Children’s Book Website Design & Development

Website Designer/Developer Wanted – Interactive Children’s Author Website

Hi, I’m Lianne James, creator and author of Teddy’s Travels, a children’s picture-book series following Teddy, an apricot cockapoo, on different adventures.

I have already developed the overall look, artwork, characters, page ideas and much of the layout for the website. I am looking for someone who can take my existing designs and turn them into a professional, fully working, interactive website that works beautifully on both desktop and mobile.

What I already have

I already have:

My Teddy’s Travels branding and logo
Character artwork for Teddy, Mabel and other characters
Backgrounds and illustrations
Designs/mock-ups showing how I would like many of the pages to look
Buttons and other graphical elements
Book covers
Ideas for the structure and navigation
My domain name: teddystravels.uk

I therefore don't need someone to create the whole concept from scratch. I need someone who can take what I have created and professionally build it into a working website.

The main website

I would like a colourful, welcoming homepage introducing Teddy’s Travels, with sections for parents and children.

The website should include information about the books, the author, Teddy and the other characters, along with links/buttons to purchase the books.

Interactive children's area

A very important part of the website is an interactive Explore Teddy’s World area.

Children should be able to choose one of Teddy's adventures, such as:

The Train
Seaside
Bluebell Woods
Farmyard
Big City Park
London
Zoo
Starry Night

Each adventure will have its own themed area. I also already have the illistrations for these.

For example, the Seaside section could include:

Discover the Story

Seaside Fun, including activities such as:

Beach Treasure Hunt

Build a Sandcastle – ideally an interactive drag-and-drop activity where children can use different shapes/items to create their own sandcastle

Rock Pool Explore

Spot the Difference

Maze

Matching Shells

Fun Facts

Teddy's Journey, where children can explore different stops from the story, such as:

Cliff Tops

Beach Exploration

Rock Pools

Sandcastle Fun

Ice-Cream Stop

Harbour Boats

Sunset Views

Meet the Characters

Earn Your Badge

I would eventually like a similar structure for each of Teddy's adventures.

Rewards and badges

I would like children to be able to earn a different digital badge for completing activities/sections.

There should ideally be a My Rewards / See All My Badges area where children can see the badges they have collected across Teddy's different adventures.

I would like to discuss the best way of remembering a child's progress without requiring unnecessary personal information from children.

Sound and interaction

Where practical, I would like the website to feel playful and interactive, with things such as:

Button animations

Small character movements

Sound effects/chimes when an activity or badge is completed

Optional background music

A simple sound on/off control

I don't want the site to feel like a standard corporate website. It should feel like children are entering Teddy's world.

Mobile version

This is extremely important.

The website needs to be properly responsive, rather than simply shrinking the desktop version.

It should look and work well on:

Desktop computers

Tablets

Android phones

iPhones

Buttons and activities need to be easy for children to use on touchscreens.

If possible, I would also like the website to work well enough on mobile that it could eventually be developed into, or used like, a simple web app/PWA.

Parent/Grown-Ups area

I would also like a separate area for adults containing things such as:

About the author

About Teddy’s Travels

The book collection

Where to buy the books

New releases

Contact information

Email newsletter sign-up

Possibly downloadable activities/resources in the future

Book sales

I would like clear Buy the Book sections throughout the site.

Initially these may link to external retailers, but I would like the website built in a way that gives me the option of selling books or merchandise directly in the future.

Important requirements

I am looking for someone who:

Has experience creating responsive websites

Is comfortable building interactive elements, not just static pages

Can work from artwork and designs I provide

Can recreate my designs accurately

Understands mobile-first/responsive design

Can optimise images so the website remains fast

Can advise me on the best platform/technology for the project

Can make the website easy for me to update myself afterwards

Has experience with children's/family websites or interactive websites if possible

Understands the importance of privacy and safeguarding when creating online experiences aimed at children

What I would like from you

When replying, please let me know:

What platform/technology you would recommend for this project and why.

Whether you can build interactive activities such as drag-and-drop games, matching games, mazes and badge/reward systems.

Examples of similar interactive or children's websites you have built.

Whether the finished website would be easy for me to update myself.

Your estimated price.

What would be included in that price.

Your estimated timescale.

Whether ongoing support/maintenance is available and what that would cost.

I already have a strong idea of exactly how I want Teddy’s Travels to look and can provide my existing designs and artwork to the successful freelancer.

My aim is to create something that is more than an author website – I want children to be able to explore the stories, play, learn, collect badges and feel as though they have stepped into Teddy's adventures.