Can Your Author Website Still Live, After You Die?
• This article contains affiliate links • The information here is not intended to be legal advice! I live in California, USA - please consult with a local expert for your individual situation. •
I’m happy to say that most of my clients are in excellent health, and will likely stick around for many years to come, sharing their important work with the world.
However, a few are rightly starting to think about the legacy of their book(s) and overall body of work.
From time to time, the question comes up: What happens to my author website, after I pass away?
In simple technical terms, as long as the invoices are paid, your author website will remain
The vast majority of websites are made up of two important assets:
Your domain name
Your hosting service, and the content living on your pages
In simple terms, as long as the invoices for those two items continue to be paid, your website will pretty much just sit there.
It will, of course, get out of date. If you’re using a service like Squarespace, it will be backed up, patched, and kept secure by the central Squarespace team. On the other hand, a self-hosted WordPress website may decline fast, without ongoing attention. But either way, your pages could potentially stick around for a long time.
However, in legal terms, there’s more to know
I warmly recommend this article by attorney Kelley A. Way : What Happens to My Website If I Die?
You can and should make plans in advance, especially if there is extensive content on your website, or if it’s generating income.
And if you’re thinking about your author website, this is a good time to know about the role of a literary executor, too.
Other resources
Another useful resource is The Author Estate Handbook by Michael La Ronn.
You can also listen to this interview Michael did on Estate Planning for Authors, with Joanna Penn.
I found more general tips in In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later
If your website is hosted by Squarespace, you can also refer to
Personally, I’m not just an author, but a solo business owner too. I’m making plans for the “hit by a bus” scenario to increase the likelihood that:
My current author website clients get a communication, telling them what has happened, and when they can expect a refund for the work I haven’t completed
Automated calendar appointments are paused, so that I’m not ghosting people on Introductory Calls and other meetings!
My website is updated, to communicate that something has happened to me
Automated emails are paused, since it’s pretty weird to be sending messages after I’m dead ;)
Eventually, that my digital life is wrapped up tidily
There’s certainly a lot to get our heads around!
But I believe, if you care about your website and online presence while you’re alive, you should care after you’re gone, too.
A real example: Nancy’s story
(name has been changed)
I had been a professional website designer for less than two years when I first ran into the scenario of a client passing away. Because I was still an admin on Nancy’s Squarespace website, I was notified that a payment had failed. This seemed odd, because it wasn’t long since we’d finished her project, and she’d worked hard to make sure the website housed extensive and important information about the topics that were important to her. She had both literary interests and academic papers & material, in a field that is increasingly relevant today.
(With hindsight, I wonder if Nancy knew something about her health, and had taken the time to create a “legacy” website with me.)
I emailed, and got no reply. This was most uncharacteristic. I emailed again. I don’t remember if that message bounced, or if I started Googling, but I eventually realized that something tragic had happened.
The photos on Nancy’s website had been taken by a friend of hers, and fortunately, we’d credited this friend with a link to her own site. I got in touch, and learned the sad news that Nancy had passed away.
Nancy’s friend connected me with a family member, and our discussion began for what to do with Nancy’s website.
Sadly, Nancy had left no instructions (or at least, not with me or her executors). I updated the website to reflect her passing (and to remove contact details), and I took backups to preserve the information that she had felt was precious. However, not long after, the Squarespace “grace” period ran out, and Nancy’s family chose not to renew her website.
I’ve wondered many times since then: was this what Nancy would have wanted?
As a result, I’ve added a step to my project process, to ask every client if they would like to nominate an emergency contact for their website, in the event something happens to them. And with articles like this, I’m hoping to raise awareness of your website as a legacy for your work.
What’s unusual about this story: very few website designers think about this scenario and have a process in place to support your family and/or executor, if the need arises. But to the extent I can, I hope to take care of my clients after our website contract has been fulfilled.
What’s typical about this story: I believe that few of us have left clear instructions about our digital lives, and the legacy that our website might serve.
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Would you like me to design and build your Squarespace website?
I hope Nancy’s story goes some way to illustrate that I try to have my clients’ best interests at heart, and be a long term partner for your author business. While I can’t promise that I’ll be available to spring into action the moment a family member contacts me, I believe that when you work with a professional designer like me, you maximize the chances that someone “has your back” when needed.
And, on a happier note: as a specialist in strategic websites for authors and solopreneurs with books, I’m an expert in the features you need for a website that connects with your audience and gets business results, while you’re still around to benefit. If you’d like niche expertise, top quality design, and your technical headaches solved, consider hiring me.
After careful preparation together, I’ll design, build and launch your site in (usually) 2-3 weeks. Learn more, and then schedule an introductory call together.
Other resources for designing your author website in Squarespace
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