the author website in a day experience
Get a beautiful, professional author website in just ONE DAY
SAY GOODBYE TO LONG, DRAWN-OUT TIMELINES & ENDLESS BACK AND FORTH EMAILS…
Let’s get your stunning new author website up and running in just ONE DAY!
I’ll show you how…
Author website fairy godmother, at your service!
Author Website in a Day is my signature website design offering, trusted by 40+ authors (many of whom are Sunday Times or NYT bestsellers!)
…did I mention I built Beth O’Leary’s website? You can see it here
My carefully tailored website design service for authors includes EVERYTHING YOU NEED to get your beautiful, professional author website launched on Squarespace.
Trust me, I’m an author! (and a web designer 😉)
Best of all, we’ll get it done quickly.
I know you’re busy (you have a new book to write, right?!), and I know you don’t want to have to wait ages for your new author website to launch.
What you DO want:
✓ a completely bespoke author website that feels like an authentic representation of your author persona, designed by an expert
✓ to feel confident that your website ticks all the necessary technical boxes, and will attract your ideal readers
✓ a website delivered in a timely fashion, without tons of extra work being added to your plate
✓ a one-off, fully comprehensive design fee with no ongoing monthly contract commitments
✓ to feel confident you know how to make changes to your own author website going forwards
What you DON’T want:
✗ another mountainous task that takes your time away from writing and drags on for weeks
✗ to have to answer endless questions about things you don’t understand or create Pinterest boards of your ‘vision’ for your website
✗ to have to attend multiple inconvenient Zoom meetings before anything gets done
✗ to be tied into paying your web designer a monthly fee for as long as you want the website to stay live
✗ to have to pay someone every time you want to make a change or update your author website
When it comes to author websites, I like to keep things simple.
My streamlined yet personal approach, perfected over the past 6 years of building websites for ambitious authors just like you, means I can create your dream author website without overwhelming you with tech jargon or confusing decisions, supporting you throughout the whole process and gently guiding you with my expertise.
I’m also the USA Today bestselling author of seven (traditionally published) novels myself, so I’ve literally been in your shoes.
The result of our work together?
A completely bespoke author website that positions you as an author to watch and that can grow as your writing career grows.
Oh, and a creative partnership with a fellow author that’s smooth-sailing, enjoyable, educational and speedy (and even a little bit fun! 😉).
-
![]()
“I love my new site! It’s so impactful and reflects the book so well. Working with Charlotte was a dream. From the moment we engaged I could see she was an organised, meticulous detail person with a sound process complemented by a generous approach.”
– ANNIE GARTHWAITE, AUTHOR OF CECILY
-
![]()
“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.”
— CHRIS LLOYD, AUTHOR OF THE AWARD-WINNING OCCUPATION SERIES
-
![]()
“It's been great working with Charlotte and I'm delighted with the end result. It's an investment worth making as the websites that Charlotte produces look really professional and eye-catching, and are easy to navigate. I was particularly happy with the walkthrough of the site before it went live and it's great that I can be in touch in future if I have any problems.”
– HARRIET TYCE, SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BLOOD ORANGE
-
![]()
"I love my new site! It's slick and professional but still feels like me. I was nervous about whether it would be worth the money but it was totally worth it - Charlotte made it all so easy and I know I've saved myself so much time in the long run by working with her. I feel so much more on top of my website and I'm now proud to show it to people!”
– BETH O’LEARY, SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE FLATSHARE
-
![]()
“Having seen Charlotte being recommended by so many authors when it came to creating a website, I knew there was only person I wanted to approach. And I am so glad I did! I particularly recommend Charlotte for her ease of communication, her organisation and the swiftness at which the site went up. I've worked with a few web designers, and it's never been as easy, as efficient or as pain-free as this.”
— HANNAH GOLD, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE LAST BEAR
-
![]()
“I love my new site! I’m very proud of it. It captures exactly what I was trying to achieve... Because Charlotte’s an author she gets it. That’s important. As a debut author, there can be a lot of fear around the unknown and it’s reassuring to know that you don’t have to explain that to Charlotte. I’d say as an author looking to create a website, what Charlotte offers is so unique.”
– MEL PENNANT, AUTHOR OF A MURDER FOR MISS HORTENSE
-
![]()
“The time it would have taken me to do what Charlotte has done would have cost me far more than the fee she charges. Charlotte was fully committed and invested in creating the website that I envisaged. The level of communication was very much appreciated and attention to detail second to none. I’m incredibly proud of my new site.”
– SANDIE JONES, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE OTHER WOMAN
-
![]()
“I absolutely love my new website. It has exceeded my expectations and I've had lots of very positive feedback on it. Charlotte is well worth the investment. She is extremely responsive to your individual requirements and gives expert advice. She is skilled at interpreting your needs and creating the website you always wanted.”
– LESLEY KARA, SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE RUMOUR
-
![]()
"Charlotte's approach combines friendliness with a high level of professionalism. She has an eye for design and a genuine desire to meet her client's needs which results in truly stunning work. She feeds back regularly through the process and she really did go over and above to make my website everything I'd hoped for - and more. It's been a wonderful experience. I cannot recommend Charlotte highly enough."
– MARION TODD, AUTHOR OF THE DI CLARE MACKAY CRIME SERIES
-
![]()
“I cannot tell you how much I LOVE my new website! I am so grateful to you for creating something even better than I'd imagined. I’m so happy with it – it all looks absolutely fab. Hurrah. Thank you thank you!”
– CLARE POOLEY, AUTHOR OF THE AUTHENTICITY PROJECT
-
![]()
"The incredible Charlotte somehow got into my brain and worked out exactly what I wanted, even though I didn’t really know myself! Charlotte made the whole process SO clear and fun, which was a complete revelation for a non-techie person like me. If you’re umming and ahhhing about getting a new website I cannot recommend Charlotte enough! Especially if you’re an author - as she’s an author too, and knows exactly what your website needs. She will walk you through the process and create something amazing with no fuss at all."
– RUTH IRONS, AUTHOR OF HOME SWEET HOME
-
![]()
“Charlotte is a total guru and creative genius. Her expertise gave me the confidence to switch from Wordpress to Squarespace, and helped me turn my ideas into something that looks gorgeous and represents my different brands/pen-names. She combines fantastic technical and artistic abilities with the knowledge of what a website really needs to work.”
— KATE HARRISON, AUTHOR OF THE HOUSE SHARE & THE 5:2 DIET BOOKS
-
![]()
“I absolutely love my new site! Easy to navigate, clean and fresh - it’s everything I wanted and more. Charlotte is a marvel. Fast, intuitive, enthusiastic, supportive and a total website goddess to boot. Can’t recommend her highly enough.”
– KATIE MARSH, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE REST OF ME
-
![]()
“If you're looking for a web designer, look no further than Charlotte. She comes highly recommended, complete not only with excellent tech and design skills, but perhaps more importantly, a high level of tech-phobia associated hand-holding. If she can talk me through it, she can handle anyone.”
– ELEANOR ANSTRUTHER, AUTHOR OF DESMOND ELLIOT LONGLISTED A PERFECT EXPLANATION
-
![]()
“If you are worried about the technical side, have no fear, because Charlotte sets out everything logically and clearly. I absolutely love my new site. Charlotte's approach to gleaning as much information from me before we started meant that she knew exactly what I wanted. It has been a lovely creative project to work on and I highly recommend Charlotte’s services!”
– CATHERINE LAW, AUTHOR OF THE FIRST DANCE
-
![]()
“Knowing Charlotte was an author herself, I felt I could totally trust her. Nothing was too much trouble and all queries were quickly answered. Where you don't know what you want, Charlotte has the expertise to advise you, both as an author and as an experienced web-designer. It is definitely worth the investment.”
– LOUISE FEIN, AUTHOR OF PEOPLE LIKE US
-
![]()
“I'd highly recommend Charlotte for lots of reasons. From the very first phone call, I felt looked after and listened to. During the construction of the website Charlotte was incredibly quick to respond and also extremely calm despite the fact I made multiple changes, experimenting with different colours and layouts. I love my new site! It's exactly what I hoped for.”
– EMMA CHRISTIE, AUTHOR OF THE SILENT DAUGHTER
-
![]()
"When I came across Charlotte's portfolio, I was immediately drawn to the visual simplicity and ease of navigation of the websites she had designed. The elements of a good website all seemed to be in perfect balance, so I knew right away I wanted to work with her. Charlotte was the perfect choice for me. She has a great design sense, she knows what a writer needs, her services are reasonably priced, and the process is very efficient. I spent less of my time on these websites than I had on my previous websites and the results were better!"
– LIZA TULLY / ELISABETH ELO
All Author Website in a Day projects begin with the foundation package as the starting point.
You can then customise your website with extra pages or features depending on your needs, making it completely flexible.
Please note I work with authors worldwide — payments can be made in GBP or USD via Stripe or PayPal.
author website in a day foundation package
the FOUNDATION
All Author Website in a Day projects begin with the foundation package as the starting point.
It covers all the essentials.
You can then customise with extra pages or features depending on your needs, making it completely flexible.
THE FOUNDATION PACKAGE INCLUDES:
✓ 4 pages
(eg: Home, About, Book 1, Contact)
✓ Fully responsive, personalised design
✓ Social media integration
✓ Contact form
✓ Newsletter sign up integration
✓ Integrated SEO (search engine optimisation)
✓ 20% off your first year’s Squarespace fees
✓ 2 weeks post-launch email support
✓ Privacy Notice page
✓ Lifetime access to the DIY Author Website Course
✓ Lifetime access to the DIY Author Newsletter Course
✓ The chance to pick my brains on life as an author! 😊
your INVESTMENT
£1450
2 payments of £725
(approx. $950 x 2)
All packages include lifetime access to my DIY website & newsletter courses, so you can confidently manage your beautiful new website yourself & send newsletters too.
tailor YOUR PACKAGE
Every author’s needs are different, so you can make your site your own by adding extra pages or features to the foundation package.
It’s simple, flexible, and totally tailored to you.
Most authors invest between £1,700–£3,000 depending on their needs (approx. $2,300–$3,900).
-
You can have as many pages as you want on your Squarespace author website! The foundation package comes with 4 pages included, but authors who have published more than one book will need more. Extra pages can be added your package as per your requirements.
-
Add an events page to your author website using Squarespace’s smart events functionality.
-
Authors who would like to blog on their new website can add a blog to their package. The cost includes blog set up plus the uploading of three posts for you to get your blog up and running.
-
A page designed specifically to encourage sign-ups to your newsletter, useful when linking from social media.
-
Did you know you can create a ‘Linktree’ style page on your own website? No need to pay for an additional tool. I’ll create a simplified landing page designed to specifically for use in your social media bios, with multiple links so readers can easily find your various online homes.
-
An announcement bar is a bar at the top of your website (usually in a bold colour to draw attention) that aims to highlight/promote something specific.
These are great when you have a new book recently released and want to draw attention to it. They can also be used to encourage people to sign up to your mailing list.
-
A pop-up is a form that pops up on your website after a certain amount of time/scrolling to encourage visitors to sign up to your mailing list.
They can be annoying but they really work - they massively help increase sign ups and are a great idea if building your author mailing list is a key focus for you.
-
I'm a big believer in author newsletters! All of my website packages include mailing list form set up to encourage visitors to sign up to a newsletter PLUS lifetime access to my DIY Author Newsletter Course.
However, if you are not confident setting up your newsletter yourself, I can set up a beautiful template that's in keeping with your brand for you to populate easily time and time again.
Included in the cost of your newsletter template set up is a personalised video to walk you through sending your first newsletter.
HOW IT WORKS
four simple steps to your brand new author website…
01
You customise your package so that’s right for you, find a date that works and pay a 50% deposit to secure your Author Website in a Day experience!
02
I send you a quick (fun!) design questionnaire plus a link to a Google folder in which you drop all your content.
03
I build the site, & send it back by the end of your Author Website in a Day, along with a video walkthrough on how to set it live.
04
You pay the final 50%, set up your account with Squarespace and shout about your stunning new site to the world!
frequently asked questions
-
Author Website in a Day packages start from £1450. This is split into two payments - eg: £725 to secure your date in my calendar and £725 once the website is completed.
Please note, website packages do not include Squarespace hosting fees or custom domain name which are purchased separately by you. You can see a list of all Squarespace pricing plans here. As I am a Squarespace Gold Circle partner, you will receive 20% off your first year’s hosting if you use me to build your website.
-
I am not currently VAT registered so no!
-
Lifetime access to my DIY Author Website Course and DIY Author Newsletter Course is included in all packages. These offer more than 5 hours of video tutorials to help you get to grips with the basics of Squarespace.
There are also tons of free videos on Squarespace’s own website that will walk you through how to update your site in the future (and it’s easy peasy, I promise!).
You can also book a Squarespace training session with me afterwards for an additional fee, or if you’d prefer to outsource your website completely, I can make changes to it in the future at my standard hourly rate.
-
Absolutely! Squarespace websites are fully responsive and look amazing on mobile.
-
If required, minor changes to the design are included during the two-week post-launch support period.
Plus you’ll get the chance to share your design preferences with me before I begin through the questionnaire I send. Don’t worry - you’ll end up with a website you love!
-
Before embarking on your project, you will need to have ready: all content, including photography and site copy. This takes most people at least two weeks to complete, so please take this into consideration when choosing your design date!
-
You don't need to be around on the day, but you will need to have all your content ready a week beforehand so that I can check through it and make sure I have everything I need.
-
Ideally an author’s website should go live around 3 months before their book is released, so it’s best to get in early and secure your slot in my design calendar as soon as you think you need a site. I am usually booked 3-4 months in advance.
-
I’ll be straight with you: Author Website in a Day is a little bit of a misnomer as the work really starts from the second you book me!
Once your questionnaires and content are sent over, I’ll spend the week before your design date going through your content & getting everything ready in the back-end so that I can focus on spending the day itself actually building the site.
That way, we can get your shiny new author website launched in just one day!
about me
Hi! I’m Charlotte Duckworth, and I’ve been designing beautiful Squarespace websites for authors for 6 years now, making a name as the UK’s leading author website designer.
I’ve built more than 50 author websites, many for Sunday Times bestselling authors. I love sharing my knowledge to help my fellow authors harness the power of technology to build their career dreams.
Oh and I’m also an author myself! I’ve had 7 novels traditionally published (one was a USA Today bestseller!), and my eighth is coming out in 2026.
So I know exactly what you need on your author website to make sure it does your writing career justice!
