Author Websites 101: Building the Website

Authors and writers are creative and adventurous by nature. When it comes to building a website, however, it's usually a love it or hate it experience. While there are numerous free programs and tools available for the inexperienced, they aren't always as easy as they seem. You may decide halfway through to throw in the towel and hire a professional. Whichever way you choose, here are a few tips that will help you get through the process.

DIY Website Building

It never hurts to try doing it yourself. If you want to have the best experience at trying this yourself, I suggest you use a free content management system such as Wordpress, Joomla or Drupal. Just to give you an idea of the power of these types of platforms, Wikipedia states:

"WordPress is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet's 'top 1 million' websites and as of August 2011 powers 22% of all new websites. WordPress is currently the most popular CMS in use on the Internet."

All three of these programs are built around PHP and styled using CSS. CSS is really like a master control panel that styles all of your similar content elements uniformly throughout the site, such as colors, fonts and other elements. If you learn the basics of CSS, you can go far in customizing how your site looks and won't have to simply accept the way a website template comes out of the box, so to speak. You don't need to be able to create it; you just need to be able to know how to alter it.

You will also find that your CMS comes with access to a variety of different applications you can use on your site or in your sidebars. There are literally hundreds to choose from. You can plug in slideshows, analytical tools, RSS feeds, photo galleries, contact forms, social media buttons, events managers and shopping carts, just to name a few of the possibilities. It can be a bit overwhelming, to say the least.

Luckily, authors and writers are pretty low maintenance and don't need a lot of technically complex bells and whistles, which is why CMS makes sense. However, the most important thing for you to consider (or anyone for that matter) is the need to build an attractive website that works the way you and your audience need it to.

Designing your own website can be frustrating and a bit difficult if you lack the patience for such things. This can lead you to design a 'bad' website. Here you run the risk of alienating your readers or customers by appearing amateurish, sloppy or unprofessional. If people hesitate or stutter when you ask them what they think, it might be time to contact a professional.

Professional Web Design

Professional web designers come in a lot of different sizes. You can spend anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars to have a website designed to meet your needs and desires. The important thing is to have an idea what you want when speaking to a designer. Go out and research the websites of other writers and authors to get an idea of what they are doing. The basic elements you need to consider include:

• Layout (are there sidebars and if so, where and how many?)
• Colors
• Use of media such as photos, sliders, galleries, video and audio
• Applications used on the site

Be advised that not all designers will include (good) copywriting in the project scope. Make sure you are clear on who is expected to create it. If it is your designer, be sure he or she is aligned with or employs a reputable copywriter with knowledge of the peculiarities of web copy and marketing. If it is up to you, you should read through the series articles on copywriting and SEO for author websites, or hire a copywriter to work with your designer.

Make sure you are clear on all the charges up front. Make sure you understand what types of things will cost extra. Many designers will tack on a surcharge for changes made after a certain stage in the design. It's in your interest to know when that cut-off occurs. Additionally, get an idea of what payments are due and when. It is standard practice for designers to charge a non-refundable retainer. After that, designers differ. Some require the balance on completion and others require payments after certain stages have been completed.

You should also obtain an expected completion date. From both a designer side and a client side, I'm well aware of Murphy's Law: Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. The important thing is your designer's policy for delay. If delays are attributable to you, it may mean an extra charge or that payment comes due before the project is finished. Designers may even terminate the contract if client delays are substantial and still expect payment. While this may sound unfair, I've dealt with plenty of clients who prolong a one-month project into six or seven months, which often conflicts with other projects, so I know designers implement these procedures to protect their other clients and themselves.

Finally, the old adage applies: Get everything in writing. It is in everyone's interest to know what the project includes and doesn't, what procedure is available if the client isn't happy, the terms of billing and payments, and when things are due.

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