Building an author website looks a little different for each writer, but the fundamentals are the same: establish who you are, present your books clearly, and make it easy for visitors to find what they need. Your site doesn’t need to be complicated to do those things well. These are the steps to create an author website that looks professional, works well, and can be maintained over time.
We’ve been building author websites for more than a decade—for writers ranging from debut authors to New York Times bestsellers—and the advice below reflects what we’ve found works in practice.
Step 1. Buy Your Domain
Even if you’re still wondering whether or not authors need a website, it’s a good idea to purchase a domain. This is a relatively small annual expense.
Usually, your domain should be based on your author name. If yourname.com is not available, you might consider yournameauthor.com, yournamebooks.com, or yournamewriter.com. John Green, author of The Fault In Our Stars, uses the latter naming convention for his website.
In most cases, your author-name domain is the priority. Individual book domains are only worth purchasing if you have a specific use for them.
It is important that you retain ownership of your domain. You can buy a domain from any ICANN-accredited domain registrar—such as GoDaddy, Cloudflare, or Squarespace—then point it to your site after it is built.
Step 2. Gather Your Assets
Assets you’ll want to gather:
Images. Gather your headshot, book covers and any other photography, artwork, or publisher-provided materials you want to use. If you work with a web designer, they can help you determine what else the site needs.
New authors sometimes assume a website requires custom illustrations or elaborate graphics, but polish comes from typography, spacing, and image quality. Your book cover can provide the site’s visual direction and serve as the homepage hero image. See examples of well-designed author sites.
Bio. Authors often display a short bio on the Homepage linking to a more detailed bio on the About page. Write your bio with authority rather than hype. Clearly state relevant credentials, accomplishments, or expertise.
Book copy. Have your book descriptions, endorsement quotes, and other promotional copy ready to go.
Book links. Where can your visitors buy your books? Have a list of purchase links for each book, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org.
Note that some authors choose to link to their book’s page on the publisher’s website, which provides multiple links in one place, rather than listing them all individually on their own book pages.
Contact information. Most new writers include a contact form directed to their inbox. Established authors may also want to include relevant information for an agent or publicist.
Profiles and other official links. Include links to your social profiles and other relevant platforms, such as Goodreads. After launching, update those profiles with your website URL where possible. These reciprocal connections help visitors—and search systems—understand which profiles belong to you.
Reviews. Collect any positive recognition, press, or reviews that your work has garnered from peers or in the media.
Step 3. Choose A Website Builder
Whether building your own site or hiring an author website designer, Squarespace is our preferred platform for authors and writers.
Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder that can be customized without requiring authors to manage hosting, software updates or website security separately. For authors who will maintain their own sites after launch, that simplicity is a significant advantage.
If you’re evaluating platforms, see our explanation of Squarespace vs WordPress or our in-depth Squarespace review that considers alternatives such as WordPress, Wix, and Webflow. Whichever platform you choose, check the finished site carefully on phones as well as desktop.
If hiring a designer, make sure you retain ownership of the website account and can update the site yourself after launch.
Step 4. Organize Your Content
Most author websites have a fairly conventional structure, and that’s usually a good thing. Visitors already understand how an author site is supposed to work, so unconventional navigation is rarely an advantage. Home, About, Books and a Contact page give visitors predictable places to find information.
Beyond those basics, add sections because you need them—not because they appear on a generic author website checklist. Pages for events, book clubs, press, awards, FAQs, resources, foreign editions, a blog, podcast, or other material can all make sense for the right author.
Authors are often advised to blog to keep a website “active” or improve SEO, but a blog is optional, not a standard requirement. An abandoned blog can make a site look neglected, and “blogging for SEO” takes more than simply publishing posts regularly. Only add a blog if you have something useful to publish and expect to maintain it.
Step 5. Optimize the Site
At a basic level, use your author name and book titles consistently, make sure search engines can index the site, and connect your website to your official profiles and other authoritative sources. Keep information consistent across your site, publisher pages, Goodreads, retailer listings, and other major profiles. These connections help establish the relationship between you and your books across the web.
Some authors with large back catalogs will group older titles on a well-organized page. But in general, dedicated individual pages give your priority titles a clear URL, room for useful information, and a stronger standalone presence in search. Site architecture should reflect the body of work, not a checklist.
Start by familiarizing yourself with what SEO is, read up on how to learn SEO basics, and understand common SEO myths that often mislead beginners. If you built your own website, you may also benefit from tailored SEO training or a site review. After launch, connect your site to Google Search Console so you can confirm that important pages are being indexed and catch technical search issues.
Step 6. Make Your Priorities Clear
Your homepage should make it immediately clear who you are and what you’ve written. For most authors, that means giving the current or most important book visual priority without making other information difficult to find.
Make obvious next steps easy. Someone interested in a book shouldn’t have to hunt for purchase links; someone looking for your bio or contact information shouldn’t have to hunt for those either. Not every visitor needs to take the same next step.
Step 7. Decide How You’ll Handle Email
It’s often worth giving interested readers a simple way to join your email list, even if email marketing isn’t yet a major part of your strategy. A basic signup form is enough. Authors sometimes offer bonus material to incentivize signups, such as a sample chapter, reading guide, or other material related to their work.
But don’t assume you need an elaborate newsletter strategy, lead magnet, or automated funnel just because those things are commonly recommended to authors. In our experience, many authors collect subscribers but rarely send email. Build the email program you’re actually likely to use.
Step 8. Keep Content Current
Even if you don’t have a newly released book, your website should look current. Outdated information can confuse readers and create inconsistencies between your site and the information about you found elsewhere on the web.
Remove content if it becomes irrelevant. If your last book appearance was three years ago, consider hiding your Events page until it’s needed again. Set a calendar reminder for an annual website review. A simple site that’s current is more useful than a larger site full of stale sections.
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