Features

WoolMap is a reading-first network for people who make things by hand and write about it. Here is everything a profile can do today, and what readers get without ever signing up.

Profiles that work like pinboards

Each invited writer gets a home at /your-handle/. It opens with a cover banner and portrait, a short bio, an optional link to your own website or shop, and real details only: how many posts you have published, how many categories you keep and when you joined. Below that, your posts appear as pins with their cover photo, excerpt, reading time and reply count.

• Portrait, cover and bio

  Introduce yourself in a few lines and link out to your own site. The link is a normal link, nothing hidden.

• A curated intro

  Writers can add a short hand-written intro to the top of their profile: favourite patterns, a reading order, links to series.

• Your own categories

  File posts into boards of your choosing, like “Colourwork”, “Mending” or “Glaze tests”. Each board has its own page.

• Topics across profiles

  Tags join posts from different writers, so a reader can follow “Natural dye” across the whole site.

Posts made for long project logs

Craft writing is often long and step-based. Posts support cover images, inline photos hosted on the site, headings, lists, quotes and tables. When a post has several sections, a table of contents is built from its headings so readers can jump to the step they need. Text is set in rounded, highly legible type that renders Vietnamese and other accented languages properly, which matters when pattern names and techniques come from everywhere.

Following without an account

There are no follower counts on WoolMap and no algorithmic feed. Instead, every profile has an RSS feed at /handle/feed.xml, and the whole site has one at /feed.xml. The “Follow (RSS)” button on a profile points straight at that feed, so you can follow a writer in any feed reader you like.

Replies that stay on topic

Readers can reply to any post with just a name and a message. No email address, no account. Guest replies are held for review and appear once a moderator approves them; anything not approved is deleted automatically after 30 days. Writers can answer in the thread, and their replies carry an Author badge.

Plain, fast, private pages

• Server-rendered

  Every page is plain HTML and CSS. It loads quickly on a phone and works with JavaScript switched off.

• No tracking

  No analytics, no advertising, no tracking pixels and no cookies for readers.

• Readable everywhere

  Mobile-first layouts, visible focus states and colour contrast chosen for comfortable reading.

Writing here

Writer accounts are by invitation, which keeps the network small enough to moderate well. If you write about a craft and would like a profile, tell us about your work through the contact page and pick the topic “Writing here”. Reading, following and replying are open to everyone and always free.