Must-have pages on your author website

Now that your author website is up and running, what are the must-have pages you need to create?

I hope that you’re not thinking about going live without having these must-have pages on your author website.

That will be strange to see there’s nothing on your author website other than the post ‘Hello World.’

Heck, even the ‘Hello World’ post is not even a proper post!

When it comes to the must-have pages on your author website, I will have to say that the must-have pages will depend on what type of authors you are.

Pretty much the must-have pages for the fiction author sites tend to be the same regardless of the genre you write.

But if you’re a nonfiction author, you may have to add additional pages on top of the same pages that the fiction author sites have.

Of course, that will still depend on what kind of nonfiction author you are. For all you know, the must-have pages you have on your author website is the same as the one for the fiction authors even if you write nonfiction.

The must-have pages for your author website

Since the ‘Hello World’ post won’t cut it and it’s not even a legit post, what pages you need to have on your author website?

If you’re not sure what pages you need to create, here are some of the pages that you can create for your author website. Feel free to add any other pages if you think that these pages are necessary for your target readers to get to know you.

Homepage

Unless you have a blog and you prefer the homepage to display your latest blog post, you need to create a dedicated homepage for your author website.

The homepage is the focal point of your author branding. So, be sure that your homepage tells the visitors exactly who you are, what type of books you write, your book list if you have more than one book and also a link that gets people to join your mailing list.

Well, that’s just the gist of what information your homepage should have. You can add more if you like. But keep it simple. You don’t have to put everything on your homepage.

Most premium WordPress themes already have the homepage ready. The only thing you need to do is to modify the web copy and you’re pretty much done for now.

I tend to leave homepage for the last since I need to create the pages that will appear on the homepage first. It’s easier to create a homepage that way.

If you have no idea how to create a homepage for your author website, you can take a look at on how I do my homepage.

A dedicated page for the email opt-in

You can easily create a landing page for the email sign-up using an email marketing platform such as MailChimp.

But I prefer to create a dedicated page on my author website because I have a full control of the design.

Not only that, but I also don’t have to recreate another landing page when I’m switching to a different email marketing platform. The only thing I need to do is to change the setting on my email opt-in form and I’m done.

When you create a landing page for the email opt-in, be sure to set the page to blank page so then the landing page will have nothing but the opt-in form. You don’t want your visitors to stray elsewhere when the page has things other than your opt-in form.

Don’t know what you should offer to get people to join your mailing list? You can read about it right here.

Book list

If you already write more than one book, then create a page has all the books you write.

Having a dedicated book list page will make it easier for your readers to get to know about your books. And if they enjoy your writing, they’re most likely to come back and buy other books from your book list too.

Congratulations if you already have such fans. You should treat them like a king because you’ll be nowhere without people like them.

Individual book page

This is where you can put the book description, the available format, the link to the sample chapter and also where to buy your books online. It’s better to put this information on an individual book page rather than putting the whole thing on the book list page. That can look messy and confusing for the readers too.

You can also put a snippet of your book review on this page too. That makes your target readers to be more likely to buy your book if they saw your book’s glowing reviews.

Store page

If you’re selling your books directly to your readers, consider create a dedicated page that list down all the books that the readers can buy directly from you.

It’s possible that they will go straight to this page instead of going to the book list page. Not only it gives them a rough idea about the books you’re selling, but they can also see the price too.

I will talk about specifically about selling your books directly on your author website in the next part of the guide.

But for now, have this page ready if you’re planning to sell your books directly to your readers.

About page

Your readers want to know more about you. So,this is the page where you can tell your target readers who you are, what type of books you write and why you write this sort of book.

You can add other details that resonates with your target readers if you’d like. But what I outline is already a good start if you’re not sure what you should write for your about page.

Contact page

Make it easy for your readers to send you a fanmail, questions and even feedback for your book using a contact form on your author website.

As much as they’d like to keep in touch with you using social media, nothing beats sending a personal email to you. Besides, they can write as long as they want without being limited to 280 characters. And they don’t have to worry about other people seeing their personal thought about your book.

So, create a contact page that has a contact form in it instead of putting your email on your contact page. Not only you make your readers’ live easier, but you can also avoid spammers sending you junk mails.

Media kit

If you want to get a media coverage for your book or you want to make an appearance on the national TV, then you need to have a media kit ready on your author website. That’s how the media is able to feature you on their publication. They may not be able to do that if you don’t have a media kit.

I admit that I didn’t have media kit on my website since media coverage isn’t my focus for the time being.

But if you’re interested in getting the media to talk about your book, then I highly recommend you to take a look at Chris Well’s Build Your Brand Academy. The website has everything you need to know about publicity from creating a media kit to pitching your book to the journalists.

Privacy policy page

Your readers want to know what you’re going to do with their personal information that you collect on your author website. That’s when your privacy policy page comes in.

I don’t recommend you to write the privacy policy page yourself unless you’re a lawyer or you know someone who is a lawyer.

So, your best bet is to use a template that allows you to create a privacy policy for your author website.

Yes, I know that it’s not the best solution. But it’s a much better option than having you to write it from scratch and get it all wrong. It’s even worse than not having any privacy policy page at all.

Refund policy

If you’re selling your books directly on your website, then you will certainly need to have this page. Otherwise, your readers will make their own rule which is something that you don’t want to happen.

Terms and conditions page

Just like the privacy policy page, it’s tricky to write this page yourself. So, the best way to do it is to use a template and modify the terms and conditions according to how you conduct your business.

Other pages you can add on your author website

Feel that the must-have pages that I mention is still not enough for your author website? Well, you can also add these pages too if you’d like.

Blog

Some authors may not benefit much from having a blog, especially when they’re not blogging frequently. If you love blogging and you feel that blogging is the best way to connect with your readers, then it’s fine to start one. Otherwise, you should be focusing on something else that is beneficial to you and your readers.

Services that you offer

If you’re a nonfiction author and you offer services, then you can create a dedicated page that list all the services that you’re offering.

Depending on what services you offer, you can have the add to cart button on your service page too. I’ll talk more about it in-depth in the next part of the guide.

Otherwise, a contact form is fine too. Be sure to have the FAQ on that page too so then you won’t be swamped with too many inquiries about the services you’re offering.

Speaking engagement page

Want people to hire you for speaking? Then be sure to let them know through your speaking page.

Already got yourself a speaking gig?

You can also use this page to let everyone know about your speaking event. I’m sure that your readers are more than happy to see you in person.

Event page

If making an appearance on an event is your thing, then you can create this page to list down all the events you’ll be appearing.

How to add a page on WordPress

Adding a new page on WordPress is the same as adding a new blog post. But if you don’t know how to do that, you can take a look at this YouTube video by HostGator on how to add a new page on WordPress.