Are You Ready to Work With a Website Designer?
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So, it’s time to call in a professional website designer?
Congratulations, you’ve decided your old or DIY website is holding you back in your work as an author, coach, or both. You’ve decided this is the year when you’ll invest in yourself and your message, and get a professional website created.
And you’ve found a website designer with a portfolio and work ethos you like, who is probably a good match to create the perfect author website for you.
What should you know as you get ready to work with them?
If you’ve never hired a website designer before - or even if you have, since processes do vary - you won’t know what to expect. You might feel overwhelmed, or at least a bit daunted. How should you best prepare for the project, and maximize your investment?
8 tips for preparing to work with an author website designer
Strategic Questions
1. What outcome do you want from your website?
Most authors I work with want the primary purpose of their website to be sell more books. This is a noble objective and definitely within reach if you have several books published, such that a reader might enjoy one book and then come to your website to see what else is available.
For less established authors, I encourage a wider and longer perspective. A website might also serve you by:
convincing a literary agent to offer representation
securing a book deal
growing your email list
helping you get a speaking gig where you then sell books “at the back of the room”.
Related reading:
Why isn’t your website selling more books?
How to add a book to your business & speaker website
2. What’s your author brand, and how do you want that represented?
If you have one or more books published, then hopefully the covers are a perfect representation of your genre, brand, and overall vibe. In fact, your website designer will sigh quietly if you ask for a site that doesn’t create a visual extension of your covers!
If you don’t have anything published, there are wider choices here for the direction you want to go in.
Depending on the website developer you work with, they may prefer to be in the driving seat for choosing fonts and colors for your website, or they might expect you to come with specific fonts and color codes already selected.
Keep in mind that a stunning font used on your book cover may not be readily available as a “web” font, or you might need to buy a costly license to use it on your website. For colors, on the other hand, your designer should be able to use any color code that you specify. But do keep in mind legibility and the need for on-screen contrast.
Related reading: Case study, choosing website colors
3. Do you know what tool or platform you want the website to be built with?
The best website designers only work with certain platforms or technologies. Website tools are not like (petrol) cars, they don’t all function in more or less the same way! Your chosen website designer should specialize in one or two technologies, as this is how they build the deep expertise you’re paying for.
If you have no preference about technology, then your website designer should be able to explain clearly why their recommendation is right for your needs. Look out for whether they’re communicating with you clearly, in a way you can understand. How you talk to your web designer, and them to you, will set the scene for a successful project.
If, on the other hand, you do have a platform preference (for example, you’ve been on WordPress for years and you love it), then factor this into your research for whom you’ll work with.
I only create websites using Squarespace and Carrd, and although I’m happy to discuss the pros and cons of WordPress with you, I never take on WordPress work.
Related reading:
4. What are your timescales?
Good website designers are usually booked a few weeks, or even a few months, in advance. So you’ll need to think about when you want your website project to begin.
Then, get clear on whether you will work better with a fast turnaround, like my 2 week process, or whether you want the project to… take as long as it takes. Personally, I find my clients love the focus that the 2 week project brings, and I enjoy working that way too, with a single client as my top priority and plenty of momentum to get your website done.
Content Gathering
Few of my clients appreciate quite how much needs to be gathered, and how many questions answered, before your website gets underway.
And that’s fine! I don’t expect you to know exactly what’s involved, and it’s my job to guide you know what to send, and how to supply your website content so that we’ll stay organized and efficient.
This is the phase where your website preparation turns from being strategic, to more practical steps.
5. Basic content for your author website
Text for each page:
For an author, that most often means Home, About, Books, Contact. You might also want text for your portfolio, news, events, media mentions, to introduce your podcast, and so on. This can be a big task: avoid the temptation to write thousands of words, but do introduce your work succinctly and don’t be shy to brag about achievements and awards.
Decide whether you’ll typically use first or third person on your website.
Book cover images, book blurbs, a few great reviews, any awards won, and book buying links.
One or more photos of you. Bonus points if the pictures work well with your author brand and intended color palette! Investing in a professional headshot is a great move, too.
Any other logos, award emblems, or relevant images for your author brand.
Planning to blog?
You’ll need the text for at least 3 articles, to get things started.
Chances are, each article will benefit from at least one photo or image.
Consider which blog categories make sense to organize your content.
If you’re inviting sign ups to your email list, will you offer a free resource (“lead magnet”) to encourage new subscribers? Get this ready too.
Links to any video clips you want to use. Generally, you’ll host the video somewhere like Youtube, and we’ll embed it in your website.
Privacy policy, if you’re gathering any kind of information like email sign ups, or you’re using Google Analytics. As an example, see mine here.
If you’re offering any services, you’ll also need Terms and Conditions, such as a cancellation policy.
Search engine keywords and phrases
Think about the most likely words and short phrases that someone might search for in Google, where your website would be a great match for their needs.
Not only should you incorporate these words in the text on each page, but your website developer should be using them behind the scenes too in page descriptions, image tags, and so on.
Related reading:
6. Technical bits and pieces
Your website designer should guide you on what you need here.
If you already own your website domain name, make sure you’ve got the account login information handy. If you don’t own a name, ask your website guru how they’d like you to approach this.
Because you’re working with a web professional, don’t buy hosting or a website subscription until they tell you to. These days, “hosting” is often included with the tool that your designer uses to build the site.
If you need to migrate content (such as old blog posts) from an existing website, get ready with the login information for that, too.
Are you gathering email addresses through a signup form on your website? If you don’t already have an email list account (somewhere like Mailchimp or Convertkit), your web designer will advise you what to do.
If you want an online store (see below), you’ll need your login information handy for Stripe and PayPal.
If you want to offer online appointment scheduling, you’ll likely need an account for that too.
Hoping to impress Google? Your web designer should be able to help you register for a Google Analytics account, so that you can submit your sitemap once the new website is live.
Are you, or would you like to be, an Amazon affiliate so you have the opportunity to earn some commission when people buy your book(s)? If so, you’ll need to apply for an affiliate ID. Your web designer needs this to create the correct links, and you must also state that you’re an affiliate, in the footer of your website.
7. Extra questions I ask, before website design begins
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but I’ll also ask you things like:
What email address will you use for incoming website communications?
Do you want that email to appear on your site, or should it be “hidden” in a Contact Form instead?
Do you want a physical (mailing) address on your website?
What social media accounts do you need your website to link to?
If you’re blogging, do you plan to accept comments? What spam safeguards should be in place?
8. Questions for your online store
Squarespace isn’t suitable for a huge, sophisticated online store, but if you want to sell signed copies of your books and maybe a few pieces of merchandise, it’s a great option.
To appear professional and build trust, you’ll need to decide:
Will you ship anywhere in the world, or only to certain states / countries?
What will you charge for shipping, and/or how will shipping costs be calculated?
How long should customers allow for delivery?
In the event a parcel goes missing, what’s your policy?
Will you accept returns?
If so, what’s your return policy for timescales and the condition the goods need to be in?
What payment methods do you hope to accept? Have you opened, for example, a Stripe account and/or PayPal business account?
What are sales tax laws in your state / country and how will you deal with the tax you need to collect?
Related reading: this article from Entrepreneur magazine gives a helpful overview of building a strong relationship with your web designer.
Don’t panic!
Clearly, there’s a lot to consider here, many questions to answer, and potentially a great deal of content to gather for your new web pages. A good website designer will likely guide you on what you need to have ready and when.
And if they’re like me, they’ll also serve as a sounding board, industry expert, and marketing cheerleader for your investment.
Related reading: Want the best author website? Don’t build it yourself.
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Would you like me to design and build your Squarespace author website?
As a professional specializing in author website design, I’m an expert in bringing all the above components together to create a beautiful and business-like home for your work. If you’d like technical expertise, marketing savvy, content gathering accountability, and all of the implementation taken care of, consider hiring me.
After careful preparation together, I’ll design, build and launch your site in just 2 weeks. Learn more, and then schedule our free and friendly chat.