Must-Have Pages for Your Author Website

Now that your author website is up and running, what are the must-have pages you need to create?

I hope you’re not thinking about going live without having these must-have pages on your author website.

That will be strange to see if your author website only has the ‘Hello World’ post.

Heck, it’s not even a proper post at all!

So, what pages do you need to create to make your author website look like a proper one?

Well, it depends on the type of author you are.

But the good thing is that the pages you need to create are pretty much the same, regardless of whether you write fiction or nonfiction.

And if you need something else? You can add these pages later, of course.

That’s the beauty of WordPress. You can add or delete pages whenever necessary.

The must-have pages for your author website

So, what are the pages you need to have, since having the ‘Hello World’ post will only make your website look like it’s still under construction?

Well, you need to have these pages, of course. And these are the pages you need to have on your author website, whether you write fiction or nonfiction.

Homepage

Unless you have a blog and you prefer the homepage to display your latest blog post, then you will need to have a dedicated homepage that sums up who you are.

You can say that your homepage is your author branding, where it has information like the kind of books you write and also your author pic.

Besides the kind of books you write and how you look, the homepage will also have information about your latest release, the link to your storefront if you sell direct, and an email signup form for joining your email list.

Well, that’s just the gist of what your homepage should contain.

You can add more if you like, of course. But keep it simple. The last thing you want is for your homepage to become way too cluttered when it has too many things.

Most premium WordPress themes, such as the one by Bluchic, already have the homepage ready. Just modify the web copy, change the photos that suit your author branding, and you’re pretty much set.

I tend to leave the homepage for last since I need to create the pages that will appear on the homepage first. It’s easier to create a homepage that way.

Not sure what you need to have on your homepage?

You can have a look at my fiction author website homepage on how you can do the same.

A dedicated page for the email opt-in

You can easily create a landing page for the email signup using an email marketing platform such as MailChimp.

But I prefer to create a dedicated page on my author website because I want to have full control of the design.

It saves me from having to create another landing page, too, if I switch to a different email marketing platform. I only need to change the setting on my email opt-in form, and that’s just it.

When you create a landing page for the email opt-in, be sure to set the page to a blank page so that the landing page will only have an opt-in form, nothing else. You don’t want your visitors to click elsewhere when the page has something else other than your opt-in form.

Don’t know what you should offer to get people to join your mailing list? You can read about it right here.

Book list

If you write more than one book, then create a page that lists all the books you write. Having one will make it easier for your readers to see a complete list of books you write in one place. 

Keep the book list page simple. Just having the book cover, book title, and a short description of what the book is all about will suffice.

Individual book page

This is where you can include things like the book description, available formats, a link to download the sample chapter, and where to buy your books online.

Have amazing reviews about your book?

Put them in your book page if you have one.

About page

Want to share with your target audience who you are and why you write what you write?

Well, this is the place to do just that, in detail, if you will.

You can add other details that you think your target audience should know about you. And make it snappy, if possible.

After all, this is the place where your target audience can get to know you on a personal level.

Contact page

Make it easy for your readers to send you fan mail, questions, and even feedback for your book using a contact form on your author website.

As much as they’d like to keep in touch with you using social media, emails are still the best way for your target audience to contact you. And there’s also a big chance that they may not be on social media.

So yes, have a contact page on your author website as well to make it easy for your target audience to send an email to you.

When it comes to the contact page design, I suggest you have a contact form instead of just listing your email address on the page.

Doing so not only prevents spammers from sending you junk mail. But your target audience doesn’t have to manually copy and paste your email address when they want to send an email to you.     

Media kit

Want to get media coverage for your book, or do you want to appear on national TV?

Then have the media kit ready on your author website. That’s how the media can feature you in their publication or contact you for a guest appearance on TV. They may not be able to do that if you don’t have a media kit.

I don’t have a media kit on my website since media coverage isn’t my focus for now. So, I can’t say much on that front.

But I suggest that you have a look at this guide from Reedsy on what you need to have in your author media kit.

Privacy policy page

Your readers want to know what you will do with their personal information that you collect on your author website. That’s when your privacy policy page comes in.

The good news is that you don’t have to write the privacy policy page yourself, since you can create the page straight from your WordPress settings. 

But you may have to tweak the privacy policy a little if you sell directly to your readers using WooCommerce.

Don’t worry if the thought of tweaking the privacy policy yourself is freaking you out. You can just use Gemini or ChatGPT to rewrite the privacy policy that fits your situation.

Return and refund policy

Another page you need to have if you sell directly to your readers, whether you use WooCommerce or other e-commerce platforms like Shopify. You will need to have a return policy as well if you use a service like Lulu Direct or Bookvault to sell print books in your store.

Terms and conditions page

Just like the privacy policy page, don’t attempt to write the page yourself. Use Gemini or ChatGPT to write the page for you instead.

Other pages you can add to your author website

Do you find that the must-have pages I mentioned are still not enough for your author website? Here are other pages you can add, but only add them if they apply to you.

Blog

Add this page if you love blogging or if you opt for content marketing as a part of your book marketing strategies.

As far as the blog setting goes, you can have the blog posts display dates or not. But I prefer not to have them displayed since my blog posts are mainly on evergreen topics.

SEO-wise, whether you display dates or not won’t matter much. What matters most is that you optimize the posts with keywords that are relevant to what you write. 

Services that you offer

If you’re a nonfiction author and you offer services, you can create a dedicated page that lists all the services you offer.

Depending on what services you offer, you can have a dedicated storefront with an add-to-cart button on display.

Or you can have a contact form instead if you require your client to contact you first before hiring you.  

Just be sure to have an FAQ on that page too, so that you won’t be swamped with too many inquiries about the services you offer.

Speaking engagement page

Want people to hire you to speak? Then be sure to let them know through your speaking page.

Already got yourself a speaking gig?

You can also use this page to let everyone know about your speaking event. I’m sure that your readers are more than happy to see you in person.

Event page

Making an appearance at a festival or you’ll be opening a booth at a con? Let your readers know about them through this page.

Unless you go to these events regularly, you don’t need to have one on your website.

If making an appearance at these festivals or cons is a rare occasion, you can simply let your readers know about the event through your homepage, email, and social media instead.

How to add a page on WordPress

Adding a new page on WordPress is the same as adding a new blog post. But if you don’t know how to do that, you can take a look at this YouTube video by HostGator on how you can do just that.

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