by Dana Lynn Smith
One common question that authors ask is how to build an author website, and some authors wonder if they really need a website at all.
A website is an essential tool for all authors. You need an online hub to send people to (everyone from potential customers and fans, to influencers and the media) and a place to showcase your books and your credentials.
By using a blogging platform to build your site, you can easily create a combination website and blog, all on one site, or just create a traditional website without a blog. For most authors, it’s the easiest and cheapest way to create an author website.
For anyone who isn’t familiar with the terminology, a blog is a particular type of website where people post articles periodically. This article is a blog post and you can see a link to the blog section of my website in the navigation menu near the top of my site. Other links in the menu go to other parts of my site.
Here are the platforms that I recommend considering for your author website:
WordPress.org is the most powerful platform, offering the most flexibility and design options, plus lots of “plug-ins” to perform various functions. This is the tool that professional online marketers use. The platform is free, but expect to pay around $10 a month for web hosting services. To learn how to build, use, or improve your WordPress site, I highly recommend Blog Aid’s training programs.
Authors should be aware that there is a different version of WordPress called WordPress.com. There is a free version or you can pay a fee for certain upgrades. I don’t recommend WordPress.com because there are some limitations to the service. For example, Javascript is not allowed, which may cause problems with things like installing an opt-in form for your mailing list. And the terms and conditions of the service limit or prohibit advertising on your site – you can get details here.
TypePad is a good compromise between ease of setup and features. It’s the platform that I use, but I would use WordPress.org if I were starting over today. Expect to pay $9 to $15 a month, and there’s a discount for annual payment.
Blogger is free and it’s the easiest to set up, but it has some limitations in terms of what can be included on the site. This may be a good choice for single book authors who want to keep it really simple.
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Author Blogs – Use Categories to Organize Your Posts
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Dana, thank so much for mentioning BlogAid's WordPress Training. I really enjoy working with authors!
Posted by: MaAnna | January 15, 2013 at 03:22 PM
My pleasure, MaAnna. And because you are also a nonfiction author I know you have a good understanding of how to build a good author website.
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | January 16, 2013 at 07:50 AM
I use Blogger and I think it's perfect for technologically challenged authors like me who find it difficult to wade through all the extras. It's simple, easy to use and does the job. Of course I am deeply envious of everyone else's blogs with all those bells and whistles...
Posted by: Fiona Ingram | January 16, 2013 at 08:21 AM
Fiona, thanks for sharing your experience with using Blogger.
Authors, here is a link to Fiona's blog, so you can see what it looks like. She has an excellent article about book award contests near the top of the page:
http://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | January 16, 2013 at 08:45 AM
I use weebly. It has a free and a paid version and it's been treating me well so far. You can set up many pages within a site, as many blogs as you wish and if you want, you can hide pages so they don't appear in the tabs.
I've only run into one bug a year ago, aside from that, everything runs smoothly and is easy to figure out.
Posted by: Armada Volya | January 22, 2013 at 07:50 PM
I love WordPress (self-hosted), but I think the way it's described here might be a bit misleading. It would be clearer to say that WordPress itself is free, but requires you to use a webhost to serve or deliver the site, which usually costs a monthly fee. (Most of WordPress's recommended hosts are well under $10/month, too, especially if you pay for a year or two up front. I pay about half the rate you cite here.)
Posted by: Jordan McCollum | January 24, 2013 at 02:45 PM
Jordan, thanks for your note clarifying the cost issue. WordPress.org is free, but you have to pay hosting fees somewhere to host the site. It's good to know that the monthly cost is so low. WordPress.com (which I don't recommend) is hosted free on the WordPress servers so there is no cost (although I think they may offer some premium services for a fee.)
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | January 24, 2013 at 03:11 PM
Great post, Dana. I know that the difference between WordPress.com and .org is really confusing for many, so I hope you'll forgive me for promoting my own blogpost here that describes the differences between the two. I hope it's helpful! http://www.30daybooks.com/in-a-nutshell-the-difference-between-wordpress-com-and-wordpress-org/
Posted by: Laura Pep Wu | January 25, 2013 at 08:17 PM
Laura, thanks for sharing your article outlining the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. I frequently see experts recommending "WordPress" for websites, but most people who read those articles don't understand that there are two kinds of WordPress and what the differences are. I also think authors should consider the rule against on "selling" on WordPress.com.
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | January 25, 2013 at 08:51 PM
Thank you for this! However, I really don't see anything in Wordpress.com prohibiting selling (just prohibiting spam & ads). Can you point to what you are talking about? Thanks!
Posted by: Priya | January 27, 2013 at 01:01 PM
Priya, thanks so much for your note. It appears that WordPress.com has changed their terms since the last time I researched this and they no longer prohibit "selling" from the site. But they do have restrictions on "advertising" which may be of concern to some authors. Details are at http://en.support.wordpress.com/advertising/.
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | January 28, 2013 at 08:24 AM