When I built my first author website, I made the classic mistake. I uploaded my book covers, added a buy link, and called it done. Three months later, I had almost zero traffic and exactly four newsletter subscribers (two were family members). That experience taught me something important: your author website is not a digital bookstore. It is your home base, your reader magnet, and the one piece of online real estate you actually own. If you are wondering about the things to put on your author website besides your books, this guide covers every element you need to turn a static page into a reader-building machine.
Social media platforms change their algorithms constantly. Retailer pages do not let you collect email addresses. But your website? That is the one place where you control the experience from start to finish. In this guide, I walk through every non-book element your author site needs, from newsletter signup forms to press kits, with special advice for authors who have not published yet.
Table of Contents
Things to Put on Your Author Website Besides Your Books: The Complete List
Here are the most important non-book elements every author website should include:
- A newsletter signup form with a reader magnet incentive
- A compelling About page with your author bio and headshot
- A contact page with clear options for readers, media, and professionals
- A blog or free content section for discoverability
- A press kit or media resources page
- Social media links and integration
- A custom domain name for professionalism
- Mobile-friendly responsive design
Each of these elements serves a different purpose. Let me break down exactly how to set them up and why each one matters for growing your readership.
A Newsletter Signup Form That Converts
If I could only add one thing to an author website beyond the books themselves, it would be a newsletter signup form. Your email list is the single most valuable marketing asset you will ever build. Social media followers can disappear overnight when a platform changes its rules. Email subscribers are yours to keep.
Experienced authors on forums like r/selfpublish agree almost universally: the newsletter signup is non-negotiable. Place it prominently on your homepage, not buried in a footer. Make it visible above the fold so visitors see it within three seconds of landing on your site.
But here is the catch. People rarely hand over their email address for nothing. You need a reader magnet, which is a free piece of content you offer in exchange for an email address. This could be a short story, a prequel novella, a character guide, a deleted chapter, or even a printable bookmark. The key is that it needs to be genuinely valuable to your target reader.
I have seen the best results when the signup form includes three elements: a clear headline telling visitors what they get, a brief sentence or two of supporting text, and a simple form asking for just a first name and email address. Every extra field you add reduces your conversion rate.
Consider creating a dedicated landing page for your newsletter signup as well. This gives you a clean URL to share on social media, in your book back matter, and at live events. Tools like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and MailerLite all provide embeddable forms that work with most website builders.
A Compelling About Page and Author Bio
Your About page is typically the second most visited page on any author website, right after the homepage. Readers want to know the person behind the stories. Media professionals need your bio for interviews and features. Industry contacts like agents and editors will check it to learn about you.
Write your primary bio in third person. This is not a personal diary entry. Think of it as the kind of paragraph you would want a journalist to copy and paste into an article about you. Include your genre, any awards or notable achievements, and one or two personal details that make you memorable.
Include a professional headshot on your About page. This does not mean you need an expensive photography session, but it should be well-lit, in focus, and cropped properly for web use. Avoid casual selfies or heavily filtered images. Your headshot communicates your professionalism before anyone reads a single word.
I recommend having three versions of your bio ready: a short one (25 words), a medium one (75 words), and a long one (200 words). The short version goes in your website header or sidebar. The medium version lives on your About page. The long version goes in your press kit. This approach saves you time when someone asks for your bio at the last minute.
Contact Information That Gets Responses
A surprising number of author websites make contacting the writer unnecessarily difficult. If a podcast host wants to invite you for an interview, or a reader wants to tell you how much they loved your book, or a bookshop wants to arrange a signing, they should be able to find your contact information in under ten seconds.
The simplest approach is a dedicated Contact page with a form. Forms are better than displaying your raw email address because they protect you from spam bots. Most website builders include contact form widgets, or you can use free plugins like WPForms on WordPress.
If you receive different types of inquiries, consider listing separate contacts. One option for general reader mail, one for media and press inquiries, and one for speaking engagements or event bookings. This helps you triage messages and respond faster to time-sensitive opportunities.
Add your social media links to your contact page as well. Some people prefer reaching out through Instagram DMs or Twitter messages rather than filling out a form. Make it easy for them to choose their preferred channel. Just make sure you actually check those accounts regularly.
A Blog or Free Content Section
Blogging is one of the most debated topics among authors. Some swear by it. Others see it as a distraction from writing books. Here is what I have found: a blog does not need to be a massive time commitment, and even occasional posts give your website a significant advantage in search engine visibility.
Google rewards websites that update regularly. When you publish a new blog post, it signals to search engines that your site is active and relevant. Over time, this helps your entire website rank higher in search results, including your book pages. Authors on r/writing consistently report that blogging helped them get discovered by readers who never would have found them otherwise.
The key is choosing topics that attract your target reader. If you write historical fiction, blog about the real history behind your stories. If you write science fiction, share articles about emerging technology that inspired your worldbuilding. Writing craft tips, behind-the-scenes looks at your process, and research rabbit holes all make excellent blog content.
Aim for consistency over frequency. One post per month is better than a burst of five posts followed by six months of silence. You can also repurpose your blog content as social media posts, newsletter snippets, or even material for future books. Think of your blog as a content engine that feeds everything else you do online.
A Press Kit or Media Page
Most authors skip the press kit entirely, which means adding one immediately sets you apart. A press kit is a dedicated page that gives journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and event organizers everything they need to feature you, without having to ask you for it.
At minimum, your press kit should include a downloadable author photo in at least two sizes, a one-page bio, a list of your published books with short descriptions, and your contact information. If you have been featured in media before, add links to those features as social proof.
You might also include a sample interview Q&A. Podcast hosts and bloggers often use pre-written questions when they are short on preparation time. Providing five to ten thoughtful questions with your answers makes it incredibly easy for them to feature you. I have personally received more interview invitations after adding a press kit to my site than in the entire year before.
Keep everything in your press kit current. Outdated bios and old book lists signal that your website is not actively maintained. Update your press kit every time you publish a new book or receive a significant review or award.
Special Section: What to Include If You Have Not Published Yet
This is the question I hear most from new writers: what do I put on my author website when I do not have any books to sell? It is a valid concern. But having a website before your first book launches is actually one of the smartest moves you can make. You start building your audience and your search engine presence months or years before you need them.
Start with a Works in Progress section. Share the genre, a brief pitch or logline for your current project, and maybe a teaser excerpt. This gives visitors a reason to sign up for your newsletter, because they want to know when the book launches. Think of it as building anticipation the way movie trailers do.
Use your blog to document your writing journey. Posts about your daily routine, the challenges of drafting, your revision process, and even your query letter experiences all give readers a reason to follow you. Unpublished authors who share authentic updates tend to attract a loyal following of fellow writers and early fans.
Recruit beta readers through your website. Add a page or section where interested readers can sign up to read early drafts and provide feedback. Beta readers become your first reviewers and your most enthusiastic advocates when your book finally launches.
Consider posting short fiction, flash fiction, or serialized stories on your site. This gives visitors a taste of your writing style and gives you material to share on social media. Free samples of your work serve as both a reader magnet and a portfolio piece.
The key insight for unpublished authors is this: your website does not need to be perfect from day one. Start with a homepage, an About page, a newsletter signup, and a blog. Add more as your career develops. The authors I know who started their websites early had a significant head start when launch day arrived.
Optional But Worthwhile Additions
Once you have the essentials in place, these additions can take your author website from good to great. None of them are strictly required, but each one adds value depending on your specific situation and goals.
Members or exclusive content page: If you want to build a community around your writing, a members-only section with bonus chapters, character interviews, or early access to new releases can turn casual readers into super fans. You can gate this content behind a newsletter signup or use a platform like Patreon to monetize it.
Event calendar: If you do book signings, library talks, festival appearances, or virtual events, a calendar page helps readers find you in person. Include dates, locations, and links to register or buy tickets. Even a few events per year are worth listing.
Testimonials and reader reviews: A section featuring pull quotes from reviews, blurbs from other authors, or reader testimonials builds credibility fast. Choose three to five strong quotes and display them prominently. Social proof is one of the most powerful conversion tools available.
Reading order guides: If you write series, a page showing the correct reading order is incredibly helpful for new readers. Include this in your main navigation so visitors can find it instantly. Confused readers often give up and leave, so make the path through your books crystal clear.
Services page: Many authors also offer freelance editing, coaching, cover design, or other writing-related services. If this applies to you, a dedicated services page keeps these offerings separate from your author brand. This prevents confusion about whether you are primarily an author or a service provider.
Technical Essentials for Your Author Website
The content on your site matters, but the technical foundation matters just as much. A beautiful website that takes eight seconds to load or looks broken on a phone will lose visitors before they read a single word.
Custom domain name: Your website address should be your name or your pen name, like janedoe.com or johnsmithauthor.com. Avoid free subdomains like janedoe.wixsite.com. A custom domain costs roughly ten to fifteen dollars per year and immediately makes you look more professional. Authors on forums consistently cite this as a bare minimum for being taken seriously.
Mobile-responsive design: More than half of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices. Your website must look and function properly on phones and tablets. Most modern website builders handle this automatically, but always test your site on multiple devices before launching.
Fast loading speed: Google penalizes slow websites in search rankings. Compress your images, avoid unnecessary plugins, and choose a reliable hosting provider. Aim for a load time under three seconds. You can check your speed for free using Google PageSpeed Insights.
Basic SEO setup: Each page on your website should have a unique title tag and meta description. Use your name and your genre in your homepage title. Include relevant keywords naturally in your page content. This helps search engines understand what your site is about and show it to the right people.
FAQ
What pages should an author website have?
Every author website should include a homepage, an About page with your bio and headshot, a Books page, a newsletter signup form, and a Contact page. Optionally, add a blog, press kit, event calendar, and reading order guides for series.
Should I have a blog on my author site?
Yes, a blog helps your website rank in Google search results and attracts new readers. Post at least once per month about topics related to your genre, writing process, or research. Consistency matters more than frequency.
What if I haven’t published yet – what do I put on my website?
Include a Works in Progress section with teasers, a blog documenting your writing journey, a newsletter signup to collect early fans, and writing samples or short fiction. Building your audience before launch gives you a major advantage on release day.
How do I get people to sign up for my newsletter?
Offer a free reader magnet like a short story, prequel novella, or exclusive chapter in exchange for their email address. Place your signup form prominently on your homepage and create a dedicated landing page you can share everywhere.
What is the 90/10 rule for authors?
The 90/10 rule suggests that authors should spend 90 percent of their online presence giving value to readers and only 10 percent promoting or selling. On your website, this means sharing free content, useful blog posts, and engaging stories rather than constantly pushing buy links.
Your Author Website Is a Living Project
Building an author website is not a one-time task. It grows and evolves with your career. Start with the essentials: a newsletter signup form, a strong About page, and clear contact information. Add a blog for discoverability and a press kit for media opportunities. If you have not published yet, begin with your writing journey and works in progress.
The most important things to put on your author website besides your books are the elements that build direct relationships with readers. Your email list, your bio, your contact options, and your free content all serve one purpose: turning casual visitors into loyal fans who will buy every book you ever write. Start simple, update regularly, and let your website grow alongside your writing career.