Websites for Indie Authors: I can help you create an author website!

Hi, I’m Sara (owner of Book Series Recaps), and before I became an author, blogger, and teacher, I spent my days as a freelance web designer. I love helping other authors, and if that’s you, you live in the US and are looking to create an author website to begin your journey, I would love to help! I specialize in websites for indie authors.

If you don’t know how to create an author website or have the time, I’m available for hire at fixed and hourly rates. I can simply help you get started, or I can completely set it up for you. And if you like, I can provide training to help as you move on.

If you’re an indie author like me, you always look for ways to save money. I want to help you do that. Ultimately, I want you to know how to update your website, add photos, and more.

Affordable website services for authors:

What I can help with:

Domain Registration with Godaddy
Set up Godaddy hosting
Set up WordPress
Help choose a theme and customize it
Set up basic pages and a blog
Link to your books on retailer websites
Set up your contact form
Set up a professional email address using your domain
Set up landing pages for visitors from your social media links
Setup website security (SSL)
Add my favorite plugins for security, backups, traffic trackers, spam blockers, etc.
Create any needed social media graphics that will correspond with your new look (for example, story highlight graphics for Instagram)
Create a form to capture emails and send them to a newsletter platform like Mailchimp or MailerLite
Give training on updating your site
At this time, I can only work with authors in the United States

What I would rather not help with:

Direct selling on your website
Updating a site hosted on a platform I am unfamiliar with
Creating non-WordPress sites
I work from home, so if I wouldn’t want my teenage children to read your book or your marketing messages, I cannot create your website. No erotica, etc.

Websites for Indie Authors: How much does an author website cost?

There are a few things to pay for when creating a website. Whether you hire me to help you or not, you will need to buy your domain name at a yearly fee. At the time of this writing, it costs around $20 per year on Godaddy. You will also need to purchase hosting space (yearly or monthly). Godaddy’s hosting starts at $5.99 a month and should suffice.

As for my fee, I’m working to build my portfolio, so I’m willing to cut you a killer deal on a basic setup: I will walk you through what you need to purchase on Godaddy, then set up WordPress, a basic theme and needed pages, SSL, security plugins, an email address, and a contact form for $75 USD. This basic setup deals with the technical side of web design. This fee does not include aesthetics.

From there, you can finish up on your own, or for an additional $15 an hour, I can make custom graphics for your website and/or social media. This can include a styled text-based author logo. I can set up a form to capture reader email addresses. I can format an email template in MailChimp or MailerLite. I can train you to update the site, and if you like, I can spruce up a page you have started by making formatting adjustments. I can give suggestions for improving your search engine optimization (SEO).