Longhand

Longhand is a calm, editorial template for writers, essayists and newsletter authors: a quiet home for your essays, letters and books.

Built around reading, it pairs a warm bone-and-forest-green palette with large serif type, generous space and gentle motion that never gets in the way of the words.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ink-signature intro: your name writes itself in on first load

• "First draft" lens: move over the desk photo to reveal handwriting beneath the page

• Envelope sign-up card with a reader quote and torn-paper section edges

• Long reads story cards, a mixed-width essays grid and topic tags

• Newsletter archive with cover photos that follow the cursor on hover

• Reading progress bar and a drop cap on every essay

• Black-and-white author portrait that turns to colour on hover

• Soft blur and fade reveals as you scroll

PAGES

Home, Essays, Essay page, Newsletter issues, Issue page, Books, About, Contact and 404.

FULLY CMS-DRIVEN

Essays, newsletter issues, books and site settings all live in the CMS. Add a new essay or issue in seconds. The hero text, signature, photo, caption, quote and portrait can all be edited without touching the design.

BUILT WITH CARE

• Fully responsive from 320 to 1920 px, with no horizontal scroll

• Respects reduced-motion settings

• Working contact and newsletter forms

• SEO titles, descriptions and social images set on every page

• Accessible contrast and a clear heading structure

Perfect for essayists, novelists, poets, journalists, Substack and newsletter writers, columnists and anyone who writes slowly and wants a site that feels like a well-kept notebook.