As publishing is incredibly competitive, it’s more important than ever to have a strong online presence. This will help you drum up excitement prior to your book’s release and ensure you have a following, and it all begins with having a polished author site that represents who you are and what you write.
Getting Started
Having a domain name, to start, creates a sense of professionalism. If it’s doable for your budget, I’d highly recommend it. You can buy a domain through sites like GoDaddy (which is often cheaper), or you can do it directly through your website builder; I’ve paid around $20/year on average.
Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, and WordPress are some of the most common website builders. I’ve had the latter two myself and would personally recommend WordPress for a clean, simple website. My personal plan on Squarespace went up to around $23/month, while my WordPress plan is $4/month. I plan to upgrade to the $8/month business plan so I can connect it to Google Analytics and add SEO plugins.
As for design, I used the 2024 template for this WordPress site, and it’s worked well for me. If you’re tech savvy and can be creative within a framework, it can be worth designing your own site. But if you’re seeking a complex design or find that it’s a headache to build, you might want to hire a designer. It just might be less financially feasible if you’re just getting started; it all depends on your budget.
What to Include
It’s important to give current and prospective readers a sense of who you are. I’d recommend including sections like the following: your books (with purchase links), about me (with a professional image), social media handles, contact information, and whatever else might be helpful to know.
Ensure your content is clear, accessible, and easy to navigate, with some personality that gives the reader a strong sense of you and your books.
Attract and Retain Readers
It’s also helpful to use social media marketing to get readers to your site, whether that’s Instagram, TikTok, or another platform. Many writers have a newsletter and/or blog that provides content teasers, updates, information on their process, and more.
If you have WordPress, you can instantly cross post content to most social media platforms like Instagram, Threads, and Facebook. This will help you expand your reach and streamline your presence.
Consider offering a freebie—like sample pages—in exchange for newsletter sign-ups. This helps you build your reader base and keep people engaged.
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As you might know, it’s recommended to start marketing before your book is published, regardless of the publication route you choose, so it’s never too early to make a site.
Let me know if you have any questions about setting up, and best of luck in creating your platform.
Cypress Editorial 
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