I'm possibly looking to make a witch character that holds her own on the frontline, but the only archetype that anyone mentions for this is the Scarred Witch Doctor. I was looking to be Human, Half-Elf, or Elf, so that's not an option.
Is it possible to make a pure Melee Witch or will I need some Fighter levels mixed in?
No one mentions it anymore. Because it was switched from Con casting to just a trating your INT higher (basically trying to copy that one tiefling ability that treats cha higher for sorcerer stuff). If used by orcs, then it is fine... anyone trying to get it via half orc or racial heritage obvious are kinda just normal witches, but more broken.
Anyway- You can still use hexes while in armor, so you could theoritically dip fighter. Evil eye can target AC, so you can pretend you are kinda going about like an unchained rogue... but you are WORKING YOUR WAY UP TO CORE ROGUE LEVELS OF ATTACK. So...yeah...
..sure you don't want to just play a shaman? They have hexes and BAB...that is actually worth mentioning. They also don't have to dip out for basic proficiencies.
Hexcrafter archetype magus is also a nice fit.
I'm playing a witch who uses prehensile hair to deliver the touch attacks of her spells and will be getting hex strike. That said, she doesn't "front line," per se, and lets the extra reach work in their favor.
If your primary goal is to really be a Witch, that is tough. But if what you really want is hexes and a witch like feel, then a Hexcrafter Magus is a pretty nice compromise. Add in Bladebound and you might be Zannah like.
... some of the suggested builds dip into white hair witch for more hair action
... I see that someone already mentioned the hexcrafter while I wandered off. One of my favorite archetypes and some good ideas in the discussion
I liked the Shaman as she uses Wisdom rather than Intelligence for her spells.
The Hexcrafter Magus sounds almost perfect, though. Blackblade would be nice, but their weapon can't be a Two-Bladed Sword...
Study up on touch spells and touch attacks. Find a way to learn or use wizard/sorcerer touch spells. Get a wand of Inflict (blank) wounds.
Here's a build idea I worked on for a melee witch using a quarterstaff. The Strength patron + Fate's Favored is key to keeping attack and damage bonuses high, and the protector archetype for your familiar is a big boost to your defense.