Tailor-Made, Semi-Custom Design Packages with Spirit

start with our "skeleton" websites, and we'll work together to build a haunting visual design and style

If the thought of starting from absolutely nothing is terrifying to you, then fear not! We offer a variety of best-practice-based “skeleton” designs to build on. Together, you and I work towards adding the meat: the branding, the visual design, the oomph, the whiz-bang — all on top of a solid, Noisy Ghost-designed user experience and WordPress integration.

tailor-made semi-custom author websites

what you're getting with each skeleton site

Our skeleton sites cover all the basics you need in an author website to help new readers discover your books, and learn more about you. They’ve been designed with best practices guiding the placement and hierarchy of page elements, and are geared to offering an easy-to-use interface recognizable across desktop, tablet, and mobile environments. All our skeleton designs include the following:

Responsive
Optimized
SEO-Ready
WordPress CMS
Branded
Built to Launch

book landing page website for authors

Announce your novel to the world with a book landing page designed to convert potential readers into buyers. It includes purchase links, blurbs, reviews, a mini biography, newsletter subscription, and news articles that you can update yourself. Ask us about including your video book trailer.

Book Landing Pages for Authors
Single-Page Author Website Designs

single-page author website design

Keep it compact with a single-page author website, including all the necessary components of a multi-page webpage on one scrollable page. The Single-Page Author includes a carousel header with up to three slides, book purchase links, your author biography, press information, blog post teasers, book reviews, and a contact form.

multi-page author website design

Your home on the web can be a penthouse with the Multi-Page Author Website. Featuring five pages to grow your author brand, the Multi-Page adds extra layers of depth to your homepage, book pages, author biography, press page, and contact, so your website can grow with your career as a writer.

Multi-Page Author Website Designs

Skeleton sites are made to be customized: during the design process, we add color, texture, typography, images, and update the site with your copy.

Need something special? We’re happy to help! Let us know what you’re dreaming of when you reserve your design and we’ll arrange a séance to discuss your options.

The Tailor-Made Design Process

how we work with a skeleton website design

With a Tailor-Made Skeleton website, all you need to do is pick the framework that fits your ambitions, and we’ll work together to develop your author brand’s visual presentation. It’s the mid-way solution between buying a ready-made website from Noisy Ghost, and going full-out totally custom. By working with a pre-designed structure, we can focus on your artwork because we know the user interface works.

process-ouija-01-point

select a skeleton site design

process-ouija-02-point

schedule your design time with us

process-ouija-03-point

tell us about your design vision

process-ouija-04-point

we design your website's artwork

process-ouija-05-point

you approve the website's artwork

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we finalize the art and launch it

semi-custom author and book marketing website designs

our skeleton website designs can help you build a strong foundation for your author platform

  • Book Landing Page
    Starting from
    $775
    • One integrated landing page
    • Book Summary
    • Book Blurbs
    • Purchase Links
    • Author Mini Biography
    • News Articles
    • Social Media Links
    • Contact Form
    • MailChimp Newsletter Sign-up
    • Optional WordPress Blog
    • Built to grow with you
  • Single-Page Author Website
    Starting from
    $995
    • One-page integrated website
    • Anchored navigation links
    • Carousel Hero with three slides
    • New Book Announcement
    • Books Catalogue with summaries
    • Book Blurbs
    • Book Reviews
    • Purchase Links
    • Author Mini Biography
    • Press and Media Information
    • Contact Form
    • MailChimp Newsletter Sign-up
    • Social Media Links
    • Optional WordPress Blog
    • Built to grow with you
  • Multi-Page Author Website
    Starting from
    $2645
    • Five-page website
    • WordPress-powered Blog
    • Global navigation links
    • Homepage and What's New
    • Carousel Hero with three slides
    • Books Page with purchase links
    • Unlimited blurbs and reviews
    • Full Author Biography Page
    • Full Press Resources Page
    • Full Contact Page with email form
    • MailChimp Newsletter Sign-up
    • Social Media Links
    • Downloads Tracking
    • Optional News Articles
    • Optional Microsite support
    • Built to grow with you
A Few Things You May Want to Know

frequently asked questions

What’s included in a Tailor-Made website?

Full pricing for a Tailor-Made website includes the pre-built wireframes and website structure, the WordPress integration, and the Visual Design time. In each site design, we always prepare SEO-ready formats, optimize your images, and provide responsive design for mobile and tablet.

The following items are NOT included in the total cost: copywriting, additional downloadable item design (i.e. PDFs of media kits and author biographies, as these are supplemental items that must be provided by the client), photography, newsletter design, blog post development, social media graphics. All of the aforementioned, with the exception of website copywriting, can be added as an add-on to your design time for a nominal fee. Do about it when filling out your quote, because oftentimes we can discount the costs of supplemental add-ons that fit within the scope of the brand when we’ve already built the resources for your site. (We’re practical like that.)

Why is it called a “skeleton” website?

We refer to our Tailor-Made websites as “Skeleton Websites” because they already have the bones in place: the wireframes, which refers to the overall structure of the website, and the WordPress integration. When we talk about the “visual design” or the “graphic design”, we’re adding meat to the skeleton: the tone, the texture, the images, the photography, the book covers — all the visual aspects of your author brand and presentation.

How much is the reservation fee for a Tailor-Made website?

Our Tailor-Made websites are offered as one-off services, wherein we have calculated the costs for the visual design for each Tailor-Made site and included it in the total cost. We do not accept retainers or deposits for Tailor-Made sites, as the total amount for the website must be paid in full prior to starting any visual design work. Please advise that once a reservation payment is made, it is non-refundable.

If you require more flexibility with your billing options, please don’t hesitate to ask. We accommodate different needs and use cases with our Bespoke website offerings too.

How do I reserve design time for a Tailor-Made website?

Fill out the associated quote with the design(s) you want, and we’ll contact you about your options, reservation, and payment schedule to set your design time up. Let us know if you’re thinking of combining Tailor-Made projects (for example, a primary author-branded site for you, and several Book Landing Page style microsite for your books), and we’ll be happy to work out the details for you.

Can I request changes to a Tailor-Made site’s UI?

Yes! We built our Tailor-Made sites so that it would be super fast to swap page elements and add new things in — like video book trailers, or different cover artwork, or image galleries, or your reference material, or pictures of your werewolf.

We can add pages, swap pages, take pages away, flip the order, add a microsite for your book’s characters — the sky’s the limit. Just let us know in advance what you’re dreaming of and we’ll be happy to figure out a solution. Some things take a bit more work than others, so we can discuss your ideas and see if it fits into the scope of a Tailor-Made site. (For really complex stuff, we might suggest looking at Bespoke options. The easiest way to get an answer as to whether something’s viable is to ask the question.)

When I buy a Tailor-Made website, do I own the design?

Noisy Ghost Co. retains the rights to the preliminary works and working files, the original artwork, design tools, and reserves the right to use all mockups, sketches, wireframes, and drafts in promotional, portfolio, or as career furthering uses, unless otherwise agreed upon in advance of starting any design work with a client and in written agreement at the time of signing. Liquidation Rights may be arranged in advance of starting any design work for a percentage of the total cost of any works completed.

Third party materials used in the creation of a design by Noisy Ghost Co. for any client remains the property of the Third Party.

How long do I have to submit my website copy to you for inclusion on my website?

The deadline for you to provide your website copy to us for inclusion is one week prior to your reservation’s start date. We provide our clients with copywriting guidelines at the time of signing, and ample wiggle room to get it done on time. Granted, we understand that writing website copy is rarely an exact science, and we expect that revision is part of the build and approval process,. We do, however, require an as-close-to-complete draft to work with at the onset.

 

What do I need to know before I reserve a website design?

There are a few things you’re going to need to consider before reserving a website design, and we can help you out with a lot of these things along the way:

  1. Do you have a web hosting provider and domain registered for your site? We recommend SiteGround because they are ah-may-zing.
  2. Are you prepared to write your website copy?
  3. Do you have a gorgeous hi-resolution headshot?
  4. Do you have your hi-resolution book covers (front and back and spine)? All of them?
  5. Do you need to put together your media kit?
  6. Are your free chapter samples polished?
  7. Do you have an existing blog that needs to be transferred to your new home?
  8. Have you filled out our author brand questionnaire?
  9. Have you looked at your competition and analyzed what they’re up to with their marketing?
  10. Do you need a cookie? What about a logo?
  11. Are your social media platforms up to snuff? Do you want matching graphics for everything?
  12. Do you need advertising graphics for any super secret upcoming projects?
  13. Are you intimidated yet? Don’t be afraid. You’ve got this and we’ve got your back.
What’s not included in the package price of a Tailor-Made site?

All applicable taxes, third-party service fees (i.e. PayPal, web hosting, domain registration fees, etc.), and supplemental charges for stock, type, and operational resources (i.e. supplemental WordPress plugins requested by the client or supplemental typography licensing outside of the Google Fonts catalogue, for example) are not included in the purchase price for our Tailor-Made sites.

The Noisy Ghost Co. Portfolio

frighteningly good design

When you’ve worked in the design industry for thirteen years, you amass a scary amount of work. Presented here is the heart-beneath-the-floorboards of my design practice — the very best in user experience, web design, graphic design, brand design, and mobile design.

  • As a design client, I have been thrilled to work with someone who can translate my vague ideas into a viable format, but I have been even more impressed by Kira's professionalism. From the initial project contract and timeline, to the detailed invoices and realistic deadlines, I always know exactly where we stand in terms of project completion - an invaluable assurance. Working with someone this reliable and talented has been a pleasure I hope to repeat.

    Brooke Stant Villainess Soaps
  • Kira Butler far exceeded my expectations on many levels. She is an amazingly talented web designer who knows how to execute her vision from beginning to end, as well as interpret my own into a design that can work. And what also impresses me is the way she conducts herself with such a high level of professionalism and integrity. I have hired her for other projects besides my web site design, and would not hesitate to do so again, I also recommend her every chance I get to others in need of similar services.

    Lisa Farrell MoonaLisa
  • Kira is an extremely talented, detailed-oriented designer who has contributed greatly to Lightspeed's branding and communications. Her specialization is in web but also has strong talent in writing and print design. Dedicated, insightful and hard-working, Kira has been a very welcome addition to our creative team.

    Dax Dasilva CEO Lightspeed
  • Her understanding of the project at hand, her eye for design and thorough understanding of the content that she worked with as well as her respect for critical timelines were magical attributes that brought not only products to help the community clients of the CRC but identifiable professional marketing tools. Kira's contribution to the CRC operation was key in raising our visibility. I would not hesitate to include Kira as a member of my team again, if the opportunity would be presented!

    Ann Davidson West Island Community Resource Centre
  • Kira is the total package. She has an excellent work methodology, is data-driven and understands the business vision which she translates flawlessly in great user experience. She is also a great UI designer that understands her audience. She has great rationale and can easily explain her design decisions. On top of it all she has the most charming personality! I recommend her 100%.

    Pascale Sarault Senior Manager, Digital Products Group Dynamite
  • Kira is very systematic in her approach to design. In my experience, she is the designer that managed to make her art the most objective -- by that I mean that all of her choice are reasoned and justified and don't come under the umbrella of simple taste. Hard working and serious, Kira is also fun [and] got along very well with her colleagues. Finally, she doubles her UI/UX skills with that of an independent writer. This is simply further proof of how hard-working, disciplined and dedicated Kira can be. Not to mention creative. I would work with Kira again in a heartbeat.

    David Teman Senior Director, Digital Experience at Luxury Retreats
  • As an interactive publishing company, Ackerly Green often has some pretty out there graphic and illustrative demands. We might need designs for fantasy book-related merchandise one week, and the haunting sigil of a secret society the next. No matter what we need, Noisy Ghost  has met every challenge we throw at her with out of the box ideas, stellar communication, and perfect final products that we’re always proud to show off. Her years of experience and razor sharp creative eye make for a killer combination.

    CJ Bernstein Ackerly Green Publishing
  • Kira, you killed it! Honestly, I came to you without a brand, a plan, or any clue of how to put them together into a functional website. However, by the time we finished I had all of those, and more importantly, the confidence to unveil my amazing, beautiful, and compelling site to the world. Thank you for making ‘Tales of Weird Florida’ far more than I ever imagined it could be. You will always have a grateful fan in the “Strange Shine State!”

    Martin Shannon Urban Fantasy Author
  • In the span of six months, Kira materialized a relatively abstract list of requirement into UX mock-ups (including interactive prototypes). Each time, her part of the work was conducted faster than our product management ideation (and we're no slouch either). Her design decisions were clearly explained to our development team and helped guide their work. Pragmatic, straight to the point and right on the money - I'd work with her again anytime!

    Jean-Francois Yelle Product Director at Wirkn
Ready-Made Designs
Ready-Made Designs

ready-made, one-of-a-kind
designs

When it comes to our ready-made website designs, we never bring back the dead. Our pieces are one-of-a-kind and ready to implement on your WordPress site. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Tailor-Made Designs
Tailor-Made Designs

semi-custom
design packages
with spirit

Start with a solid user experience: choose a Noisy Ghost-designed "skeleton" website, and you and I work together to add the meat — a haunting visual design and style.

Totally Bespoke Designs
Bespoke Design Services

ground-up,
custom design
services

Everyone’s needs are different and we can tailor a quote for you based on your specific requirements for design work. Bespoke designs can be as simple or extensive as you like.

Summon Us

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

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