It is both an annoyance and truth that these days, businesses require an online presence to be seen as legitimate. Moreover, most shopping is done online through these business websites. If being an author is your job in any way (part-time, side-hustle, full-time, whatever!), then as a business, you need a website.

There are a hundred different ways to make a website, and a hundred different companies clamoring for your business, so I’ll leave it to you to research and select the best hosting platform for your website, and the best price point for you based on your budget and how much stuff you want to upload. (I used Angelfire and then WordPress, but I know others who use Shopify, Winx, Squarespace, etc.) But once you’ve bought it, what should you do with it?

Websites exist to answer questions.

Everyone with a question turns to the internet to answer it, and you want to be able to control the response that the search engine supplies to your readership. You want your website to be at the top of the search results, so readers come directly to you, and spend their money on your books in the best was possible for your business. (This doesn’t mean you also have to function as a shop and personally fulfill orders–you can still provide them with links to your Amazon, Kobo, Barns & Noble, Smashwords etc. storefronts.) It just means that you want to direct them to the easiest possible way for them to discover you as a writer, and to give you money.

As such, your author website should answer the following questions:

Should Have

• Who are you?
  1. 100-500 word bio
     1. • A brief explanation of who you are and what you write. It can be as long or as short as you like, but make sure you have a short version (about 100 words) available somewhere, as usually people will scoop the short version for their own marketing materials when you’re being interviewed or appearing somewhere.
     2. I usually put this on an About Page, along with:
  2. Photo(s)
     • If you’re comfortable sharing your face, it should include a professionally shot or really excellent amateur photograph of you so people can associate your face with your name and brand—use the same headshot on all of your social media so readers can easily tell if it’s your legit profile or not. It’s also important that your headshot actually look like you–not a heavily made-up version of you–so that when you arrive places like book store signings, and local writer’s festivals, the organization team knows who you are. If readers know what you look like, they can find you at events and appearances, or can recognize you as they pass by your table at a convention.
     • If you’re not comfortable with photos, then hire an illustrator to make a likeness or logo for you, and use the same one everywhere to ensure your branding stays consistent across your whole online presence.
  3. Any other relevant information, like award wins, interesting biographical information (like if you’re a doctor and you write medical thrillers), or your hobbies (I love cosplay, so I included a photo of myself in costume at the end of my bio).
• What have you written?
  1. A list of all the books you’ve written, in one place that’s easy to read and doesn’t require people to click around too much, including links to read free samples/chapters, and information on:
• How do I give you money?
  1. A list of buying links, usually on the same page as the list of books you’ve written. Basically, you want to create a flow of as few clicks as possible to get people from Googling your name to clicking a “purchase” button. Make this the simplest and most obvious part of the website.

There’s lots of ways to display the books and buying links on your website, you don’t have to do it the way I have. Here are ways some other authors do it: Ruthanne Reid; Adrienne Kress; Sara Raasch; Julie Czerneda.

That’s really all you have to have on an author website. However, if you want to, you can add more information that answers the questions:

Nice to Have

• How do I get regular updates from you?
  1. A link to your Newsletter and incentive to sign up. The link can be a popup or a landing page, or in the footer of the page; whatever feels best. Most authors give away an older backlisted title or the first of an ongoing series to entice readers to sign up.
  2. A list of your most active social media handles and an encouragement to follow you there for the most up-to-the-minute info.
• How do I know you’re legit?
  1. A bibliography and/or list of awards
  2. An interview archive (I just keep a list of all of the newspaper/magazine/blog/podcast interviews I’ve done, with links to each. It’s also useful for myself, so I can go back and reference reviews and good press in my Press Kits in case anyone needs pull quotes for book covers and the likes.)
• How do I work with you?
  1. I have a page dedicated to laying out how folks can get in contact with me for something beyond simple inquiries and fan-mail, and the workshops and lectures I have ready to present.
• How do I get an overview of your career?
  1. With a Press/Media Kit. A PDF of  6-10 pages that you send to journos and interviewers that gives them an overview of who you are, what books you have out, major awards and achievements, a one-page biography, photos, etc. You can see my press kit here as an example.
• How do I contact you?
  1. A contact page that includes:
     1. Social Media handles
     2. Email link or contact form that goes straight to your email or your assistant’s email
     3. Email link or contact form that goes to your agent (if you have one)
     4. Email link or contact form that goes to your booking manager or appearances manager (if you have one)
     5. Information on how to inquire about agent-y things (rights, translation, etc.) if you don’t have an agent (email form or link).

This next group of items are not necessary for an informative website, but I like having them so folks can explore more of who I am and what I do, and to serve as an archive repository for myself.

Fun to Have

• Galleries of photos from past appearances or talks
• Galleries of videos, especially if you do a lot of skits or offer advice videos
• A blog (In my case, I use it for announcements, sharing interviews, and for my Words for Writers advice series)
• Gifts from fans, including a gallery of fanart, links to fanfic if you’re comfortable sharing that, galleries of photos at signings or of folks in cosplay of your characters, etc.
• If you are self published, a form that allows bookstores or retailers to order large batches of your books on commission or discount (I don’t have one yet, I’m working on it!)
• List of upcoming appearances so folks know where they can greet you next.
• Whatever else you want, it’s your website!

Whatever kind of website you decide to build, remember that it’s totally yours and you can do whatever you like with it. Just make sure that it reflects your professional brand, and makes it easy for people to discover who you are, and to buy your books. The whole site doesn’t have to be done before you launch it, either—I rolled out all these different pages slowly over many years, as I found a need or desire for them.

Happy building!