The five pages, in build order

Home: your name, your genre in plain words, and the current book with one clear action. A visitor should know within five seconds what you write.

Books: every title with retail links, series order, and the format list — print, ebook, audio, and a watchable edition if you have one.

About: written for a reader, not a resume. Two paragraphs and a real photograph outperform a page of credits.

Newsletter: one page, one promise, one field. Say exactly what arrives and how often.

Press: cover files, author photo, short and long bios, a synopsis, and contact. A reviewer who must ask for assets often does not ask.

The buy path is the whole point

Every cover on your site should be clickable, and every click should reach a storefront or your own checkout in one step.

List the audio and watchable editions beside the print one. Readers who prefer listening will not hunt for a format you did not name.

Do not bury the books behind a blog. The blog is optional; the buy path is not.

The email door

A list is the only audience nobody can take from you. Every other platform merely rents you its attention.

Offer something honest — a first chapter, a short story, a map, a deleted scene. Never promise news alone; nobody wants news.

Place the sign-up in three places at most: home, the end of the books page, and the back matter of your books.

Proof, and what makes a site feel real

A sample beats a description. A page of prose, an audio clip or a performed excerpt tells a stranger more than any blurb.

A performed edition gives the page itself something moving and audible, which is what makes a visitor stay rather than skim.

Provenance badges, publication credits and verifiable claims build trust. Never invent reviews, awards or figures — one unverifiable claim costs more trust than it buys.

What to cut, and what to measure

Cut carousels, pop-ups on arrival, stock typewriter imagery, and any page you will never update.

Keep the site fast and readable on a phone: most author-site traffic arrives on one.

Measure two things only: how many visitors reach a retail link, and how many join the list. The rest is decoration.

Asked and answered

Do authors really need a website?

Yes — it is the only author page you control. Storefronts and social platforms can change their rules at any time.

How many pages should an author website have?

Five: home, books, about, newsletter and press. Add more only when something must be updated regularly.

What should be on an author's home page?

Your name, your genre in plain words, the current book, one clear action, and one door into your email list.

Should I put a sample on my site?

Yes. A page of prose or a performed clip converts a curious visitor far better than a description of the book.