Welcome
Front Matter is a small design studio making websites for writers at every stage of their career.
Our first template, Marginalia, was made specifically for authors—with room for the books you've written, the ones you're still working on, and all the ones that will come after.
A Different Approach to Web Design
The internet has gotten very good at screaming at us to do things.
Buy now! Sign up! Don't miss out! You’re almost out of time!
That can make sense for a lot of businesses, but to us, it doesn’t feel good.
We think an author website can do its job without behaving like a sales funnel. It can introduce you, give your books a place to live, help readers stay in touch, and then get out of the way.
More cozy library, less landing page.
Why "Front Matter"
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Why "Front Matter" ?
In a book, the front matter is everything that comes before the story: the title page, copyright, dedication, and table of contents.
It isn't the reason you picked up the book (and you might not even glance at it in your rush to reach Chapter 1!). But it does provide foundational information. We like the idea that a website kinda does the same thing.
Behind the Studio
Front Matter is the work of designer and writer Georgia Byrd. Her background spans over ten years of design and art direction, five of which were at the helm of an independent magazine.
And books? Well, there have always been books. Georgia has been a reader and writer for as long as she can remember, and is currently working on her next novel. Front Matter is a convergence of a lot of interests and life experience.
She's generally happiest when she's making something, whether that's a website, a garden, focaccia, or a piece of furniture she probably definitely could have bought.
If you want to know more, you can check out her author site (which conveniently uses the Marginalia template).
Chapter 1
EXPLORE
An editorial Squarespace template for authors