In today’s digital age, an author website is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. It’s your online home, your digital storefront, and the one piece of internet real estate that you own and control. It’s the central hub of your author platform, the place where you can connect with readers, build your email list, and sell your books. But for many authors, the thought of building a website is overwhelming. It seems technical, complicated, and expensive.
But it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools and a clear plan, you can build a professional, effective author website in a single weekend. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step by step, from choosing a domain name to launching your site.
And if you want to know what pages to include, be sure to download our free guide to the 5 Essential Pages Every Author Needs.
Before You Begin: The Two Paths
There are two main paths you can take when building your website:
- The All-in-One Builder (Easier, Less Flexible): Platforms like Squarespace and Wix are all-in-one website builders that include hosting, templates, and a drag-and-drop editor. They are incredibly easy to use, but they can be less flexible and more expensive in the long run.
- The Self-Hosted WordPress Site (More Flexible, Steeper Learning Curve): This is the path we recommend for most authors. With a self-hosted WordPress site, you have complete control over your design, functionality, and content. It’s cheaper, more scalable, and better for SEO. It has a steeper learning curve, but this guide will make it easy.
This guide will focus on the self-hosted WordPress path, as it’s the best long-term solution for authors.
Day 1: Setup and Foundation
Your goal for Day 1 is to get your website live on the internet. This involves three main steps.
Step 1: Choose a Domain Name (15 minutes) Your domain name is your website’s address (e.g., [YourName]Author.com). Here are some tips for choosing a good one:
- Keep it simple: Your own name is usually the best option.
- Use a .com: It’s the most common and trusted extension.
- Avoid hyphens and numbers: They can be confusing.
Go to a site like Namecheap to see if your desired domain is available. Don’t buy it yet, though—you can get it for free in the next step.
Step 2: Set Up Hosting (30 minutes) Your website needs a place to “live” on the internet. This is called hosting. For new authors, we recommend Bluehost. It’s affordable, reliable, and comes with a one-click WordPress install. Our review of Bluehost can tell you more.
- Go to Bluehost and choose their “Basic” plan.
- On the next screen, you can register your domain name for free.
- Complete the payment process.
- Follow the prompts to create your account and set up WordPress. Bluehost’s guided setup makes this incredibly easy.
Step 3: Install a Theme and Essential Plugins (1 hour) Once WordPress is installed, you’ll have a basic, functional website. Now it’s time to make it look good and add some essential functionality.
- Choose a Theme: A theme is a design template for your site. There are thousands of free and paid themes available. We recommend starting with a free, lightweight theme like Astra or Kadence.
- Install Essential Plugins: Plugins are like apps for your website. Here are the must-have plugins for any author website:
- Elementor: A drag-and-drop page builder that lets you create beautiful, custom pages with no code. Our guide on Elementor for Authors can show you how to use it.
- WPForms: To create a simple contact form.
- Your Email Provider’s Plugin: (e.g., MailerLite, ConvertKit) To create email opt-in forms.
By the end of Day 1, you will have a live, functional WordPress website with a professional design and all the essential tools you need.
Download our free 5 Essential Pages Every Author Needs Guide
This guide will walk you through the entire process, step by step, from choosing a domain name to launching your site.
Day 2: Content and Launch
Your goal for Day 2 is to create the essential pages for your site and get it ready for launch.
Step 1: Create Your 5 Essential Pages (3 hours) Every author website needs at least these five pages. Our free guide to the 5 Essential Pages goes into more detail, but here’s a quick overview:
- Homepage: Your site’s front door. It should be clean, professional, and immediately tell visitors who you are and what you write. Our guide to homepage formulas that convert can help you design an effective one.
- About Page: Your author bio. This is your chance to connect with readers on a personal level.
- Books Page: A page that lists all your books with their covers, descriptions, and links to buy them.
- Contact Page: A simple page with a contact form so readers, agents, or the media can get in touch with you.
- Blog: This is where you’ll post articles, updates, and other content to attract new readers and build your audience.
Use Elementor to design these pages. It’s as simple as dragging and dropping elements onto the page.
Step 2: Set Up Your Email Opt-In (30 minutes) Your email list is your most valuable asset. You need to make it easy for people to sign up. Use your email provider’s plugin to create an opt-in form and add it to:
- Your homepage
- The bottom of every blog post
- Your website’s footer
Our guide on where to put email opt-in forms has more ideas.
Step 3: Launch Your Site (15 minutes) Your site is ready to go! It’s time to remove the “Coming Soon” page and launch it to the world.
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Reading.
- Uncheck the box that says “Discourage search engines from indexing this site.”
- Announce your new website to your email list and on social media!
You’ve Built a Website!
Congratulations! In just one weekend, you’ve built a professional, effective author website that will serve as the foundation of your author career for years to come. You have a place to connect with readers, a platform to build your email list, and a storefront to sell your books.
What’s next? It’s time to start creating content for your blog. Check out our guide on how to write blog posts that attract readers to get started.
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