The ultimate dream, to have someone come up to you and say, “wow, that author website of yours is totes good“. I’m not sure what I’d do. Would I thank them…hug them…punch them in the face?
I guess you have to take such things as a compliment, and you too can create a totes good author website. All you need is a little structure and vision.
**for anyone who doesn’t know, totes is slang for totally, and I’m hearing it more and more at the moment. I find it both hilarious and cringe worthy**
You Can Have a Great Author Website
I’m not saying my website is great, but I’m pretty damn happy with it. I spent two months working hard, and I began with zero knowledge. Sure I’d built the odd wordpress.com site, but that’s hardly rocket science.
For this new site of mine, I had to learn some code, understand what hosting meant, and generally get a little tech savvy. So I did what all modern men and women do, I headed to Youtube.
Before long I realised I could do it, and more importantly, knew I could find the information needed along the way. If my website was good in a month, it would be even better after two.
You can do this, too. All you have to do is have the willingness to learn, and a little spare time on your hands. Either that or pay someone else to do it.
But You Need More Than knowledge
Finding your way around is important, but the best prepped developer in the world can still create a poor site. This is the key to success, and if you want to create an author website that stands out, you need a Vision.
This is something I cover in the How To Build An Author House Series, so if you want a more detailed set of notes, I suggest downloading it for FREE HERE.
I won’t give you a step by step guide on building a great site. If you want this I suggest heading over to Problogger, because the advice there is aces.
No, I want to share with you how I did things. I kept it simple…literally
Simply Elegant
This was my Vision. This was the philosophy I stuck to the entire time.
Every single aspect of this website came down to these two words. Every time I came across a new plugin, or had a new idea, or thought about a particular feature I could have; I asked myself it’s purpose.
Would it be Simply Elegant?
This was important because it helped align with the rest of my Author House. Not only that, it kept me focussed. I had something to aim for each step of the way, and minimised the potential of going astray.
What’s Your Philosophy?
Simply Elegant is what I stuck to, but you can have whatever you like. For me, this is the key to creating a great Author Website. This is how you create something that stands out, looks good, and most importantly, showcases who you really are.
In other words, this is how you create something Totes Good!
So, how do you create a philosophy? This is important, after all, if you get this wrong your entire site is in trouble.
It’s true, the pressure is on, but only if you put it on yourself. You make the rules. It’s your site…your Author Platform…your life!
The Top Tips:
- Make sure it aligns with the rest of your Brand/Author Platform
- Make sure it represents YOU
- Make sure it covers everything you do
- Make sure it has longevity
- Make sure you can live by this philosophy
These five tips, in my opinion, will help create a philosophy that works for YOU.
It needs to look at the bigger picture (your Brand), consider the future (longevity), and be something that showcases who you are and what you do.
If you come up with a philosophy that works for you, the details of the website will be taken care of. The colour scheme, the type of content, the layout…it all becomes a fairly simple process.
This is what I did. It was tough and took me a while, but I’ve created something I’m proud of (although minor changes will continue to happen for a few months yet). I feel it represents me and my Author House, and in general, is Totes Good.
Are you creating a new Author Website?
Are you happy with your existing one?
What’s your Site Philosophy?
Share your thoughts below and help a fellow Author out…
Turndog Millionaire – @turndog_million
