Building Your Author Website
If you don’t already have a website, author, you need to get on that ASAP! Sure, readers may be able to find you through physical and online bookstores, but how can you be reached? Do you list your email or phone number publicly? I hope not.
Your website is the first stop for many people. Even a simple search online will bring your website front and center, helping direct traffic directly to YOU, which is what you want.
If you already have an author website, these are all good things to keep in mind.
Your website name should be your author name. You can use your book series as the domain name, but unless you’re planning on only writing that series, give yourself the option to expand without any headache down the line. Changing your website URL can be tricky on a good day, and it involves redirecting your book series domain to your author domain. That is a double domain fee plus one domain forwarding fee. Ouch.
Streamline your site with ease of access. Consider placing your navigation bar across the top and leave your footer to do the heavy lifting for social media.
Implement a cohesive design and color scheme. Use a font that is easy to read, with a good contrast to your background color.
Make your home page welcoming. Keep it clean and simple. Every website is unique, just like you and your book(s).
