FICTBASE turns any WordPress site into a self-hosted serialized fiction platform — a free Wattpad alternative and Royal Road alternative that runs on infrastructure you control. Publish your web novel or serialized story chapter by chapter. Own your readers. Keep 100% of your revenue. No platform fe
PricingFree downloadThe WordPress.org download is free. Pro versions, add-ons or external services may cost extra.
CompatibilityRequires WordPress 6.3 and PHP 8.0.
SourceWordPress plugins · Oct 22, 2026
01 / Source details
Aboutthistool.
FICTBASE turns any WordPress site into a self-hosted serialized fiction platform — a free Wattpad alternative and Royal Road alternative that runs on infrastructure you control.
Publish your web novel or serialized story chapter by chapter. Own your readers. Keep 100% of your revenue. No platform fees, no algorithm changes, no lock-in.
Why Self-Host Your Fiction?
Platforms like Wattpad and Royal Road give you discovery, then take everything else. When you self-host with FICTBASE:
You own your audience — collect email subscribers directly on your story pages
You own the SEO — Google ranks your domain, not the platform’s
You control monetization — Patreon, subscriptions, ads, or anything else
You set the rules — no content policy changes, no sudden demonetization
Free Features
Stories and Chapters
Create and manage stories with title, cover image, description, genre, and status
Add chapters with a full rich-text editor
Automatic word count and estimated read time per chapter
Chapter reading page with scroll-based progress bar
Previous / Next chapter navigation
Optional author bio block at the end of each chapter
REST API: GET stories, GET chapters, POST view tracking
Works with any WordPress theme — injects CSS only on fiction pages
Optional switch to drop sidebars and footer widgets on fiction pages only
A fictbase-page body class on every page FICTBASE renders, for your own CSS
Pro Features
Pro is an optional paid upgrade available at fictbase.com . The free plugin is fully functional without it.
Drip scheduling — write chapters in advance and release them on an automatic schedule
Reader bookmarks — logged-in users save their exact reading position across devices
Analytics dashboard — total chapter views, 30-day chart, top chapters by reads
Email notifications — subscribers receive an email the moment a new chapter publishes
.docx import — bulk-import a Word manuscript; chapters detected automatically from headings
Custom CSS editor — per-page scoped CSS for story listing, story landing page, and chapter reader
The Self-Hosted Web Novel Platform
FICTBASE is built specifically for serialized fiction authors who want the features of Wattpad or Royal Road without giving up ownership of their work. Whether you write fantasy, romance, LitRPG, progression fantasy, sci-fi, or any other genre — if it’s chapter-based and ongoing, FICTBASE is built for it.
External Services
This plugin makes no external HTTP requests of any kind. No data is transmitted to any third-party service. All data (stories, chapters, settings) is stored in your own WordPress database.
Privacy and external services
FICTBASE does not contact any external server on its own. It sends nothing on activation, on upgrade, on a schedule, or when a page is viewed.
There is exactly one exception, and it only happens if you ask for it. On the FICTBASE admin screens you may see a box inviting you to leave your email address for setup tips and release notes. The field starts empty and is never pre-filled. If, and only if, you type an address and press the button, the following is sent to fictbase.com:
the email address you typed
this site’s address (home_url)
the FICTBASE version you are running
That is the whole payload. It is used to email you setup tips and release notes, and nothing else. We do not sell or share it. You can dismiss the box permanently with “No thanks, do not ask again”, and no request is ever made.
To stop receiving mail later, use the unsubscribe link in any email we send, or ask us at https://fictbase.com/support and we will delete the address.
Story management dashboard — create and manage all your stories in one placeChapter editor — rich-text editor with word count, read time, and Pro publish controlsStory landing page — chapter list, genre/status badges, and subscriber follow formStories archive — public grid at /stories/ with genre and status filtersCustom CSS editor (Pro) — scoped CSS for story listing, story page, and chapter reader
02 / Source details
Gettingstarted.
01Upload the fictbase folder to /wp-content/plugins/
02Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress
03Go to FICTBASE → Stories to create your first story
04Add chapters via FICTBASE → Stories → Chapters
05Your story is live at /story/your-story-slug/
No pages need to be created manually. FICTBASE registers its own URL routes on activation.
03 / Source details
Frequently asked questions.
Is this a Wattpad alternative?
Yes. FICTBASE gives you the same chapter-by-chapter reading experience as Wattpad — story pages, chapter navigation, genre filters, reader themes — but hosted on your own WordPress site. You keep your audience data, your SEO, and 100% of your revenue.
Can I use this for web novels?
Yes. FICTBASE is designed for web novels and serialized fiction of any genre: fantasy, LitRPG, romance, progression fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, and more. Each story gets its own landing page and chapter list, and readers can filter by genre on the public archive at /stories/ .
Do I need to create any WordPress pages?
No. FICTBASE uses its own URL routing. Stories and chapters are available at /story/{slug}/ automatically after plugin activation. If your URLs return 404, go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save.
Where do I put the shortcodes?
Use [fictbase_list] on any page to show all your stories in a grid. Use [fictbase_story id="5"] to embed a single story card. Use [fictbase_chapters story_id="5"] to embed a chapter list.
What is the Pro version?
Pro is an optional paid add-on (from $9.99/month or $99/year) that unlocks drip scheduling, reader bookmarks, analytics, email notifications, .docx import, and a per-page Custom CSS editor. It is purchased at fictbase.com. The free plugin is fully functional without it.
Does this work with any theme?
Yes. FICTBASE injects its own CSS only on story and chapter pages. Your existing theme header and footer continue to wrap reader pages.
How do I change the look of chapter pages?
Go to FICTBASE → Settings . You can choose light/dark/auto theme, font size and reading width. For your own CSS, every page FICTBASE renders carries a fictbase-page body class, and the chapter reader also carries fictbase-reader-page . For deeper changes, copy the template files from the plugin’s public/views/ folder into a fictbase/ subfolder in your theme. Pro adds a Custom CSS editor with separate boxes per page type.
Can I style fiction pages differently from the rest of my site?
Yes. Target the fictbase-page body class, which is present on your story list, story pages, chapter reader, tag, search and bookmarks pages and nowhere else. If what you want is to drop the sidebar and footer widgets on those pages while keeping them everywhere else, there is a switch for it under FICTBASE → Settings → Page Layout , no CSS needed.
Can I turn off the author box or the comments under a chapter?
Yes, and the two are independent. Under FICTBASE → Settings → Page Layout , untick Show the author box at the end of each chapter . Comments have their own switch under FICTBASE → Settings → Comments , and are off on a new install; any single story can also override that on its own edit screen.
Is this GDPR-friendly?
The free plugin stores no visitor data and sends nothing anywhere. Licence key validation is performed by the separate Pro add-on, not by this plugin. Pro’s email subscriber feature stores email addresses in your own WordPress database.
Does this plugin send my data anywhere?
Not unless you ask it to. Out of the box FICTBASE makes no outbound requests at all. The only one it can make is the email opt-in box on the FICTBASE admin screens, which sends your address, your site address and the plugin version to fictbase.com after you type an address and press the button. Dismiss the box and nothing is ever sent. See “Privacy and external services” above.
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