In this day and age, authors have to utilize every marketing tool at their disposal, which includes having a reliable website. While some authors try to cut corners by hosting, building, and maintaining their own website, most find that in the long run, it’s better to let a third party handle the chores connected to web hosting.
Here are several reasons that will have you reconsidering your do-it-yourself website plans.
Professionally Maintained Websites are Less Prone to Failure
To cut costs, most authors turn to massive DIY servers such as Go Daddy and WordPress for their website needs. These sites have several nice features and are budget friendly, but that doesn’t mean they a good choice. It’s not at all uncommon for the website to crash and burn, resulting in several days where your fans can’t access all the valuable information you have provided. It often takes days, and sometimes even weeks, for the large servers and hosts to rectify the situation, during which time, you’ve lost fans and sales. When you add up the money you missed out on because your website was MIA, it’s likely you’ll find that the loss was more than enough to justify the slightly higher expense of using a reliable
Seamlessly Incorporate Your Blog into your Website
The days when the only thing an author had to do was write a book and submit it to their publisher are long over. These days, successful authors know that they need to interact with their fans. Blogs are a great way to do this. They provide the author with a ready platform to do everything from poll your readers, post book reviews, announce cover reveals, and strike up a communication with your fans.
If the website host and domain builder don’t have a system for hosting a successful WordPress blog, you need to move on. Not only should your blog posts appear on your website, but you have access to tools needed to gauge SEO, view how much traffic the blog gets every day, and to boost posts.
You Can Get Your Website Just Right
Your website is an important part of your author brand. Everything from the colors to the font, to the way you’ve placed your book cover images, should give your visitors and instant impression regarding the types of books you right. Creating the perfect image takes time and careful selection of a template takes time. Working with an organization that understands authors and provides you with all the tools and templates you require is the best way to ensure that your author website stands out from the crowd, and considering how many new authors self-publish these days, standing out is a good thing. The more unique your website is, the more fans it will attract.
Updating the Site Should Be Simple
The last thing you need is a stagnant website. Yes, the blog does provide you with the kind of fresh, up to date content Google’s algorithms love, but there will be times when you want to update your other pages. You shouldn’t have any trouble posting new covers, announcing contest winners, or posting about your book signing schedule. If you encounter problems each time you attempt to update, it’s time to move to a new server.
Choose your Web Host with Care
Web site hosts aren’t created equal. Some do a far better job keeping websites running smoothly for 365 days a year than other. The best way to make sure yours is always good to go, no matter what’s going on in the world, is by choosing a host that not only has a reputation for being reliable but also provides outstanding customer service. Before signing a contract with a website hosting company, ask what security measures they have in place to protect your website. In addition to keeping your website secure, the advanced hosting company you’re considering should have a plan to make sure you’re newsletters emails never fall into the wrong hands.
Knowing that your website is in the capable hands of a responsible and astute web host and developer allows you to turn your attention to writing even more book.
