4 WAYS TO BUILD YOUR AUTHOR WEBSITE FOR FREE
When you're promoting your writing, having a good looking website is very important. Here are a few free tools to help you build a great Author Site.
Raise your hand if you don't have an author website because you're afraid it would be too hard. It may have been hard in the past, but in the last few years several new platforms have come online, making it so much easier to build an author website than it used to be. Whether you're looking for somewhere to sell your books, book speaking engagements, or simply host a blog, modern web building platforms can get you online quickly, easily, and most importantly, for free!
Here's an introduction to the 4 most popular:
WORDPRESS
Wordpress is one of the oldest and most popular website building platforms. With millions of themes, templates, and widgets, the sky is the limit for building the website of your dreams. While the back-end can take some getting used to, once you understand the general flow of things, building a site on Wordpress can be really quite simple. There are free and paid versions of Wordpress, and there are a ton of amazing third party widgets you can utilize to make your site really stand out. On the down side, Wordpress websites can be subject to hackers and web-based attacks, since each of those widgets (if not consistently updated) can represent a back door for hackers. In general, Wordpress is perfect for authors who understand a bit about web design and have some comfort with website building.
WIX
WiX was one of the first drag and drop web building platforms to gain traction, and it is enormously flexible. Whether you're new to website designing or a veteran, WiX can help you design a beautiful, mobile-responsive site in no time. If you're brand new, you can use WiX ADI, which builds a website for you based a short questionnaire. You can then customize the sections, text, and images to fit your style. If you want a bit more control, you can choose from a large selection of templates, and then customize from there. With a whole selection of third-party widgets, WiX also enables a large range of functionality. WiX is free to start, but if you want to use a custom URL, you will need to pay for a subscription.
SQUARESPACE
If you'd rather have a few less variables and be able to put up a gorgeous site quickly, then Squarespace is the platform for you. What Squarespace gives up in customization it more than makes up for in ease of use and gorgeous templates. With the simple drag and drop editor, Squarespace is hands down the easiest platform to use, and the aesthetic of Squarespace templates is definitely geared toward beautiful minimalism. So, if you're looking for easy, eye-pleasing templates, Squarespace can be a perfect platform.
WEBFLOW
A relative newcomer to the website building world, Webflow has gained a strident following among the growing No Code movement. It boasts an astounding array of design options and it's totally free until you're ready to launch your site.
There you have it! Here are four great options for building your author website. If you want daily tips like this delivered right to your inbox, sign up for a paid subscription to My Book Sucks. Subscriptions are just $4/mo, and subscriptions are the only way we support ourselves. So, help the fam out, and sign up today!