There is an abundance of website design and hosting services on the internet. You can get services that handle both the design and the hosting, or services that provide one or the other. Whatever your needs, there is a service out there for you.
But . . . consumer beware.
Two things to watch for and 5 tips to build your own author website:
1. Some design/ hosting website services prey on unsuspecting and naïve authors or individuals and charge not only for creating a site, but they also keep control of managing the site. The customer is only allowed to add or edit content on the site.
This means the author can’t add links, change images, or tweak the site for optimization, such as page title or image changes. I get upset when I hear of occurrences like this. There is no reason why a design and hosting service needs to control website functions and features to the point that an author or individual needs to pay the service to add or delete a simple link.
This happened to a client of mine who hired a website design company for her author site. She didn’t realize the company was simply a middleman for a design company that subcontracted the actual work. And, there is also a subcontracted content writer to write the webpage copy. YIKES!
This is just mind-boggling. What a waste of money and time.
2. Another issue with many website services that will create your website for you is that they don’t do a professional job.
I’ve seen this numerous times with my writing clients. They hire a self-publishing service that also offers website services. The problem is that the results I’ve seen have been shameful.
What’s an author to do?
There is so much online about the basic dos and don’ts of creating a website, but you do need to do a bit of research to find it. And, there are plenty of legitimate and reasonable services out there. If you’re confused or uncertain, ask around.
HERE ARE 5 STARTING TIPS TO CREATE AN AUTHOR WEBSITE:
1. Choose an effective domain name. Think about it carefully. You want a name that will be search engine effective, reflect what the site is about, and grow with you (unless you are creating the site for a specific book, service, or product). You can also use the title and subtitle to elaborate on the domain name.
2. Decide if you have the skills, or want to learn them, to create a website of your own. It can be pretty simple.
3. If you decide you want to hire someone to create the website for you, look for someone:
– Who wants to establish themselves as a website creator
– Who does it in her spare time
– Who has a writing/marketing service and does it more as a courtesy to clients
You will pay much, much less. And try to make arrangements that include the designer teaching you how to manage your own site. This will make updates, changes, and posting much easier and cost-free.
4. If you feel you can create your own and are on a tight budget, choose a free hosting site, such as WordPress, Weebly, or Blogger. On the flip side, if the thought of creating a website feels daunting, go with Blogger.com; it’s very user-friendly and good for beginners. And with its updates, it has a number of features similar to those of other websites.
Hot Tip: If you’re serious about marketing you, your books, and/or your services, go for a paid-hosting site.
5. Keep in mind that down the road, you may want to have a website that can be effectively optimized and that’s more versatile, and one that you actually OWN.
For these reasons, you should have a paid WordPress site from the beginning. The prices range from around $4 to $12 per month, depending on how long you sign up for. And they have occasional specials where you can sign up for as low as $2.95 per month on a 36-month plan.
I use Bluehost for my sites and love it. I’m also an affiliate for them. You can get your own website and hosting through them, too!
These five tips are the starting point for your author website and will hopefully help you avoid being taken to the website design cleaners.
I’m a former online author platform instructor at WOW! Women on Writing, and if you’d like help building your author website, you can check out my instructor-guided e-course CREATING AN AUTHOR ONLINE PLATFORM. :
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