Build Your Author Website: The Front End of Your Website

• Your site’s elevator pitch, brand statement, or a brief summary of what visitors can expect to find here
• Short descriptions of you and your products, services, or informational categories — be sure to include links to everything you mention
• A menu with links to the top-level, most important pages of the site (an upcoming post)
• An obvious call to action (buy my new book, sign up for my weekly newsletter, visit me on my book tour) (an upcoming post)
  • You may want to feature your current project
• Social proof or testimonials

A.k.a. default page

The only folders that do not need index pages are folders that you use as storage, such as an images folder or documents folder. These folders aren’t used for navigation, so they don’t need an index page.

In WordPress go to Posts > Categories to set up these category index pages.

Be sure to focus on the primary objective of this secondary homepage (just as you would for your primary homepage.

The Contact Us page should include the following:

• A contact form asking only the info you need to get back in touch with them
• Your physical address, if you have one that customers can visit, although you must consider if you need an impressum
  • Business hours, if applicable
  • A map to your location, if you have a shop or office
• Phone and/or fax numbers, if you want to receive contact this way
• An email address, though a contact form may take the place of this, to avoid spam:
  • Consider substituting hexadecimal entities to replace some of the letters in your name and/or the @ symbol, user@domain.com comes out as user@domain.com, or
  • Spell it all out myname at domain.com, or
• Links to each of your social media profiles

Provide multiple ways for people to contact, follow and Like you. It’s not your readers job to find you. It’s your job to be where your readers are.

Source: Grabas

Tell viewers why you write the kind of books you do, what you love about it. Make sure your personality shines through!

Include some personal information, enough to show you have a personality, yet that which focuses on your writing interests.

• Highlight your expertise, if you’re a nonfiction writer
  • Include your writing credentials and professional associations
• If you’re a fiction writer, note any endorsements, testimonials, or awards you’ve won

Give readers a reason to like you, trust you and relate to you.

Write your bio in the third person — unless your on-brand approach is to speak directly to your audience. Um, you may want to get a friend to write it for you.

Dave Chesson’s post “How to Write an Author Bio [With Examples and Templates]” makes some compelling reasons why you should not skip writing a biography. That you can sell more books if your “bio establishes you as the kind of writer whom your target market ought to read. It’s where you forge a connection with potential readers and get them to trust you. Readers should want to know what you have to say based on your author bio”.

Include your history and achievements, a photo of you (that reflects your writing). If you have a team helping you, consider including a bio and photo for each of them.

Keep it a brief, interesting summary introducing you to your readers.

Consider creating a link to a press kit where you control the information (and know the information will be right!), an upcoming post, and links to any social media and author blogs.

Definitely create links to your books, services, or other products.

Be sure to ask them to join your email list.

Source: Grabas, Nutter

Then create a page, inclusive or individual, for each product with more details, such as:

• What your books do for your readers
• What problems do your nonfiction books solve
• What does your fiction book(s) offer? Are your books uplifting, chilling, or thought provoking?
• Book descriptions
• A cover shot
• Review snippers, testimonials
• Links to free samples
• Get some behind-the-scenes info or promotional materials
• Direct links to everywhere your books are available
• A link to a press kit for each book

Any deals or current sales, pushing products you want to showcase.

Be sure to link to every Internet resource as well as the addresses of stores where people can buy your books.

NOTE: If you’ve joined Amazon Associates, copy and paste the code to link your Amazon-sold book to get a percentage of whatever a buyer purchases after they click your link — even if it’s not your book.

Testimonials from users who love your product or service.

Source: Grabas

As a writer, for example, you can author blog posts, case studies, or social media posts that promote a business’ products or services.

Perhaps you offer development, editing, or proofreading services to writers.

If you have in-depth knowledge of another language, you can offer translation services.

Source: Weiler

This could be a place to post free short stories, although you might prefer to place them as a subcategory page in your Product page.

Many authors these days have blogs, allowing them to include more in-depth information to their readers about your offerings or industry. This makes readers feel cared about and helps them understand their writing better.

Blogs can also be leveraged for guest posts, and inviting other writers to post can expose you and your work to their audiences.

Do post consistently.

And on that note, you do not have to have a blog. Consider if you can keep up with it consistently. It doesn’t have to be a daily thing. It could be once or twice a month.

The Portfolio or Gallery page should include the following:

• Images of the books, projects, or work that best showcase your skills and abilities
• You role, what you did, and how it turned out
• Short description of each
• Bullet list of the skills or techniques used for each

A.k.a. projects page

Source: Cavalier

In reality, FAQ pages may not actually list questions that customers ever ask, but the site owner believes customers should have access to that information nevertheless. The best strategy is to combine these two approaches.

The FAQ page should include the following:

• A list of questions, with answers, that users frequently ask
• A list of questions, with answers, that address any potential doubts a user may have
• A list of questions, with answers, that you believe visitors should know
  • Refund policies
  • How to choose the best option for a product with choices for your viewer
  • Starting or cancelling a membership

As much as possible, include links to other web pages and/or posts on your site.

A subcategory of FAQs is a knowledge base page that usually offers up guides, resources, and/or video tutorials, a more in-depth type of FAQs page.

Source: Cavalier

(This post is full of links to other resources.)