If you are an author—established or aspiring—you definitely need an author website to look professional, grow your online presence, brand yourself, connect with your readers, and, of course, skyrocket your sales. You’ve put in the hard work on your book and now, it is time to let the world know. And let’s face it: website traffic will lead to book sales.
But how do you go about it? Exactly which design features work best for your author website? We recommend at least seven essential features when we build author websites.
1. Your author website must be mobile-friendly
According to Statista,
Mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. In the third quarter of 2020, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 50.81 percent of global website traffic, consistently hovering around the 50 percent mark since the beginning of 2017.
CNBC reports that by 2025, almost three quarters (72.6 percent) of internet users will access the web solely via their smartphones, equivalent to nearly 3.7 billion people.
Clearly, a mobile-friendly, mobile-responsive website is a must. If not, chances are that you may not be found online even if you have a beautiful website. Not optimizing for mobile traffic can result in a slow website and broken page elements. Besides being mobile friendly, your author website must be designed in such a way that it is easy to navigate and your visitor is able to easily shop for your books.
If you already have an author website, view it on your mobile phone. Pretend to be a visitor. Great experience? Then you are good to go. If not, it is time to upgrade your website.
Here’s an example of a great author website we designed: it works perfectly on all devices—from desktops to tablets to mobile screens.
(hover to view or visit the website)
1. Your author website must be mobile-friendly
According to Statista,
Mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. In the third quarter of 2020, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 50.81 percent of global website traffic, consistently hovering around the 50 percent mark since the beginning of 2017.
CNBC reports that by 2025, almost three quarters (72.6 percent) of internet users will access the web solely via their smartphones, equivalent to nearly 3.7 billion people.
Clearly, a mobile-friendly, mobile-responsive website is a must. If not, chances are that you may not be found online even if you have a beautiful website. Not optimizing for mobile traffic can result in a slow website and broken page elements. Besides being mobile friendly, your author website must be designed in such a way that it is easy to navigate and your visitor is able to easily shop for your books.
If you already have an author website, view it on your mobile phone. Pretend to be a visitor. Great experience? Then you are good to go. If not, it is time to upgrade your website.
Here’s an example of a great author website we designed: it works perfectly on all devices—from desktops to tablets to mobile screens.
(tap to view)
2. You author website has the perfect domain name
The domain name for a good author website must be immediately identifiable with the author—it must be easy for your visitors to look for and visit. A custom domain that is unique to you shows you as a credible personality. Invest in a well thought-out domain name and web hosting. Think about it. Are you more likely to click on authorname.blogspot.com or authorname.com?
When you have your own domain name, you appear more professional to your publishers, your readers, your literary agents and any one else looking for you. So make this investment. We recommend namecheap.com and can help you purchase your domain.
(hover to view full design)
3. Your author website showcases your books
Would you agree that a website must be designed to accomplish its purpose? A baker will showcase her cakes. And as an author, you will naturally highlight your books. When your fans arrive on your website, they should be able to find your book titles right away! Your books must jump out at them, inviting them to dive straight in! Also, your author website must make it super-easy for your readers to buy your books—which means linking the right text to their favorite retailers.
3. Your author website showcases your books
Would you agree that a website must be designed to accomplish its purpose? A baker will showcase her cakes. And as an author, you will naturally highlight your books. When your fans arrive on your website, they should be able to find your book titles right away! Your books must jump out at them, inviting them to dive straight in! Also, your author website must make it super-easy for your readers to buy your books—which means linking the right text to their favorite retailers.
(tap to view full design)
4. Your author website reflects your personality and sets the mood for your reader
Have you visited Stephen King’s official website? It engages his fans immediately from the moment they arrive. Of course, the content of your website certainly matters, but you must also use visual cues to set the mood for your fans. Elements like color, images, fonts and other visuals can tell your fans exactly who you are. They highlight your writing genre. From our example, when you land on Stephen King’s website, it is clear that he writes horror fiction. So, get creative and establish the mood and tone you want your readers to experience.
(hover to view full design)
4. Your author website reflects your personality and sets the mood for your reader
Have you visited Stephen King’s official website? It engages his fans immediately from the moment they arrive. Of course, the content of your website certainly matters, but you must also use visual cues to set the mood for your fans. Elements like color, images, fonts and other visuals can tell your fans exactly who you are. They highlight your writing genre. From our example, when you land on Stephen King’s website, it is clear that he writes horror fiction. So, get creative and establish the mood and tone you want your readers to experience.
(tap to view full design)
(hover to view full design)
5. Your author website must have a newsletter signup
Oh yes, you definitely don’t want your readers to visit only once. You want them to keep coming back. And you also want to stay in touch with them, sending them updates, news about your latest books and market to them, turning them into loyal fans. Email marketing is acknowledged as the best way to engage your audience. So when a fan arrives on your website, let them find your newsletter sign up easy so that they can get on your mailing list. Entice them with a free chapter of your book or something equally exciting. In fact, go the extra mile and let them know what they can expect in your emails. Create value by making it interesting.
5. Your author website must have a newsletter signup
Oh yes, you definitely don’t want your readers to visit only once. You want them to keep coming back. And you also want to stay in touch with them, sending them updates, news about your latest books and market to them, turning them into loyal fans. Email marketing is acknowledged as the best way to engage your audience. So when a fan arrives on your website, let them find your newsletter sign up easy so that they can get on your mailing list. Entice them with a free chapter of your book or something equally exciting. In fact, go the extra mile and let them know what they can expect in your emails. Create value by making it interesting.
(tap to view full design)
6. Your author website must make it easy for your readers to contact you
Ever visited a website and wanted to contact the owner but found it really hard to find their contact information? If you said yes, you know how important it is to make it for your publishers, the press, your readers, and movie-producers to get in touch with you! Your contact page could literally be a book deal or movie deal waiting to happen! Make it easy to contact you by having a prominent contact form on your author website. Periodically check your contact form to ensure it works just as it should. Who knows? One email could change your life as an author forever!
(hover to view full design)
6. Your author website must make it easy for your readers to contact you
Ever visited a website and wanted to contact the owner but found it really hard to find their contact information? If you said yes, you know how important it is to make it for your publishers, the press, your readers, and movie-producers to get in touch with you! Your contact page could literally be a book deal or movie deal waiting to happen! Make it easy to contact you by having a prominent contact form on your author website. Periodically check your contact form to ensure it works just as it should. Who knows? One email could change your life as an author forever!
(tap to view full design)
7. Your author website makes it easy for your readers to connect with you on social media
Have you noticed how some authors actively interact with their audience on social media? Yes, readers enjoy engaging with their favorite authors on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and being the first to know about the next book, a book sale, book excerpts and other fun stuff. All of which increases your reach as an author. Make sure your social media buttons connecting to your social profiles are easy to locate, enabling your readers to follow you. A good place to put them is in the header or the footer, since that’s where people look for them.
7. Your author website makes it easy for your readers to connect with you on social media
Have you noticed how some authors actively interact with their audience on social media? Yes, readers enjoy engaging with their favorite authors on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and being the first to know about the next book, a book sale, book excerpts and other fun stuff. All of which increases your reach as an author. Make sure your social media buttons connecting to your social profiles are easy to locate, enabling your readers to follow you. A good place to put them is in the header or the footer, since that’s where people look for them.
It goes without saying that your author website should be clean and uncluttered. The font size should be easy to read. It should be compatible with different browsers.
We also recommend the following sections on your homepage:
- An “about me” section with a high-resolution photo of you. Think about what you would like to know about your favorite author and include that.
- Testimonials/Reviews
If you’re an established author, a press/media kit page is a great page to have. According to reedsyblog.com, “A media kit page indicates that you are a serious author with a book that deserves to be considered,” says Hannah Hargrave, an award-winning book publicist. She’s worked with celebrities like Goldie Hawn and has helped to launch the careers of first-time authors.
“Taking the time to collate all your resources — and formatting them in a useful, clear way — will make a journalist’s life easier and get them on your side. It’s also a lot simpler to send a link to your media kit than to attach several large documents to a pitch email,” she says. (Read this article to learn more about media kits for authors.)
Yes, it is time to become famous!
Are You Ready for Your Own Author Site?
Whether you’re just starting out or a best-selling author, we will build you a professional author website that will grow your brand and your book sales.
Our professional web design team has specialized experience in creating distinctive sites for authors. Our expertise in User Experience will ensure that your visitors will easily find the information they need — and steer them towards your goals—whether it is buying books or signing up for your newsletter.
Let us help you connect with your audience and grow your brand with a fabulous, optimized, secure, and fast author website that boosts your visibility.
Contact us today so that we can help you create an online domain that reflects your brand as an author and grows your readership.