While searching about the ” Book Author Website Design” probably the one question surely comes to your mind.
Does an Author need a Website?
Our answer is “it depends on your end goal”. What you are trying to achieve with an Author Website Design.
But yes, If you are a Book Author, Having a Professionally designed Book Author Website can boost your presence across the world. Along with that, it shows your credibility.
Gone those days, when you have to pay a hefty amount to the marketers, Book Publishers to market your books. Nowadays, it became too easy to market your upcoming book releases via your own personal author website.
1.Benefits of Book Author Website Design
There are dozens of things to mention when it comes to the benefits of having a website. But a few of these are,
- Having a Website helps you to reach a wider market.
- Your audience can always access your content i.e always accessible.
- Having a Website will help you to share the latest updates and contents among your audience.
- The website cuts the costs of marketing for your new releases.
- It boosts your online presence and so people can easily find you.
- E-Commerce integration could allow you to sell your books online.
And there are a lot of things you could do with your website. But the primary objectives which maximum authors follow are,
- Building a Strong Presence.
- Connecting with your followers and Audience.
- Promotion of your Existing books and upcoming releases.
We hope you have got the point, How a Book Author Website Design could add a lot of value towards your Personal brand building along with marketing your Books and services.
Now let’s move towards next,
2. How to Create an Author Website with WordPress?
Building an author website is kind of a job similar to writing a book. There are pages that need to fill with the right contents and layouts.
Before getting started you need to prepare all the resources. And In order to prepare, you need an overview of all the required resources to get a Book Author Website Design done.
The Primary elements are,
- A Domain Name.
- Active Hosting Package.
- Choosing a Website Builder Plugin for WordPress.
- A Mobile responsive stunning theme or a Customized layout.
Domain name
The very first and basic element you need in order to have an Author Website. A Domain name is an address where people can find you. If you are a regular internet user then probably you know that.
Eg. www. google.com, www.amazon.com, etc. are the domain name which we can visit using our browser to access the content of that website.
Similarly, you need to choose a Domain name for your website.
Usually, the authors use their own name for Domain. For example, if your name is ” Millie Jonas” then you can keep a domain name “www.milliejonas.com”
Now you know what domain name is but how to register one for yourself? Well, we have mentioned it in the later part of this article.
Though there are many Domain Name Registrar available in the market but opt for the trusted one only like SiteGround, GoDaddy, NameCheap.
But here, We recommend to have it from SiteGround.
Why ? the answer here is the customer support and ease of doing business. The more in-details explanation you will get in the ” Choosing Web Hosting Package” section.
How to Choose a Hosting Package for Author Website?
The second most important element you need is the ” Hosting Package” to host the content and resources of your site. But choosing a hosting package is very crucial, as this is the place where your website will live 24×7.
If you don’t spare your time in choosing your hosting service provider then you sure gonna face a lot of issues in the future.
So While Choosing Hosting Package, Check the below-listed factors with the hosting provider
- Service Reliability.
- Security Options.
- Speed and Performance optimization.
- Available Disk Quota and Bandwidth.
- Technical Support.
Some globally popular Web Hosting Services Providers are SiteGround, GoDaddy, InMotion Hosting, etc.
Here again, We will recommend going with SiteGround’s Managed hosting. Why?
Let’s compare the Basic Package and Features of two Popular two managed to host service provider
SiteGround vs Godaddy, Which one best for you?
Pricing,
Here you can see the competitive advantage of choosing SiteGround’s Package over GoDaddy.
Both GoDaddy and SiteGround’s Basic Package price is similar i.e $6.99/ month*
But GoDaddy’s package has missed a lot of important features a Book Author Website Must have.
SSL Certificate,
SSL ( Secure Socket Layer) Certificate is one of the Security parameters for your Website. It encrypts the data exchange between the server and your visitors.
Google only rank higher those website which follows the standard guidelines.
Here if you pick GoDaddy, you have to purchase an SSL Certificate at extra cost. And Without SSL your site will be marked with a red flag in the maximum browser as ” Not Secured”
When you Choose SiteGround’s Package you get it for free.
Data backup,
Daily Data Backup is another important feature of a Hosting package must-have. It saves data and hard work on your author website’s content from any Catastrophe.
Say if your site got hacked or any irregular technical fault happens, then only Data Backup can save you. In that case, You should prioritize this option or you will lose your content.
Seem’s GoDaddy has not included this in their plan But you get that with SiteGround’s Package.
Speed & Performance,
When It Comes to Speed & performance, CDN ( Content Delivery Network ) plays a vital role.
The Content Delivery Network helps you with,
- Faster performance and lower latency
- SEO advantages in ranking higher on Google.
- Improves the reliability of your website.
- Offer Better security and DDoS protection.
Who doesn’t want to optimize their site for Performance?
If you also wish the same then SiteGround is the only Preferable choice than GoDaddy.
Unlimited Database,
The database is required to install multiple- applications in the root domain or Sub Domain. It extends the flexibility for the developer or designer. So it is also considered as an important factor.
Keep that in mind SiteGround has also included this thing in their plan while GoDaddy missed it.
Free Email,
You don’t need to purchase an external Business Email service to create your business email id.
With SiteGround’s plan, you can create and manage your business email id from the same dashboard.
Money-Back Guarantee,
Do you think after offering so many features a Money-Back Guarantee offer should be there?
Well with SiteGround’s Hosting package you get 30 Days Money-Back Guarantee if you don’t like the service just raise a ticket and get the amount back.
So Which One you are Going to Select?
Steps to Purchase a Hosting & Domain
Step-1 : choose any plan
The SiteGround Hosting has three plans available,
- StartUp plan is perfect for you when you are just starting a single site.
- GrowBig plan is a great value for money offer, including the option for multiple websites and the SuperCacher that greatly improves website speed.
- GoGeek plan is perfect for people with e-commerce and larger sites, or more geeky development needs like more server resources and GIT integration.
Step 2: Choose a Domain Name
Step 3: Review and Complete the Order
3.What are the best website builders for Book authors?
Once you have registered Domain name and picked the Hosting package it’s time to select the Best Website builder for your author website design.
WordPress has many Drag and Drop Website builders plugin, which allows you to design your page instantly. You need some basic idea about those drag and drop WordPress website builder in order to design your pages.
The most popular Website Builders for WordPress are,
- Elementor Plugin
- Beaver Builder
- Divi
- Visual Composer Website Builder
Among all those Website Builders, We recommend Elementor, a very easy and reliable website builder plugin for a beginner.
4.Best layouts for Author Website design
If you need Website Design inspiration for Author Websites you could take reference from many existing Author Websites.
Here We’ve curated a few best layouts for Author Website Design for you,
Author Website Design Layout – Jacqui Shepherd
If you are looking for a Child Author website Design layout then Author Jacqui Sheperd’s website is the classic example.
When you will visit the official website of the author, http://jacquishepherd.com/,
You will find a very modern neat and clean design. The website layout is beautifully crafted to represents the author’s niche.
The site has proper WhiteSpace which improves the readability of the website’s content.
Author Website Design Layout – Devish Ashura
However, If you’re looking for an elegant and premium looking author website design layout, author Devish Ashura’s official website https://davisashura.com/ is more than a perfect example.
The solid combination of Black and Red color in the Author Website represent what the author writes about.
Author Website Design Layout – David Sedaris
Especially, if you prefer minimal design then author David Sedaris’s official site, https://www.davidsedarisbooks.com is what you could follow.
The author’s website has a minimalistic approach which made the site simple yet elegant and conveying the message the author wants to share with his audience.
If you need more in details steps to understand,
What type of layout do you need to keep in your author website?
Which Pages need to include in my author website design?
What I should Keep in my mind While Designing an Author Website?
Then you’re lucky today, We have created an in-depth Author Website Design Guide.
5.How much Does Author Website Design Costs?
If you would like to know “How much does the Book Author Website design costs ?”
The answer is ” It depends”.
In other words, the costing varies on the resources, platform, and agency, freelancers you have chosen.
A simple overview of the Author Website Design Costs,
Most essential,
- Domain Name Costs – Approx $10 -$12 / year
- Web Hosting Costs – Approx $85- $100 / Year
- Basic 5 page Design Costs – $5 -$500 [ one time ]
Additional,
- E-Commerce site for selling books – $1000- $5000 [ one time ]
- Website Marketing ( SEO, SMM ) – $100 – $2000 / month
- Website Maintenance & Security – $500 -$5000/ year
So, We hope you have got a fair idea about the cost of Designing an Author Website in 2020.
Wrapping Up,
In conclusion, We can say that right now you have much more information about Author Website Design.
You know how to get started by picking up the right domain name, hosting package, website builder, costing, and layout inspiration.
But we believe there are more things you would be interested to know about Book Author Website Design.
Therefore, We have created another In-depth article about the “Author Website Design Guide“.
If you are looking for a complete checklist for author website design, pages need to include in your website, things you need to keep in your mind during author website design.
Surely, the article ” Author Website Design Guide” will answer all your queries.