How to Build an Author Website: Getting Started Guide

I powerfully advocator each authors commencement and support a website arsenic portion of their semipermanent trading efforts and ongoing level development. But it’s an intimidating task because truthful fewer authors person been successful a position to create, manage, aliases oversee websites. Where do you moreover begin?

With this guide, I dream to reply each nan astir often asked questions and make nan process a manageable one.

First, determine connected your website building devices and what services you’ll usage (either free aliases paid).

When you take your tools, see these 3 factors.

1. Cost. Unpublished authors aliases those not earning overmuch money should astir apt commencement pinch nan free options.
2. Ease of use. Less tech savvy group admit platforms that return nan guesswork retired of website creation and building. Unfortunately, nan easy-to-use platforms often person drawbacks aliases yet costs you money and frustration.
3. Portability and longevity. Not each platforms will guidelines nan trial of time, which is particularly existent of proprietary systems. (Remember Geocities? Or Apple iWeb?) Open-source platforms thin to use you complete nan agelong word because you’re not locked into immoderate 1 work supplier aliases hosting company. But they whitethorn beryllium much difficult for you to learn.

My speedy recommendations

• If you want a free action that has already stood nan trial of time, effort WordPress.com to start. It’s unfastened root and powers astir 1 successful 5 websites successful nan world. It’s not going anywhere. Later on, if you request much features, you tin upgrade your WordPress.com relationship to a paid plan, aliases easy move to self-hosting. I remark much connected nan self-hosting mobility here.
• If you want an action that’s easier to study aliases use—and you person nan money to spend—try SquareSpace. However, it’s difficult to modulation distant from SquareSpace; it’s a proprietary system.
• A caller open-source level that whitethorn beryllium easy for you to study is Ghost. It will costs you a monthly interest unless you’re precocious capable to group it up connected your ain host/server.
• I’m not a instrumentality of Weebly aliases Wix because they are proprietary systems wherever you yet person to salary to get afloat website functionality. If you’re going to salary for a proprietary platform, I’d thin toward SquareSpace instead. I deliberation it’ll beryllium astir longer.

I admit to favoring WordPress—I’ve utilized it for tract building since 2006. My 15 years of acquisition has made maine very comfortable utilizing it, but I americium not a coder. I person ne'er taken a coding class, and my coding knowledge chiefly involves basal HTML and CSS, each self-taught.

I admit that few authors are arsenic comfortable arsenic I americium erstwhile it comes to WordPress. Still, I deliberation it tin beryllium a very cost-effective action that becomes much powerful for your online presence, complete time, if you’re consenting to perpetrate to learning it.

Buy your ain domain

The domain is nan URL wherever your tract lives, and it should beryllium based connected nan sanction you people under, not your book title. Your writer sanction is your marque that will span decades and each azygous book you publish. If you can’t get yourname.com, past effort for yournameauthor.com, yournamebooks.com, aliases yournamewriter.com. If that fails, see thing different than .com (like .net aliases .me).

Carefully investigation and prime a website taxable aliases creation template.

Whether you’re utilizing WordPress aliases not, 1 of nan keys to a bully acquisition is your prime of theme. Think of a taxable aliases creation template arsenic a tegument for your website. It dictates nan aesthetics—the colors, nan layout, nan fonts, nan styles, and more. Some themes (especially WordPress themes) travel pinch immoderate alternatively unthinkable customizations and further functionality, whereas very elemental themes mightiness person small aliases nary further functionality astatine all. This is why your prime is truthful important—it affects your wide tract creation but besides immoderate of your capabilities to customize your website aliases push it further without knowing code.

Important factors successful choosing a WordPress theme

WordPress themes tin beryllium created by anyone, anyplace and made disposable pinch very small testing. Always cheque nan ratings and reviews for each taxable astatine WordPress, arsenic good arsenic if it has been precocious updated aliases developed. You tin besides spot really galore group person downloaded nan theme—and fame useful successful your favor. The much group who usage it, nan much apt nan bugs person been worked out. Fewer conflicts will beryllium pinch different third-party worldly you mightiness use. It’s besides adjuvant if nan taxable has a support organization wherever you tin inquire questions. Very caller themes should mostly beryllium avoided by beginners unless it’s from a developer who has galore different respected themes.

For WordPress.com users, you’ll beryllium constricted successful your prime of theme—for bully reason. You’ll beryllium presented pinch well-tested and robust themes that are free aliases premium (premium themes costs you money).

If you’re moving a self-hosted WordPress site, past you tin take immoderate taxable you’re capable to find successful nan WordPress universe, which tin sometimes beryllium paralyzing. I urge researching arsenic galore writer websites arsenic you can, and erstwhile you find 1 you like, look for accusation astir what taxable they’re using. You tin show by looking astatine nan root code. (In Chrome, spell to View > Developer > View Source.) Look for nan URL that indicates nan taxable name. For example, here’s a snippet of nan root codification for Bella Andre’s site:

This tells america that nan WordPress taxable is Divi.

Collect nan pursuing assets for your writer website.

• Your master bio. If you don’t already person one, constitute a 100-300 connection master bio successful 3rd personification that would beryllium due if utilized to present you astatine a reference aliases event. Optional but encouraged: a first-person bio that’s overmuch longer.
• Book screen images. For each book you’ve published, obtain the highest solution image you tin find. While you’ll beryllium utilizing little solution images for astir of your tract (to guarantee accelerated loading time), it’s adjuvant to make nan precocious solution type disposable for download aliases arsenic portion of a media/press kit.
• Brief descriptions of each book. Your book’s Amazon page astir apt has a little explanation of your book that you tin commencement with. If not, create a 25-100 connection description.
• Long descriptions of each book. This would beryllium the back screen transcript aliases flap transcript for your book. It’s astir apt astir 200-300 words, aliases nan full-length Amazon description.
• Links to each awesome online retailers wherever your book tin beryllium purchased. At minimum, you’ll want to nexus to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound. Consider adding Apple, Google Play, and Kobo arsenic well. Get links for print, ebook, audiobook, large-print, and overseas connection editions.
• Contact accusation for your supplier aliases publicist, if you person them. Or whomever else fields requests connected your behalf.
• Links to your nationalist societal media profiles. If you person an charismatic Facebook writer page, aliases accounts pinch Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, etc., cod each of nan nonstop links. Don’t fuss pinch accounts wherever you’re not unfastened to being friended/followed by nan wide public.
• Your champion blurbs aliases reviews. Collect immoderate praise that appeared connected nan beforehand aliases backmost screen of your book, or charismatic (positive) reviews your book received from nan media.

Create nan captious informational pages for your writer website.

We’ll get to nan homepage next, but speech from nan homepage, you’ll want nan following:

• About page. Add your master bio. Also see a professional headshot if you person one; if not, a casual changeable will do fine. Your astir page tin person respective sections if you like—mine does.
• A page dedicated to each of your book titles. Always show nan screen image, but support nan solution debased (e.g., little than 500 pixels across) for basal show connected your site. If you like, make nan high-resolution type disposable for download aliases arsenic portion of a media kit. Add a little explanation of your book; furniture successful blurbs, quotes, aliases praise that thief bespeak it’s a awesome book; and add bargain buttons starring to all the awesome retailers. If you want, adhd nan agelong description, too, and/or see a nexus to an excerpt—usually nan preamble aliases section one. If location are immoderate ancillary materials related to your book (book nine guides, FAQs, etc), make judge those are readily disposable and linked to from nan book page.
• A page dedicated to each book bid (if applicable). Make it easy for readers to spot nan bid of books successful nan bid and fig retired which ones they’ve read. Plain chronological bid (the bid of release) typically useful best.
• Contact form. Unless you’re ace celebrated and trying to debar caller opportunities, make it clear really you tin beryllium contacted. I urge a interaction form. If appropriate, adhd your supplier aliases publicist’s interaction info arsenic well—or anyone who mightiness grip connection aliases requests connected your behalf.

Craft your homepage.

What appears connected your homepage will beryllium highly limited (at slightest astatine first) connected nan template aliases taxable that you choose. A elemental homepage creation will person nan pursuing elements:

• A clear personality aliases header. This boils down to your name, tagline (“New York Times bestselling thriller novelist”), and perchance a headshot. This header will apt look connected each page of your site, depending connected your theme. Ideally nan visuals necktie into nan activity you people (e.g., book screen designs, themes successful your work, immoderate charismatic branding you use). Multi-genre authors, aliases authors who person aggregate types of audiences, usually look difficult choices astir what to prioritize and what messaging to use. Your homepage will typically beryllium much effective if you attraction connected appealing to nan assemblage that you want to turn aliases if you attraction connected nan type of activity that you want to beryllium known for. Other types of activity whitethorn person to return a backseat, astatine slightest arsenic acold arsenic nan homepage is concerned.
• The screen of your astir caller book (or moreover each your books). Visitors should spot aliases beryllium introduced to your astir caller book (or nan book astir important to you) connected nan homepage, without having to scroll aliases click astir to find it. Ideally, visitors tin click consecutive to their favored unit tract to make a purchase. Alain de Botton’s homepage manages to encompass nan author’s galore different books and interests astatine a glance. Andrew Shaffer puts respective book covers connected nan homepage. However, don’t presume group will scroll down a agelong homepage. Make judge you person a “Books” tab successful your menu/navigation truthful group tin quickly jump to aliases scan each your titles without scrolling.
• Links to societal media sites wherever you’re active. If you person an progressive beingness connected Facebook, Twitter, aliases elsewhere, see clear icons location successful nan header, footer, aliases sidebar of nan page wherever they tin beryllium recovered quickly. It’s OK to nexus to conscionable 1 tract if that’s nan spot wherever you for illustration readers prosecute pinch you. Avoid linking to societal media sites wherever you person an account, but don’t prosecute aliases actively post.
• An email newsletter signup. The astir important portion of your sign-up is nan connection you usage erstwhile asking group to subscribe. Avoid a generic telephone to action, specified arsenic “Sign up for my free email newsletter.” Instead, trade nan transcript successful specified a measurement that nary different writer could usage nan aforesaid language. Make it unsocial to you and what you send. See James Clear’s site for an illustration of really to do this successful an elegant manner.
• Social proof. This tin beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic a little quote from a superb book review. Or let’s opportunity 1 of your books was an Oprah selection—that would spell beforehand and center. Some authors conscionable instrumentality pinch “New York Times bestseller” (assuming it’s true).
• (Optional) A ace little explanation of who you are. Here’s nan explanation connected writer Scott Berkun’s site: “Scott Berkun is nan bestselling writer of seven books on culture, activity and really ideas work. You can hire him to speak, ask him a question or travel him on email, Twitter and Facebook.”

Homepage creation tends to be very subjective. The astir important point is that nan type of writer you are—and nan type of activity you produce—be recognizable quickly. You don’t want visitors guessing astatine who you are; you person astir 3 to 7 seconds to convey a connection earlier they leave. So don’t get excessively clever aliases cutesy pinch really you authorities your identity.

Make nan navigation aliases paper strategy perfectly clear—which usually intends having a clear way for group to find retired much accusation astir who you are (“About”), really to interaction you (“Contact”), and what books you’ve authored (“Books”).

If you blog

Customize and personalize your site.

You mightiness not person nan resources to do this correct away, but it’s adjuvant to prosecute a designer to create a civilization header image, aliases different create a civilization look that fits your characteristic and books. This post by Simone Collins offers penetration into what this means.

Continue improving your tract complete time.

Nearly each website building systems make it easy to update your tract arsenic you person caller ideas aliases caller ways of communicating what you do. Don’t expect to get it cleanable nan first time; expect that you’ll amended nan tract incrementally nan longer you unrecorded pinch it. You’ll sojourn different authors’ sites and statesman to prime up connected subtle specifications you ne'er noticed before; you’ll want to incorporated their container of tricks into your ain site.

For instance, galore authors incorporate “social proof” into their header images—you spot nan logos of awesome media outlets that person featured their work. You mightiness not really return announcement of this until you person your ain site, and recognize you want to bespeak nan aforesaid benignant of “social proof” that your activity has earned.

This is truthful important I’ll authorities it again: improve incrementally. Your website is ne'er finished. It is ever a activity successful progress. You’ll amended it, tweak it, research pinch it, and hopefully return pridefulness successful really it showcases your work.

If you’re unpublished

All nan aforesaid principles apply, isolated from you mightiness person a much stripped down type of your tract than outlined here. Instead of dedicated pages to your published books, you mightiness person a page devoted to projects successful progress, aliases you could database shorter useful that person appeared online aliases successful print. It’s amended to get your tract started now, while you’re unpublished, truthful you ain your domain early on, study really to usage nan tools, and statesman nan travel of expressing who you are wrong integer media environments.

Here’s much proposal for unpublished writer websites.

Other considerations

• To adhd e-commerce functionality to your site, you won’t beryllium capable to stay connected free website plans. If you scheme to judge payments straight done your tract (known arsenic e-commerce functionality), that’s erstwhile you should see investing successful an upgraded WordPress.com relationship aliases a self-hosted website. (SquareSpace sites person e-commerce functionality baked correct in.)  WooCommerce is simply a WordPress plugin-in that facilitates e-commerce connected your site. As for me, I usage Gravity Forms + Stripe because my needs are very simple. Keep successful mind that, if you do judge payments directly, you request a unafraid site. Check pinch your tract hosting institution astir really to do this.
• Cheap hosting is OK for low-traffic sites, but outages whitethorn beryllium common, and support not truthful supportive. Years ago, I started retired my website connected a very inexpensive hosting scheme from GoDaddy. It worked good and did nan occupation for little than $100/year, but yet I bought a amended hosting scheme from SiteGround pinch further functionality, specified arsenic tract staging (so you tin easy build a tract without it being live), automated nightly backups, and improved caching to amended my tract speed. I now salary $1500/year, a costs that’s mostly wished by my tract traffic. With inexpensive (or cheaper) hosting, you mightiness not find your tract uptime arsenic reliable, and nan support mightiness beryllium lacking. With managed hosting plans—which thin to stress their work and support for tract owners who aren’t techies aliases knowledgeable web developers—the added disbursal tin beryllium worthy it for bid of mind. WPEngine is simply a bully illustration of WordPress managed hosting.
• WordPress users: only usage plugins that you really need. Plugins are bits of functionality that you adhd to your site. They whitethorn beryllium highly simple, specified arsenic a widget that shows nan astir celebrated blog posts astatine your site, aliases they tin beryllium very complex, specified arsenic connection boards and forum systems—or WooCommerce, which adds e-commerce functionality. Whatever functionality you’d for illustration to adhd to your site, you tin stake there’s a plugin that does it—probably a twelve plugins! And therein lies nan challenge. It’s up to you to fig retired which 1 mightiness look champion aliases activity champion connected your site. Plugins whitethorn aliases whitethorn not activity good pinch your theme, aliases they whitethorn origin your different plugins to beryllium disrupted. You seldom cognize what nan result will beryllium until you try. That’s why it’s important to investigation your plugins conscionable arsenic you do your themes. Especially if you’re a beginner to tract building, take plugins that are celebrated and regularly updated, and preferably connection immoderate shape of support.
• If you’re self-hosting your site, instal Google Analytics and usage Google Search Console. Google Analytics tracks and reports your website traffic. The instrumentality is free and only requires that you person a Google relationship successful bid to get started. It’s champion to instal it from nan very opening moreover if you don’t spot a request for it; Google Analytics starts search connected nan time it’s installed and can’t beryllium applied retroactively. Most authors, erstwhile they’re a mates years in, want and tin use from nan information that Google Analytics offers. Something not done arsenic often, but that’s besides valuable, is registering/claiming your tract through Google Search Console. You tin link Google Search Console and Google Analytics for improved reporting. While Google Search Console is much precocious than what astir authors will beryllium capable to understand, it still offers functionality you’ll want complete nan agelong term. In nan short term, usage it to send you alerts erstwhile Google has problems decently indexing/accessing your tract for hunt purposes.
• If you brushwood roadblocks aliases problems, Google it first. This is my No. 1 concealed web improvement tip. I lick astir 90% of my website problems aliases frustrations by searching for correction codes, correction phrases, aliases simplistic explanations of nan problem I’m having, on pinch nan keyword “WordPress.” More often than not, I find personification other who has encountered nan aforesaid problem and solved it. If that doesn’t work, I edifice to nan support organization provided by my WordPress taxable developer.

For much connected writer websites

• Unpublished Writers and Websites: Should You Have One and What Should It Say?
• Self-Hosting Your Author Website: How and Why to Do It
• 10 Ways to Build Long-Lasting Traffic to Your Site aliases Blog