In the six months since Ancestry launched its online publishing application, AncestryPress, hundreds of customers have written in to offer suggestions for improvement—and in many cases, just to say thanks. Based on customer feedback, the product development team has added dozens of new features, including a larger book format, leather book covers, and a sharing feature that lets you invite family members to preview your project.  

“This new tool is fantastic,” writes Sarah Thomas of Colwyn Bay, Wales. “You have developed a way for me to print things neatly, logically, and in a far superior way to what I have tried.”

 
 
A sample recipe page from an AncestryPress cookbook.

AncestryPress lets you create a family history book from scratch or automatically build a book from templates using the information in your Ancestry online family tree. You can customize your book by changing fonts and backgrounds and adding photos, records, and stories. An ever-growing array of embellishments and editing tools makes it easy to give your book a unique look and feel that expresses your personality.

You can also create a family tree poster—suitable for framing—that shows up to nine generations of your family tree. Or, if you’re looking for a quick gift idea, you can use AncestryPress to make a photo book or photo collage poster.

 
 
A family tree poster from AncestryPress.

“This publishing software is great,” writes Mary Ann Stoikes of Sauk City, Wisconsin. “I don't think it would be possible anywhere else to achieve this professional design. I can't believe all the options we have and how the information from our trees transfers over so easily.”

AncestryPress was developed in response to feedback from Ancestry customers who wanted an easy way to share their research. Many family historians publish their work using the report- and book-building tools in family tree software programs. But those tools offer limited design options, and the output tends to be too bland to display on a wall or coffee table. AncestryPress is the first application to combine family history charts and templates with the creative elements of a digital scrapbooking application. Best of all, AncestryPress is integrated with Ancestry.com, so users can leverage the content of the world’s leading family history website.

In a survey of customers who had created and purchased a family history book, 91 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall experience using AncestryPress, while 93 percent said they were likely to recommend AncestryPress to a friend.

“I love it and expect it will keep improving. Awesome tool!” writes Cheri Haggard of Mission Viejo, California.

George Poe of Bella Vista, Arkansas, published a family history book through AncestryPress in February. “Today I received my AncestryPress book,” he writes. “I put a lot of myself into this book and badly wanted it to be nice. I am frankly stunned. It is better than I could ever have hoped for. To say I am pleased would be an understatement. My family and I will treasure this book for a very long time.”

To explore AncestryPress, go to Ancestry.com and click the Publish tab.