When we talk about having a website, the idea of having a one-page website may never have crossed anyone’s mind.
Well, it’s understandable considering we have our own perception of how the author website should be.
It needs to be fancy, with so many pages showcasing the kind of books you write and other offerings you have.
But here’s the issue with creating such a grand website – it costs money to create one.
It’s because of this reason many authors, especially beginner authors, choose to put off the idea of having their own website.
They don’t have the money to spare to create one despite knowing having their own website is essential to their author career.
If you’re in such a predicament, then perhaps having a one-page website may have been the right solution to your website woes.
Heck, it can also be the best decision you’ve ever made.
What in the world is a one-page website, anyway?
Just like the name implied, it’s a website that only has one page with all your links in one place.
Of course, the page doesn’t need to have only links.
You can even do things like embedding a book trailer for your upcoming book or information about your book signing events or tours if you have one.
In a nutshell, it works the same as having a full-fledged website but only with one page.
Why it’s worth considering getting one
Okay, I admit that having a microsite that has one page doesn’t seem to have the same fanfare as having your typical website.
But they’re still worth your time getting one up and running because of these reasons.
It’s easy to set up
Since it’s only a website with only one page, it won’t take that long for you to get it up and running.
All you need to do is to pick the template, customize the look and feel to it, and hit the publish button when you’re pretty much done.
Of course, some of us may go down into the customization rabbit hole to nail a perfect look for our website.
But other than that, creating a microsite that has only one page isn’t that much different from setting up a new social media profile.
They’re cheaper to set up
Here’s the best part about the microsite – you can create one for free.
And even if you choose to opt for the paid one, it still costs you a lot less than getting a domain name, a premium WordPress theme, and a hosting plan combined.
Of course, you may want to get a domain of your own since most website builders will only have a placeholder domain name for your page.
But it still costs you a lot less even when you add it to the price you pay for the paid website builder.
You don’t need to be tech-savvy to build one
This is another amazing thing about the website builder for a microsite – you don’t need a technical skill to create one.
The website builder does the heavy lifting for you.
What you need to do is envision the sort of website you want to create and start building one with your chosen web builder.
The downside of having a microsite that only has one page
The drawback of having a microsite with one page is that it’s hard for this sort of website to do well on the search engine.
After all, the ranking of the website will improve over time the more content you add to the website.
That’s impossible to do with a website of this nature.
The only way to drive traffic to your website is to post the link on your social media profile and promote it in your book’s front and back matter.
You can also use paid ads if you have the budget for it, but it can be costly and unsustainable over time.
The website builder you can use to create a microsite
I should say there are plenty of website builders to choose from. But if you’re talking about the ones that are specifically for creating a microsite, these are a handful of them that you can have a look.
Start Page by Buffer
With Start Page, you can create a one-page site that has all your links in one place.
Do you have anything noteworthy that you want your potential readers to know?
Well, you can add that to your Start Page too.
And the best part of all? It’s free.
Start Page doesn’t have the option to use your own domain yet as I write this.
But you can get a domain name elsewhere and have the domain redirect to your Start Page instead. That should do the trick.
If you’re looking for a place to buy a domain, I highly recommend Namecheap. It’s the place where I got mine from.
The downside with Start Page is that your Start Page doesn’t look that much different from the other people even after the customization.
What’s more, the layout can feel like it resembles Tumblr in many ways due to its one-column style layout.
Don’t get me wrong, a one-column style layout works amazingly well when you view the page on a mobile device.
But it can look and feel hideous to some when you view the same page on a desktop, though.
Think you want to give the Start Page a spin? You can sign up for free right here:
Simple Link
Unlike Start Page, Simple Link is a paid website builder that will cost you $3.88 per month.
But what makes Simple Link worth signing isn’t so much to do with what they offer in their monthly plan.
Rather, it’s the annual plan that makes it worth signing up for where the annual plan includes a free .contact, .design, or .xyz domain.
What’s more, the annual plan isn’t that pricey too which only costs you $38.88 a year.
Some of you will say it’s still not worth paying this much considering that you can create something similar for free with Start Page.
And let’s not forget the kind of website you can create with Simple Link still resembles what you see on Tumblr.
So, there’s nothing spectacular about it.
Guess what? This is where Simple Link and Start Page differ.
Yes, you can create a microsite with Start Page for free. But you can’t gain access to your Start Page analytics unless you’re on Buffer’s paid plan.
Even if you intend to sign up for the paid plan and only want to access your Start Page’s analytics, it still costs you a lot more than signing up with Simple Link.
If you want a website builder that comes with website analytics, then there’s no doubt that Simple Link is a clear winner here.
Interested in giving Simple Link a try? You can sign up for the 14-day trial right here:
Namecheap Simple Link Site Maker
Will I consider creating a microsite for my author business?
You may not believe it, but I actually thought about creating one after I came across Simple Link.
That seems like a shock coming from someone who has two websites under the belt, eh?
Of course, I won’t use a microsite like Simple Link to replace my existing websites.
Rather, I’m using something like Simple Link to create a company website where I will have all my website links in one place.
When I’m planning to create one is something that I’m not sure of.
But I’ll let you know when I’ll create one and share with you all the processes involved from start to finish.
As always, keep your eyes glued to this blog for my thoughts about website builders like Start Page and Simple Link.