An Updated Website Matters
- By: Jessica Faust | Date: Jul 31 2019
Websites matter. I know. I have one. A very active website that we are constantly updating, revamping, and even rebuilding based on how easy it is to update.
Your website is the face of your business. It is the first place a reader will go when they want to learn more about you and your books. Not updating your website every single month is a problem.
How are you doing?
Recently I met with a client and a PR representative he was looking to hire. As we were leaving my client turned to the PR person and said, “what’s up with your website.” And I knew right there his business was lost.
This business had not been updating their website. They were too busy. Except a
I see it with authors all the time. The home page features an outdated blog post or covers from books published years ago. This makes me think that nothing has happened since. It also makes publishers unhappy if the newest material isn’t there.
If you can’t keep up with your writing, editing, social media, and website then you need to hire someone who can. Website updates aren’t hard. I do them every week. If I can do them, you can find a young intern interested in writing and publishing to do yours.
What if your front page is static with links to other pages that change, such as blogs – so the home page is more like a landing page?
I think that would be fine, AJ, as long as the other pages are updated.
“Anything’s easy if you know how to do it,” and finding the right webmaster, designer or doing it yourself instructions falls into that statement. For authors, publishing a book a year (or more!) and not being a computer genius, DIY is a counter-productive waste of precious time. As for finding and hiring the right person, that can be an expensive, protracted, and disappointing misadventure. While your comments about the need for a website may be true, your easy-breezy just do it attitude is unrealistic. Knowing where our talents lie and directing our time accordingly is wise.
Thanks for the informative article. 🙂 I am thrilled to be signed with Bookends and have been gobbling up your articles. I am working to get my website in top shape now.
What advice would you give if you’re just starting in your writing career? Do I need a website? If yes, what should I include?
I do think a website helps. I would suggest checking out the blog further. I have written on this in the past.
I’m always surprised at how many author’s websites say, “Coming in September 2018,” or “Pre-Order Now!” for novels that have been out for six months. It makes it feel like walking into a bookstore with dust on the counter and no one behind it. But a website that says, “Now available in paperback!”, that works so much better because it’s like someone standing behind the counter and saying, “Check this out – hot off the press!”