Updated August 2011

eed a brand new website, or a redesign of your existing one? xuni.com creates, designs, and maintains author websites for those authors just starting out to those with 20+ books. I specialize in creative, well-organized, uncluttered sites.

Want specific information on how the process works? This is where you find out. Want to find out about costs involved in having a website? How you decide what your website should look like? Why do authors need a website, anyway? What do I think about social networking? Do I do things like branding and search engine optimization?

This is where you should find all the answers! And if you don't happen to find what you're looking for, feel free to email me. In fact, feel free to email me anyway. I'm happy to give you custom answers to your questions. Please see notes on emailing me at the bottom of this page.

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questions & answers

Just a note before I start... I could write this as a general FAQ for anyone interested in building an author website. But you can find that information in quite a few places around the web. Instead, I've written this from my point of view here at xuni.com. I assume you're interested, since you're here. You have questions? Here are my answers...

What costs are involved in having a website?
A: There are four main costs associated with having a website: domain, hosting, site development and maintenance.

Domain: This is the "address" or "URL" of your site, such as xuni.com or in the case of many authors, yourname.com. You can buy it from many places around the web, such as GoDaddy.com or Register.com. I suggest that you register it (buy it) for at least two to five years, to make sure you don't lose it. This is a fee which is paid in advance, year by year. If yourname.com is taken, by the way, I usually suggest yournamebooks.com. And if you're thinking about using me and don't want to deal with registering it yourself? I'd be happy to register it for you at GoDaddy's cost of $13/year (without any additional fees).

Hosting: Your website needs to live somewhere, right? Well where you're hosted is where your site lives! You pay a monthly fee for a server to host you. I run my own server, for which I charge $15/month (very reasonable for a managed server, I promise). Because I've found that I just waste too much time trying to make things work properly on other servers, part of working with me means that you need to be hosted on my server.

Site development: You have a domain and you're ready to get started. Getting a website designed and built by me can range from about 2K to a lot higher, depending on the size and complexity of your site. I have done a few very large sites which according to a web development company I asked were worth a minimum of 15 to 20K. I charged about a third of that. There are of course some designers who would have charged even less than that. But there are more important issues than price. Find out more about this below.

Maintenance: Your site is complete and online. What further costs should you expect? That depends on whether you prefer a "static" site or one which changes regularly. Some authors have sites which only change when they have a new book out. Others have at least a home page which is updated regularly, which makes people come back to the site regularly to see what's new. Either way is fine—it's up to you. Every website company does it differently, I'm sure, but after I've launched your site, I charge for edits on an hourly basis, in about ten minute increments. I bill quarterly. Since you'll be hosted with me as well, that means that your editing and hosting fees are charged together four times a year.

What should you look for in a web designer?
A: To me, the most important issues are: design style, finding someone who shares your vision, and good customer service.

Style... I specialize in designing sharp, well-organized, professional sites. If you want something really flashy and high-tech, I wouldn't be the right designer for you, as my style tends towards more straight-forward designs. If you want a quick cookie-cutter site, I wouldn't be the right designer for you, as I like to make the site fit the author. In fact, that's one of the best parts of my job—creating websites which fit the author's style and writing personality.

Vision... There are quite a few good design firms out there who could build you a beautiful website. The difference in working with me is personal, one-on-one service. I work with you to create exactly what you want, and if you don't know what you want, I help you figure it out. Pleasing the client is my number one priority. That said, it is a balancing act between incorporating the clients' vision and my creative expertise. In order to do this right, I send out a very specific questionnaire to get the clients' input upfront ... and then I need to be let go to run with it.

Customer service... I'm online all the time and am at my computer most of the day and usually well into the night. I respond to email and/or calls within 24 hours, usually within just a few. Need something done in a huge hurry? I can almost always oblige you. What can I say? I love my job.

More detail on this below.

How do you decide what your site should look like?
A: Think about what books you've written and what kind of information you would want to share with people. Check out other author sites for ideas. And then email me! [Please see notes on emailing me at the bottom of this page.] xuni.com has done so many author sites that I'm full of ideas of what kind of information works well and how to organize it all. The most important question to ask yourself is: what kind of image do I want to project? Mysterious? Elegant? Fun? Your website should be a reflection of you and your writing. That's why some of the homemade sites are worse than having none at all—they make the author look like they're not serious about their work.

Why do you need a website anyway?
A: So people can find out more about you and your books in the hope that it makes them buy more. It's as simple as that! If you put your URL on your book jacket, some people will undoubtedly look up your site to see what else you've written. Or if people see your book in a bookstore, they may go home and look up your site just to find out about your books first. That's why it's so important to have your URL be your name if possible. These days, a website is like a business card—it's expected, and is often someone's first impression of you.

What is the process of building a site?
A:

1. First, we talk (or email, which is preferable, as I can answer at 3 AM if I want!) about what you're thinking you want your site to include. As I stated above, if you don't know exactly what you want, I've done enough author sites that I can certainly help you decide what to do. I send you a questionnaire full of ideas (and questions) which is a great jumping off point for my clients.
2. I come up with a tentative site outline in order to determine how complex the site will be (number of pages, photos, graphics, links around the web, etc.). After we discuss it to make sure I'm on the right track, I then come up with a cost estimate.
3. After discussing style, color, image (the "feel" of the site), I come up with one or two design "comps" to show you. 95% of the time, the client is happy immediately... and sometimes I have to go back to the drawing board. This design phase is sometimes the hardest part of the process, but it's also the most fun!
4. The design is converted into code and the framework of your site is built out.
5. All the text content and graphics are added.
6. Final edits.
7. Site is launched!

What if you think no one will come to your site?
A: First of all, a lot more people probably want to know about you than you think! If you've written a book and it's sold enough for you to still be a writer, there will definitely be people who want to know more—about when your next book is coming out, what it's about, etc. Once your website is up and running and you've promoted it to a certain extent (through online promotion, your URL on your book jacket, in your signature line of emails, etc.), you'll be amazed at how many visitors you get. Most servers (including mine) have site statistics programs which tell you more than you could ever care to know about how many visitors you get, where on the web they come from, what pages they visit the most, etc.

What are some of the most important things an author should think about when considering a website and choosing a designer?

A: There are so many things to think about, but as an overview: write the most important parts well (bio, book descriptions, etc.), organize it in a way that visitors can easily find what they need, and have a site design which expresses you and your writing. Having a professional-looking website says SO much about the seriousness of your writing—while a poorly designed website can be pretty damaging. I always say it's better to not have one at all than to not have it look GOOD. That said, there are certainly authors who have the time and talent to do their own, which is great. And for those of you who can't, there are people like me. When I first started my business in 1998, there weren't too many of us who specialized in author website design. Now there are MANY. And you know what? I love that! I don't consider it competition at all—in fact, I love that there are so many designers for you all to choose from. The joy of it is we all have our own style and so do you—and you can choose the person/company which best fits YOU.

I think the best advice I would give an author in choosing a designer is to first look at lots of author sites to see what appeals to you, and then contact the designers whom you like best. By the way, I definitely suggest working with someone who works with authors regularly—we know so much more about what you need than say someone who designs business websites. They may design lovely sites, but if they don't know what an author needs, or how an author site should be set up, it's not going to get you anywhere. I've been occasionally tempted to take on a photographer (for example) as a client but I realize they really are best served by companies who specialize in photography sites. I love having my little niche and am happy to stick with it! I can't tell you how many authors have come to me with a current website which needs to be completely redone—it was designed by a cousin who didn't know what they were doing, or a faceless conglomerate who didn't pay attention to their needs. That said, here is my quick little list of what to look for in a designer...

1. Go with a professional author website designer (as I said above, look at author sites you like and find out who designed them).
2. Make sure their style fits what you have in mind.
3. Have them commit to a timeframe as to when the site will be LIVE (oh the horror stories about designers who never get sites done).
4. Find out how long they "normally" take to do edits (my normal timeframe for edits, for example, is 24 to 48 hours and right away if needed).
5. Get the price upfront.
6. Email some of their other clients to see how they like working with them.
7. Make sure you feel a connection to them—it should be a long-term relationship and you want someone you can trust and relate to.

Most important: it should be a fun process and the final site should be exactly what you had in mind. There is nothing I like better than to show a client a design and have them tell me I "got them." Love that!

What promotional/social networking venues (blogs, facebook, etc.) do I recommend to authors?

A: As we all know, social networking is the big thing right now. Authors all feel like they have to blog, tweet, and commune with fans on Twitter, Facebook, GoodReads, etc. etc. I would say if you want to get into all that (and yes it's fun and can certainly help gain new readers), just make sure you put your real writing first. And if you're pondering blogging, you might want to think about joining or starting a group blog. They are so much more fun, and you attract more readers for all the obvious reasons. I guess in a nutshell, if you're a really social person, all the social networking makes the job of writing even more fun—and if you're not social, try to force yourself to be at least a little bit—as it's a great way to meet both fellow authors and future readers of your books! And by the way one of the great ways to do some of the social networking a bit more time-efficiently is to cross-post—so that what you blog, for example, automatically gets posted to Facebook and Twitter.

What do I think about author branding?
A: It's important for you to build a clear perception of you and your writing, and one of the best ways to do that is obviously through your website identity. One of the first things I ask an author, before I start designing, is what do you want your site to FEEL like? How do you want potential readers to envision you and your books? It's so important! And once we get the website design down, then we can design other things to go along with that: blogs, dang cool Facebook Fan pages, logos, newsletters, business cards, bookmarks, rotating ads, ebook covers, & bookplates—all which match the author's site. It's exceptionally fun! Examples here and here (in the sidebar).

What about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
A: I do basic search engine optimization with every site I build. I also offer more specialized SEO for those clients who want it. While there are no "guarantees," I have definitely seen authors rise in the search engines after good SEO work.

How much time needs to be devoted to website updates and newsletters to keep an author "out there?"

A: It's certainly good to update a site relatively frequently to keep things fresh. This is not only true to keep visitors coming back, but it's also good for search engines—you will rise higher in the rankings if you regularly update your site. As far as newsletters go, I am a big proponent of them—it's a great (and simple) way for authors to keep in touch with their readers. I design the newsletter template in the style of the author's site (as part of the original design process), so it's a great branding tool as well. Names are collected through "sign up for the mailing list" forms and then newsletters can be sent out every now and then when something new is happening (e.g. a new book, a movie option, an upcoming book tour). It's professional, colorful, and never comes across as spam, since people have signed up for it in advance.

Should even unpublished authors have a website?
A: While the majority of my work is with published authors, I do take on people who are either publishing their own work (as ebooks, for example), or are still looking to be published through traditional publishing. I'm pretty choosy—the strength of the person's commitment to their craft is important to me, because I'm serious about my work and I like to work for people who have this same feeling about theirs. Whether you "should" have a site before you have a publishing contract is completely up to you. Some people feel it will show them to be serious so they may be more likely to get an agent and publishing contract. I would stand by the thought that how well you write is what gets you a contract—but that a website (a beautiful one that is!) certainly can't hurt. One thing I quite definitely suggest, however, is to buy yourname.com domain right away if it's available.

Anything else you'd like to know? Feel free to email me. Please see notes on emailing me at the bottom of this page.

Check out bookmarks and other things that can match your site!