I'm looking for someone to redesign my personal Wordpress website, http://www.stewartmcdonald.net
I use the website as a platform to promote my creative works, or 'products' if you will, such as:
1. Novels - I have one self-published novel, but am writing a second that I hope to release next year. 2. Plays - I have written a few, and will be self-publishing these as scripts, with my first play 'Millionaires Anonymous' ready to publish on the 2nd July, which is ideally when I'd like this website to be ready for. 3. Films - I have made a few short films, but only one I'd be proud to put on my website. It's called 'Mummy's Boy', and is currently going around film festivals, but I will launch it to the public on my website. 4. Blog - I have written articles on how I wrote my first novel, and will probably write more, so I would like to keep the blog aspect active on the site, with the ability to turn it off (if I lose interest in posting). 5. Apps - I'm a programmer too and am currently developing a couple of small apps that I may list the website (though they will probably be hosted on their own dedicated site)
My current site is built using a free theme called Astra in Wordpress, and being a programmer I'm quite comfortable using Wordpress as a CMS.
I'm very open to new ideas, but from my perspective, the important aspects of the new design should be as follows:
1. Home Page - A wide and responsive site, not narrow like how it is now. - An optional sidebar with links to my blog posts (kind of the way it is now), though perhaps the main body of the site should be dedicated to the point underneath this one. - The central focus point of the home page to be used to promote certain works, typically using the front covers of books/plays/films etc. Almost like a 'New Releases' section. I want to have the option to show just one product or multiple side by side. Presumably, these will be stored in some sort of database behind the scenes. - Underneath the highlighted 'main releases', have a smaller row of other products available that should be visible above the fold. - Clicking any of theses product images will take users through to dedicated 'product' pages.
2. The "Product Page" - The page should have its own customisable style based on each product. Such as, the background be a certain colour or use a background image. - I've attached a mockup image of what I envisage this page to look like, with the following: -- Title of the Product -- A subtitle, for taglines or review quotes. -- A synopsis/about area to describe what it is. -- A reviews section (possible to have these stored in a database and for the page to show a random one on page load?) -- A call to action area, which would either give the user the following options ------ buy the product ------ download it for free (via an embedded MailerLite subscription form) ------ view a trailer
As an example of a product, I'm planning on releasing the script of my play Millionaires Anonymous in July. This will be both an eBook and a physical book, purchasable via Amazon (only one 'Buy Now' link needed). Along with this, I have a recording of the live performance, that I want to let people watch who sign up for my mailing list. This will be through an embedded MailerLite form that can say something like 'Send me the secret video link!', and when they sign up they will be sent the private video hosted on YouTube.
I already have a MailerLite form used in this way for my novel, A Single Source of Truth, which I'm giving away for free in exchange for people signing up for my mailing list. So, the Single Source of Truth page would have something similar.
The page should be full responsive, so when people load it on their phone, each section listed above would stack on top of each other.
In the image attached, you'll see I've added other stuff underneath, so people can browse other items and my blog from the product page.
There are other pages on the site, such as About, Contact, Mailing List signup, Blog Series Index. These pages don't have much information on, and should just follow the same style as the home page and product page. Presumably the blog page would remain the same as the built in Wordpress blog, but just inherit the new theme?
Ideally, there should be little or no bespoke development required for the site. I'd be more in favour of plugins and themes, free or paid, to provide the necessary functionality. I suppose you may need to use some CSS/HTML.
The important thing is I want this site to save me time for when I'm adding or changing products, which makes sense to have a product database of some kind that a single product page runs off.
As I said earlier, these are my own ideas and I welcome others.
