You’d think that as a long-time author website designer, I’d be an advocate for great design, and I am. But here’s something I wish all authors knew:
I’d so much rather you have a basic website that you keep updated than a stunning masterpiece of a website that’s chronically out of date.
Hands down, the most common “offense” I see in the author website landscape is not that sites are antiquated, ugly, or hard-to-use (though, that runs rampant)
It’s that many author websites are out-of-date.
Again, I’m not talking about the design being out-of-date, I’m talking about out-of-date content.
Authors who have fancy websites with A+ design, and yet … no mention of the book that came out last month, and no mention of the book whose cover they just revealed on Instagram, and is now available for preorder.
I can name so many authors, many of them big-names, whose websites have no mention of their newest book; sometimes their newest several books.
Let me be put this plainly:
This both blows my mind and pains me, because it’s such a missed opportunity.
I’m thinking of one author in particular who’s a huge name, extremely prolific, and yet as I write this, her “Coming Soon” page on her website still features books that have been out for months, and her New Release page features books that came out years ago, even though she’s released several more current.
Now you may be thinking, “If she’s already a huge name, and selling well, does her website matter?”
I’d argue that she’s doing great, but could be doing even better if she updated her website.
Here’s why an out-of-date website is hurting you:
Amateur-Hour
Imagine Apple announces the latest iPhone at an event, and they say that it’s available for preorder starting now. If you went to their website, and all you could find was old iPhones, wouldn’t you kind of think, “Damn, someone doesn’t have their shit together…” Keeping your site current signals professionalism and trustworthiness. It says, “I’m legit and take my career seriously.”
Missed Sales Opportunity
This is the big one. Not all of your readers are on social media, not all of your readers are going to go check your Amazon page. Some of your readers are going to your website to see if you have a new book. If the new book isn’t there, they’re going to assume there is no new book. I have access to many of my own author clients’ websites data, and many of them get thousands of visits per week.
That’s thousands of potential sales and preorders per week that you miss out on if your site’s out of date.
SEO & Discoverability
Most authors think about their website in terms of their current readers visiting their site for information, but that’s small-time. Your website is also a place to pull in new readers who stumble across you from search engines like Google or Pinterest. Search engines favor websites that are regularly updated. Simply put, fresh content can improve your site’s ranking, which means more people will come to your site, which means … more potential new sales.
The Takeaway
If you’re in the market for a new author website, or thinking it’s time for an upgrade:
Do not spend thousands of dollars on a fancy custom design, unless you are 100% committed to keeping it 100% up-to-date. I have seen so many authors be so excited about a brand new fancy site, only to let it become a beautiful relic almost the moment their web designer hits publish.
The best author website is the one that you not only can keep updated, but you’re excited to keep updated.
Because believe it or not, websites can become exciting when you stop thinking of them as a one-and-done business card, and instead view them a living, breathing part of your brand!
How to fix the situation
I’ve been designing custom websites for big-name authors 10+ years. A painful percentage out-of-date almost almost the we hand it off.
Here’s my advice:
You don’t need a big, fancy, custom site. You need a site you can keep up-to-date.
Simple and fresh beats flashy and outdated.
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