Web Design for Authors

Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Designer

Choosing a web designer can feel like a daunting task, particularly if you are an author and have never had a website built before.

There are plenty of designers out there, and websites can vary enormously in price. It can be tempting to choose the cheapest option or simply go with the designer whose portfolio you like best.

But the design itself is only part of the picture.

A good-looking website is important, but you also need to know who will look after it, where it will be hosted, who owns your domain name, what happens when something goes wrong and whether you will be able to update it yourself.

Before you hire a web designer, here are some questions worth asking.

1. Do you have experience designing websites for authors?

This is probably the first question I would ask.

An author website isn’t quite the same as a website for a restaurant, business or tradesperson. Your books, biography, reviews, events, newsletter and other writing all need to work together.

Ideally, look for a designer who has experience working with authors or people in the publishing world.

Ask to see examples of author websites they have designed. Don’t just look at whether you like the colours and fonts. Look at how the websites are organised.

Can you quickly find the author’s books?

Is the author’s biography easy to find?

Is it obvious what the author writes?

Can you find out where to buy the books?

Is there a clear way for readers to join a mailing list?

These things matter just as much as the visual design.

2. What platform will you use?

There are lots of ways of building a website. Your designer might suggest WordPress, Squarespace, Wix or another platform.

Ask them why they recommend their particular choice.

For many authors, WordPress is a good option because it is flexible and can grow with you. You can have a relatively simple author website to begin with and add features later.

It is also worth thinking about what happens if you decide to change designers in the future.

A website should not become effectively “locked” to the person who built it.

If you are having a WordPress website built, ask whether you will own the website and whether another WordPress designer could take it over if necessary.

3. Who will own my domain name?

This is an important question that is sometimes overlooked.

Your domain name is your web address — for example, yourname.co.uk or yourname.com.

Ideally, the domain should be registered in your name or your business’s name, rather than belonging to the designer.

Ask:

“Will the domain be registered in my name, and will I have access to the account where it is registered?”

Your domain is an important asset. You don’t want to discover several years down the line that your web designer owns the registration and you have no idea how to access it.

A good designer should have no problem explaining exactly where your domain is registered and who controls it.

4. Where will my website be hosted?

Hosting is the service that stores your website and makes it available online.

Some designers include hosting as part of their service. Others expect you to arrange it yourself.

Neither approach is necessarily wrong, but you should understand what you are paying for.

Ask:

  • Where will my website be hosted?
  • How much does hosting cost?
  • Is hosting included in the design price?
  • Who deals with the hosting company if there is a problem?
  • Are backups included?
  • Is SSL included?
  • What happens if I want to move my website in the future?

If your designer provides hosting, find out exactly what that means and what support is included.

Most importantly, don’t assume that “hosting” automatically means someone is looking after the website. Hosting and website maintenance are two different things.

5. Will I be able to update the website myself?

This is particularly important for authors.

You might want to add a new book, change your biography, add an event or publish a blog post without having to contact your designer every time.

Ask:

“Will I be able to make changes myself, and will you show me how?”

If the answer is yes, find out what you will actually be able to edit.

A WordPress website can be designed so that updating text and images is relatively straightforward, but every website is built differently.

You should feel confident that you can make the routine changes you are likely to need.

6. What happens after the website goes live?

This is one of the most important questions to ask.

The website launch isn’t the end of the relationship.

Websites need updating. WordPress needs maintenance. Plugins need updating. Things occasionally go wrong.

Ask the designer:

“What support do you provide after the website is launched?”

They might offer a monthly maintenance package, an annual support package or charge by the hour for individual jobs.

Find out what is included.

For example, does support cover:

  • WordPress updates?
  • Plugin updates?
  • Security?
  • Backups?
  • Fixing problems?
  • Content changes?
  • Adding new pages?
  • Advice when you are unsure how to do something?

A designer who provides ongoing support can be particularly useful if you don’t want to become responsible for the technical side of your website.

7. What happens if you are unavailable or stop working?

Nobody likes to think about this, but it is worth asking.

Web designers retire, change careers, take extended breaks or simply stop supporting older websites.

Ask:

“If you stop working as a web designer, what happens to my website?”

You should be able to move your website to another designer if necessary.

This is another reason why ownership and access are important.

You should have access to the domain, hosting and website, or at least have a clear arrangement for how another professional could take over.

8. How much will the website cost?

Obviously, you need to know the price before you agree to anything.

But don’t just ask:

“How much does an author website cost?”

Ask what is included in the price.

For example:

  • How many pages?
  • Is the design bespoke?
  • Is mobile optimisation included?
  • Is SEO included?
  • Is the website connected to Google?
  • Is a contact form included?
  • Can I have a mailing-list signup?
  • Will you add my books and images?
  • Is training included?
  • Is hosting included?
  • What happens if the project takes longer than expected?

Two designers might quote very different prices, but you cannot meaningfully compare those prices unless you know what each designer is actually providing.

9. How long will it take?

Ask for an approximate timescale before you start.

A straightforward author website might take a few weeks, while a larger or more complicated project could take considerably longer.

The important thing is that you understand the process.

Ask what they need from you and when.

You may need to provide:

  • Your biography
  • Book covers
  • Book descriptions
  • Photographs
  • Reviews
  • Links to retailers
  • Social media links
  • Contact information
  • Mailing-list information

One of the biggest causes of delays is simply waiting for content.

10. What do you need from me?

This question is useful because it gives you an idea of how organised the designer is.

A good designer should be able to explain what they need from you and help you decide what belongs on the website.

You don’t necessarily need to have everything perfectly prepared before contacting a designer.

In fact, part of a designer’s job should be helping you work out what pages and content you actually need.

11. Will my website work properly on phones and tablets?

Most visitors will expect a website to work well on a phone.

Ask whether responsive design is included.

Then, when you look at a designer’s portfolio, actually visit the sites on your phone.

Are the menus easy to use?

Can you read the text comfortably?

Are buttons easy to tap?

Do the book covers look good?

Does anything appear strangely cropped or oversized?

A website can look wonderful on a desktop computer and still be frustrating to use on a phone.

12. Will you help with SEO?

You don’t necessarily need an expensive SEO campaign for an author website.

But your designer should understand the basics.

Ask what they will do to make your website search-engine friendly.

This might include sensible page titles, headings, descriptions, fast-loading pages, mobile-friendly design, good internal linking and making sure search engines can access the site.

More importantly, your website needs useful content.

No designer can guarantee that your website will appear at the top of Google, and nobody can guarantee that an AI search service will recommend you.

Be wary of anyone making promises like that.

13. Can you help me decide what pages I need?

You shouldn’t necessarily have to arrive with a complete specification.

An experienced author website designer should be able to advise you.

A typical author website might include:

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Individual book pages
  • News or blog
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Newsletter signup

But the right structure depends on the author.

A novelist with twelve books, an academic with several published works and a debut children’s author may all need very different websites.

The important thing is that the structure should be planned around your readers and what you want the website to achieve.

14. What happens if I need something added later?

Your website may start relatively simple.

Then you publish another book. You start a newsletter. You begin giving talks. You decide to sell signed copies. You want to add a press section.

Ask whether the website can be expanded later.

This is another advantage of having a website built on a flexible platform such as WordPress.

You don’t necessarily need to build everything on day one. But it is sensible to make sure the foundations are there for the future.

15. Can I see examples of websites you have designed?

How to choose a web designer – looking at a portfolio is useful, but it doesn’t tell you everything.

Look at several websites rather than just the one you like best.

Do they all look different, or do they appear to be variations of the same template?

Do they work well on mobile?

Are they easy to navigate?

Do the websites appear to have been built around the individual author?

You can also look for testimonials from clients similar to you.

It can be particularly useful to find out whether clients continue to work with the designer after their website has launched.

Don’t just choose the cheapest quote

How to choose a web designer – price matters, particularly if you are working to a budget.

But your website is likely to represent you for several years, so it is worth looking beyond the initial design cost.

A cheaper website can become expensive if you subsequently have to pay someone else to fix problems, make changes or rebuild it.

Think about the whole relationship, not just the cost of getting the website online.

You want to know:

Who owns it?

Who hosts it?

Who maintains it?

Who can make changes?

What happens if something goes wrong?

What happens if the designer is no longer available?

And, perhaps most importantly:

Do I feel confident that this person understands what an author needs from a website?

A final question to ask yourself

There is one question that you don’t need to ask the designer.

Ask yourself:

“Do I trust this person to look after my website?”

Your relationship with a web designer may last much longer than the initial website project.

You may work with them for years as you publish new books, change your biography, add events, update your website and deal with the inevitable technical issues that come with running a website.

So don’t be afraid to ask questions before you commit.

The right web designer should be happy to explain how everything works and should want you to understand what you are paying for.

 

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Looking for a web designer who understands authors?

At Bookwebs, we have been designing and managing websites for authors and people working in the publishing world since 2006.

We understand that authors have different needs from many other website clients. Your website needs to showcase your books, tell readers about you, make it easy to find your latest work and provide a professional home for your online presence.

We can build a new WordPress website from scratch, redesign an existing website or take over the management of a WordPress website built by another designer.

We also provide hosting and ongoing website support, so you don’t have to deal with the technical side of your website if you would rather concentrate on your writing.

If you’re looking for an experienced web designer for your author website, you can find out more about Bookwebs and our author website design service at: https://bookwebs.co.uk/

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