From podcasts to personal website: Launching historian Rosalind Crone’s new online presence
This month in the studio we were very proud to set live & release a brand new personal website for well-known and popular broadcast historian, Professor Rosalind Crone.
Podcast devotees might know her from Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley, the BBC smash hit podcast (and now live show) where Rosalind serves as resident historian. Fans of TV’s Who Do You Think You Are? may have seen her telling Kate Winslet about her criminal ancestors - or perhaps on Judge Rob Rinder’s Britain Behind Bars, the popular Channel 4 documentary series from earlier in 2024.
With a growing impressive resume within entertainment, Rosalind needed a ‘digital CV’ to bring together all of her work in one hub and field new work or collaboration enquiries - so how did we do it?
A personal website may not be a large complex web project - but it still requires careful development and consideration.
Here are our 5 simple steps to building & launching a personal website…
Our personal website service
Discover more →
Step 1 - Consultation & ideas generation
We chatted with Rosalind about what she wanted from her new site, and what kind of visual styling she might want. After this stage, we knew the number of pages required, the approx amount of content that would be on the site and the rough structure of how we would organise said content.
At this point, we can’t overstate how important content architecture & organisation is to any project.
Having a lot of content is great, but deciphering how it should be best organised and displayed is key.
With lots of projects and previous work to display, we developed a sitemap to showcase how it would flow - i.e. what pages would exist, and what sections would live on each page. This helps visualise the content and ensures nothing is missed, and the user experience and journeys all make sense.
Step 2 - Starting the build & design
Using the Squarespace platform - our preferred choice for personal website design - we began building the pages.
As the project didn’t include developing a brand identity, we could be fluid and apply some initial ideas during the build.
That meant crafting a colour palette that suited Rosalind, and developing a typographic system that blended a light touch of Victorian history with the modern era.
We also developed a monogram logotype for the client’s initials and a suite of bespoke header graphics to symbolise each ‘area’ of her work, from broadcast to books.
At an early stage, we walked Rosalind through our ‘build so far’ to get her feedback and check-in.
Step 3 - Putting content into the site
Thanks to Rosalind providing all her content at the outset (🙏), the project progressed easily and quickly. We set about populating each page with distinct sections and all the text and imagery needed to display each project or piece of work.
New formats were developed depending on the media required - i.e. some sections displayed 8 videos, while some just needed to show one key image.
Step 4 - Optimising the site for mobile
As standard, we designed each page to look slick on both desktop and mobile - but final checks are always required to check accessibility, legibility and smooth designs.
Step 5 - Final checks to cross the t’s & dot the i’s
We test all contact forms, put in a privacy policy page and test the site across a few devices to check all’s in working order. The client owned her own domain already, so we assisted in connecting that up - then it was time to push the ‘go live’ button!
“I couldn’t be happier with the website the team created for me. It looks fantastic, and it is very easy to update and manage independently. ”
Full testimonial
“When it became clear that I needed a personal website, I immediately got in touch with the team at burningred. I had worked with burningred before, when I needed a website and searchable database for a major research project I was leading on the history of prisons. From my previous experience, I knew the team would be able to create for me a clean, attractive and attention-grabbing website with the functionality I needed.
“From our first meeting, Gareth and Meg quickly grasped what I needed - a personal website that would serve as a portfolio for the many different types of work I had done, from academic publishing and projects through to broadcasting, print media and live events. Meg was an outstanding project manager, and Gareth Aled's contribution on the design and graphics side was superb.
“The team were patient when I needed time to provide the content they needed; they were always available to advise and suggest different approaches when necessary; and they were very accommodating when I wanted to tweak some layouts. Overall, they were all a pleasure to work with. I couldn't be happier with the website the team created for me. It looks fantastic, and it is very easy to update and manage independently.