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Author Website Design Buyer's Guide
You’re normally in bed by now. But an online search for “website designers for authors” has led to a browser full of tabs–and somehow ended with a comparison of platforms and hosting plans you’re not sure you understand. Can you relate?
How much should it cost to design my author website? How long will it take? Where can I find a designer and how can I pick one that will be a good fit for my genre? If you are wondering any of these questions you’re in the right place.
This article is a buyer’s guide to author website design and we’re going to cover the topic from soup to nuts. Let's dive in!
Table of Contents
Is hiring a designer even the right move for me or should I build my own website?
With the availability of drag-and-drop builders, building your own website is definitely an option to consider. You can save some money and you might learn some helpful things about web design and online marketing along the way. You also have complete creative control and can make tweaks and updates whenever you want–you won’t be dependent on the availability of a designer or having to pay their hourly rate. I actually wrote a book, “Launch Your Author Website,” that guides DIYers through the process of building their websites.
However, there are many instances where hiring a designer is definitely the right call. For many, website technology can come with a steep learning curve. And actually building a website can be a big time investment–you may have higher priorities for your time in your business or personal life. Or, perhaps the visual appeal of your website is a priority and you want a designer to provide a certain level of quality in the design. The rest of this article is focused on the process of finding and choosing a designer for your author website. If you are going the DIY route, check out our newsletter, articles, and resources (with more to come!) for help in your author website journey.
How to find author web designers for your author website
Finding an author website designer isn't too difficult. Finding one that designs on the platform you want, is good at designing in your genre, and has prices in your specified range can be more challenging.
There are many ways to find author website designers. You could ask your author friends or a social media group for authors if they have recommendations. You might also meet author website designers at a writing conference. If you find an author website you like, check the very bottom of the page–there is usually a link to the website of the designer who created it.
Searching online can also be a good way to find a designer. Consider using your preferred platform (e.g. WordPress, Squarespace, Wix), and your genre as search terms, as many website designers only focus on one platform, and some specialize in certain genres. For example, an author might search for “author website designer for YA fantasy on Squarespace.”
Consider also using freelancer directories to find website designers. Some directories are focused on designers that use a particular platform (Wix, WordPress, Squarespace), while others are broad directories that include a large range of professional services.
Personal and local connections. While I generally recommend finding a website designer that specializes in author websites, that's not an absolute requirement. You may have someone you know in your network or in your locality that could do a good job of creating your author website.
How to choose a designer for your website from the available options
You will probably have a list, at least in your head, of what you are looking for in a designer for your author website. Here is a list of what I would be looking for:
Has experience designing author websites, ideally in your genre.
Designs on your preferred platform.
Price is within your budget.
Has availability to deliver your completed website in your preferred timeline.
The designer’s portfolio demonstrates the design quality you are looking for.
Has the ability to do any specialized functions that are important to you, such as SEO, e-commerce, or course/membership integration.
Personality fit–This has the potential to be a long-term working relationship, so be sure you are comfortable working with the designer. A short video chat can help you see if you click with the designer.
Check reviews for customer satisfaction and red flags.
Pro tip: If you will be doing any work on your website, choose a website platform before contacting designers
Here’s the thing. Web designers have a bit of a conflict of interest when it comes to recommending a website platform–they may gravitate to the platform they use the most, and not necessarily the one that is the best fit for you.
If you go with a designer before choosing a website platform, you will be locked into whatever platform they use. Here’s an example of how this might play out. An author, Sandy, has modest to moderate technical ability and wants to manage her website after it is designed. The designer uses a platform that is powerful but a bit too technical for Sandy to manage on her own. As a result, Sandy is spending too much time on nights and weekends trying to figure out the platform and solve technical issues. To avoid situations like this, I recommend researching platforms and even test driving your top picks before signing a web design contract. The table below may provide some guidance in selecting a website platform if you have not done so already.
Should I hire a specialist?
Do I need a designer who specializes in building author websites or can any website designer build an author website?
While there are some real advantages to using a specialist, a generalist should be able to do a fine job of building your website, especially if she’s got a few author websites under her belt.
Case for hiring a specialist
Already fluent in book marketing and understands the importance of reader magnets, email lists, book buy links for various retailers, and knows about author specific social media like Goodreads and BookBub.
Authors need all the good advice they can get, and a specialist can usually advise on how the website should integrate into the author’s book marketing strategy, and offer suggestions for driving traffic to the website.
Their portfolio lets you see other author websites they have built.
Has likely dealt with author-specific issues, such as when an author publishes in different genres, has multiple pen names, or has a large backlist with multiple series.
Case for hiring a generalist
Larger pool of designers = more options. Web designers in your personal network are less likely to be specialists.
Could be a better fit if needing specialized or more technical expertise, such as heavy e-commerce, advanced SEO, or complex membership/course.
Sometimes less expensive.
If you do go with a generalist that doesn’t have experience with author websites, be ready to give them the guidance they need to design in your genre and to make sure they include all the features you want.
How much does author website design cost?
How much will it cost for a designer to build your website? Reedsy estimates that hiring a designer to build an author website from scratch costs around $1,740, on average. (Reedsy, "How Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book in 2026?") However, the prices of author website designers can vary considerably. You can find designers in a “budget” range (under $1,000) or in the premium range, which can start at $3,000 or more.
Author website designers may charge additional fees for features or services that go beyond what is included in their packages. For example, you might incur additional costs for the following:
Additional pages beyond what a package offering provides
Advanced SEO
Newsletter setup/integration
Blog setup
E-commerce
Producing legal pages such as a privacy policy
Writing website copy
Visual design work
Analytics setup
Training so you can make updates and manage your website
Let’s discuss some other services you may see author website designers offer, that may need some explanation.
Templates–A template is a prebuilt website layout that includes the visual structure and organization of the website. Some designers sell templates they have already designed or may require you to purchase one from them. A designer may charge less if you choose a template option because that usually means less design work for them. A completely custom design can come with a higher price.
The image below contains examples of website templates from BookBub.
Subscription—Who will manage your website after it is built? Some designers offer a subscription where they will manage your website (e.g. updates, security, backups) and make minor changes and design updates when you need them—often $30-$50 per month. This option can be helpful for actively publishing authors. Alternatively, you can pay a designer their hourly rate to make updates.
Web Hosting—Some designers offer web hosting, which might cost $100-$300 per year. Note that for some platforms, hosting is included with the platform (e.g. Wix, Squarespace), while WordPress.org users acquire their hosting separately.
Some author website designers are full-service marketing agencies and offer a broad range of services such as graphic design, social media management, copywriting, and digital advertising. These can be a good option if you prefer working with a single vendor for a variety of marketing services.
How long does it take a web designer to complete an author website?
Author website designers frequently advertise timelines such as 1-3 weeks or 2-4 weeks to complete an author website. Some designers give shorter (“author website in a day!”) or longer (6-8 weeks) time periods. The "website in a day" designers often concede that language is more a marketing ploy than a realistic timeline. It can easily take 30 to 40 hours or more to design a custom author website, particularly if it needs e-commerce or other special features.
One thing authors can do to speed up the process is to provide everything they want on the website upfront, including photos, text, videos, links to socials, and your author bio. If the designer has everything she needs, the process can be quite fast. Some designers offer rush author websites and charge more for a shorter timeline.
The process of working with an author website designer–what to expect
Website designers vary a bit in their processes, but I will take you through a pretty typical scenario.
Initial meeting. The main purpose of this meeting is to see if the designer and the client are a good fit. Some topics that may be discussed include the following:
The author's goals for their business and for the website
What the author has written as well as future projects
Preferred platform
How the author is planning to bring traffic to the website
How the author is currently marketing their books and what technology they are using (e.g. email marketing service platform, etc.)
Timeline for completion
Scope of the project (e.g. pages to include, newsletter, blog, e-commerce, SEO).
The author's plans for maintaining and updating the website after completion.
Designer's experience in projects similar to client's
Price
2. Contract and any initial payment. If the client and the designer decide to move forward, the designer will prepare a contract for the client to review, sign, and return. If an initial payment is required, the designer will send an invoice for that amount.
3. Preparing to design. The designer will ask you to provide everything you would like on the website, including photos, videos, text, and social media links. The designer will also ask for a style guide–or the colors, fonts, and overall style you want for the site. It can be helpful to create a vision board in Pinterest or Canva that can help the designer capture your vision for the website. You can use our website vision board template to get you started.
The image below is an example of a website vision board made in Canva.
See our free author brand guide to help you create your author brand and style guide. For a more robust brand guide check out Your Author Website Style Guide.
The designer may also help you get set up on your website platform and make sure everyone has the access they need.
4. Design work begins. The designer creates a homepage based on the client's vision and objectives and presents it to the client. If the client approves the design, the designer proceeds to design the other pages of the website according to that same style, placing all of the content the client has provided into the website. The designer also performs all the other services she agreed to do, such as SEO, newsletter integration, accessibility, and e-commerce.
5. Website completion and testing. After the designer finishes the website, she thoroughly tests it for functionality.
6. Final approval. The designer lets the client know that the website is ready for approval. At this point, the client might share it with others to get their feedback as well. After any final adjustments and approval, the client makes the final payment to the designer.
7. Support after launch. Often, the designer specifies a period of time such as one month during which the client can request adjustments or corrections to the website without incurring additional fees.
What to know before signing a contract with a website designer?
I highly recommend having a written contract for the design of your author website. It's true that a written contract provides some legal protections. But, perhaps more importantly, a good contract can help the parties set clear expectations about the services to be provided and can prevent disputes from ever arising in the first place. The web designer should furnish you with a contract for you to review and sign.
Many of the provisions of the contract are fairly clear and don't need additional explanation, such as the price you'll pay and the timeline. We will look at several provisions you may have questions about.
Payment terms. Payment terms vary among designers so you will need to check the contract or ask the designer you are considering working with. It is common for an author website designer to request 30-50% of the design fee upfront and the rest upon completion of the website. I saw this arrangement questioned in an author group recently where the users thought that asking for money upfront seemed scammy. However, this arrangement is very normal in the web design industry and is one of the ways web designers protect themselves from nonpayment.
Scope of services. Pay particular attention to this section as it shows what services are included and sometimes not included in the agreement.
Number of revisions. A revision is when you don't like something about all or part of the design and you ask the designer to give it another go. Designers include this provision so they don't get stuck in the loop of endless revisions for a customer they can't seem to satisfy.
Ownership. You, the client, should be the owner of the domain and the hosting account–these should be registered in your name and not the designer’s. The contract should also deal with ownership of intellectual property rights of the work the designer does for you. The designer might retain some intellectual property rights in templates, if they want to have the ability to use those for other clients in the future. However, make sure that the intellectual property rights for your content, branding, and custom designs will be transferred to you when the website is completed.
Avoiding scams and poor outcomes
In your search for a website designer, there are some red flags to watch out for that could be a sign of a scam or increase the risk of a low-quality final product. I would consider the following as red flags:
No contract–doesn’t want to commit to putting things in writing.
Outlandish or unrealistic promises. “You will be #1 on Google in two months!”
Unrealistic prices. “Full custom website up to 10 pages for $150 with unlimited revisions.”
Asks for full payment up front. A 30-50% deposit is pretty typical.
No real portfolio–just screenshots. And you can’t verify they actually designed those websites.
No breakdown of what is included in the services they are providing.
If using a freelancer platform, they ask you to make payments outside of the platform to avoid fees. Paying outside the platform will likely lead to the loss of buyer protections the platform offers.
You might observe some other signs that could be suspicious but perhaps do not rise to red flag territory, such as high pressure sales tactics, or if they contacted you rather than the other way around.
Conclusion
Finding and hiring a designer for your author website shouldn’t be overwhelming. In this article I have given you a roadmap to help you on your path to finding a website designer that will be a good fit for you. We’ve covered how to find and vet designers, whether to hire a specialist, design costs, and how long it should take to build your website. We’ve also looked at the process of working with a designer, discussed several web design contract provisions, and highlighted some red flags to watch out for.
I hope this article, along with your own street smarts and due diligence, will help you select a designer that will create a great author website for you. If you’d like to talk with us about your project, My Author Website offers free consultations.
