Discover the benefits of having an author website. Control your brand, market your books, and build a professional presence affordably.
Do I even need a website as an author?
A website does not make you an author. Writing and publishing make you an author. From that standpoint, it’s not a need.
You can build your career as a writer without a website.
For example, I built my business as a tech freelancer for years without a website, and that work paid me enough to live off of. I had no links in my email signature, no links on social media, and I didn’t even really post on my social media. I happened to connect with the right people, who connected me with more people I could support. Eventually, I created a landing page where people could share their email and get my PDF of services.
But finding the right people to read and share your book is a much bigger project.
I’m not going to shout from the rooftops, “YOU NEED A WEBSITE,” because I don’t think it’s a blanket statement. You need to know what your goals are with your writing to decide if it’s right for you, but if making it easy for people to find you and your books is relevant to that goal, then you want that hub online.
What about social media platforms?
Social media platforms are a great way to find readers, build community, and gain recognition.
But the reality is that you don’t have complete control of these platforms. You can choose what and when you post, but you can’t control what the algorithm shows your followers or when. Changes constantly make us rework everything about our strategies, trying to get non-paid content in front of the right people.
Even worse – profiles can get blocked or blocklisted. Platforms can shut down. Trendy platforms change. And then you’re back to square one, trying to connect with your people.
Social media is a great way to grow your following, but it shouldn’t be your only place.
Let’s think about it this way: building your platform on social media is like borrowing books from the library instead of owning your own collection.
- The library (social media) decides what’s available – You don’t control which books (posts) get featured or how long they stay on the shelves.
- You have to follow their rules – Due dates (algorithm changes) and lack of demand (feature changes) can take your book out of circulation whenever they want.
- You could lose access anytime – If the library loses funding, closes, and changes up inventory (the platform shuts down or bans you), all your books (content and audience) are gone.
Meanwhile, having your own website is like building a personal library – your books are always there, organized how you want, and no one can take them away.
Now, I LOVE the library. But there are some books I want to own for myself, so I always have access to them and can control my use of them.
The same is true for social media—it works in partnership with your website, so people can always find you. Your website and newsletter are the only connections to your readers that you own and control.
Considerations when Conceptualizing Your Author Websites
I know most of us have seen beautiful and intricate sites built online. On the reverse, we have probably seen sites at varying levels of simplicity, including ones that look 10 or 20 years old.
Just like with your writing, websites are not a place to focus on comparison. You can admire the look of other sites and want to emulate them, but your site should reflect you and your personality – your brand as a writer. So, let’s leave that behind as you start exploring your own site.
Next, I want you to expand your definition of website when it comes to your author website. I fully believe that a one-page author website is the best option for authors with limited time and funds. You can read more here in my post Building an Author Website: The One-Page Solution.
“Authors and small publishers must have their own mobile-friendly, professional-looking website. It is, by far, the most important element of a book marketing strategy.” ~ IngramSpark
Because a website becomes the hub for you as an author and your books, you want to think about the purpose of your site. This will help you plan a site that serves your author goals and needs, especially when it comes to marketing your book and promoting yourself as an author.
Pros of Having an Author Website
Most people agree that there are many reasons to have a website. If you haven’t already made a list, let me share mine.
- Showcase Your Work – A dedicated space to highlight your books, short stories, blogs, or other writing projects.
- Establish Yourself as a Serious Author – Demonstrates professionalism and credibility to readers, publishers, and media.
- A Platform You Fully Control – Unlike social media, where algorithms dictate visibility, your website is always accessible and designed how you want.
- Build a Community – Create a space for readers to engage through comments, discussions, or even a members-only area.
- Make It Easy for Readers & Media to Find You – A central hub with your bio, press kit, contact info, and links to all your platforms.
- Grow Your Email List – Directly connect with readers through a newsletter, which is more reliable than social media for staying in touch.
- Promote Your Events – Whether it’s book signings, speaking engagements, or virtual events, your website keeps everything organized in one place.
- One Place to Feature & Sell All Your Work – Showcase your books, merchandise, courses, or creative products without relying solely on third-party retailers.
- Increase Discoverability Across Platforms – A well-optimized website helps people find you whether they’re searching on Google, social media, or book retailer sites.
That all sounds great, right? And for me, number 3 is one of the most important – I want complete control over my space and email newsletter.
Cons of Having an Author Website:
I would be remiss not to continue with the cons. I love a pro/con list, so I can’t skip this part. There are cons to having an author website, but you can mitigate many of these based on the choices you make for your website. Let’s go through the list I’ve compiled.
- Time to Create & Maintain – Setting up a website takes effort, and keeping it updated requires ongoing attention.
- Cost to Create & Maintain – Domain registration, hosting, and potential design or tech support can add up.
- Overwhelming Amount of Information—There are so many website platforms, design options, and marketing strategies that it can be confusing to decide what’s best.
- Lack of Skill or Technical Understanding – If you’re unfamiliar with website building, there may be a learning curve, or you may need to hire someone for setup and troubleshooting.
If you’re reading this list and nodding your head, “Yeah, these are concerns, Casey,” I fully understand. There is so much advice online that any decision can be argued for or against convincingly. Everyone will have a different best path for themselves.
Solving The Basics
My hope is that by this point, the pros list has outweighed the cons list for you, even if you’re a little unsure about how to solve some of the questions that have popped into your head.
I want to address the cost first because the bottom line can be the biggest hurdle for people. You don’t have to pay a bunch of money for a website or pay someone to create it for you for it to be easy. You do need to pay for a domain—your website URL. I think I pay $12/year for mine. You need that domain to build your email list, too.
You can take that domain to a website builder like Squarespace, which is super easy to use but expensive.
Or, you can bring that domain to the platform you use for your email newsletter, build a one-page website there, and use the same plug-and-play functionality.
I use MailerLite (currently the free version!) for my email newsletter and my one-page author website. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, by using the same tool as my email newsletter, I only have to use and learn ONE tool.
Let’s check out those cons when you’re using a landing page in MailerLite for your website:
- Time to Create & Maintain – I set up a basic one-page author site on MailerLite in under 30 minutes after I had my bio written and other content collected. Updates I’ll need to make will be any future books or if I post about events related to my work.
- Cost to Create & Maintain – I pay for my $12 domain annually. I use the free version of MailerLite, but it’s only $9/mo to upgrade if/when I want to do that.
- Overwhelming Amount of Information – There is plenty of information out there, but hopefully, this post helps you decide for now. You can always choose something else later if your needs grow.
- Lack of Skill or Technical Understanding—MailerLite’s software is easy to use, with plug-and-play pages and emails. Their website has a ton of video walkthroughs and even has a free training academy.
For me, using MailerLite leaves me with no significant cons. Other than getting my butt in gear to get started.
Take Action – Creating your Author Website
If you’ve reached this point, I hope you’re convinced you need an author website and see the value of creating it with MailerLite.
If you need the TLDR version:
- A website gives you control – Unlike social media, where algorithms dictate visibility, a website is a reliable, central hub for your author presence that you have complete control over.
- Social media is risky as your only platform – Platforms change, accounts can be banned, and content can disappear, making it an unstable long-term strategy.
- A website helps with marketing – It allows you to showcase your books, grow an email list, and provide a professional presence for readers and media.
- It doesn’t have to be complicated – A simple one-page website is often enough, and affordable options like MailerLite make setup easy.
- The investment is minimal – With a $12/year domain and free/low-cost website builders, having an author website is both practical and accessible.
Questions about what to do next? Create your one-page author page with me in under 30 minutes on MailerLite in the post here.
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