#developing a website

[its-a-writer-thing]

The Importance of an Author Website

Author websites are yet another way for writers to promote themselves to their readers. You can aggregate your collection of writings, advertise new releases, share social media links, leak extra tidbits about your stories, or even introduce yourself to the reading community. But that’s mainly for big-time authors, right? Or those who have contracts with publishing companies?

On the contrary, when it comes to launching yourself as a self-published author, an author website can be the most important platform you have – even over an Amazon or Goodreads page. While both those options are important as well, an author website accomplishes six main things:

Why to Have an Author Site

It’s a hub of information about you, your books, new releases, and serves as a base for linking to other things.

It shows professionalism. When a reader finds an unknown author in their recommendations list, before they commit to buying, they’re likely to do a quick Google search of your name. An author website shows you’re invested in your craft and have confidence that your book is worth their time.

It secures a presence. Anyone can create an Amazon or Goodreads profile, and there’s only limited information you can provide there. An author website establishes you as the one and only author of your name.

It better advertises your social media presence. Rather than hunting through the web by themselves, trying to determine which 'so-and-so’ is the one they’re seeking, they can easily follow you across all your available platforms from one effortless location.

Better advertise later releases. Rather than starting from scratch with your next published book, or risk getting lost in the news feed of Twitter with your promo, an author website allows you to promote and share your next release to an audience that already knows you. Plus, if a new reader were to find your website after checking out your first book, they can easily view that you have others in store.

It’s easy to organize your collection. As you publish more books, there’s no danger of getting the sequence out of whack; readers can look to your officially declared order, and get back to reading without hesitance or confusion that may cause them to look elsewhere.

The question stands, however: Do you really need an author website?

If you intend on publishing your book as a one-off, just for your own satisfaction, then no – not necessarily. However, if you hope to make your book sell, if you hope to write and sell more in the future, or if you want to establish yourself as a serious author (while providing ease for your readers in finding out more about you and your stuff) - then yes. Definitely. You need an author site.

With that said, when you set to the task of creating an author website… where do you start? Is it as easy as buying a domain and a Wordpress design? Well, no.

To help us better tackle this endeavor ourselves, L S Andersson, author of Behind Closed Doors: Trusting The Unseen, is here to help. After having started from scratch and worked her way up, with no web design experience, she’s here to offer advice on going from, “Where do I start?” to successfully having her very own author website (AnamMara.com).

Tune in for our next article in this five-part series, How to Build an Author Website, where we talk about the budget requirements of this venture. What kind of budget do you need? Do you hire a professional or build yourself? What are thrifty ways to get the site you want?

After that, we’ll discuss finding the right hosting provider, learning how to design your site, and how large an author website really should be. Be sure to check it out. 

Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

[towncountrywebdesign-blog]

LOW COST WEB DEVELOPMENT

Developing a website is not only about the input of some good graphics and usage of simple HTML editor. A website shall professionally deploy the nature of your business, which can only be done by well versed designers who have an essence of creativity and are committed to their profession. Business owners while starting up the business look for low cost web development methods, that can effectively boost up their businesses. In this era there are a number of website designing and developing tools that enables business owners to develop a low-cost site. While planning the launch of a website, budget is to top priority for a company, since resources are limited, and one wants a new website without investing much. These low-cost web development techniques and packages do have advantages but there are equal disadvantages too, which can potentially harm the business. Proceeding are the pros and cons of low-cost web development:

Pros

• They are light on pockets, and equally fulfil the consumer demands to promote a business by good means.

• The initial low-cost web development is a good starting point for those who are not willing to invest much in the marketing process, and are expecting substantial results.

Cons

• In a limited budget, the service providers usually take easy routes and deliver generic website designs which are replicated from other sites available online. • By choosing to go for a low-cost web development, there will be restricted customizability in terms of features like, the site might not be SEO friendly which will greatly affect the business’s online presence. It is easy to develop a website or get it developed by all means, however while choosing the package there shall be considerations made on the type of package you are opting for.

[wp-seo]

Having a website for any business can be a great marketing tool. It is the place where a user can know more about your service or products even while you are sleeping.