Bookstore website: what brings readers through the door

People who open a bookstore's website want a few things fast. Are you open now? What's happening this week? Can you get me this book? Do you buy used ones? And where do I park?

In October 2026 we opened 38 independent bookstore websites in 26 states and D.C., on a phone and a computer. Most already had an online store: 26 ran the American Booksellers Association's IndieCommerce and 5 ran Bookmanager, with a searchable catalog and cart. What almost none did well was the part around the books: a phone number you can tap, your rules for used books, special orders, getting in with a stroller or a wheelchair, reviews.

So your site here doesn't try to be your catalog. It's your front door, and it sends people to your catalog when they want to buy. This guide goes through what matters, most important first.

Make hours and your phone one tap

Only 2 of the 38 sites had a number you could tap on the first phone screen. On the 26 IndieCommerce sites, the phone and hours sat in the footer as plain text.

1. Click Business info in the left menu and fill in Phone and your Regular hours. Add late nights or Sunday hours in Note under hours.
2. Click Menu, and under Header button turn on Call bar on phones. See Add a call bar on phones.
3. Add an Open today section near the top of your home page. It says whether you're open right now.
4. For holiday hours, inventory days and sale weekends, use Holidays and special hours, then Add a date. For a surprise closure, click We’re closed today. See Business info and hours.

One shop typed its weekend hours into a paragraph at the top of the page, and another listed "closed for Christmas" as an event. The Announcement bar does this properly, with dates that put it up and take it down by itself. See Announcement bar.

Say where to park and how to get in

Only 2 of the 38 told readers about stairs, elevators or ramps. Many bookstores are in old buildings, and people search for "bookstore dog friendly".

• Add an Hours & location section with your address and a map.
• In your FAQ, say where to park and what it costs, whether there are steps, an elevator or a ramp, and whether strollers, wheelchairs, service animals and pet dogs are welcome.
• If an event is upstairs, say so on the event, and say you'll move it with notice.

Honest words help more than a badge. Give your photos short descriptions too, so screen readers can use them. See Describe your photos.

Send people to your catalog

A site this size can't search millions of titles by ISBN or show real stock. Your catalog (IndieCommerce, Bookmanager, Shopify or Bookshop.org) already does. Make the way there obvious.

1. Click Menu, and under Header button type "Shop online" as the Button text. Under Goes to, choose Another website… and paste your catalog's address. See Set up the header button.
2. Put the same button in your home page's opening Hero as the Main button.
3. Add "Shop online" to your footer under Footer links.

In the Products list, keep a short list of things only you sell: signed copies, gift bundles, merch. See the next section if you want a cart for those.

Sell a few things with the Online store

The Online store add-on lets customers pay by card for a short list, with pickup, shipping or both. It suits signed or personalized copies, subscription packages, gift bundles and mugs. It isn't for your whole shelf.

1. Click Lists, then Products, then Add product. Fill in Product name, Price and Photo.
2. For a signed or inscribed copy, add Questions for the customer, like "Inscribe it to". See Ask questions before they buy.
3. Connect Stripe, so payments go to your own account. See Connect Stripe.

See Sell products with the online store.

Put your events on the site

Events were on 36 of the 38 sites, and people search for "bookstore events near me". Add each once.

1. Click Lists, then Edit events, then Add event.
2. Fill in Event name, Date, Starts at, Price, Photo and Full details. Put the author's name in Led by (optional).
3. Use Category for "Author events", "Book clubs" and "Kids", so a section can show just one.
4. For a book club or story time, set Repeats to Every week, Every other week or Every month. Use Skipped dates for holidays.
5. Under Tickets or RSVP button, type Button text like "RSVP" and paste your ticket or sign-up link under Goes to.
6. If an event is off, change Status to Postponed, Cancelled or Sold out.

Then add an Events section to your home page and an Events page. See Events and Add a tickets or RSVP button.

With the Bookings & RSVPs add-on, people can reserve a spot on the event's page, with a waitlist and optional payment for author dinners. See Take sign-ups for an event. Say whether an event is free, ticketed or first come.

Explain special orders and preorders

Only 1 of the 38 home pages mentioned special orders, though "we'll get any book" is why people choose you. Preorders were on 22.

1. In an FAQ or a Text section, say how to ask (call, email or a form), how long it usually takes, whether you take a deposit, and how you tell them it's in.
2. Add a Form with Start from set to a ready-made one, and turn on Ask what they need help with. Add Topic choices like "Special order", "Sell used books", "Event request" and "Educator order". See Forms and your inbox.
3. For a preorder with a ship date, state it. Online sellers must ship by the date they give, or within 30 days if they give none, and offer a refund when a preorder is late. This isn't legal advice.

Say what you do with used books

Twelve of the 38 buy or trade used books. People search for "bookstore that buys books near me", and the best answers were specific: days, limits, what you pay and what you refuse.

1. Click Pages, then New page, and make a "Sell your books" page from the Basic page template. See Add a page.
2. Say what you buy and what you don't, the days and hours you buy, how many a visit, and whether you pay cash, credit or both.
3. When you aren't buying, switch the Announcement bar on with a short message and a Last day shown.

Some cities license secondhand dealers, and some exempt books. Check your city or county code before you advertise cash for books. This isn't legal advice.

Sell gift cards

Gift cards were on 19 of the 38 sites. Pick one:

• Gift cards and coupons add-on: add a Gift cards section with Amounts to offer; buyers pay online and the card is emailed with a QR code you scan at the register. See Sell gift cards on your site.
• Payment links from Stripe or Square in a Buy & pay section, if you sell a few fixed amounts. See Take payments with payment links.

Federal rules say gift cards can't expire within five years, and some states are stricter. Say on the page whether yours expire.

Show staff picks and offer a newsletter

Staff picks were on 22 of the 38 sites, and 24 had a newsletter signup.

1. Add a Services section called "Staff picks". For each book, put the title and author in Name, your line in Description, the cover in Photo, and the book's page at your catalog in Link.
2. For a longer review, write a News post. See News posts.
3. Add a Newsletter signup section with Email service set to This site. See Add a newsletter signup. With the Newsletter sending add-on you can email your list. See Send a newsletter.

Use covers from your distributor or the publisher, not from a stock site or another store's page.

Book clubs, story time and kids

Eighteen of the 38 had a kids' or teen shelf and 18 had book clubs. Give each club an Events entry with Repeats and a Category, and say how to join.

For story time or a kids' club, ask for a parent's email, not a child's name or age. Don't post photos of children without their parents' permission.

Show your reviews

None of the 38 home pages showed the shop's own rating. Almost everyone reads reviews before choosing a local business.

1. Add your best Google reviews to your Reviews list, with where they came from.
2. Add a Reviews section to your home page and your rating to Highlights, like "4.8★ · 900 Google reviews".
3. Paste your Google review link into Leave-a-review link in Business info.

Don't offer a coupon only for five stars. See Reviews and Ask for reviews.

Audiobooks, e-books and commissions

Add an Audiobooks button to your Libro.fm or Kobo page with the Embed code section or a Services card with a Link. If you earn a commission on links from Bookshop.org or Libro.fm, say so near the link, like "We earn a small commission." That's an FTC rule. See Add embed code.

Memberships, subscriptions and shipping out of state

If you sell a book subscription or a paid membership that renews, say how it renews and how to cancel. State laws vary. If you ship across state lines, your sales tax duties may reach other states once your sales there grow. Ask your accountant. The online store adds one tax rate.

Photos that make people want to visit

With your phone, take:

1. Your storefront from across the street, with the sign
2. The door and the step or ramp
3. A new-books table with a handwritten shelf card
4. The children's corner (no faces)
5. A staff-pick shelf with the cards readable
6. A bookseller at work, with permission

Until you have your own, Free photos has good ones for "independent bookstore shelves interior" and "used books stacked on shelf". Skip photos with readable covers or logos. See Free photos.

Answer what people ask

Add an FAQ section. Questions bookstores get most:

• Are you open right now? Where do I park?
• Is the shop accessible? Are dogs welcome?
• Can you order a book you don't have?
• Do you buy used books?
• How do preorders and shipping work?
• Do you have signed copies?
• How do I get tickets or host an event?
• Do your gift cards expire?

In Lists › FAQs, Suggest questions drafts more from your own site. See Use suggested questions.

Tips

• Give your home page a search title with your town and kind of shop, like "Independent bookstore and cafe in Asheville, NC". Many shop pages are titled just "Home Page". See Set a page's search title and description.
• Hiring? Add your openings. See Job openings.
• Every site can have a Spanish version at no extra cost, handy for a "Libros en español" shelf. See Show your site in Spanish.
• Read your site once a season for old events, last year's hours and sales that ended.