Are you seeking to make your author brand look professional? Well, professional website design tools will get your author website there!
When you are presenting yourself to the world as a published author, what you wish to project is a strong sense of professionalism, which also includes how your website is designed.
In this read, let me walk you through ways in which you can build an author brand that is both appealing and professional by the use of web design.
As readers look through the internet to find their next favorite author or book, your website is usually the first thing they get to see before anything else.
That is why having a properly designed site easily boosts your image and helps you to be noticed in a crowd of authors.
So the wait is over, let’s get you ready for your Mark!
Why a Professional Author Website is Essential for Your Brand
Author websites are a marketing tool for writers who are serious about building a strong personal brand.
It is the ideal space for them to understand your persona, thus developing interest in what you write and how you write it.
Let’s admit it; that is how you build trust for both readers and professionals alike.
A website that is visually pleasing and easy to read convinces readers and other professionals that you are focused on the profession and career.
But it’s not just about being professional.
A well-done website also enhances your credibility and expertise.
It conveys the message that the designer understands the intent of the site and therefore increases respect to the site from readers, agents, and publishers.
It is like a central place for everything good about you, your books, your awards, interviews, and media appearance.
And when you are being searched on Google, it is the same as expecting to show a site that presents you in the most appropriate manner, correct?
In addition to the above, your author site is an excellent promotional tool.
It integrates it all: blogs, book announcements, newsletters, and all in one single place.
Not only that, but you will also become more visible if you make your site search engine friendly, which means more people will see your work.
In today where readers are inclined to preface a book purchase with research, a friendly and informative platform makes all the difference.
Core Characteristics of Professional Author Website design
It is fair to say that the importance of a professionally designed author’s page cannot be overemphasized because this is an indispensable tool for brand building and readership engagement.
But then again which features of an author’s page elevate it from being just any other mundane page?
Simple and Straightforward Layout
As the old adage goes, first impressions are the last impressions.
This highlights why author websites always need to be clean.
Consider if a reader visits your page and all they need to do is simply click on a certain button – effortless, right?
Readers appreciate clean menus, and uncomplicated designs eliminating distraction and fluff and allowing them to focus on the content.
Mobile Compatibility
Consider the last time you visited a website using a mobile device.
It is not uncommon for many readers to utilize handheld devices.
Hence it is crucial for your author website to be aesthetically pleasing as well as functional across all platforms.
A responsive design principle guarantees the correct alteration of the website to the preferred screen size which makes it possible to read the content regardless of location or the device.
Author Portfolio
The website is a playground, while the portfolio is a show-off.
Dedicate the sections of your website for your books, your achievements, as well as features in the media.
Such great achievements need to be highlighted with book-specific pages that include, an appealing picture of the book cover, a brief, yet exciting synopsis, and links to purchase the item.
Not only does this promote your work, but it also assists those interested in your works and books to get into it immediately.
Contact Information and Social Media Links
Let people get in touch with you quickly without having to look around for too long.
You can include your email, provide a simple form, include links to your social platforms in the contact section of your site.
All those will help readers, journalists or interested collaborators reach you faster.
These relations may translate to new partnerships ideas or even better, help in establishing a devoted fan base.
Blog or Content Section
A blog helps in updates, thoughts sharing and behind the scene stories telling.
Post frequently in order to keep your audience interested.
This is whether you are promoting your new book, explaining how you came up with it or discussing your life.
Better yet, a blog helps to boost the site visibility and generate higher traffic to the site.
Call-to-Action (CTA)
Websites ought to provide a path for the visitors to take action.
In most cases CTAs are the tools that meet that requirement.
Consider them as the prompts used to encourage and persuade the customers such as “Subscribe to my newsletter” or click on a link that states “Purchase my book instantly.”
Use them correctly and see how they enhance real interactions between customers and your business.
How to Design Your Author Website to Look Professional
For authors who are interested in improving their brand and getting closer to readers, then an author website is a prerequisite.
But, it is also important to ask yourself where to begin.
Thus, to do so, here is a simple step-by-step guide that will help you create a website that will reflect your personality while allowing you to display all your deeds in the best manner.
Step 1: Select An Appropriate Platform
There are a couple of things that choosing a platform entails.
The most important of them all is the fact that it provides a strong foundation for your website.
Step 2: Pick a design that will suit your brand
Now, let’s talk design because essentially your website should look like you.
The overall look of your site should correspond to the genre, style, and audience of the site.
Such as:
Are you writing thrillers? Go for bold colors and visuals that are edgy and dramatic.
Romance author? Use some soft tones and elegant looking fonts.
The manner in which you choose your colors, font types, and images will speak volumes about your brand.
For this reason, pick a template that resonates well with you.
A good design tells people a lot about you and helps them connect with the message in your writing.
Step 3: Create Compelling Content
What is it that makes your content stand out?
This is precisely where all that hard work pays off because It’s your content that changes the game.
Therefore make it great:
Your Bio: Marketing yourself is very helpful!
How did you get into writing in the first place?
What are your motivators?
Readers enjoy insight into the individual behind the text.
Book Descriptions: Create a summary strong enough to make them salivate.
One that their mouths would be watering for a piece of the book.
Social Proof: Put in reviews or media mentions to strengthen trust and flaunt your credibility.
Author Statement: This is perfect for those who would like to give people an insight into their belief regarding writing or what they want to accomplish through their writing.
It would be a good personal element which most of the readers will enjoy.
Step 4: Set Up Essential Tools
So let’s be realistic – your website needs more relevance for it to serve its purpose properly:
Google Analytics: Get to know the performance of the site in relation to its visitors and what content is accepted well.
Email Sign-Ups: Having a list is a great tool.
This enables you to communicate with your readers and get their feedback on the content.
You can also inform them when new content is uploaded on the site, or just greet them.
Social Media Feeds: Embed your social media to make your site more alive.
This makes things more up to date and potentially incident-prone.
Online Store: It is important to have a smooth shopping experience for the reader.
Also, you could have a great interface when selling books directly from your site.
Best Tools to design a Professional Author Website
Constructing a professional author website is not a matter of just having an active presence on the web.
Rather it is about crafting an identity that resonates with one’s readers.
To achieve this, the right resources and tools need to be available.
Here are some of the options you may consider about setting up a professional website:
Website Builders
WordPress: If you want control and the ability to customize your website, WordPress is the one to go for.
It includes numerous themes and plugins focused on authors making it easier to showcase books and a typing agent’s style.
To be fair, there is a learning curve, but it is well worth the time.
Olitt: Olitt is a professional page builder aimed at simplifying the process of web development.
Its major direction is to satisfy professional market needs of its customers quickly and at a reasonable cost.
With pre-made easy to tweak designs Olitt manages to help authors create pages easily and in a short time without compromising quality.
Moreover, the integration of its SEO capabilities enhances the reputation and reach of a page.
Wix: Don’t have any skills?
With drag and drop interface building pages is not hard at all.
Also templates offered to writing professionals and SEO promotion tools are really helpful.
Squarespace: If you’re after an appealing website then Squarespace is an ideal choice.
It is known for its beautiful and simple websites.
Bonus: it has features required for selling your books and for making updates easy.
Truehost: Truehost is ideal for writers who are in search of a hosting and website building solution in a single package.
It has free domain options, good security, and templates designed for a number of areas, including writing and publishing.
Truehost also has good customer support to assist you in getting started.
Design Tools
From posters to social media posts – all types of visuals can be made easily.
There are tools, such as Canva and Adobe Spark, which assist non-designers in creating visuals that look and feel professional.
SEO Tools
Would you like readers finding you with ease?
The most effective way to achieve this is by increasing the SEO of your site.
If you are using WordPress, a helpful tool is Yoast SEO which walks you through the process of enhancing your content.
Furthermore, Ubersuggest and other similar tools provide you useful information pertaining to keywords, as well as what strategies are effective for minding your competition.
Conclusion
To sum it up, a professional author website design is the best way to build up your brand.
A well-designed site helps not only display your work, but also captives your readers and builds up trust.
In this way, spending more time on the website will improve your exposure, expand your reader base and most definitely elevate your writing career.