Some argue that you don’t need a website these days, that it’s enough to be on Facebook, Linktree or Substack. But platforms come and go, and with social media you are at the mercy of the algorithms.

As publishing expert Jane Friedman notes, ‘your website serves as an online home and hub for everything that you do… Consider it the cost of doing business in the digital era, a necessary business card and networking tool’.

But you can’t just build a site and hope people will come. You need to build an email list to drive people to your content and books. Together, web and email form a connected, affordable platform to support your writing goals.

In part 1, we’ll look at low-cost author sites, in part 2, the email dimension.

Choose your domain name

Even on a budget, a domain like www.yourname.com or yournameauthor.com looks far more professional than something like yourname.wordpress.com. If you can’t get the .com, try for something like .net or .me.

You can buy domains at places like Namecheap, GoDaddy or NameSilo. If you’re planning a pen name, check domain availability before going public with it.

You’ll need to sign up for a web hosting service – effectively rent a chunk of internet space – to link your domain to. Most of the time hosting can be bundled in when you select your domain name.

Choose your platform

Budget-friendly options include Carrd, Canva, WordPress and Tertulia.

Carrd is a very simple, minimal option, great for one-page sites with just your bio, book info, and newsletter signup. The pro version (currently $19/year) gives you extras like a custom domain, payment widgets and optional Google Analytics to track traffic. It’s less ideal if you want a blog, customised branding, ecommerce or complex layout.

Canva sites are well-known for their attractive templates and easy drag-and-drop design. Like Carrd there are free and pro options. You get traffic insights and can create a personal design style. Drawbacks include no blogging option (yet) and limited customisation and ecommerce integration. Search engine visibility can be more limited too.

Tertulia can build you an author site in seconds – just supply your ISBN, choice of theme and Insta handle (optional). At $10/month, it’s a low-maintenance, super-simple option for busy authors – you can create an instant free preview here. You receive a digital bookshelf, newsletter integration, events calendar and opportunities for access to Tertulia’s book discovery app. Blogging and sales are not supported, and there are limited options for layout and design customisation. A comparable option is BookBub.

The grandaddy of more advanced options is probably WordPress.com. It’s a bit of a learning curve but is free, flexible and blogging-friendly, with thousands of themes. The free tier comes with ads and (again) fewer customization options, but you can upgrade to WordPress.org for full customization, design control, and access to a wide range of plugins (SEO tools, e-commerce, event calendars). Migration costs more (around $4–$10/month for hosting plus domain). See more on the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org

Comparable options include Ghost, Wix and Squarespace. Generally speaking, really tailored branding/design and ecommerce functionality won’t come with free plans. But more advanced platforms can better support you as you evolve your digital presence. Check out Jane Friedmann’s guide to building an author website.

Website content

Your site will need a short bio (ideally with photo), book covers and sales links, newsletter sign-up, and contact details. You might also include a blog, press kit and events calendar. See this Kindlepreneur checklist. You’ll also want to give some thought to how you position yourself, typically through an author brand statement.

Search (SEO) basics

To help increase your site’s visibility to search engines, there are a number of tactics, including using your name + ‘author’ in page titles and descriptions, and adding descriptive alt text to images (e.g. ‘author headshot of Dan Brotzel’).

SEO is a huge topic. A lot of it isn’t relevant for authors, but keyword research and link building are worth thinking about. Check out these useful guides from blurb and Charlotte Duckworth.

Mobile-friendly sites do better in search, too. Keep navigation simple, make copy snackable, and avoid oversized images that slow load speed. You can test your site with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. More advice on making a site mobile friendly can be found here.

Dan Brotzel’s latest novels are Thank You For The Days and The Wolf in the Woods. He also writes widely on Medium