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Home screen of JK Rowling's official site

Home page of J. K. Rowling's official website

This site (jkrowling.com) is the official website of J. K. Rowling.

Launched on 15 May 2004, the site originally contained a large amount of information on the Harry Potter universe, as well as news and rumours, and an in-depth biography of Rowling herself.

In February 2012, Rowling announced the upcoming publication of a new novel, targeted at adults. The website was changed to a single-page announcement of the new book and a notice that the official site was being refreshed and redesigned and would be relaunched later in the Spring.

On 12 April 2012, the redesigned J. K. Rowling official website was opened. However, it was relaunched again on 20 December 2016 with Rowling explaining she had decided to start again and return it to the early days of her website when things were more real and personal.

Original version[]

Originally, Rowling placed her work in many sections:

  • Diary - A notebook where Rowling posted updates regarding her progress on Book 7 and her thoughts on writing the book.
  • News - Set up as a newspaper, it was where Rowling made announcements concerning her books, personal life, and more.
  • Rumours! - Set up as a magazine, it was where Rowling cleared up any rumours.
  • Rubbish Bin - Rowling identified new stories about her or her books that are "more-fiction-than-fact".
  • F.A.Q.- Rowling answered popular questions that she received.
  • Fan Sites - Rowling featured her favourite HP fan sites, one per year. The winners were:
  • Biography - An in-depth biography about herself.
  • Extra Stuff - Assorted notes, things that were cut, extra details about characters, and "completely useless information" that isn't actually useless, such as gags like Gobb Lynn Security Specialists.
  • Wizard of the Month Archive - A previously unknown witch or wizard was profiled each month.
  • Links - Links to sites of interest to Rowling. These included publishers, charities, etc.
  • Scrapbook - This is where the users rewards were kept when they unlocked the secrets of the site.
  • Room of Requirement - The purpose of which remained a mystery until it was unlocked for the first time to reveal the official title of Book 6 (with a little riddle at first). It was also used to house the W.O.M.B.A.T. test.

At some point, a message was posted stating that "Peeves not only causes trouble in Hogwarts, but he's also been up to some dirty work around Jo's desk, making appearances throughout the site. All of these visits from him require you to remain on the relevant page for a couple of minutes."

Revised version[]

JK Rowling Official Website April 2012

Updated 2012 website displayed in timeline view

In 2012, Rowling changed her website. She placed up an announcement of her new book, The Casual Vacancy and explained it would be relaunched in Spring 2012 with a new design.

On 12 April 2012, the redesign was unveiled. The website had three sections:

  • A biography about Rowling along with news updates with an FAQ & Rumours page that mainly repeated content found on the original version of the site.
  • A one-page announcement regarding Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy.
  • Harry Potter, with information on Pottermore, the books and the films. The majority of the content was available through a "timeline" option.

When the website was relaunched, extremely high traffic caused access to be erratic at first, with content often refusing to load and text-only pages displaying HTTP 500 errors. The site later stated that some of the Harry Potter content had been removed and will be made available again on Pottermore.

Current version[]

NewWebsite

Updated 2016 design of the website

On 20 December 2016, Rowling announced that the website had once again been redesigned and relaunched. She explained in an article titled "Welcome to my new website!" that when she relaunched her website in 2012, she did not feel any connection to it so she rarely ever wrote for it. She had given up writing for the original website when the Harry Potter books ended in 2007.[1]

She decided to relaunch it again in the hope of making it more real and personal. The website contains four sections, along with a home page:

  • About - a biography about Rowling
  • Writing - a collection showing every book Rowling has written
  • News - any news from Rowling, such as the latest events Rowling has attended and anything related to her work including her books and charity, Lumos
  • Opinion - Rowling's personal thoughts about a variety of subjects, such as politics and charity[1]

FAQ[]

Rowling hopes to use her website to answer a selection of in-universe questions about her work. So far, her website has answered the following:[1]

Long Distance Apparition[]

"Why couldn’t Newt just Apparate to the USA? Why did he go by boat?"
— Apparition becomes increasingly risky over long distances. As with most magic, much depends on the skill of the spell-caster: Apparition requires knowledge of the terrain to which one is moving, or the ability to visualise it clearly. Cross-continental Apparition would almost certainly result in severe injury or death.
Moreover, the beasts in Newt’s case had varying magical natures. Some could have Apparated with him, but others could not.[1]

No-Maj customs[]

"Why did Newt go in through No-Maj customs?"
— He was transporting magical creatures at a time when this was illegal. No-Majs were far easier to fool than the wizarding checkpoint would have been.[1]

Accio[]

"Why couldn’t Newt use ‘Accio’ to retrieve all his beasts?"
— ‘Accio’ only works on inanimate objects. While people or creatures may be indirectly moved by ‘Accio-ing’ objects that they are wearing or holding, this carries all kinds of risks because of the likelihood of injury to the person or beast attached to an object travelling at close to the speed of light.[1]

Veritaserum[]

"Why isn’t Veritaserum used in interrogations?"
— It is, but skilled wizards can avoid its effects by using antidotes and charms. A gifted Occlumens could also resist Veritaserum.[1]

Revelio[]

"Why did ‘revelio’ undo the effects of Polyjuice Potion? "
— It didn’t. Grindelwald's Transfiguration surpasses that of most wizards, so he used a spell, not a potion, to take on the appearance of Percival Graves.[1]

Harry Potter's Obscurus[]

"Why didn’t Harry Potter develop an Obscurus?"
— An Obscurus is developed under very specific conditions: trauma associated with the use of magic, internalised hatred of one’s own magic and a conscious attempt to suppress it.
The Dursleys were too frightened of magic ever to acknowledge its existence to Harry. While Vernon and Petunia had a confused hope that if they were nasty enough to Harry his strange abilities might somehow evaporate, they never taught him to be ashamed or afraid of magic. Even when he was scolded for ‘making things happen’, he didn’t make any attempt to suppress his true nature, nor did he ever imagine that he had the power to do so.[1]

Horcrux Harry surviving Basilisk venom[]

"And finally, an oldie but a perennial favourite… Why wasn’t the Horcrux inside Harry destroyed when he was bitten by the Basilisk in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?"
— A Horcrux can only be destroyed if its container is damaged beyond repair. Harry was healed by Fawkes. Had he died, the Horcrux would indeed have been destroyed.[1]

External links[]

Notes and references[]

J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
Philosopher's Stone book film games film soundtrack game soundtrack
Chamber of Secrets book film games film soundtrack game soundtrack
Prisoner of Azkaban book film games film soundtrack game soundtrack
Goblet of Fire book film games film soundtrack game soundtrack
Order of the Phoenix book film game film soundtrack game soundtrack
Half-Blood Prince book film games film soundtrack game soundtrack
Deathly Hallows book film 1 games 1 film soundtrack 1 game soundtrack 1
film 2 games 2 film soundtrack 2 game soundtrack 2
Cursed Child script play
Fantastic Beasts film series
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book screenplay film game film soundtrack
The Crimes of Grindelwald screenplay film   film soundtrack
The Secrets of Dumbledore screenplay film   film soundtrack
Other written works Other games
Quidditch Through the Ages Wonderbook: Book of Spells / Wonderbook: Book of Potions
The Tales of Beedle the Bard Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Harry Potter Prequel Harry Potter: Find Scabbers
Encyclopaedia of Potterworld (potentially cancelled) Harry Potter DVD Game: Hogwarts Challenge / Wizarding World
Pottermore Presents Harry Potter: Spells
The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac
Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey / Harry Potter Limited Edition LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 / LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World LEGO Dimensions
LEGO Harry Potter Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Motorbike Escape
Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book Harry Potter: The Quest
J. K. Rowling: A Bibliography Harry Potter for Kinect
Harry Potter: The Character Vault / Harry Potter: The Creature Vault / Harry Potter: The Artifact Vault Wizard's Challenge
Harry Potter Film Wizardry Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Harry Potter Trading Card Game
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Art of The Film LEGO Creator: Harry Potter / Creator: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The Archive of Magic: The Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
The Art of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
Harry Potter: The Wand Collection Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World: Movie Magic Volume One: Extraordinary People and Fascinating Places / Volume Two: Curious Creatures / Volume Three: Amazing Artifacts Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
Hogwarts Legacy
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
Other canon Other films / documentaries
J. K. Rowling's official site Harry Potter and Me
Pottermore / Wizarding World The Queen's Handbag
J. K. Rowling's Twitter account J. K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
Harry Potter: The Exhibition Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story
The Making of Harry Potter Harry Potter: Beyond the Page
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
IndividualsPlacesCreaturesTranslations - Cover arts
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