Once an author has decided a website is worth having, the next question is usually what actually needs to be on it. It is easy to either underbuild — a single page with no way to contact the author or join a mailing list — or overbuild, adding sections that take time to maintain and that visitors never use.
This guide sets out the pages and features that genuinely earn their place on most author websites, and flags where it is fine to leave something out until there is a real reason to add it.
Homepage
The homepage should make it obvious, within a few seconds, who the author is, what kind of books they write and what to do next, whether that is buying the latest book or signing up to the mailing list. It does not need to hold everything; its job is to orient a new visitor and point them onward.
Books
A books page (or section) listing every title, with covers and short descriptions, gives visitors a quick overview of an author’s body of work. For an author with a series, this is also the natural place to show reading order clearly.
Individual book pages
Each book generally benefits from its own page: a fuller description, format options, and purchase links to wherever it is sold. For example, a novel available as an ebook, paperback and audiobook might list each format with its own retailer link, rather than sending every visitor to a single generic Amazon page that may not reflect every format or territory.
About
A biography page, written in the author’s own voice, gives readers, journalists and booksellers a proper sense of who the author is beyond the book jacket. A short version and a longer version can both be useful, since some contexts (like a press mention) need brevity while others reward more detail.
Mailing list
A visible, simple signup form — on the homepage, a book page, or both — turns a casual visit into an ongoing relationship the author can maintain directly. See do authors need an email list for what a list is actually good for once it exists.
Contact
A straightforward way to get in touch — a contact form or a clearly stated email address — matters for readers, but also for journalists, event organisers, translators and rights enquiries, who may otherwise have no reliable route to reach the author.
Media kit
For authors who do any press, podcast or interview activity, a simple media page with a high-resolution photo, a short biography and key book details saves back-and-forth and makes it easier for someone to feature the author quickly. This is optional for authors with no such activity yet.
Events
An events page listing upcoming appearances, talks or signings is useful for authors who do this kind of activity regularly, and can be left out entirely by authors who do not.
Blog or resources
A blog or resources section can help with search visibility and reader engagement over time, but only if it is genuinely maintained. An abandoned blog with one post from years ago tends to do more harm to an author’s credibility than having no blog at all.
Reviews
Some authors include a small selection of review excerpts or press quotes on a book page. This is optional, and where used, should be represented accurately and not selectively edited in a misleading way.
Series
For series authors, a dedicated series page setting out reading order, character or world information can reduce confusion for readers picking the books up out of order, which otherwise commonly happens.
Business or speaking
Authors who speak, coach or consult alongside writing often add a page describing that work and how to enquire about it, separate from the book pages, so each purpose is clear to a visitor.
SEO
Clear page titles, accurate descriptions and genuinely descriptive headings help search engines understand and surface a website’s pages. This does not require technical expertise; it mostly means writing plainly and accurately about what each page actually contains.
Accessibility
Readable font sizes, sufficient colour contrast and properly described images (alt text) make a website usable by more visitors, including those using screen readers or with visual impairments, and are worth checking regardless of how the site is built.
Mobile
A large proportion of visitors will arrive on a phone. A website that is difficult to read or navigate on a small screen will lose visitors regardless of how good its content is, so checking the mobile view is worth doing before publishing.
Domain
A clean, memorable domain, ideally the author’s own name where available, is generally preferable to a long or cluttered address. As covered in our guide on whether authors need a website, the domain should be registered in the author’s own name regardless of who builds the site.
Analytics
Basic visitor analytics can help an author understand which pages get visited and where traffic comes from, which is useful over time but not something that needs setting up before a first version of the site goes live.
Privacy
Any website that collects personal data, including through a simple mailing-list signup form, should have a privacy policy explaining what is collected and how it is used, and should follow current UK GDPR requirements for consent. This is a legal and ethical baseline, not an optional extra, once any data collection is involved.
What not to clutter it with
Autoplaying music, intrusive pop-ups, walls of text with no clear next step, and pages added purely because another author has them, tend to work against a website rather than for it. The goal of an author website is for a visitor to quickly understand who the author is and what to do next, not to showcase every possible feature.
Common mistakes
- Burying purchase links. If a visitor cannot quickly find where to buy the book, the page has failed at its main job.
- No mailing-list signup anywhere on the site. This misses one of the most valuable things a website can do for an author long-term.
- Starting a blog with no plan to maintain it. An outdated blog can look worse than not having one at all.
- Ignoring the mobile view. A site that is hard to use on a phone will lose a large share of visitors regardless of content quality.
- Skipping a privacy policy while collecting emails. Any data collection, including a signup form, should be covered by a clear, accurate privacy policy under current UK rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is the single most important page on an author website?
For most authors, the books page (or individual book pages) matters most, since it is where a visitor decides whether and how to buy.
Do I need a blog on my author website?
No. A blog can help with search visibility and reader engagement if kept up, but an unmaintained blog is generally worse than no blog at all.
Should I list reviews on my website?
You can, if you have genuine ones to share accurately. It is optional and not essential to a functioning author website.
Do I need a privacy policy if I only have a small mailing list?
Yes. Any collection of personal data, including through a small signup form, should be covered by a clear, accurate privacy policy under current UK GDPR rules.
How many pages does an author website need?
Often as few as four or five: homepage, books, about, contact and a mailing-list signup. Additional pages should be added only where they serve a real purpose.