The pros and cons of WordPress author sites
As a traditionally published or indie author, you need direct access to your audience. A website is the ideal way to build a platform where you can maintain contact with your fans. WordPress for authors offers a wide range of benefits (as well as a few drawbacks). So, is WordPress right for your author site? Read on to find out.
WordPress is the single most popular content management system (CMS) on the internet. And it’s easy to see why. It can build blogs, shops, and much more. And because of its code-free interface, it’s possible to create a website without learning HTML, JavaScript, CSS, or PHP. However, that doesn’t mean that you won’t have to learn anything. Some users find the learning curve for WordPress significantly steeper than for drag-and-drop builders, like Wix.
So, should you use WordPress for your author’s page? Explore the benefits and drawbacks below to find out.
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Why writers like WordPress
The overwhelming majority of author platforms we see and work with are built on WordPress. Some of the advantages of WordPress for authors are its:
- Cost: It’s a free and powerful content management system
- Simplicity: You can use it without knowing how to code
- Appearance: You can get an amazing look without being a designer
Those are three pretty strong points in favor of WordPress. Let’s look at them more closely.
A free, powerful CMS
WordPress makes blogging tools, like comments, automatic archiving, sorting by categories, and tagging available to everyone. Instead of working with half-a-dozen third parties to get the tools you need, you can quickly and easily download a plugin. That’s why we use it for our blog!
A simple way to customize your author’s page
Using WordPress.org’s built-in Theme Editor, you can:
- Add or remove elements (like images and forms)
- Change colors, fonts, themes, and templates
- Implement special features with third-party plugins
- Create custom pages, a blog, and a storefront
And you can do it all without knowing any coding languages.
A custom design
By building your own theme or customizing an existing theme, you can incorporate color schemes and motifs that tell future readers exactly what your author brand is about. Even if you know nothing about design you can get a professional look by adapting an existing theme. A beautiful website with no web design experience? That sounds excellent.
In short, WordPress is great for writers
WordPress author sites are typically easy to navigate and simple to update. They also offer built-in options for blogs and, thanks to plugins like WooCommerce, online shops. That means you can interact with your fans through comments and sell your books directly from your website. What reason could there be not to use WordPress to build your author’s page?
The downsides of choosing WordPress for authors
Though incredibly popular and powerful, WordPress is not without its flaws. Let’s go over a few of them so you can make an informed decision on whether or not a WordPress author site is right for you.
Before you get started on your author’s page, consider the…
- Cost: WordPress.org is free to use, but you still need to find webspace.
- Difficulty: It will probably take you a little time to understand the interface
- Appearance: Without CSS, you won’t be able to fully customize your site.
Are any of these deal-breakers? Let’s go over each point in more detail.
Finding webspace for your author’s page
You can buy webspace through companies like WordPress.com (a separate entity from the free WordPress.org) or other web hosting providers. We’ve worked with HostGator for many years and can highly recommend them. All major web hosts will offer WordPress integration, though, so you still won’t need to worry about code.
You’ll also probably want to secure your own domain name. Some web hosts, such as InfinityFree and Neocities, will offer you a free subdomain. And while we think using a free web builder is fine, we strongly recommend owning your domain name. We’ve used Namecheap for many years and have never had an issue, so we recommend their services.
Learning WordPress
We would rank using WordPress as a little more difficult than using Wix. But that’s much easier than learning how to code (which would take months, minimum!). Still, the interface takes a little getting used to. We strongly recommend using the official tutorials as well as watching experienced WordPress designers on YouTube before getting started. You can also find guides specifically geared toward using WordPress for authors’ sites, so you can find industry-related tips.
Customizing WordPress author sites
Creative people tend to have very precise ideas about what they want. As a writer, you probably already have an image of how you want your author’s page to look. And while WordPress offers plenty of customization options, there are limits to how much you can do.
For instance, we designed weareseven.com first, then designed a custom WordPress theme for the blog portion of this site. We wanted to make the blog’s style indistinguishable from the rest of the website. We did most of it with the basic tools found in the Editor panel. But there were a few details, such as the boarder image we use, that we had to add with CSS.
Overall, you should be able to build the WordPress author site you have in mind. Just be prepared to let go of a few details here and there.
But speaking of design oversight when it comes to WordPress for authors…
You have another option
You don’t have to either hire someone to code a website from scratch or design one yourself using WordPress. Plenty of web developers also build WordPress author sites. This means that once the site is up and running, you can use your WordPress dashboard to make updates and changes yourself, without relying on a third party developer.
This is the option I recommend for people who want more hands-on control over their website, but don’t have the time to learn the ins and outs of designing with WordPress.
Consider hiring a designer to create an author’s page using WordPress if you plan to…
- Publish regular blogs or news updates
- Make frequent updates to your site’s content
- Keep costs low by managing things yourself
If you want to take the reins of your website once it’s live, this might be the ideal option for you.
However, if hiring a designer isn’t in the budget, but you still want someone else to craft a beautiful website, we’ve got good news. You can easily buy and install a professionally built WordPress theme.
Buying a WordPress theme for your author’s page
Sites like ThemeForest offer an almost overwhelming number of WordPress author sites.
After you install the theme, you can use the WordPress dashboard just like you would if you selected one of the default WordPress themes. Also, should you want to make changes as time goes on, you can go into the site Editor and adapt the templates that are already there.
What’s right for your author site?
We hope that’s given you a thorough overview of your options for designing your author’s page. You have a wide range of choices, including:
- Creating your own WordPress theme
- Buying a WordPress theme for authors
- Commissioning a WordPress author site
- Requesting a custom, hand-coded website
Ready to get started on your website design? Check out What to Include in Your Author Website to take the next step!
What are your thoughts on using WordPress for authors’ sites? Would you like us to go into more detail on designing WordPress author sites? Let us know in the comments below.
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