“Simon is a superb person to work with. He is excellent – full of knowledge and useful comments. His advice was always spot on. He has lots of patience too, which helps when working with non-tech individual like me! My new website has had many great comments already. Thank you Simon – it’s been a pleasure to work with you.”

Gloria Barnett, award-winning author, educator, science presenter

“Bookswarm delivered a site that works for ME, not something designed to attract applause from other site developers. I learned all sorts of valuable stuff from Simon Appleby during the development of the site, and his responsiveness was terrific. I’d genuinely recommend Bookswarm, over DIY unless you’re very adept, and over alternatives unless you’re very confident of what they’ll do for you.”

Aubrey Waddy, author of the Plughole Boy books for children

“Thanks Simon to you and your team for your excellent service. Every interaction has been a pleasure and the level of skill, judgement and care you and your team brought to designing, establishing and providing after sales support has been excellent. Anyone interested in an author website would do well to consider choosing Bookswarm.”

Daniel Jakacic, Author of Anja, Against The Odds

“I’m delighted with my new author website and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Bookswarm.

The things that particularly impressed me were

1. Planning – Simon took a lot of time and care to establish exactly what I needed (as well as the bells and whistles I fancied), but he didn’t complain (or charge me more) when I made late additions to requirements. He’s experienced in the publishing world, and made some excellent suggestions and challenges.
2. Smooth transition – The information on my old home-made website was transferred to the new and we have a period of transition to decide what to hide and what new material was required. I never felt rushed and could work on content at my own pace without having to worry about the magic that makes everything work underneath.
3. Ongoing support – this is a team, not a one man band, so there is always someone on hand to help resolve issues.

If you’re in need of a new website or considering an upgrade to your old one, then I heartily recommend a chat with Simon.”

Fiona Erskine, crime novelist

“As a novice I was very dependent on Simon Appleby to take me through the creation and operation of a website point by point. He was clear in instruction, efficient in execution and immediately responsive to all my requests for help. I am confident that his support will continue as I gradually acquire the skills needed to improve my use the website. The initial design was his, and I like it very much.”

Hugo de Burgh, professor, novelist

“I’m delighted with the site. I think it’s terrific. Really clean, clear, attractive, modern and easy to use. Perfect for authors.”

Paul Adam, author

“I had been looking for a website designer, specific to writers and authors. Up until this time I had built my own websites with varying degrees of success.

Then I found Bookswarm and Simon Appleby. After a conversation we seemed a good fit and the price was not as extortionate as some website designers.

Simon and his team produced an amazing site – professional looking and a professional team that provided just what I needed. Thank you Simon and your team.”

Stephen Collier, crime writer for page and screen

“Working with Simon Appleby and Bookswarm was a positive experience, start to finish. He captured my vision perfectly and created an author website that is beautiful, professional, and truly me. Creative, responsive, and a joy to work with—Simon exceeded every expectation.

I don’t recommend people lightly. Simon is exactly the type of person you will never want to stop working with. Hire him today.”

Alex Phakos, author of The Hampshire United Trilogy

“I enjoyed working with Simon on the website. I was impressed by his patience answering any questions I had, and also by the way he was able to make suggestions that we could then discuss and tweak so that the website would meet my requirements. I’m really pleased with the end result.”

Lucienne Boyce, author

“When I reached out to Simon about creating my new website I had two sites that had evolved in random and confusing ways, and I had absolutely no idea how to make sense of it all. Luckily Simon and his team did! I now have an amazing new site that I’m proud to shout about, and direct people to. I am still amazed every time I look at it, that a tangled mess could become such a thing of beauty. More than that, it made me consider what, and how, I communicate with my audiences and has really boosted the content and how I interconnect all the elements.”

Kate Cunningham, children’s author

“Simon has been a complete joy to work with. I am new to anything that has to do with websites, and he has been quite patient and has explained everything to me as we go along. I highly recommend him and his team.”

Terri Potts-Chattaway, author and blogger

“Bookswarm made me a unicorn — a website that is easy for me to use. I’m a technologically challenged author so that’s kind of a big deal. The whole process was painless from start to finish.”

Ripley Hayes, crime author

“Starting with no knowledge or experience of creating a website, Simon steadily and methodically guided me through the creation and establishment of my site. His straightforward, jargon-free and practical approach was perfect and I’m delighted with what we jointly created. I even feel confident about developing it further, especially knowing he is available for help and advice at the touch of a button.”

Nick Black, historical fiction author

“Dear Simon

I wanted to just drop you a short line to say thank you for delivering my new author website .

As you know I was rather scared of starting this as not only is it a new career choice for me, but also the thought of a website and social media etc is well out of my comfort zone. I was therefore so happy to have been introduced to you as you made the whole process not only easy for me but also allowed me to be part of the entire process without having to be involved in the building of it. It really was a great experience for me and I not only have ended up with a fantastic website, but I feel like I understand how it works and what I need to do to progress in this new adventure. You really were a joy to work with on this.

Thanks so much

Rob Starr”

Rob Starr, author of What The Tide Brings Back

“Simon is outstanding. He has excellent technical skills, responds extremely quickly to questions and requests, explains everything clearly, and is a pleasure to work with in every way.”

Richard Sclove, author of Escaping Maya’s Palace

“Simon Appleby designed my literary fiction website, and it’s gorgeous. It has the look I wanted, raised to several powers above my expectations. His work combines a high degree of technical expertise and creative intuition. His approach to working is clear and systematic, and he is equally professional in client relations. He patiently explains terminology and processes, and I never felt lost. His training session is brilliant and includes a recording for easy referral later and a built-in support system. I am not much at home in the digital world, have had difficulty with websites in the past and was dreading maintaining this one. But it’s a delight.”

Janet Savin, author

“I have just had a new website designed by Simon Appleby of Bookswarm. Not only is the website exactly what I wanted, easy to negotiate and update, it was also a pleasure to work with Simon. I can’t recommend his company highly enough.”

Fenella J Miller, historical romance author

“I love the website Bookswarm has created. A very professional service with quick responses to any changes needed. I would highly recommend Simon and his team.”

Ellie Linden, author, The Earth Gang

“Simon is a pleasure to work with, and has a high level of tolerance for my high level of ignorance about IT.”

Michael Cowl Gordon, author of The Twelve Step Pathway – A Heroic Journey of Recovery

“The website, an essential tool for any author, will become the focus and anchor of your marketing drive.

I have found that Simon Appleby’s experience of specialist author websites after a background in book publishing, can be relied on to create an efficient website.

A nice man, helpful and accessible.”

Colin Fletcher, author

“When my publisher informed me it was due time to establish an author webpage I was refereed to Bookswarm. And it was wise advice. Simon Appleby is top of the game. He understands authors and is well capable of capturing the spirit of them digitally.”

RA Williams, author of The Gift trilogy

“I went to Simon at Bookswarm because of his track record and specialism in authors, finding him able and willing to incorporate special features into my website that would not have been available under other standardised packages. I was delighted with the look, feel and dynamism of the site he produced, as well as the training to operate it largely myself. For aspects beyond my capabilities his Ninja Support plugin does exactly what its name suggests, responding swiftly and efficiently to sort things out. I would wholeheartedly recommend Bookswarm to other authors.”

David G Bailey, author

“From the first conversation with Simon I knew I was in safe hands, and working with an industry expert. I had a very specific requirement – to have a website where I could showcase both parts of my business – Author arm and Copywriting arm – rather than host two separate sites. Simon listened to my specific needs and presented a number of choices/solutions. The process was fast, efficient, and stress free, and Simon was a pleasure to work with, providing updates and advice along the way, and support at go-live. I am over the moon with my website and I’ve received a great deal of feedback and compliments on it! Thanks, Simon.”

Fran Grant, author and copywriting professional

“Masters of the digital art, Bookswarm exceeded all my expectations and delivered an author website that everyone from readers and fans to industry insiders has raved about. I can’t recommend them highly enough.”

William Hussey, author of YA novels and dark thrillers

“What a great experience working with Simon. The entire process – from brief, to wireframes, to design images, to implementation – was beyond expectation. Best of all was he would work to what I asked for, but would also gently push back whenever he had a better idea.

I am delighted with the design and functionality of my new website, and I would definitely recommend his services. He is a consumate professional.”

Nathan Rose, business author

“It took me quite a while to step into a contract with another web designer. But, I am glad I did. With years of experience in the industry, Simon and his crew honed their communication and technical skills to a level that guaranteed they successfully translated my “I want” into a couple professional, market oriented, pleasing set of sister websites. Thank you for all the hard work and the perfect platforms for my stories.”

Joelle Izack, author

“Working with Simon, Hazel and Alex at Bookswarm has been an absolute delight. My needs were moving beyond DIY WordPress and I’m delighted to have made the step into their hosted environment. The site looks fantastic and is a step-change in functionality. Even better, it will scale with me as more books are published. Strongly recommended.”

Geoffrey Gudgion, author of Draca and Saxon’s Bane

“Simon exceeded all of my expectations. He quickly grasped the vision I had for my author website and took it to another level, both in terms of aesthetic and feature set. He was responsive from the get-go and added value at every step, from initial consultation to post-publishing technical support. Simon and the Bookswarm team are world class. I am confident that any writer hiring them would be well served.”

Mark H. Fitzpatrick, author of Made of Stars

“A huge thank you to Simon and the team at Bookswarm for the new website – not only was there always a fast response on queries but they also created something attractive and easy to use – I could never have brought the idea to life without your professionalism. Thank you.”

Kay Hutchison, author of My Life in 37 Therapies

“Simon and his team did a phenomenal job on creating my author website. His team was flexible and accommodated the various edits and really understood the vision of the site. I would highly recommend Simon and the Bookswarm team.”

Christina Enquist, author of The Immundus

“I wanted a website to promote a set of fairly radical social ideas (which will feature some way ahead in a book I’m still writing). I thought this might be outside Bookswarm’s brief, but they’ve been very responsive and creative. Some basic ideas I had on shape and colour were worked up nicely. I’ve greatly appreciated their patience with a non-techy like me, their efficiency and general aplomb.  The result, I and others think, is fitting and attractive. I have no hesitation in recommending Bookswarm with enthusiasm.”

Jonathan Boswell, Author and Academic

“The team at Bookswarm gave me a site that met my brief perfectly and went well beyond, with support and advice on areas I hadn’t considered – or hadn’t considered I would be able to manage so easily! They opened my eyes to all the options, and provided training and guidance that make the site really work for me and my books.”

Helen Bell, author of The Ilamen Quartet

“With two eBooks on Kindle and a third on the way, and after reviewing too many US based author website developers who touted phenomenal sites but without portfolios that supported their claims, I ran across Bookswarm. Simon’s philosophy matched mine exactly – have a website that mirrors the feeling of the books. I was in Honolulu and, obviously, Simon was in the UK. But, two Skype calls and numerous emails later, the result was purely wonderful. He captured the feeling of my work perfectly. I cannot say enough in support of his creative spirit.”

Charles L. Carson, author of the McManus Thrillers

“Working with Bookswarm made creating my poetry website such an easy and enjoyable process. Simon graciously blended my ideas with his own artistic vision to produce a site that is perfect for sharing my work. Their reliable accessibility contributed to my ease throughout the project.”

Rachel Blum, poet

“Simon Appleby and the Bookswarm team immediately understood what I was looking for in an author website, and came up with a design and functionality that fully meets my needs.”

Shannon Selin, author, Napoleon in America