Ask These 5 Key Questions to Build Your Author Website

If you ask a web designer if people should build their own website, the answer is always going to be: best leave the job to the experts. 

But what if you are not in a position to hire a web designer?

Perhaps there’s a cash crunch, or there just isn’t enough time. Or maybe you want to pick up a new skill. Or perhaps it’s something else. If you happen to be a tech-savvy person with a good sense of design, building your own website should be eminently doable.But what if you are not in a position to hire a web designer?

But before you get into the brass tacks, don’t forget to ask these five crucial questions.

1. What purpose will the website serve?

Right off the bat, identify why you need a website. Is it to sell your books? Is it to share more information about yourself with your readers? Is it to get people to subscribe to your newsletter? What purpose will the website serve?

Even if you want your website to do all of these things, think of identifying its primary purpose as laying the foundation of a building. It’s the one thing that will help you figure out the next steps.

2. Who will be your target audience?

Do you have an ideal reader? If your answer is no, I’m going to ask you to take a piece of paper and pen, or your preferred writing app, and figure this out. 

If you’re an author who writes for herself, try to imagine yourself as your ideal reader. 

Write down the characteristics of your reader. Who are they? How old? What’s their gender? Are they single? Do they have kids? What kind of work do they do? What are their likes and dislikes? What troubles them? What makes them happy?

This ideal reader will also be your site’s ideal visitor. Once the profile is ready, it’s time to think about what you need to do to make your website accessible and useful to this person. 

Keeping them in focus at every step is going to make the site-building process more efficient. It will let you zero in on the one person who represents your target audience, and enable you to streamline your message.

3. How will you structure your website?

Now that you know who your audience is, chalk out the route they will take through your website. This should take them to the point where they take action, for example, buy your book, subscribe to your offer, or connect with you. 

It’s time now to make another list—the information your visitor will need to understand your product or service. 

The tricky part here is to provide just the right amount of info. Too much will leave them confused and overwhelmed; too little will make them leave dissatisfied. Identify which bits are crucial and need to be highlighted. Then decide how many pages you will need to share all of this info.

On the homepage, lay out all the info in the form of a story. That’s something you’re already great at, right? 

Keep your message focused on the visitor. The website is for them, not you. All the info has to be relevant to them. Tell them how you can help them.

4. What features will you need?

5. What style will your website have?

Pick colours, images and words that appeal to your ideal reader or client. The closer you can come to that vision, the more your visitors will appreciate the website. This means they will stay longer, which in turn will make it more likely for them to buy or subscribe. 

If you already have a brand image, then your website should reflect that, of course. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel here.

Summing it up

If you’re planning to DIY, it helps to invest time in acquiring a good understanding of digital marketing first. A clarity of purpose and knowing who your target audience is will determine the structure of the site, its features and aesthetics.Summing it up

Web design is more than just the tech or a beautiful design. It is primarily about marketing. It is a tool, if implemented well, can persuade your audience to support you in whatever your aim is—selling, subscribing, communicating or propagating.