I have an exciting announcement: I started a website design business dedicated to authors! (Well, I technically started it 3 years ago, but I’m really trying to build it up now)
I present: The Writer’s Website
Why did I start this business?
Well, I love the writing community. I love designing websites. Why not help the community I love by providing professional, yet affordable, author websites? And I get to highlight such talented authors to help them get their books out into the world. How cool is that??
Whether you’re self-publishing or going the traditional or indie route, a website gives authors an online platform you can control (unlike social media). It also shows agents, editors, and readers that you’re taking your writing career seriously.
But… figuring out hosting, branding, and messaging can suck all of the creative energy out of you. Not to mention annual fees add up. And that little website that shows off your passion turns from exciting to stressful. I’ve seen it happen to authors firsthand. So, I started out by helping my friends with their sites, which made me realize, “I can help so many authors!”
It showed me that there is a need in the community for simple website pages, because…
- Wix and Squarespace can still be too expensive and too complicated.
- The small, templated websites might not provide you with everything you need and isn’t customizable.
- WordPress can feel TOO customizable.
- AI websites look terrible with no user friendliness (and… AI. Please, no AI!).
- Hiring someone can be expensive (I try to be as cheap as possible, starting at $350 for a single page website with no annual fees).
- Once everything is set up in the backend, trying to figure out exactly what to put on it (and make it look good) can give anyone analysis paralysis.
A quick rundown of my process and experience:
I’ve built nearly 20 websites for authors, and over 350 websites for other various industries. I’ve run a marketing firm for 13 years, so I have a solid process in website development. In otherwords, analysis paralysis doesn’t paralyze me because I know exactly what I need to do and how to do it.
- I set up the hosting, domain name, and SSL certificate.
- I work with the author on copy and the brand/look.
- I design it on WordPress (with my own two hands, no AI. Because everyone deserves a personalized, one-of-a-kind human-made website). I use a Page Builder plugin, to make it easy for anyone to update it in their own.
- I set up SEO and Google Analytics.
- Finally, I send over a personalized training video on how the author can update it themself.
I don’t want to bore you with the details of my process, but if you WANT the details, check out my website: https://writerwebsitedesign.com
Examples
I won’t bore you with technical details, but I will, however, highlight a few websites I built (in otherwords, show off some awesome authors).
I love taking an author’s vibe and highlighting it through their website. Some authors have a brand established, or maybe a vague idea of how they want the website to look, or maybe they have no idea at all. And all of those are fine! I’m here to help establish a brand. Because children’s authors, women’s fiction, horror, fantasy… they all look different. And it’s fun to narrow down an authors look and style via their website.
So, here are just a few websites I had the honor of building:
If you have any website questions, feel free to reach out at emily@writerwebsitedesign.com, or follow me on any of my socials: @writerswebsite (I am managing so many social media accounts now, send help).
Thank you to all the wonderful authors who trusted me with your website!
