a bit longer while I’m finding my feet. Expect another blog next year on the trials and tribulations of transferring a website from .com to .org!

2. The theme

Pick one with enough pages

The Twenty Twenty Theme…and my actual homepage for half an hour last Wednesday

I’m no designer, so knew I’d need a template to build my site. They’re called themes and they have all the navigation you’ll need built in. If you choose the right one.

I originally picked a one-page design called Baker. I thought it looked really slick…until I wanted to add more pages and came unstuck.

If you know you’ll want more than a single-page site, it makes sense to pick a theme with more pages in mind. (I’m now using the free Twenty Twenty theme instead.)

But, be warned: if you switch themes, take your site offline first!* I didn’t and for half an hour last Wednesday, I claimed to be a leading Swedish museum of modern art. Which, of course, one of my friends spotted and used as an hilarious excuse to prank email me art questions…

For half an hour last Wednesday, I claimed to be a leading Swedish museum of modern art

There are enough free themes on WordPress.com to get you started. But you can always upgrade to get more.

*_{You do that by going to your dashboard, choosing Settings – General – Privacy and checking the ‘Coming Soon’ box. You can also switch any page you edit to ‘draft mode’.}

3. Make it yours

Why Canva is awesome

I was chatting to my author friend, Amita and admiring her website, when she revealed her design secret: Canva. The site lets you design web banners, social media pics, logos…and the ‘3Things’ images I’m using to promote these blogs.

Canva’s great, because it gives you a way of making your site look a little bit different, even using a standard theme. It’s easy to use and, so far, I’ve been able to do everything I need with the free version.

To get started, it helps to know the size of pic you want, so you can build the right template (otherwise, re-sizing is a pain without upgrading to the premium account). All my blog ‘featured images’ as WordPress calls them, are 1200 x 675 pixels.

It’s a lovely tool, and one I wouldn’t have thought to use on a website without Amita’s help. To thank her, I think we should all pre-order her historical fiction 2022 debut, The Circus Train which is full of magic and science and medicine and, frankly, sounds fabulous.