0
0 We are living in an era where people look to the internet to discover their next favorite book or learn more about their favorite author. This is why having an author website has become more important than ever.
For an author, a website is more than just a digital business card—it’s a virtual bookstore, a platform for connecting with readers, and a central location for managing your public persona. Getting your website right means increased sales and a wider readership. But if you are wondering, “I don’t have the technical know-how to make a website myself.” Well, don’t worry, as you can leave this project in the hands of expert website design services.
Let’s explore how experts can boost the potential of your website and improve your online presence and visibility.
Why Does Every Author Need a Website?
Before jumping on website design, it’s important to understand why authors need a website. The internet has brought the world to our fingertips, and readers no longer rely solely on traditional methods. They expect instant access to information with just one click. Having a website helps authors stand out in a saturated market.
Remember, simply having a website for the sake of it won’t be helpful. It’s important to keep in mind that websites are judged very quickly. Visitors take only 0.5 seconds to form an impression of a website. In that short amount of time, they decide whether they want to stay or leave. Therefore, your website needs to be attractive in order to keep the reader engaged. This is where website design services come in.
How Top Author Website Design Services Maximize Your Website’s Potential
Branding & Visual Appeal
Your website is often the first impression people have of you as an author. Web designers help create a visually appealing brand that reflects your personality as a writer and captures your audience instantly. Experts focus on visual appeal, such as design and site complexity, because first impressions are 94% design-related.
If your website appears too complex, bland, and difficult to navigate, visitors will instantly leave. Experts start by fixing the layout to make navigation easy, and they add the right color tones and images that are consistent with your author’s identity, making the website attractive and intriguing.
Mobile Responsiveness
It’s crucial to nail down this key element. This is because 60.67% of global website traffic originates from mobile devices, and 74% of online users will revisit a website that is mobile-friendly. So, what do you understand by these statistics??
It is simple – more people access websites through their phones. This is why having a mobile-friendly website is essential. Website design services make sure that your site looks great and functions perfectly on all devices. They optimize their designs, such as loading times and layouts for mobile devices, so visitors can have a great user-friendly experience.
Clutter is Not Appreciated
Do you know that, on average, a visitor spends 1 minute 44 seconds on a website? Do you think people would come back or explore more if your site is cluttered? The answer is no. As a layman, you might consider putting everything on the home page, making the website very cluttered and overstimulating.
Author website design services near me use intuitive design to enhance user experience. This means they create separate pages for the latest release, blog posts, sign-up forms, and your collection, making the site appear very structured and easy for people to navigate.
E-Commerce Capabilities
If you want your audience to buy signed copies of your books, merchandise, or products from your page, you would need e-commerce integration. Here are a few things that you must know visitors want in an e-commerce platform:
- Safe and reliable transactions
- User-friendliness
- Image loading: 39% of people will stop engaging with a website if images don’t load or take too long to load.
- Simple and easy-to-understand payment processing
- Quick loading times
Web designers master these aspects, allowing visitors to make purchases directly from your website without complications. From tracking orders to managing sales and swift order placement, all of these aspects reduce website bounce rates.
SEO (Keywords, Visibility, & Rank)
Keywords are the words and combinations of words that potential reader inputs into the search engine to look for a particular book or author. Website design services use tools to find out what searches are popular. They also do on-page optimization, ensuring your website ranks higher in search engine results.
For example, if you’re a fantasy author, your website can be optimized for keywords like “fantasy books,” “new fantasy novels,” or “epic fantasy series.” So, whenever a reader inputs a query that has these words, your website will be shown on their display page. This helps bring organic traffic to your site, attracting potential readers.
Interactive Book Previews
When an enthusiastic reader visits the author’s website to explore the books, they really enjoy finding book previews. Think of book previews as similar to movie trailers. Just like movie trailers show what the story is about without revealing too much yet still captivating the audience, the same applies to a sneak peek of a book. You can learn how to captivate readers with a “flashforward” at the beginning of your novel.
Web designers can create interactive elements, such as sliders or pop-ups, that allow readers to preview books, read sample chapters, or flip through pages, making the experience more engaging.
Wrap Up
The online book market is incredibly crowded, making it difficult for new authors to stand out. However, successful authors like Jojo Moyes, Toni Morrison, Stephen King, and JK Rowling have managed to differentiate themselves with beautifully designed websites. These websites not only reflect the essence of their stories through visual and thematic consistency but also employ strategic minimalism and responsive design to attract and retain visitors.
If you are aiming to compete at the same level and attract a dedicated readership, investing in top-author web design services is essential. Such services can significantly enhance your online visibility, potentially leading to a substantial increase in the number of readers discovering your work.
