Tessa Elwood

Tessa Elwood – Web Developer

Story-focused print and site design, along with website maintenance and social icons .

Overview

At baseline, a site adds legitimacy to a project. The internet is essentially the modern yellow pages, at least in the west. More, a site makes it easy for a potential client or reader to find the information they need to choose this book or that service. My designs are all about my clients, translating their likes and goals into a visual interface. Classy, professional, dark, whimsical, image-intense or highly minimal—everything from look to function is tailored to your tastes.


The process is easy. We'll discuss what you’d like in a site—style, mood, and function—and I’ll mockup some designs. These will grow and change as you provide input. Once the site is finished and live, I will walk you through how to update your content yourself.


Site services include:


WORDPRESS:

The most customizable option with the greatest level of depth. Which means we can do a lot with it for animation (moving elements) and automation (update one page and have that update reflected automatically on multiple pages across the site).


Wordpress is perfect for large sites and/or book series. Add a new book and its cover will appear on the appropriate series page, the main books page, the individual pages of its series siblings, and anywhere else you'd like the book featured—all automatically,


Books can also be organized by tropes or genres, especially useful for romance authors. Tag a book with a trope, then visitors to the site can click on that trope to see all the books that feature it.


Automation has wider application beyond books, useful for artwork, grouping services, or any information that needs easy organization and the ability to appear multiple places throughout the site—without having to update multiple pages.



SQUARESPACE / WIX (the page builders):

These don't have the depth of customization, but offer the ease of a visual interface. A lot can be done with them to keep them creative (especially Squarespace), and for smaller sites they work well.



Both Wordpress and page builder packages include:

• Branding

• Custom design

• Mobile theme

• Full initial content setup

• SEO

• Social media inclusion & contact forms

• The standard bookstore icon set for authors

• Setting up an online store if needed



MAINTENANCE & HELP WITH CURRENT SITE:

Want to update your site without overhauling it? Sometimes a site needs fresh graphics or organization within its current framework to really shine. Or maybe maintenance issues have been piling up, and you just need someone for a few quick updates. Either way, we can work with what you have to give you what you need.



PRINT & DIGITAL BRANDING:

Need help setting up a newsletter? Themed branding across various social media? Bookmarks or business cards? I've done all the things and would be happy to help!


Services
Non-Fiction
Art
Fiction
Fantasy Middle Grade Mystery & Crime Picture Books Romance Thriller & Suspense Young Adult
Works with
Shopify Squarespace Wix WordPress

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2005 — Present
Designed and coded websites and Wordpress templates to spec, for both individuals and organizations. Took preexisting or packaged content and reformated it for new designs and their archive base. Developed CMS tutorials and troubleshot errors. Designed business cards, bookmarks, brochures, flyers, booklets, book covers, CD covers, and t-shirts.

The Little Fig

Jan, 2017 — Present
Laid out books for print, designed catalogues, logo and branding. Built and maintain the website. General troubleshooter for anything image or coding related.

Jennings Social Media Marketing

Jan, 2009 — Mar, 2010 (about 1 year)
Designed and coded websites, blogs, landing pages, and CMS templates to spec. Troubleshot issues across all Jennings sites (10+), upgraded SEO practices, addressed client issues/worries and kept a detailed log of all work.

Projects

Book focused sites

Sites built around particular series or titles, including Kingdom of Souls and Nearly Gone.

Bookmark Designs

NYT Bestsellers

Site designs for bestselling authors, often with large back catalogues. Includes Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff, Meagan Spooner, and Kathryn Purdie.

YA & MG Projects

Site and print designs for YA authors, including two books-focused sites: Kingdom of Souls and Nearly Gone.

Adult Projects

Site designs for adult authors in a mix of genres, including romance, poetry, upmarket fiction, and western.

Picture Book Projects

Site and print designs for PB authors, including Jenn Bailey, Jody Jensen Shaffer, Sue Gallion, Maryann Mcdonald, and Ann Ingalls.

Beyond Author Sites

Projects for artists and businesses. Kourtney and Natosha needed something to showcase their work, while Condie needed to provide a lot of information in a clear/easy to access way.

Tessa has 58 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Susanne S.

Susanne S.

Apr, 2025

Tessa is a joy to work with! She is extremely professional, talented, and creative. She worked with me to overhaul my website, helping me express my vision while being very patient with my non-techie questions. I would hire her again and highly recommend her.
Jen S.

Jen S.

Apr, 2025

Tessa was fabulous to work with! She provided me with so many beautiful options for my website- it was hard to pick! I’m so happy with the work she did. She listened to the look I was going for and delivered. The entire process was handled with professionalism and efficiency!
Ryan O.

Ryan O.

Mar, 2025

Tessa was a joy to work with. She is knowledgeable about website design and current author trends and is kind, patient, and open-minded. It was an incredible collaboration, and I love the new website she created for me. I can't recommend Tessa enough. You will not regret hiring her!
Garrett K.

Garrett K.

Mar, 2025

Easy to work with. Incredibly flexible with scheduling and adjustments. Such a sweet and kind person. I recommend her to anyone and everyone looking for an expert in creativity, idea flow, and website craftsmanship!
William T.D F.

William T.D F.

Feb, 2025

Tessa was wonderful! My website Williamtdfeeley.com looks amazing! She applied my artwork flawlessly. She was quick to update me and give me step by step instructions to maintain the website. It's turned out more then expected. Absolutely a joy to work with.

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Most recent contributions

What website builder and hosting would you recommend?

This all depends on what backend you're most comfortable with. Youtube has some great video tutorials for Wordpress/Squarespace/Wix, which will offer an overview of what it's like to create or update a page. That's where I'd start, as you want something that's easy for you to update. Self-hoste...
Read more

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