Case study
Anthony's Little Harbour Series
Anthony Goode writes heart-warming picture books about a little Cornish-style harbour, illustrated by Tom Harding. We redesigned his website so it feels like stepping into the books, and gave him a simple way to sell copies direct to families, shops and schools.
- Client
- Anthony Goode, children's author
- What we made
- Website redesign and book ordering
- Built with
- Hand-written code, no website builder
- Status
- Launching soon
The brief
A website that feels like the books.
Anthony wanted a site that children would enjoy looking at and parents would trust, one that shows off both books and lets people order a copy without him paying for a shop platform or card fees.
So instead of a generic author template, every part of the page is built from the books themselves.
- Painted backgrounds from the book. The sea, sky and night-time harbour are Tom Harding's own artwork from Oscar and the Little Harbour.
- Text boxes like the pages. Rounded white panels echo the way words sit on each page of the books.
- The characters, cut out. Oscar, Noah, Sophie and friends are lifted out of the illustrations and placed around the site.
- Playful, readable type. A hand-lettered style for headings and a soft, rounded typeface for reading, both easy for young readers.
Bringing the harbour to life
Gentle motion, never in the way.
The waves roll along the bottom of the screen, clouds drift across the sky, the lighthouse beam sweeps, a seagull flies past and the little boats bob on the water. It's calm rather than busy, so it adds charm without distracting from the books.
Visitors who have reduced motion switched on see a still version.
What's on the page
Everything a family wants to find.
- The books. Both titles, Oscar and Noah and the Little Harbour, with covers, ages, a short story summary and the price.
- A taste of the story. A short extract set against the stormy sea from the book.
- Meet the harbour friends. Six characters, each with their own picture and a line about who they are.
- About Anthony. His photo, his story and his signature, so readers meet the author.
- What families are saying. Reviews from parents and readers.
- A free colouring page. Scan or download, print and colour in, a little extra for children.
- Coming soon. A space to build excitement for the next story.
Selling books
A simple shop, with no monthly fees.
Anthony didn't want a full online shop with card fees and subscriptions. So we built a small ordering system right into the page, where customers pay him directly by bank transfer.
- A basket for both books with quantities, and a running total.
- Delivery choice: UK post, or free collection in Matlock.
- Orders go straight to Anthony by email, and the customer gets an automatic confirmation with an order reference.
- No lost orders. If the order can't be sent for any reason, the customer is offered a ready-written email to send instead.
- Shops, schools and bulk orders have their own trade enquiry form, so Anthony can offer discounts.
Add to basket
Choose a book, pick how many, and add it.
Choose delivery
UK post, or collect for free in Matlock.
Place the order
Name, email and address. Anthony is emailed the order straight away.
Pay by bank transfer
Anthony replies with his bank details and posts the books once paid.
Under the hood
Quick, light and easy to look after.
Hand-coded
One hand-written page with no website builder, so it loads quickly and looks exactly like the books.
Light images
All the artwork is prepared in a modern, lightweight format, and the fonts are hosted with the site.
No server, no subscriptions
Orders and enquiries are sent by a free form service, so there's nothing extra to pay for each month.
The result is a site that feels like opening one of Anthony's books: bright, friendly and full of his characters, with an easy way to buy a copy.
Illustrations © Tom Harding. Stories © Anthony Goode.