An author website should help readers understand your work, find the right buying or borrowing link, and choose whether to stay connected. This reusable author website checklist explains which pages to create before publication, what to add around launch, and what to review after each new book or campaign.
Overview
Your website is the most flexible part of an author platform. Social profiles can change their features, search visibility can fluctuate, and retailer pages are designed primarily for transactions. Your site gives readers a stable place to learn about you, explore your books, request event information, and sign up for updates.
That does not mean an author website needs dozens of pages. A focused site with clear navigation is usually more useful than a large site filled with unfinished sections. Start with the pages that support your current goal: building an audience before publication, helping readers discover a newly released book, or maintaining a professional home for an established backlist.
A practical core structure includes Home, Books, About, Contact, and Newsletter. Add a media kit, events page, blog, or teaching and speaking page only when you have material to maintain and a clear reason readers or organizers would use it.
Core author website pages
- Home: State who you are, what you write, and what a visitor can do next. Feature the current book, an email signup, or a prominent link to your reading order.
- Books: Give every published or forthcoming title its own page with the cover, format information, description, content notes when relevant, and links to appropriate retailers, libraries, or bookshops.
- About: Write a concise biography for readers. Include a longer version only if it serves a real purpose, such as event bookings, interviews, or teaching.
- Contact: Offer a monitored form or clearly labeled contact method. Explain what kinds of messages you welcome, such as reader notes, rights inquiries, or event requests.
- Newsletter signup: Describe what subscribers can expect and how often you generally send messages. Use an email service that provides the required consent and unsubscribe controls for your audience and location.
- Media kit: Include downloadable or easy-to-copy assets such as a short biography, long biography, author photo, book covers, descriptions, and contact details for professional inquiries.
- Events: List upcoming appearances with dates, locations, registration or ticket links, and accessibility details when available. Archive past events rather than leaving outdated listings active.
Checklist by scenario
The right website structure depends on where you are in your publishing journey. Use the table as a starting point, then remove anything you cannot keep accurate.
| Page or feature | Debut author | Traditionally published author | Self-published author |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home page | Introduce your genre or subject and feature the forthcoming book, reader magnet, or newsletter. | Feature the newest title while keeping a clear path to the backlist and publisher-supported resources. | Highlight the current release, series order, direct reader connection, and key purchase or library links. |
| Book pages | Create a forthcoming page with the cover when approved, publication timing, description, and signup option. | Include official title information, formats, description, reviews or endorsements you are permitted to use, and retailer or publisher links. | Include formats, edition details, series order, sample chapters if appropriate, and links that match where each edition is available. |
| Biography | Use a short, reader-focused biography that does not overstate unpublished credentials. | Offer a short version for readers and a professional version for interviews, events, or media requests. | Explain your writing focus, relevant experience, and the kinds of stories or information readers can expect. |
| Contact form | Invite appropriate reader or professional messages and check the form regularly. | Separate general reader contact from event, media, or rights inquiries when that makes routing clearer. | Provide a reliable route for reader support, review requests, and collaboration without promising an immediate response. |
| Newsletter | Offer a clear reason to subscribe, such as launch news, behind-the-scenes notes, or useful reading material. | Set expectations about frequency and distinguish author news from book-specific campaign updates. | Use the list for release announcements, reader bonuses, series updates, and sustainable ongoing communication. |
| Media kit | Add a basic kit when interviews or launch coverage begin; do not leave placeholder files online. | Keep approved biography, photographs, covers, descriptions, and contact routes together. | Include reusable materials for bloggers, booksellers, podcasters, and event organizers. |
| Events | Publish confirmed events only, with clear dates and participation instructions. | Link to official event or publisher information when another page is the authoritative source. | Include virtual, local, bookstore, and launch events with time-zone and access details where needed. |
Launch-readiness checklist
- Confirm the book title, subtitle, author name, cover, description, publication date, and formats.
- Test every retailer, library, preorder, event, and newsletter link on desktop and mobile.
- Make the primary action obvious: buy, borrow, preorder, subscribe, or request an event.
- Check that the book page can be reached from the home page within one or two clicks.
- Prepare a short biography, long biography, author photo, cover image, and plain-text descriptions for media use.
- Review contact-form notifications so messages reach an address you monitor.
- Check privacy wording, consent language, cookie settings, and unsubscribe controls according to the tools and audiences you use.
What to double-check
Clarity and navigation
Use familiar labels such as Books, About, Events, and Contact. Readers should not have to understand your internal publishing process to find a book. If you write in multiple genres or for different audiences, separate those paths with headings or filters rather than forcing every visitor through one long page.
Book information
Keep descriptions, edition details, publication dates, and links consistent across your site. If a title is forthcoming, label it as such. After publication, replace temporary language and verify that links still point to the intended format or retailer. For a series, show reading order prominently; this is especially helpful when readers arrive through an older title.
Accessibility
Use meaningful headings, descriptive link text, readable color contrast, and alternative text for important images. Make sure forms have visible labels and that menus, buttons, and pop-ups can be used without relying only on a mouse. Avoid placing essential information only inside images or downloadable files. Accessibility is not a decorative add-on: it affects whether readers can understand and use the site.
Privacy and email
Choose an email platform that supports consent records and easy unsubscribing, then explain what subscribers receive. Collect only the information you need. Review the privacy information supplied by your website host, analytics tools, contact form, and email provider, and adapt it to your audience and jurisdiction rather than copying generic wording without checking it.
Common mistakes
- Making the home page a biography only: Readers usually need a next step. Pair the introduction with a current book, signup, or events link.
- Using one crowded page for every title: Individual book pages are easier to share, update, and link from interviews or campaigns.
- Leaving launch language online: Replace “coming soon” notices, preorder buttons, and temporary dates when the book is available.
- Adding a blog without a maintenance plan: An irregular blog is not automatically a problem, but an abandoned news page can make the site appear neglected. Use a static resources page if that better fits your schedule.
- Hiding the newsletter purpose: Tell visitors what they will receive before asking for their email address.
- Publishing private or unapproved material: Check permissions for endorsements, event photos, excerpts, publisher assets, and reader messages before posting them.
- Forgetting mobile testing: Long biographies, tables, forms, and pop-ups can become difficult to use on a small screen.
When to revisit
Review the website before every book launch, cover change, new edition, seasonal campaign, event series, or newsletter change. A short pre-campaign audit is often enough: open the home page, visit each book page, submit or test the contact route, check the signup flow, and inspect the site on a phone.
Schedule a broader review at least once a year or whenever your publishing workflow changes. Recheck platform requirements, privacy guidance, email-service settings, accessibility basics, analytics choices, and the structure of your navigation. Tools and policies can change, so confirm current details in the documentation for the services you use rather than relying on an old setup guide.
After each review, record the date, pages checked, links changed, and next action. Keep a simple “website source of truth” document containing your approved biography, book descriptions, publication details, image files, and important URLs. This reduces errors when preparing interviews, newsletters, event listings, or book promotions.
For a practical final check, ask a reader who is unfamiliar with your site to find your newest book, discover how to subscribe, and locate a way to contact you. If they can do those three things without explanation, your author website is doing its essential job.
