How to Create an Author Website with WordPress in 2023
As an author in today‘s digital world, having your own website is essential. It serves as your central online hub – a place to showcase your work, connect with readers, sell books and explore new opportunities to grow your writing career.
While you can promote yourself through social media and other online platforms, your author website is the only place on the web that you truly own and control.
Think of it as your 24/7 marketing tool, press kit, book store and fan club all rolled into one.
In this in-depth guide, you‘ll learn how to plan, set up and optimize a professional author website using WordPress. No technical skills required!
Why Authors Need Their Own Website
In the past, many authors left the job of promotion entirely up to their publisher. But these days, both traditional and self-published authors are expected to do a lot of their own marketing – and that starts with having a central online presence.
Your author website serves several key functions:
- Establish your brand and credentials
- Showcase your books and other works
- Provide an easy way for fans to learn about you
- Build your mailing list
- Open up PR and media opportunities
- Network with other authors and publishing professionals
- Make book sales and explore other income streams
In short, your website is one of the most powerful tools in your book marketing arsenal. It‘s the place you send people to from your social media profiles, email signature, business card and author bio.
Planning Your Author Website
Before diving into the technical process of setting up your site, it‘s important to plan out your key goals and the features you need.
At a basic level, your author website should include:
- Homepage
- About page with bio
- Blog or news section
- Book sales page(s)
- Contact page
- Email list signup form
- Links to social media profiles
You may also want to include:
- Press kit with author photos, bios and key info
- Events and media appearances
- Book extras like sample chapters, bonus content
- Testimonials and reviews
- Online shop to sell autographed books or merchandise
- Membership area for fans
- Online courses and other premium content
Think about the main actions you want visitors to take – joining your mailing list, learning about your books, contacting you for media opportunities, etc. – and make sure those are prominently featured.
Keep the navigation simple and use clear calls-to-action to guide people through the site.
Setting Up a Self-Hosted WordPress Site
WordPress is the world‘s most popular content management system and website builder. Over 40% of all websites run on WordPress, including many of the biggest author and book-related sites.
WordPress itself is free and open source. You can use it to build any type of website and customize it with themes and plugins to get the exact look and functionality you need.
There are two versions of WordPress:
- WordPress.com – A hosted version that‘s easy to set up but limited in features and customization. Free and premium plans available.
- WordPress.org – The self-hosted version that you install on your own web hosting. This gives you full control and flexibility but requires a bit more setup.
To build a professional author website, we recommend using the self-hosted WordPress.org version. For the rest of this guide, "WordPress" will refer to self-hosted WordPress.org.
Here are the basic steps to set up your author website with WordPress:
- Get a domain name and web hosting
- Install WordPress
- Choose a theme and customize your design
- Add key plugins for functionality
- Create your main pages
- Set up your blog
- Implement an email signup form
- Optimize for SEO
- Integrate social media
- Explore other features and income streams
Let‘s go through each step in more detail.
- Get a Domain Name and Web Hosting
To set up a self-hosted WordPress site, you need:
- A domain name (yoursitename.com)
- WordPress hosting
For your domain name, aim for something that clearly represents you or your books. Typically this will be your author name (janesmith.com) or pen name.
Avoid domains that are too long, hard to spell or contain hyphens or numbers. You want something memorable that will look good on a book cover or business card.
For WordPress hosting, we recommend Bluehost which is one of the biggest hosting companies and officially recommended by WordPress.org.
Bluehost offers affordable WordPress hosting plans starting at $2.95/month. You get a free domain name, SSL certificate (for security), and one-click WordPress installation.
To get started, head to Bluehost and choose the plan you want. The cheapest Basic plan is fine to start with – you can always upgrade later as your site grows.
On the next screen, enter the domain name you want to use. You can register a new domain or use one you already own.
Complete the registration process by entering your account and billing info. We recommend unchecking the add-ons as you likely won‘t need them at this stage.
- Install WordPress
The next step is to install WordPress on your hosting account. With Bluehost, this is a simple one-click process.
Log into your Bluehost account and go to My Sites → Create Site. Enter your site name and tagline (you can change these later).
Click Next and Bluehost will automatically install WordPress and set up your admin account. You‘ll see the success message with your WordPress login URL, username and password.
You can change these details later in your WordPress dashboard under Users → Profile. Keep this info safe as you‘ll need it to log into your site.
- Choose a Theme and Customize Your Design
One of the best things about WordPress is that you can easily change the entire design of your site just by installing a new theme.
There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes available, including many designed specifically for authors and writers.
Some top places to find themes are:
- WordPress.org theme directory (free)
- Themeforest (paid)
- Elegant Themes (paid membership)
- StudioPress (paid)
- MyThemeShop (free and paid)
When choosing a theme for your author site, look for the following:
- Clean, professional design
- Easy customization options
- Responsive layout for mobile devices
- Page templates for common pages (about, contact, book landing page, etc.)
- Blog functionality
- Positive reviews and ratings
- Regular updates and support
Take time to browse the theme preview and check the feature list to make sure it has everything you need.
Once you‘ve chosen a theme, install it on your site by going to Appearance → Themes → Add New. If you have a ZIP file of a premium theme, use the Upload Theme option.
After activating the theme, customize it with your own colors, fonts, logo and other brand elements. Many themes have a built-in options panel that lets you make these changes without editing any code.
For more control over your design, you can use a drag-and-drop page builder plugin like Elementor, Divi or Beaver Builder. These let you create custom page layouts using a visual editor.
- Add Key Plugins for Functionality
In addition to your theme, WordPress plugins are the other way to add features and functionality to your author website.
Some key types of plugins to consider are:
- Contact form
- Email list and newsletter signup
- Social media sharing and follow buttons
- SEO and site speed optimization
- Security and backups
- Book sales and affiliate links
- Author bio box
Take time to read reviews and user feedback to find quality plugins that are regularly updated and well-supported.
Install plugins by going to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress dashboard. Search for the plugin name or use the Upload Plugin button to upload a ZIP file.
After installing a plugin, go to its settings page to configure the options and customize how it works on your site.
- Create Your Main Pages
With your theme and plugins set up, you can start creating the core pages for your author site.
At a minimum, you‘ll want:
- Homepage – Welcome visitors and highlight your latest book or project. Include prominent links to join your email list and buy your books.
- About – Your author bio, credentials, awards, press coverage. Include a professional headshot and links to your full press kit.
- Books – Dedicated sales pages for each of your books with cover images, descriptions, excerpts, reviews and purchase links.
- Blog – Your blog feed and links to recent and popular posts.
- Contact – Make it easy for readers and the media to get in touch with a simple contact form and links to your active social profiles.
Use your theme‘s page templates to create these pages and customize them with your own text and images. Make sure to include clear calls-to-action (CTAs) to guide visitors to take the next steps.
For a consistent look, try to use similar fonts, colors and layouts across your pages. Break up long text with subheadings, bullet lists and visuals.
- Set Up Your Blog
Blogging is one of the best ways to attract traffic to your author website, engage with readers and share your writing to a wider audience.
You can blog about the writing process, share excerpts and teasers of upcoming books, comment on industry news and events, or write about the themes and topics you cover in your books.
If your theme doesn‘t have a built-in blog page template, create a new page and set it as your "posts page" under Settings → Reading.
Then, add links to your latest posts in your navigation menu and sidebar so visitors can easily browse your blog content.
To make your posts more engaging, use high-quality images, pull quotes, click-to-tweet excerpts, and embedded videos. And always include a CTA at the end of each post to encourage comments, social shares or mailing list signups.
- Implement an Email Signup Form
Building an email list of fans and readers should be one of the top priorities for your author website.
As the saying goes, "the money is in the list." Even a small list of engaged subscribers can have a big impact on your book sales and career opportunities. You have a direct line to your biggest fans.
To start building your list, you need to make it easy for people to subscribe. Place signup forms in prominent locations across your site, such as:
- Header or top bar
- Sidebar
- Footer
- Pop-up or slide-in
- Under blog posts
- On your About and Contact pages
Use a clear CTA like "Join My VIP Reader List" or "Get Free Book Updates." You can incentivize signups by offering a free book preview, character guide, or other exclusive content.
To manage your list and send newsletters, you‘ll need an email marketing service like Mailchimp, ConvertKit or AWeber. These integrate with WordPress and provide features like automated welcome sequences, list segmentation and analytics.
- Optimize for SEO
For long-term traffic growth, optimizing your site for search engines is key. This is known as search engine optimization or SEO.
By targeting relevant keywords in your content, meta tags, headings and links, you can rank higher in Google search results and attract more organic traffic to your site.
Some basic WordPress SEO tips include:
- Install an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math
- Do keyword research to find phrases your target readers are searching for
- Include keywords naturally in your page titles, headings, URL slugs and body copy
- Write compelling meta descriptions to encourage clicks from search results
- Use descriptive alt text on all images
- Link to other relevant pages and posts within your site
- Build high-quality backlinks from other reputable sites
SEO is a complex and ever-evolving field. But by following best practices and consistently creating valuable content, you can improve your search rankings and attract more targeted traffic to your author site.
- Integrate Social Media
In addition to your website, it‘s important to have a presence on the social media channels where your target readers spend time. This could include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, YouTube, etc.
Your social profiles provide another way for readers to discover and connect with you. They also help drive traffic back to your website and book sales pages.
Make it easy for visitors to find and follow you on social media by including prominent links and icons on your site. You can also add social share buttons on your blog posts and book pages to encourage visitors to spread the word.
Use a social media management tool like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to schedule your posts in advance and track your performance across all channels.
And don‘t forget to engage! Respond to comments and messages, run polls and contests, and join relevant groups and conversations. Building genuine connections with your readers is one of the best ways to turn them into lifelong fans.
- Explore Other Features and Income Streams
As your author platform grows, you may want to explore other features and income streams for your website.
Some ideas:
- Online courses – Teach writing, publishing or the topics you write about
- Membership site – Offer exclusive content and community for a monthly fee
- Paywalled content – Sell access to premium articles, short stories, or book previews
- Affiliate marketing – Earn commissions by recommending books and products you use
- Sponsored posts – Get paid to write about relevant brands or products
- Freelance services – Offer editing, coaching or speaking services
- Merchandise – Sell branded t-shirts, mugs, and other gear
- Donations – Ask for support from fans to help fund your writing
Remember, your author website is a long-term investment in your career. As you grow your platform and readership, you can experiment with different monetization strategies to find what works best for you and your audience.
Author Website Examples
Need some inspiration for your own site? Here are a few examples of well-designed author websites:
- Joanna Penn – https://www.thecreativepenn.com/
- Mark Manson – https://markmanson.net/
- Jenna Moreci – https://jennamoreci.com/
- James Clear – https://jamesclear.com/
- Austin Kleon – https://austinkleon.com/
For even more examples, check out The Book Designer‘s monthly roundup of the best author websites.
With some planning and the right tools, any author can create a professional website that helps them build their brand, connect with readers and sell more books.
Follow the steps in this guide and you‘ll be well on your way to having an author website that stands out in a crowded market and takes your writing career to new heights.
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