Best Website Builders for Authors: Every writer needs a website. Both first-time authors and those who have been writing for years. It lets you to update your readers on new releases and to sign-up for any offers you might be promoting. It also gives them a direct connection with you, which is very important.
There are lots of ways to create website,s but I’m going to be focusing on the cheapest and easiest options. I won’t be talking about the usual suspects – Wix, Squarespace, etc. The following options will help you to get your website up really quick, and prevent you from having to spend hundreds a year on hosting.
1. Lifetime Deal – Website Builder
This has been one of my biggest cost-saving purchases when it comes to running my author’s website. Sometimes when new website builders are released, they’ll offer a lifetime deal to drum up business. This means that you’ll pay a once-off fee and get to use that software for as long as it’s available. As these deals come and go regularly, you may not find the exact one that I’ll mention below, but I’ll show you how to find alternatives as well.
The most recent one I’ve purchased is a tool called Way Website Builder. It’s an easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder that helps you to put together an author’s website in minutes. It’s also very low-cost at $39 for lifetime usage. That means that there are no monthly fees. You’ll use the tool to create and host your website for as long as the company is in business.
Alternative Lifetime Deal
If Way is sold out, there are other ways to find the latest lifetime deal:
- Head over to the most popular lifetime deal websites – Appsumo, Stacksocial, Pitchground and Dealmirror
- use the search bar to search for “website builder, webpage builder, landing page builder and funnel builder” to see your options
- Find the best current deal that will suit your needs
2. 10Web
Next, we have the easiest option for cloning a website fast. 10Web uses a combination of WordPress and Elementor to quickly clone any website you like. Find the website of another author that you really like the style of, put its URL into 10Web’s AI webpage builder, and it will design a duplicate of that site. You can then edit it to better suit your personal tastes.
10Web makes it easier than ever to generate a beautiful website in minutes. For as little as $10 a month, you can create and host your website on 10Web. And the easy drag-and-drop live editor will make editing and adding sections to your website a breeze. Your plan will come with everything you need including:
- 90+ Pagespeed Score
- DDOS Protection
- User and team management
- AI recreation assistant
- 50+ basic and pro widgets
- Malware removal program
- 99.9% uptime
If you want a website that can be easily created and maintained without needing to spend hours learning a new tool, then 10Web is your best option.
3. Jimdo
Jimdo lets you choose between creating a website or an online store. So, if you’re not happy with an author website and would like to try your hand at selling your books directly from your website – you can simply switch over to an online store plan. Jimdo will create a template for you according to some basic questions. You can choose between a bunch of design options such as modern and elegant, pick your colors, choose your main reasons for creating a website, etc. Jimdo will then create an editable template that you can work with.
Jimdo is one of the best website builders for authors I’ve used. If you see a section you want to be changed, simply click on it and choose Block Design. You’ll be presented with a variety of alternative block options to replace it with. So instead of the usual drag-and-drop option, you can simply choose from professionally designed pre-made options. This ensures that your website always looks incredible.
You can get started for as little as $9 a month, but when upgrading from the free trial, I’ve regularly been offered some great discounts – going as low as $3 a month.
Best Website Builders for Authors: FAQ
Does an author need a website?
The answer is yes! There’s a lot of competition on Amazon, so you want to take every opportunity to reach your audience. Your website can be used to collect email address, send discounts and to simply promote your latest book when they’re released. You can also build up hype about your book months in advance.
Where Can I Buy a Domain?
There are many places to buy a domain. You can buy a domain from a registrar, from a web hosting company, or from a domain marketplace.
I like to get my domains from Namecheap. They have great prices and support.
