How to create an author website: a step-by-step guide

An author website is where readers, journalists and event organisers land after they hear about your book. Done well, it sells the book, gets you interviews and brings in speaking invitations. Here’s how to create one, step by step.

Step 1: Register your name as a domain

Use your name, not the book’s title: yourname.com or yournameauthor.com if your name is taken. You’ll write more than one book, and a name-based domain holds them all. Register it in your own account so you always control it.

Step 2: Choose a platform

Option	Good for	Watch out for
Wix or Squarespace	Most authors; visual editing	Customise the template so it doesn’t look generic
WordPress	Flexibility and blogging	Needs regular updates and security care
A designer who builds and maintains it	Authors short on time	Check you own the domain and content

Make sure your platform supports your own domain, works well on phones and loads fast.

Step 3: Plan your pages

A strong author website usually needs six pages:

1. Home: latest book, one-line hook and a buy button.
2. Books: one page for each book.
3. About: photo, short and long bio.
4. Press / media kit: bios, headshots, book details and topics.
5. Speaking or events: talks, past events and an enquiry form.
6. Contact: email, and agent, publicist or bureau details.

Step 4: Build the homepage around your latest book

Above the fold, show:

• the cover, large and sharp;
• a one-line hook: what the book is about and who it’s for;
• a “Get the book” button;
• one line of praise or an award.

Below that: a short introduction to you, your other books, and routes to speaking and press. See what the best author websites include for real examples.

Step 5: Give each book its own page

Each book page should include:

• cover, title, subtitle, publisher and publication date;
• a 100–200 word summary written for readers;
• praise and endorsements, with names;
• awards and translations;
• buy links to the publisher, Amazon, Bookshop.org and international stores;
• media: interviews, podcasts and excerpts.

Separate book pages can each rank in Google for the book’s title, and they’re easy to share.

Step 6: Write your about page and bios

Write a short bio (about 50 words) and a long bio (150–200 words), both in the third person, so others can use them as they are. See how to write a bio for templates.

Step 7: Add a press page

Journalists work on deadlines. Give them everything in one place: bios, high-resolution headshots, book details, topics you can comment on and a contact line. There’s a full media kit guide and template here.

Step 8: Add speaking and contact pages

If you give talks, list your topics, add a video, name past events and include a short enquiry form. On the contact page, say who handles what (you, your agent, publicist or speaking bureau) and how quickly you reply.

Step 9: Connect your site to everything else

• Link to it from your publisher’s author page.
• Claim your Amazon Author Central and Goodreads author profiles, and add your site.
• Add it to your social profiles and email signature.
• Submit it to Google Search Console.

Step 10: Keep it current

Add new books, interviews and events as they happen, with dates. An author site that stops at a book from years ago tells visitors you’ve stopped too.

Quick checklist

• Domain in your name
• Homepage led by your latest book
• One page per book, with buy links
• Short and long bio
• Press page with headshots
• Speaking or events page, if relevant
• Contact details that are easy to find
• Connected to publisher, retailer and social profiles

If you’d rather have it done for you, see author website design: I design, write and maintain author websites for academics. I’ll design two sections of yours from your real work, free, within two working days. Request your free preview.