Behind the Build: Creating the Willow Hart Books Website

If you’ve ever tried to explain a creative business in one sentence, you’ll know how tricky it can be. Willow Hart Books is a perfect example,  part children’s publishing house, part colouring book brand, part pony-powered storytelling adventure.

We’ve loved bringing this one to life.

In this behind-the-scenes blog, we’re sharing how we approached the Willow Hart Books website build, including what we focused on, the challenges, and the small design decisions that made a big difference. Whether you’re an author, an illustrator, or a fellow small business owner, we hope it sparks a few ideas for your own online space.

About the Brand

Willow Hart is more than just a pen name; it’s a growing creative brand that publishes:

• Jay’s Pony Tales — a magical illustrated storybook and workbook series
  
  
  

• Willow Hart Colouring Books — bold, joyful colouring books for kids aged 3–8
  
  
  

• And a full collection of books available to purchase on Amazon, Lulu, TikTok Shop, and now their own official website
  
  

The challenge? Designing a website that could support:

• Multiple product types
  
  
  

• Multiple buying journeys (website checkout, TikTok, Amazon, Lulu)
  
  
  

• And two very different book audiences (storybooks vs activity books)
  
  
  

  

The User Journey

Before we started the design, we worked through the user pathways:

• Parents and grandparents browsing for gifts
  
  
  

• Teachers and educators are looking for classroom resources.
  
  
  

• TikTok or Amazon customers looking for more info about the brand
  
  
  

• Fans of Jay the pony want to know more about his story.
  
  
  

This helped shape the homepage structure, making sure it wasn’t just ‘pretty’ but it worked hard too.

Design Choices That Matter

We kept the brand identity soft and playful, using pastel tones, rounded buttons, and clear, age-appropriate fonts.

Some of the custom touches:

• A hero section that introduces Jay’s Pony Tales and Willow Hart’s signature style
  
  
  

• A split product layout that separates storybooks and colouring books
  
  
  

• Clickable icons for TikTok, Amazon, and Lulu, making it easy to shop where they prefer.

Takeaways for Other Creatives

If you’re a small brand selling books or creative products, here are a few lessons from this build:

• Narrow your homepage focus. You don’t need to say everything on the first scroll. Help people find the right book or product quickly.
  
  
  

• Embrace external links. Not every sale has to happen on your site. Linking out to Amazon or TikTok can still serve your brand if the experience is seamless.
  
  
  

• Design for discovery. Don’t hide your bestsellers behind menus; make your work visible, easy to browse, and fun to explore.

Final Thoughts

This build was a joy from start to finish, and Jay the Shetland pony might be one of our favourite clients. Take a look at this wonderful world willowhartbooks.com

Need help building your own product-led website? Whether you’re a creator, a writer, or a brand on the rise, we’d love to help bring your vision to life.

Get in touch here sandfoldstudio.com

Thanks for reading,

Kie & Jules

Sandfold Studio