13 Author Websites That Get It Right

This depends on the goal of the author's homepage, their current marketing strategy and the overall size and structure of the whole website.

That said, if there is one single element you need on your homepage, for SEO it's an <h1> tag with either the author's name or the primary book.

If we're talking the best single element for visitors, it's a nice looking mockup of the primary book.

Designing an author website isn’t just about looking pretty. It’s about giving readers a place that feels like your book.

The key skills you need?

1. Storytelling → turning your voice into a digital experience.
2. Branding → using fonts, colors, and images that feel like you.
3. Clarity → making it easy for readers to find what matters (your books, your bio, your contact).
4. Editing → cutting the clutter so your story shines.
5. Flow → guiding readers naturally toward joining your list or buying your book.

When all of this comes together, your site stops being a résumé… and becomes an invitation.

Your website is your first page. Make it worth turning.

Building websites for authors isn’t quite the same as designing for other businesses. You’re not just creating a digital brochure or a sales funnel. You’re building a space that reflects someone’s personality, showcases their work, and helps readers connect with them.

It’s a mix of creative, technical, and practical skills. Here’s what you really need if you want to do it well.

1. A good eye for design

This probably goes without saying, but the site needs to look good. Fonts, colours, spacing, layout—it all needs to feel considered. A messy or outdated site gives the wrong impression, even if the writing is great. You don’t need to be a trained graphic designer, but you do need to understand how to make things look clean, balanced, and easy to read.

2. An understanding of how people use websites

It’s not just about how it looks. It’s also about how it works. Can a reader quickly find the latest book? Is there a simple way to join the mailing list? Are the key links easy to tap on a phone? Knowing how visitors actually move through a site is key, especially when you’re designing for readers who may not be particularly techy.

3. Clear, concise content

Authors are good at writing, obviously. But writing for a website is different. You need to help shape the content so it gets to the point quickly and encourages people to take action. That might mean rewriting a rambling bio, tightening up a homepage introduction, or suggesting a stronger headline. It’s not about replacing the author’s voice—it’s about making sure that voice works online.

4. Basic SEO knowledge

A big part of an author’s audience will find them through Google, so the site needs to be easy to discover. That means knowing how to use keywords sensibly, writing image descriptions, setting page titles, and getting the overall structure right. You don’t need to be an SEO expert, but you do need to understand the foundations.

5. Confidence with the platform

Whether you're using Wix, WordPress or something else, you need to be comfortable with the tools. That includes building forms, connecting domains, setting up mailing list integrations, and making sure it all works properly on mobile. A lot of time can be wasted fumbling around with settings if you’re not familiar with how things work behind the scenes.

6. The ability to listen

Not every author wants the same thing. Some want to build a list, some want to impress a publisher, others just want a clean place to showcase their books. Listening carefully at the start, asking good questions, and understanding what the author actually needs is one of the most useful skills you can have.

Let's start with the "big three": WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix. Each has its own pros and cons. I'd start with identifying the goal of your website, the complexity of your design, and your comfort level.

WordPress

With countless themes and plugins to choose from, WordPress allows for almost limitless design, but this comes at a cost as plugins and themes must be updated regularly.

I recommend the free Astra theme and Elementor with an upgrade to the Pro version. This mimics the feel of the Squarespace and Wix interface, but with so many more capabilities. If mobile first is your goal, this is a great choice as you can create an entirely different experience.

There is no built-in function for SEO, but there are countless plugins to choose from. I typically use Yoast SEO.

Your WordPress site is only as good as your host provider. Be cautious about what may seem like a bargain. Companies like GoDaddy and Bluehost seem less expensive but don't include backups, added security, SSL, etc. The add-ons can add up.

I recommend that all of my WordPress clients choose WP Engine. They offer a daily backup, a staging environment for future updates/design. They also offer an add-on "Smart Plugin Manager" that keeps everything up to date and will restore from a backup if there's ever an issue (cost $100 annually).

Squarespace

Squarespace is a great choice for authors' sites. The user interface is drag-and-drop, and most clients find it easy to self-manage and make changes going forward.

Need a blog, a store, or a scheduling tool? Interested in custom merch, forms, social media feeds, and links? No problem, it's all built in and ready for you when needed.

The downside of Squarespace is site speed, and though you can customize on mobile, it is somewhat restrictive.

Squarespace covers the basics for SEO: H1, SEO descriptions and titles, alt-text, etc. There is a free (or paid) Chrome extension called SEO Space that is a game-changer for Squarespace's SEO. If you choose Squarespace, I HIGHLY recommend this tool!

Wix

I have a love-hate relationship with Wix. It shares a similar drag-and-drop design tool and a variety of pre-built sections and components, which can help jumpstart your creativity.

Unlike other web building tools, it allows you to draw way outside the lines, meaning there are no restrictions to brand guidelines, so you can choose as many fonts and colors as you like. This can lead to style overload, and why I often get hired to clean up Wix sites.

Wix allows for customization on mobile. More so than Squarespace, less so than WordPress/Elementor.

The biggest advantage to Wix, as I see it, is the built-in SEO tool. In my experience, Wix sites tend to show up on search engines more quickly if you follow their guidelines. They are also the only platform that attempts to address ADAA compliance issues.

Summary

Understand your priorities and find a tool that you enjoy working with that best meets your needs.

This all depends on what backend you're most comfortable with. Youtube has some great video tutorials for Wordpress/Squarespace/Wix, which will offer an overview of what it's like to create or update a page. That's where I'd start, as you want something that's easy for you to update.

Self-hosted Wordpress will give you the most control. This is especially important if you have 5+ books. Some designers can offer automation—meaning they can set the site up so you only have to add a new book page and the book's cover/info automatically appear everywhere it needs to across the site. (Double check with your designer to make sure they offer this.) Which is great if you have a long series or multiple books.

However, Wordpress doesn't have a default visual editor. (Some plugins/themes offer visual editing with mixed results.) Most hosting options are solid—look for free SSL, and if there's a limit on emails addresses or domain names/sites. Space is nice, but most sites don't hit 2gb (unless there are multiple sites and a separate store). 5gb is usually more than enough. It's nice to have the option for multiple sites, in case you want to have a separate store later (or a separate site for a pen name).

For specific host recommendations, I've had good luck with Hostgator, SiteGround, MDDHosting, and Inmotion. While Bluehost is often recommended online, it's been very slow this year (2024) especially for the price. I've heard good things about Cloudways, Hostinger, and A2 Hosting. Wordpress.com is also viable with their business plan, though it won't give you as much control as a standard host.

For page builders (visual editors), I tend to recommend Squarespace over Wix, as I find Squarespace more intuitive since Wix's update (introducing Studio) this past spring (2024). Page builders offer no automation, which means adding a new book can be a laborious process depending on where you want the book's info to appear. For example, if you only want the cover on the book page and the home page, that's only two pages to update. If you have a series and want each book in the series to have a "read more" section with the other books in the series, then you have to update the cover manually on each of the series' book pages. Not a big deal for a small library, but rather a pain for a larger one.

At baseline though, start with YouTube. Skim tutorials on what it's like to create/update a page on the platform you're interested in. This will give you a better sense of how the platforms operate. Whatever is easiest for you to operate is (almost) always the best option.

If you're starting a website—whether you're a first time author, prolific writer, entrepreneur, or creator—the first big decision is: what platform should you use to build and host it?

The short answer? Use Wix. And no, I’m not being paid to say that. In my opinion it’s the best all-in-one option for most creatives—especially those who want a professional-looking site without needing a full-time developer or a background in code. I know this because I have made 350 author sites on Wix. And NONE of the clients have swapped out to another platform. They love Wix.

Let’s break it down.

1. Why Wix?

Wix is a drag-and-drop website builder, meaning you design your site by moving things around the screen—text, images, buttons, forms—without touching a single line of code. It’s intuitive, flexible, and surprisingly powerful.

Need a newsletter signup? Built in. Want to sell something? E-commerce tools are ready. Looking to blog, book appointments, take payments, or embed video? Check, check, check, and check.

It’s also strong on SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which is crucial if you want people to actually find your site. Wix gives you full control over metadata, image alt text, and URL structure—important features that many budget builders skip or limit.

Wix also has a huge suite of Ai tools not just to create your site, but tools to help you grow your business.

1. Hosting? Covered.

One of the best things about Wix is that hosting is included. You don’t have to worry about servers, SSL certificates, or whether your site will crash when you get a spike in traffic. It’s all taken care of behind the scenes.

Their hosting is fast, secure, and globally distributed. And because everything is in one place—your domain, design, hosting, analytics—you’re not juggling between different services trying to stitch it all together. (Currently wix is £259 for THREE years)

1. What About WordPress?

Great question. WordPress is flexible and widely used. But it’s also more technical. You’ll need to find your own hosting, install updates, manage plugins, and troubleshoot issues as they arise. You'll need to buy something like "Divi" to actually build your site ON, as Wordpress is just a framework.

If you enjoy that level of control and don't mind some backend tinkering, WordPress is a solid option. But if you'd rather spend your time creating content or building your business, Wix is much more straightforward.

1. What About Squarespace?

Squarespace is slick and polished, and works well for simple sites. But in my experience, it's more restrictive when it comes to customization, third-party tools, and SEO settings. Their editor also isn’t as smooth or flexible as Wix’s.

1. Final Verdict

If you’re looking to launch a professional, polished, easy-to-manage website that doesn’t eat up your time Wix is my top recommendation. It’s beginner-friendly, robust, and grows with you and your business.

And if you want to make sure your site not only looks great but also works hard for your brand or business—that’s where I come in.

Let's start with the basics of a signup form. Most web builders have forms built in, but make sure it's connected to some email marketing tool. Squarespace and Wix have their own, or you may choose to add a third-party like Mailchimp.

I recommend setting up an automation so that when someone signs up for your list, they receive a welcome email. This could also include any related news or next steps. You may also want to create a "drip campaign" that sends additional emails every few days or weeks, but a warning only send emails that add value and are of interest. Don't email just for the sake of emailing.

Another way to nurture a list is by adding a value-add that is gated. For example, a PDF or link to preview your book, a guide for writers, etc. Something that encourages them to share their email in exchange for something that makes them feel like an insider.

And of course, make sure there is a way to get in touch with you either by listing your email and/or phone, or a contact form. Also make sure your social media is prominent.

Last tip, even if you aren't ready to start sending emails, the time to start building your list is ASAP. Some visitors may only visit your site once so make sure your CTA (call to action) is clear without being confrontational.

Good luck!