The 30 Best WordPress Themes for Authors and Writers
If you’re looking to create a website to showcase your writing, one of these WordPress themes for authors, writers, and publishers could be a great option.
All of these themes are designed with authors in mind as they come with features like custom post types and templates that make it easy to publish your work.
Here’s a quick summary of the top WordPress themes for authors:
Theme Name
Active Installs?
Pricing
Our Rating
Astra
1,653,898+
Free / Starting from $47€44
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Divi
200,000+
Starting from $89/year
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ultra
8000+
Starting from $59/year
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writers Blogily
1,000+
Free / Starting from $29
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher by BetterStudio
–
Starting from $44
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Themify Float
–
Starting from $59/year
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writee Pro
–
Starting from $49.99/year
⭐⭐⭐⭐
True North
–
Free
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eclipse
–
Starts at $69/year
⭐⭐⭐
Writer
–
Starting from $59/year
⭐⭐⭐
Here is the list of best authors’ themes for WordPress in 2023.
Astra is the most popular WordPress theme available. There are dozens of templates to choose from, many of which are useful for authors. Two, in particular, are designed specifically for displaying eBooks on a single landing page:
If you want to create an entire store of your products, Astra has you covered, too. The theme itself is optimized for WooCommerce and will help you maximize sales.
The Author template is a perfect minimalist website template for authors who want to showcase their work.
The template features a modern design that is sure to impress your visitors, and is easy to customize so that you can make it your own.
Plus, the template is responsive so it will look great on any device. So if you’re looking to create a website that promotes your books, then look no further!
The Ebook Author template is designed for self-published eBook authors who want to showcase their books in a clean and professional manner.
It includes a beautiful and minimal book gallery on the home page, as well as pages for author details, ebooks, events, and others. The template is responsive and looks great on any device!
Pros
Both free and paid themes available
Tons of customization options if you need something specific
Premade templates that you can install in one click
Cons
Because there are so many Astra features and options available, it may take you some time to learn how it all works
Costs
Free version with many features
$47€44
for Astra Pro, which includes 100+ Starter Templates, one-to-one support, unlimited websites
$137€127
for Essential Bundle, which includes 150+ Premium Starter Templates, and other features
$187€174
for Growth Bundle, which includes everything listed above + extra plugins like ConvertPro + a SkillJet Academy membership
Features
Link to multiple marketplaces or sell directly on your own site
“About the Author” section
Blog with multiple layout options
Testimonials and reviews
Display multiple pricing options with images
“Related Products” section
Fast performance; loads in less than half a second and is only 50KB
Powerful design, color, and typography options
Build a header and footer with a drag-and-drop interface
Mega menu support
Multiple site layouts, including boxed, full width, fluid, and others
Integration with WooCommerce and WooCommerce-optimized template
Divi is a WordPress theme and page builder. It replaces the standard WordPress post editor with its own visual-focused designer.
Divi includes over 195 layout packs, a few of which are optimized for authors. The “Author” layout pack, which is shown in the screenshot above, allows you to create an author-focused website. You can show your books on the home page, as well as in a WooCommerce book store.
The theme also has a unique animated loading effect, with the text and images moving slightly in the from the sides.
Overall, Divi is a great choice for web-savvy authors that want to create a customized WordPress website to display their books and other works.
Costs
$89 / year for unlimited websites (also includes other layout and plugins)
Single payment of $249 for lifetime access
Features
Display your books on the home page
Integrates with WooCommerce to create a book shop of all your products
Layout library includes over 195 pre-designed options
Drag and drop items to create your layout
Edit items visually and see results instantly
Custom CSS support
Responsive and mobile-friendly
Thousands of design options + save and reuse them
Undo and redo changes
40+ website elements, including call to actions, sliders, blogs, galleries, forms, and more
Pros
Powerful page builder allows you to create a highly customized website
Premade Author layout gets your author site up and running quickly
Layout packs let you create other designs (if you change your mind or expand beyond an author-oriented website)
Cons
While you can create any type of site using the page builder, there is only one layout pack designed specifically for authors
Many features might be overkill for a simple author website
Users unfamiliar with web development may feel overwhelmed
Writers Blogily WordPress theme designed for writers and bloggers and that want to display their work online. The design is clean and minimal and places the focus entirely on your writing, without any distractions. There is no design specifically for displaying your eBooks, however, using WooCommerce, you can create a shop and sell your books.
There are both free and paid versions. The paid version includes a number of extra features, including header slideshows, page builder integration, Instagram feed and other design options.
The paid version also comes with two child themes, which can be used to customize the theme’s design. Since Writers Blogily is one of 30 themes offered by SuperbThemes, two of the paid plans also include these extra themes and plugins.
Writers Blogily, as its name suggests, is a good choice for writers that want to create a blog on their WordPress site.
Costs
Free version with limited functionality
One-time payment of $29 for one site with one theme (Writers Blogily)
$69/year for up to 15 sites with 30+ premium themes and other features
One-time payment of $149 for unlimited sites, all premium themes, and extra features.
Features
Custom navigation logo, title, tagline
Hide or show featured images
Customize navigation colors or hide the navigation bar completely
MyBook is a simple theme designed to show off your books and other written work. You can create pages using the drag-and-drop MyBook visual composer, customize the site layout and colors, and change other design elements. There is also a blog section, where you can write and promote your works.
The theme has a number of useful predetermined content blocks, including customer reviews, book preview images, and a sample PDF of the book. The theme integrates well with WooCommerce, making it easy to sell your books.
MyBook is an excellent choice for any authors that want an affordable, easy-to-use theme that showcases their books and other works.
Costs
Single payment of $49 for one domain
Single payment of $89 for up to 5 domains
Single payment of $299 for unlimited domains + access to 100+ other templates, plugins, and other features
Features
Drag-and-drop page builder
Display your featured books on the homepage
About the author section with photo and social links
Book preview section lets you upload image previews of certain pages
Features section lets you highlight optional features, like audiobook versions, eBook formats, translations, and more
Link to multiple marketplaces like Amazon, Nook, Kobo and others
Show reviews from your readers with quotes and photos
Free sample section to share a PDF sample
Email signup form
Show recent blog posts on the home page
Pros
Very affordable with no yearly subscription fees
Simple design that highlights your books
Cons
Theme is designed only for authors, so it’s not as flexible as some other competitors
Ultra is a highly-flexible theme created by Themify. The theme comes with over twenty-five demo themes. One of these is called eBook and is designed as a one-page landing page for a single book.
Ultra has a very appealing, professional design, with a big focus on typography. There are pre-designed layout options for everything you’ll need to sell an eBook, including an About the Author section, Book Reviews, a free sample area, and a contact form.
Ultra is a fantastic choice for authors that want to sell a single book on a one-page website. The landing page is very attractive and is easy to set up and takes very little expertise.
Costs
$59 for the Ultra theme (one year of updates and support)
$89 for the Master Club, which includes 42 themes, Photoshop files, 11 plugins, and other items designed by Themify (one year of updates and support)
$249 for a lifetime membership (same features as the Master Club)
Features
Pros
Well-designed theme that helps focus on selling your eBook
Master Club package includes a ton of other plugins and themes
Cons
If you want to sell multiple books or have a shop, you’ll need to use a different theme”. None of the other demos are designed specifically for eBooks.
Publisher Theme is designed for magazines, blogs, newspapers, and other sites with a focus on writing and publishing content. There are 97 pre-made demos, which you can set up with a one-click installer. These demos are designed for certain news genres, like financial news or food reviews.
Publisher is one of the most popular themes for publishers around the world, so it’s a great theme to use if you plan on publishing a large amount of content. There is no shop design included in the theme, so you’ll need to set up WooCommerce yourself.
Costs
All plans are a single payment and include lifetime updates.
$44 for the theme and 6 extra plugins, 1 active domain
$69 for the theme and 20 extra plugins, 1 active domain
$149 for 5 active domains
$399 for unlimited active domains
Features
97 premade demos optimized for particular niches, including financial news, gaming news, and food reviews
Install a demo with one click
Responsive and mobile-friendly, with Google AMP support and Facebook Instant Articles support
Optimized for SEO
Embed any time of file format to posts (PDF, DOCX, PPT, Excel, etc.) via Google Drive and DropBox
Smart thumbnail cropping allows you to make sure your images are cropped correctly
Float is a theme built by Themify centered around parallax design. Many sites use this design technique, which creates a 3D effect when you scroll the page. The blog also has a unique zig-zag layout, which is designed to match the parallax feature.
There are 11 pre-designed demos, which you can install in one click.
The theme is also included in Themify’s Master Club, which we mentioned above. For $89 you can access the Float theme and 41 other themes.
If you want to create a parallax sales page for your eBook or other works, Float is a good choice.
Costs
$59 for the theme
$69 for the theme + Photoshop files
$89 for the theme + 41 other themes by Themify in the Master Club package
Author is a minimalist theme designed for authors. With a sidebar header layout, it’s unique and a bit different than many other themes available. It also works well with page builders like Elementor. Author is completely free, which is great for newer authors.
If you’re on a budget, we recommend using Author, especially if you want a simple theme that focuses purely on your content.
Costs
Completely free
Features
Responsive and mobile-friendly
Gutenberg compatible
WooCommerce integrated
Pros
Completely free
Minimal design keeps the focus on your writing
Tons of tutorials in the theme’s help center
Cons
The theme isn’t optimized for selling books, so you’ll need to design the sales page yourself
Book Author is a theme that lets you create a powerful eBook library website. You can create individual product pages for each book, link to multiple marketplaces (like Amazon or Kobo), integrate with WooCommerce, and write blog posts to promote your works.
The theme also comes with a one-click install, which makes it easy to set up.
There are a number of premade layout blocks, including a video review, newsletter subscription form, reader testimonials, and an “about the author” section. Templatic also makes the Publisher theme (see below), which you can purchase together with Book Author for $299.
Book Author is one of our top choices for authors. The theme is well-designed, affordable, and full of useful features.
Costs
$69 for one site
$89 for five sites
$299 for unlimited sites plus 100+ other Templatic themes
Features
Sell an unlimited number of books
Section for reader reviews / testimonials
Display your latest blog posts on the home page
Embed a video review or other explainer video
“About the author” section
Newsletter subscription form
Responsive and mobile-friendly
Display links to various marketplaces (Amazon, Nook, Kobo, etc.) as well as a direct WooCommerce purchase option
Pros
Display both a featured book on the home page and a library of other books/products
Quick install in one click
Straightforward design is easy to understand
Cons
Might be expensive for newer writers with no budget
If you only have one book, the theme may have toomany features
The Hello! Pro Theme is designed for building your personal brand. It is made by StudioPress and uses the Genesis Pro Framework. Its main focus is for presenting yourself as a writer.
The home page is designed to be a landing page that encourages readers to sign up to your newsletter or purchase your books. You can display your work in a simple image icon section.
There is no included design for eCommerce, so you’ll need to set up WooCommerce to sell your products directly from the site.
If your primary focus is displaying your own identity as a writer, the Hello! Pro theme is a great choice.
Costs
One-time fee of $97 for the theme
Features
Choose from premade page templates: default, archives, categories, landing page, and blog
Sign up form
Feature/skills area
Link to multiple marketplaces (via image icons)
Testimonial area with background image
Multiple widget areas
Responsive and mobile-friendly
Customizable header
Theme customizer
Pros
Clean design that focuses on your identity as a writer
Genesis package includes many other useful themes and plugins
Cons
Primarily for building a personal brand, not selling books
Angle is a minimalist portfolio theme with a focus on modern typography. It has everything you’ll need as a writer, including a portfolio section, a bookstore running on WooCommerce, a blog, and a services/skills area.
The design is especially appealing to those looking for a minimalist design with a high black-white contrast. If you write blog posts often, this is probably an important factor for you.
Since the theme is created by WPZoom, you can also purchase all 45 of their themes for $125.
Angle is one of our top five recommended themes, as its flexibility, minimal design, and wide range of features makes it a great choice for any established or aspiring author.
Costs
$69 for the single Angle theme (1 year of support + updates)
$125 for all 45 of WPZoom’s themes (1 year of support + updates)
Features
Services section to show your skills
WooCommerce integration
Options panel to customize design and other details
Responsive, mobile and Retina-ready
Portfolio of projects to display your clients or written works
Dynamic homepage builder
Visual customizer
Header featured images
Pros
Well-designed minimal theme that is easy to read
Includes portfolio, blog, and shop sections
Very flexible and easy to modify
Cons
If you only need a single-feature site (blog, landing page, or portfolio) it may have too many features
Publisher is a theme by Templatic (not to be confused with the Publisher theme by BetterStudio mentioned above.) Unlike the other theme, this Publisher is designed for individual writers, bloggers, content writers, and similar individuals.
You can display all of your books in a WooCommerce shop, link to Amazon or other marketplaces, and write blog posts.
The theme also comes with the Digital Downloads plugin, which allows you to sell your books and other products easily.
Publisher is a solid choice for any author looking to sell their own books (and blog about them, too.)
Costs
Single payment of $59 for 1 domain (1 year of updates + support)
Single payment of $99 for 5 domains (1 year of updates + support)
Single payment of $299 for unlimited domains access to 100+ Templatic themes
Features
Customizable registration page for your eBook’s launch
Portfolio to display books by category
Product reviews
WooCommerce support
Multilingual support with WPML
Blog support
Color and other design options
Template for coupons
Order management and reporting for book sales
Responsive and mobile-friendly
Multi-currency support
Pros
Full of features and customization options
Blog, portfolio, and shop all in one theme
Cons
If you need a simple site to showcase one book, this theme is probably overkill
Writer is a simple Parallax-style theme. It includes a home page with testimonials and frequently-asked questions, a biography page, a blog, and a portfolio-style layout for your books or other works.
It is built with the Elementor page builder plugin and includes additional JET plugins. While it’s a little expensive, it may be a good choice for writers that really like the parallax look.
Costs
Starts at $59 for one site, additional features cost extra
Landing is a WordPress landing page theme. You can create landing pages via the drag-and-drop editor or by importing one of 25 pre-designed layouts. Among the layouts, there are two specifically designed for eBooks 1 for a shop, and many others for personal portfolio-style websites.
If you have a single book and want a landing page theme to help sell it, Landing is a reliable choice.
Costs
$59 for the theme
$69 for the theme + Photoshop files
Features
Over 25 pre-designed layouts, including two for eBooks
Social icons
Excerpts and sample PDFs
Newsletter subscription widget
About the Author section
Testimonials and reviews
WooCommerce support
Pros
Extremely minimal theme focuses only on your book
Cons
Although some layouts include a blog section, the theme is not designed for blogging
Brittany is a content-oriented theme designed for lifestyle and fashion websites. The templates are designed with images in mind, so it’s a great choice for any authors that incorporate illustrations or photographs into their work.
The theme also has WooCommerce support and a shop template, so it’s easy to sell your books and other products.
There are both free and paid versions of the theme. The free version (Brittany Light) is somewhat limited and you’ll need to purchase Brittany Pro in order to use a carousel, have multiple layouts, change typography options, and have an author box.
Brittany is a visually striking theme that is ideal for any authors that use images in their works.
Costs
All plans except the last one include one year of updates and support.
Free version with limited options
$34.30 for just the Brittany theme (unlimited sites)
$48.30 for access to all of CSSIgniter’s themes and plugins (unlimited sites)
$62.30 for all above + elementor starter kits
$174.30 for all above plus lifetime premium support and updates
Features
Over 30 design, color, and typography settings
Drag-and-drop page creator
Support for page builder plugins: Beaver Builder, Elementor, and Divi
Customizable widgets
WooCommerce support
One click demo import
Translation ready with WPML
Integrate with social media
Pros
Great-looking visual design ideal for fashion and lifestyle authors and writers
Includes shop and WooCommerce support
Cons
If you don’t use many images, the design might not work well
Katib is a theme intended as a personal website for writers. The home page includes an “About the Author” section, links to blog posts, a portfolio of your books and other products, a skills and CV area, testimonials, a photo gallery and a list of events.
Katib is a best theme for writers and copywriters, as it allows you to quickly display your work and skills.
Costs
Basic free version
Pro version for $39
Features
WooCommerce compatible
Skills and CV area
Pros
Affordable compared to other options
Cons
Primarily designed for copywriters and bloggers, not book authors
Writee is a minimal theme aimed at bloggers. It has a number of template options, including Lifestyle, Food, Decor, Travel, Fashion, and Wedding. Depending on your particular writing niche, you can likely find one that works for you.
There are both free and paid versions available, with the paid version including extra design options, widgets, and layouts.
Presence is a multipurpose WordPress theme that can be used for just about any kind of niche. Be it a blog, corporate website, online store, or website for authors,
Presence offers several pre-built layouts to choose from with a range of designs and a built-in page builder to help customize it.
Once you import a template of your choice, you can use the drag-and-drop page builder to customize it the way you want. All the themes are compatible with the new Gutenberg block editor, which makes life even easier.
Want to publish your articles in multiple languages? Do so easily with translation-ready themes.
Costs
$69 / year for a single theme
Single payment of $179 for lifetime access (for a single theme)
Features
One-click import and update
Gutenberg block editor ready
Completely customizable
Translation-ready
Search engine friendly code
Built-in page builder
Seamless integration with WooCommerce, Mailchimp, Visual Composer, and more
Pros
Several ready-made templates that you can easily import
Themes can be customized to create that perfect website for authors
Have you ever wanted a WordPress theme that focused more on the website’s content instead of fancy animations or distracting effects? True North is one such theme. A minimalist theme that guarantees to help promote your work.
Choose from different layout options, such as slideshow, image array, and more, to showcase your work. The search engine-friendly theme also comes integrated with content widgets, social networking, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
The theme works out of the box but makes it easy to customize it to your needs. It is regularly updated and kept current, which is useful for obvious reasons.
Costs
True North theme is available for free
Features
Regular theme updates to offer the best in features
One-click import
Easy customization
Lightweight and optimized for speed
Responsive and optimized for SEO
Translation ready
Compatible with popular page builders and plugins
Premium support
Pros
A simple and minimalist theme where your work is the primary focus
The theme is available for free
Cons
Theme is meant primarily for a portfolio website. May need some tweaking, to begin with
Indigo is an eCommerce-oriented WordPress theme designed for selling your products. It has an attractive, image-focused layout which highlights imagery. It also has some parallax sections.
Indigo is ideal for writers that both use a lot of images in their blog posts and want to create a shop of their works.
Features
Works well with WooCommerce
Costs
$129 (one year of updates and support)
Pros
Attractive visual design
Integrates well with WooCommerce
Cons
Optimized for shops and not landing pages or text-only blogs
Spencer is a theme aimed at businesses and bloggers that want to use large images in their content. It has support for WooCommerce and has a well-designed shop template with plenty of space for images.
Costs
All options except the last one include one year of updates and support.
$49 for one theme
$69 for all themes and plugins by CSSIgniter
$79 for all themes, plugins, and Elementor starter kits
$249 for all of above + lifetime support and updates
Features
Flexible layout
Page builder support (Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi)
Bloger is a theme by Access Press that focuses on imagery. It’s ideal for professional bloggers and writers that want to write content about their business, especially if they use visuals in their posts.
Costs
Basic free version
$38 for premium version (one year of updates and support)
Features
Three homepage layouts + three archive layouts
Boxed or full-width
Home page slider
Author profile widget
Pros
Affordable
Free version has many features
Cons
Design is image-heavy and not ideal for text-only blogs
Binder Pro is a theme designed for journalists, magazines, and other editorial-based websites. It has a minimal design with a focus on imagery. You can build your site by using modules, which are small layout pieces like a call to action or carousel.
If you’re creating a magazine or other image-heavy website, Binder Pro is a nice choice.
Costs
$129 (one year of updates)
Features
Mobile-friendly
Translation-ready
Integrates with WooCommerce
Pros
Modern design
Cons
If you are only selling a single book, it may be overkill
Modules is an exceptionally well-designed theme, aimed at authors and freelancers. You can construct your site using modules that add layout elements.
The theme is designed for sites that use a lot of photographs, so it’s ideal for bloggers in the fashion, design, art, and similar industries. It also comes with a shop template that integrates with WooCommerce.
Hoffman is an elegant minimal theme for bloggers and other writers. It puts a premium on images and content and eschews extraneous details. Articles are designed to be readable, with plenty of white space and breathing room.
Hoffman is a great choice for writers with a low budget looking primarily for a blogging theme.
Chosen is a minimalist theme that is completely free to use. It is easy to use and the developer’s website has a number of tutorials and help guides on their website.
The theme itself is very barebones and is primarily for blogging. There are no other distracting features, which makes it ideal for writers that want to focus exclusively on showing off their work.
Book Landing Page is a theme designed to sell an individual book. It has a variety of useful features, including testimonials, video reviews, a page sample viewer, an about the author section, and a features/selling points area. While the theme focuses primarily on the home landing page, it also has a blog, contact form and other pages.
There are both free and paid versions of the theme. The paid version gives you access to extra features like a banner with a custom image, Google fonts, more sidebar layouts, WPML translation support, and access to the documentation.
In summary, Book Landing Page is recommended for authors that have only a single book and want to write blog posts to promote it.
Features
Testimonials and video reviews
Share sample pages
About the Author section
Selling points area
Costs
Free version comes with many essential features
Paid version starts at $59
Pros
Simple, straightforward design that helps you sell more books
Author Landing Page is a child theme of the Book Landing Page mentioned above. It is designed for authors, novelists, and other writers that want to sell a single book at a time.
Costs
Free to download
Comes included with paid version of Author Landing Page for $59
Features
Sections for banner, features, testimonials, reviews, and more
Optimized for quick loading
SEO-friendly
Pros
Free to use
Ideal for simple websites that only sell one book at a time
Cons
Not useful for those creating a shop of multiple products
Things to Consider When Selecting a Theme for Authors
1. Flexibility
Can your theme be easily modified to add new books, series, and other products? If your books change genres from nonfiction to fantasy, will you be able to modify the theme to match your new brand?
It’s useful to select a theme that is future proof enough to adapt to changing circumstances.
Thankfully, many WordPress themes are designed with flexibility in mind. Some of the more popular options include Neve, Divi, and our theme, Astra.
The loading speed of your website affects how long visitors will remain on a page, and subsequently, the likelihood that they will buy your book or subscribe to your newsletter. As such, it’s really important to select a theme that isn’t too bloated or filled with large files.
In our latest Astra release (Astra 3.0), we dramatically improved website performance for exactly this reason. Read more about it on our blog.
3. Compatibility With Page Builders
A WordPress page builder is a plugin that lets you easily create pages via a drag-and-drop interface. Instead of having to code everything from scratch in HTML and CSS, you can design complex layouts with only a few clicks.
For example, Astra has hundreds of website templates that work with popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Brizy.
Page builders are especially useful for authors, as they allow you to create a well-designed website without spending a lot of time on design. After all, you want to focus on writing, not managing your website!
4. Responsive and Mobile-Friendly
A majority of Internet users are now browsing from their phone or tablet, which means that your website needs to be responsive and mobile-friendly.
“Responsive” simply means that the website will automatically adjust to the size of the viewer’s screen. For example, the site will look differently on an iPhone, an iPad, a laptop, and a widescreen monitor, as each device has a different screen resolution.
Most newer WordPress themes are responsive. That said, you should still investigate how the theme looks (on multiple devices) and if it’s customizable.
Some themes, while claiming to be responsive, only look good in a highly-modified demo version. Others only work well on mobile when specific options are used. For example, if the menu only has two items.
Since the Astra theme is used by so many people, we double-check its performance on every device you can think of. Some smaller themes might not do this, so you should always try to preview the theme on your own site if possible.
If you’re a sci-fi author, you’ll want to appear in searches that include key phrases like “sci-fi books”, “sci-fi stories,” “best sci-fi authors”, and so on. The top results will receive substantially more traffic than any other page result. Results beyond the first page are often ignored entirely by search engine users.
Since SEO can have a dramatic effect on the success of your website, it’s critical to choose a theme that is optimized for SEO.
The traditional publishing process tends to leave authors with a very small portion of the total sales revenue.
If you choose to sell your books independently, you’ll need a way to sell them on your website. That’s where WooCommerce comes in. WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce solution on the internet, with over 3 million active installations.
While WooCommerce will work with any theme, it’s much better to select one specifically designed for displaying products. Our Astra WooCommerce theme, for example, is optimized to maximize your sales.
Some authors have a tendency to fill their website with irrelevant information that doesn’t relate to their books. Lists of favorite recipes, family photos, comments on recent political events, and other content that only distracts the reader and scares away potential book sales.
Always remember that your author website is not a personal website. It’s a marketing tool for your work and should be designed to increase your book sales, readers, and other professional metrics that help you be more successful as a writer, no matter what your definition of success is.
You should pick a theme that is laser-focused on accomplishing your goals as a writer. That means you probably don’t need any flashy animations or intros.
What Should You Include on Your Author Website?
Once you’ve selected a theme, the next step is install it and populate your site with content. But what should you include?
In this last section, we’ll cover nine essential elements that every author should have on their website.
An Author Biography
Modern readers are hungry for information about their favorite authors. Be sure to include as many details as you feel comfortable revealing. A picture can help, too!
But, as we said above, your website should only include content that helps you accomplish your goals as a writer. The About page is not a place to write your life story, unless, of course, it relates directly to your brand as a writer.
Links to All of Your Books
While it seems obvious, many authors hide the links to their books behind endless menus and subpages. Always try to put your books front and center. After all, that’s why you’re creating the website!
Some consumers like to purchase books on Amazon, while others may prefer Walmart. So, if possible, try to list your books on multiple marketplaces. And if your books are listed in multiple locations, be sure to link to all of them and not just one.
Mailing List
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build a brand, keep in touch with your readers, and sell your books. With the rise of SubStack and other new platforms, some writers are primarily focusing on writing *for email* and not to sell an external product.
Our own plugin, ConvertPro, lets you easily create email signup forms and popups. It integrates with over a dozen email service providers and CRMs, including Mailster, Active Campaign, MailChimp, HubSpot, AWeber, MailPoet, and other popular options.
Blog
A blog is a great way to drive traffic to your site. You can share excerpts of your work, share “behind the scenes” information on your writing process, and write original content that is designed to attract readers to your site, hopefully to buy a book.
Depending on your ultimate goals, you don’t need to post on your blog every day. Once a week or a few times a month goes a long way toward building your SEO ranking and drawing in potential future readers.
Contact Form
A contact form is a must for any author’s website. Unless you’re Thomas Pynchon, you’ll probably want to interact with your readers, get their feedback and opinions, and address any concerns they may have.
Media outlets will also use your contact form to get in touch with you. You certainly don’t want to miss out being featured in a newspaper because the journalist couldn’t find a contact page!
ConvertPro is a plugin that makes it easy to create a contact form on your site.
Testimonials or Reviews
Social proof is one of the most important factors when it comes to selling products online, especially in a situation where your potential customer is a complete stranger. Most people are (understandably) hesitant to buy a book when they know nothing about the author.
Testimonials and reviews by real people are the key to solving this problem. The more social proof you have, the less hesitance you’ll encounter from new customers.
There are many different types of testimonials, ranging from one-line quotes to video testimonials. Try to get as many different reviews as possible, from as many different people as possible. Always ask if you can feature their comments on your (public) website. Most people will be glad to help.
Here at Astra, we have a page that displays our customer reviews and testimonials. They are all from real world users, many of whom are well-known in the WordPress community. This helps potential customers trust us and know that our products are reliable.
As an author, you can follow a similar strategy. Try to contact any influencers and influential people in your writing niche to see if they will offer a review, testimonial, or even just feedback on your work.
If you don’t have any reviews from your previous work, try reaching out to anyone that has purchased it. Chances are, they’ll be glad to write a one paragraph testimonial about the book. Just don’t ask too much of them!
If you’re a completely new author, try offering free copies of the book in exchange for a review. Make sure that the review is genuine and honest; you don’t want the reader to feel like you’re bribing them.
Excerpts of Your Work
A brief sample chapter (or even a single page) from your work goes a long way toward convincing readers to purchase your books. You can include this sample as a downloadable PDF or simply paste the text on your website.
Many of the themes we mentioned above also have a specifically-designed section for displaying excerpts.
One especially effective marketing tactic is to offer a free sample for signing up to your mailing list. This way, you are able to contact the reader in the future with more information about the book and about your future works. Asking readers to reply directly to the email with their feedback on the sample is also a great way to improve your writing and build a relationship with your readers.
Media Mentions Page
As we mentioned above in the Testimonials section, social proof is a very powerful way to make your customers/readers feel comfortable enough to purchase your books.
Perhaps the most powerful form of social proof is being mentioned in official media sources like newspapers, popular blogs, and other channels that have a large audience. This is especially true if the audience is composed of your potential readers.
If you are lucky enough to be mentioned in major media outlets, feature it prominently on your website. Create a “Media” page and a “Featured In” banner on your home page and sales page. You’ve probably seen sections like this on other product websites.
This is also a good place to put any speeches, talks, or public appearances that you’ve made as an author. When you present yourself as experienced and open to public engagement, you’ll be more likely to be contacted by journalists and other individuals that can help you.
Social Media Links
Finally, you should always have links to your social media profiles displayed prominently on your site. As with blogging, you don’t need to actually post on Instagram or Facebook very often; a few times a month is sufficient. The more channels that you have to access and contact your readers, the better.
Many themes will automatically display social links in the header and footer. Others will only display them if you specifically add a widget to the sidebar or other location.
Our Top 3 Recommendations
Astra: We recommend our theme for most use cases. It is endlessly customizable, comes with over a hundred templates (many of which are designed specifically for eCommerce and authors/writers), and is affordable compared to some other competitors.
Templatic Book Author: This theme is full of features and is designed specifically for eBook authors. You can create a comprehensive shop and book landing pages.
Book Landing Page: Book Landing Page is an elegant and simple WordPress theme designed for selling a single book. If you don’t need any other features and only plan on selling one book at a time, it is a great choice.
Conclusion
If you’re an author, journalist, editor, or other type of writer, making sense of the different types of websites and themes can be confusing. Hopefully, our guide above was helpful!
Are you an author using WordPress? What theme does your site use? Let us know its pros and cons in the comments section!
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Our editorial team at Astra is a group of experts led by the co-founder of Brainstorm Force, Sujay Pawar. We aim to create well researched, highly detailed content related to WordPress, Web design, and guides on how to grow your online business.
Hello Shiv, glad that you liked our Fonts. Currently, we are using ProximaNova. There are Chrome Extensions like WhatFont? that can help find out any font used on any of the websites.
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Lovely list, these themes are simple, and fonts are easy to read.
Like to know which fonts you guys are using on your website?
Hello Shiv, glad that you liked our Fonts. Currently, we are using ProximaNova. There are Chrome Extensions like WhatFont? that can help find out any font used on any of the websites.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing, it was informative.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing, it was informative.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing, it was informative.