An author website is like a home base for all your marketing, publicity, and promotional efforts. When you’re trying to promote your book, every detail counts. An author website is an excellent starting point for every writer.
Benefits of an Author Website
- Build an email list: An email list is your strongest marketing tool. You can build a new one with a lead magnet on your website.
- Sell books: Integrate your website’s e-commerce functions to sell books directly to readers.
- Interact with readers: Use your blog, forums, or discussion groups to chat with readers. Host book clubs, workshops, and courses on your website.
Why You Need an Author Website
Use your author website as your internet home. It’s a place to show your work. It’s a natural destination for agents, fellow writers, reviewers, book podcasters, event organizers, and others with an interest in books and new writers. It shows that you’re a professional who takes your work seriously.
A professional-looking author website gives you credibility and helps reinforce your branding. As a marketing and e-commerce tool, it’s open all day and night to collect emails, market your books, and improve your ranking on search engines.
Key Elements of a Successful Author Website
Your author website should look professional and high-quality. This is especially important if you want to attract writing clients and agents. The key elements of a great-looking, top-quality website are:
- Book page images
- Contact page
- Media kit for interviews and events
- News posts about upcoming publications and events
- Blog posts
Steps to Building Your Author Website
Choose a Website Platform
Some popular options are WordPress, Squarespace, Weebly, GoDaddy, or HostGator. When choosing the platform, consider ease of use, customization, and cost. WordPress is very popular and offers a lot of customization, but it requires a learning curve before you can use it. The DIY platforms are designed for non-technical beginners and are easy to use, but they may limit what you can do with your site.
Compare the costs and benefits of each website builder. Most platforms offer varying levels of service, and your subscription cost will determine the features and storage size of your website. As a first-time writer, you will be fine with a basic plan.
Register Your Domain Name for Your Author Website
What should you name your site? It’s best to pick one that reflects your author name or your brand. Before you can build your site, you’ll have to register your name through a registration site. GoDaddy and NameCheap are two affordable options.
Choose a Hosting Plan for Your Author Website
If you’re using WordPress, your site will have to be “housed” on a hosting site. Some of the more popular sites are BlueHost or SiteGround. If you’re using a DIY website builder like Weebly, the monthly cost includes hosting. It also includes regular security and performance updates, which are important.
Start Designing
Most DIY website builders offer hundreds of attractive, professionally designed templates. Using the website’s drag-and-drop features, you can easily customize the layout with your name, images, and chosen colors.
Remember to add essential pages, including:
- Home page to highlight news and updates
- About page so readers can learn more about you and your writing
- Portfolio page showing cover images of your books and links to other work you’ve created
- Contact form
- Online store if you’re selling books through your website
Launch and Promote Your Site
Once your website is finished, it’s time to repair any final bugs and launch it into the world. Share your address on social media accounts, and email a link to your e-mail subscribers.
Schedule Regular Maintenance
Website maintenance is necessary for every site. It refers to regularly checking performance, updating content, and backing up the site. Failure to maintain it can create slow-loading pages, downtime, and security problems.
Some of this will happen automatically. Regularly posting new content will keep your site fresh. Most hosting sites and platforms have built-in mechanisms. Others offer maintenance services as add-ons.
Your maintenance checklist should include:
- Backups of your important data.
- Establishing a disaster recovery plan.
- Monitoring performance and speed.
- Security scans.
- Checking links for changes or breaks.
- Renewing your domain name and web hosting plan annually.
Working with a Professional Website Designer
If you’d rather leave the design, building, and maintenance of your author website to a professional, consider hiring a designer. The right one can create a beautiful, responsive site you can be proud of. Here are some things to consider when choosing a website designer.
- Specialization: Work with designers who have done work for other writers. Ask to see their portfolios.
- Platform choice: Some designers use DIY platforms like Weebly, while others prefer WordPress.
- Process: What is their collaboration style? How many revisions will you get?
- Maintenance: Who will manage the updates and other maintenance issues? Does the designer offer a maintenance plan, or can you hire them for annual website checkups?
Cost of Working with a Website Designer
The cost of hiring a professional will depend on several factors. If you want a simple, fast design on a hosting platform like Squarespace, you can hire someone to do it on a freelance basis. If you need a highly functional website with ongoing maintenance and support, you will pay top dollar for it. Knowing how designers charge for their work will help you set a realistic budget.
How Pricing Works
- Hourly rates: Designers sometimes charge hourly for edits, smaller projects, or open-ended work.
- Fixed-price projects: A single price for a well-defined scope of requirements is recommended if you know exactly what you want.
- Retainers: Some designers include ongoing updates, backups, security, and minor tweaks that are billed monthly.
What You Will Pay and What You’ll Get
Hourly: Freelance web designers charge from $0 to $200 an hour. For a small or basic custom site, you will spend from $5000 to $6,700. If you want high-powered features like payment processing, monthly maintenance, and content management, you can spend $10,000 or more. Some businesses with complex, heavily visited websites have spent more than $100,000 on a single site.
To Sum It Up
Budget at least $5,000 for an attractive, functional, professional website suitable for a small business or an author. The hourly rate will range from $30 to $200 an hour. Many pros charge around $75 an hour. If you want extras like e-commerce integration or custom functions, you’ll pay more for them.
Find Your Home on the Web
Your author website can help you market your work and build your brand as an author. Whether you design it yourself or hire a professional, it’s faster and easier than ever to find your home on the web. If you’re looking for fast, easy printing, talk to Dazzle Printing.
