4 insider tips to build an author website that works

4 things every author should know about building a website that works, from best-selling author and website designer, Charlotte Duckworth

I didn’t meet anyone who described themselves as a writer until I was in my mid-20s. Even then, it was the mid-noughties and the only writer I knew was my boyfriend-now-husband’s younger brother,

Jimi Famurewa

, who, at the time, was writing for magazines like Maxim and Shortlist and who mostly seemed to do a lot of faffing in between cool events and bagging free stuff*.

*in case anyone thinks I’m being mean, in his recent book, Picky, Jimi says these workplaces resembled ‘one extended stag weekend’ (but also, sorry Jimi)…

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I didn’t meet anyone who’d written a book until I was well into my 30s.

Until then, my naive idea of an author was someone whose draughty office was filled with untidy sheaves of paper, pens, coffee cups and piles of books teetering on every surface. I imagined long days spent hunched over a keyboard, interspersed with long periods of staring into space, brow furrowed.

I had no idea that almost no authors have the privilege of focusing on their writing and nothing else. I had no clue how many writers are writing books from the kitchen table, on their phones in a parked car, around family life, day jobs, caring responsibilities and more - it’s been a humbling, but also inspiring, awakening.

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Today’s guest is no exception to this far more accurate version of what it really means to be an author: Charlotte Duckworth is the USA Today bestselling author of The Rival, Unfollow Me, The Perfect Father, The Sanctuary and The Wrong Mother, and her sixth psychological suspense, Connie, will be published by Quercus in January 2026.

AND Charlotte is a website designer who specialises in working with authors to create your own beautiful, professional, online spaces.

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Psst…If you’re looking for some support with creating your own website, you can work with Charlotte 121 to build your website, or take one of her courses if you’re looking to do-it-yourself.

Charlotte has kindly offered Too Much readers a discount code for 25% off her DIY Author Website course. Read on for more details…

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If you have questions about what your author website should look like, what the must-dos and must-NOT-dos are, according to an expert, look no further, because

Charlotte Duckworth

has got you covered!

Huge thanks to Charlotte for her thoughtful answers, the links to free resources she has included, and the generous discount that you’ll find further down this piece ❤️

1. If an author knows nothing about setting up a website, what's the first thing you would advise them to do?

Oh this is a great place to start! Perhaps my answer isn’t what you’re expecting but the first thing I would advise them to do is decide whether they want to invest money or time in the creation of their new website.

This is such a personal decision and every authors’ circumstances are unique. The good news is: these days, it’s entirely possible to build your author website yourself and it’s getting easier all the time.

I know that many authors are on a budget and if so, I wholeheartedly recommend trying to build your own website - you’re going to feel so much more empowered by the end of it and honestly it can be really fun! I always say it’s the perfect creative project to undertake when you need a break from writing.

Also, there’s nothing more satisfying than knowing you’ll be able to update it yourself whenever you need to (which is important - websites are living things and should change over time!).

There’s a wealth of information to help you build your site online - and especially on Youtube - these days.

I have a free video training here that authors can sign up to that walks you through all the steps you need to take to build your own author website. I also have tons of information and guides on my blog and in my Resource Library that anyone can download for free.

However, there’s no getting away from the fact that if you’ve never built a website before, building your own author website is going to take a significant investment of your time. I usually advise blocking off a week and working on it intensely.

So it’s worth being really honest about your circumstances here!

If time is something that you don’t have enough of and you have the money to invest (don’t forget it’s a tax-deductible expense), then I would always advise working with a professional web designer.

I know web designers can seem expensive, but the tricks we know and use when building your author website are priceless, I promise.

When researching designers - aside from the obvious things like making sure you like their design style - it’s important to make sure that:

a) the designer has experience working with authors;

b) the designer builds on a platform that’s user-friendly and secure (there’s more here on why I don’t recommend Wordpress);

c) the designer doesn’t require you to pay them monthly to keep the site live (which means you don’t actually ‘own’ your own website);

and

d) the designer has strong testimonials from previous clients plus live examples of websites you can see.

It’s also worth asking the designer what happens with the maintenance of the site going forward - do they provide you with any resources so that you will be able to update the site yourself, or will you have to pay them every time you need to add a new quote or change a cover?

If you’re somewhere in between the two on the time vs money situation, then please do take a look at my DIY Author Website Course as this will save you so much time and is very affordable too (PS you can use code TOOMUCHSOCIAL for 25% off 😊) .

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2. Are there any must-haves you think all authors should include when designing their website?

Yes, definitely! Here’s a simple run-down of the most important elements from a content perspective:

1. A short intro: The most important part of your website – introducing who you are and what you write. Make sure as soon as people land on your author website they know exactly what kind of writer you are

2. Gallery grid of your books: All your books listed with covers and easy links to buy, plus a few choice testimonials or blurbs

3. Your author bio: A headshot accompanied by a third-person bio that’s up-to-date and easy for media to copy and paste when featuring you in articles etc

4. Sign up form to your newsletter: I’m passionate that all authors start building their mailing lists, even if they’re not ready to start sending newsletters out yet, so a simple sign up form is a must

5. Professional contact details: Your agent/publisher/publicist details so that important people can get in touch with you easily

6. A contact form / social links: You can also include a contact form if you’d like readers to be able to get in touch – if not, then just links to your social media will suffice

You can easily fit all these elements into a one-page author website, which is another thing that’s worth considering, especially if you’re just starting out! A one-page website can work really well - think of it like a Linkedin author page with all the essential info about your writing career in one place.

From a design POV, the most important things are:

1. A good quality headshot

2. Clear, uncluttered pages

3. A navigation with no more than five links in (I recommend Home, About, Books, Contact)

4. Calls to action on every page so that the visitor has somewhere to ‘go’ when they get to the bottom - this helps increase your website’s ‘stickiness’ and therefore its SEO

5. Making sure the website is mobile responsive and looks good and functions well on mobile, as more than 50% of website traffic these days comes from mobile phones

Remember too that you don’t need reams of copy on your author website. Keep it simple and to the point, with all the important information on - nothing more, nothing less. Save long-form content for your blog or Substack, if you have one.

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3. What is the author website mistake that has you crying into your keyboard most often, and what can authors do to fix it?

From a content perspective, the mistake I see the most often is not having links to retailers from your author website! I see this all the time. You have to make it as easy as possible for potential readers to click through and buy your book(s), so make sure links to all the major retailers are prominently displayed throughout your author website.

From a design point of view, the biggest mistake I see with DIY websites is trying to do too much - trying to incorporate too many colours and fonts and photos. Design is so tricky. If it’s not something you have a natural flair for you can still build your own website, but don’t overload it with multiple colours and fonts. Just because you can have five different colours and five different fonts, it doesn’t mean you should! Bad design makes you look unprofessional and amateur and is very off-putting.

The most important marketing asset you have is your book’s cover. That’s the thing you want website visitors to notice and remember, and it’s critical that the rest of your author website doesn’t fight with it. So if you don’t feel confident with design, then my advice is always the same: stick to a monochrome website. It will always look classy and allow your book covers to stand out. Keep the fonts on the website neutral and complementary to your cover too. If you do want to add some colour, then just add a splash and only in very subtle places like on buttons and links. Less is more, both from a content perspective and a design perspective.

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4. What are the benefits of getting support with setting up your author website vs doing it for yourself?

I must caveat this by pointing out my own bias but obviously there are many benefits to getting a designer to build your author website, or at least helping you with it.

Aside from my previous point about simply saving yourself time, there are a few other considerations. 99% of the time, your website is simply going to look better if you’ve had a web designer build it or work on it for you. Some authors are gifted at design but generally speaking authors are word people, and visual and techie stuff is not something they relish (there are exceptions, of course!).

But a professional designer knows how to create a site that looks credible and impressive - and those impressions do stay with a reader/visitor and help build trust. A designer will be able to work with your book’s cover to create something that feels completely unique to you and your author brand, rather than cookie-cutter and obviously from a template.

From a tech perspective, using a web designer will avoid the common pitfalls such as slow loading times, poor mobile experience, incomplete user journeys, cluttered navigation etc etc. There’s a lot that goes into building an effective website aside from the visual aspect, and although a lot of this is super boring, it’s very important too.

A web designer should optimise your website for SEO which is exceptionally important to ensure that your site appears in search engine results. They should also ensure the website is secure and future-proof, so that it’s easy for you to update and expand upon as your writing career grows.

Aside from the technical side of things, using a designer can also be really helpful when it comes to strategy. I always work closely with my clients to ascertain exactly what it is they want their author website to do: drive book sales, offer their writing-adjacent services, grow their mailing list? Once we’ve settled on the main goal of the website, I ensure that, as well as looking great, the site I build is geared towards conversions.

I offer specialised advice - and, as I’m an author myself - I help guide people to ensure their website is working as hard as it can for them.

Using a web designer to build your author website also offers you the ultimate peace of mind - knowing that nothing has been missed and that everything is working as it should do. It takes away the stress and panic that many authors feel when it comes to their websites (especially if their site is built on Wordpress). Most authors find knowing the site has been created by a professional extremely reassuring.

Finally, using an author web designer can actually save you money on your hosting fees! I’m a Squarespace Circle designer which means I’m able to offer all my clients 20% off their first year of Squarespace.

As you can probably tell, I love talking author websites! If you’d like to learn more about my website services, you can find my web design studio here - I’m always happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks so much for having me Nicola ❤️

Some examples of websites Charlotte has created for authors