Create a Great Writer Website in 3 Easy Steps

Create a Great Writer Website in 3 Easy Steps

​A personal website is a must-have for any writer. Learn how to create an attention-grabbing website in three easy steps, no programming or design skills needed.

1 - Get a hosting package and domain name

A hosting package provides the computing power needed to get your site online. Every website needs hosting.

Luckily, you don't need any technical skills to host a website - once you select a package from a hosting provider, all the technical work happens for you behind the scenes.

Your site, of course, also needs a name, which is known as a domain name. As an author, you'd ideally want your domain name to be your first and last name followed by ".com." For instance, the domain name for this site is tedgaldi.com. 

Even if you're not ready to launch a writer website now, I'd still recommend getting the domain for your first and last name today. Why? Other people in the world likely have the same name as you and if one of them gets the domain name first, you won't be able to.

If the domain for your first and last name happens to already be taken, you can try to find an available variation on it, for example firstlastauthor.com.

To make things easy, you can get your domain from the same company that provides your hosting. You can even get a free domain with a hosting package... 

I highly recommend the very affordable Bluehost for your hosting and domain.
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2 - Select a website theme

Once you have your domain and hosting package, Bluehost will let you quickly install a system called Wordpress. This is a web app you can use to design your site and add content to it like text and images.

Fortunately, Wordpress offers pre-built design themes. You don't need any graphic-design skills to use one. Browse the selection and choose the theme you feel looks best.
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3 - Start creating pages in Wordpress

Once you select a theme, you'll be taken to your personal Wordpress dashboard. This is the place you'll go to add and update website content...
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You don't need any technical or design skills to make pages. Wordpress will guide you through the process. You'll just need to add text and upload images, which is just as easy as creating a Facebook post.

As a writer, here are some pages and content you should consider adding to your site:

• A homepage that clearly states your name and what you write (novels, screenplays, articles, etc)

 

• A bio page with your photo that gives some background on what you've written or plan to write

 

• A contact page that provides your email address so your audience can get in touch with you

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• A page for each of your projects, with links for people to get what you've written - ex, if you're an author, you'd have a page for each of your books with links to buy on Amazon   

Your site is ready for the world

First, visit Bluehost to get a powerful, yet affordable site. 

Once you go through the three easy steps listed above, anyone in the world can start visiting your site and seeing your content. They simply need your domain name. Here are some ways to get your domain out there:

• If you're on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, add a link to your domain to your profiles

 

• Your email provider should let you include a "signature" to your outbound messages - you can insert a link to your domain under your name

 

• Add your domain to your writing projects, like the back cover of a book or the end of an article  

Enhance your site with Wordpress plugins

In addition to its low cost and ease of use, an awesome feature of Wordpress is its vast library of plugins.

A plugin is a specialized app you can quickly add to your Wordpress site. Many of them are free, while others come at a modest price.

You don't need to consider plugins while launching the initial version of your site. However, to achieve specific goals with your site, you can leverage plugins. Certain ones are ideal for certain types of writers, from novelists to narrative non-fiction authors, journalists, technical writers, content writers, business writers, and more. 

For example, you may want to create a blog on your site and add informational posts searchers could find after entering keywords into Google.

​Wordpress offers a variety of plugins to make blog posts look appealing and get highlighted more easily by search engines.

If you'd like a certain kind of feature on your site, just enter into Google the name of the feature followed by "Wordpress plugins" and you can learn what's available.

Secure your domain name today

​If you haven't yet, visit Bluehost for an affordable hosting package and free domain name.

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You might also like my post on marketing a book online, creating an author newsletter, BookTok for authors, and how to sell books on Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links.