Best Author Websites of 2021 | 26 Inspiring Examples

1. Maria Felipe

URL: https://mariafelipe.org/

Maria Felipe is an author who writes about happiness. I love how she leverages a personal image above the fold, combined with a clear call to action. Scrolling down, she emphasizes social proof by showing her ‘as seen in’ section. Great website!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Nice color scheme
• Clear call to action
• Great images

2. Odd Socks We Shall Wear

URL: https://oddsocksweshallwear.com.au/

This book, written by Michael Mcleod has it’s own – awesome – website. I love how playful and happy this author website was designed. Very inspiring!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Unique design
• Awesome illustrations
• Happy color scheme

3. David Dellman

URL: https://writtenbydavid.com/

Yes! An author who isn’t afraid to take his website outside the ‘standard’ web design. This website example is completely different from everything you’ll see in this list – and I love it. Have a look at the unique typography and the ‘about me’ section. Great work!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Unique web design
• Great typography
• Oldschool look & feel

4. Ane Riel

URL: http://aneriel.dk/

Design by: https://rikkeekelund.dk/

Yes! Ane Riel is an author from Denmark. And if there’s one thing you can take from this website, it’s the eye-grabbing background image above the fold. There’s no way you can simply scroll past that image. Very great way to grab the attention of your visitors!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Nice images
• Clear menu structure
• Lots of whitespace

5. Elsbeth Egholm

URL: https://elsebethegholm.dk/

Design by: https://rikkeekelund.dk/

Ooh. Want to know how to establish social credibility for your next book? Check the testimonials right above the fold. It’s a great way to establish yourself as an established writer.

What you can learn from this great author website

• Clear focus on book
• Nice website look & feel which matches the book
• Clear call to action

6. Kiran Dellimore

URL: http://www.kirandellimore.com/

Design by: https://tribevisual.com/

Kiran Dellimore is a writer with a very clean website. I love how the arrow points you to his latest book. Scrolling down the website you will feel a lot of air which makes the website pleasant to look at. Great work!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Great images
• Nice color scheme
• Conversion focused web design

7. Samantha Altea

URL:http://samanthaaltea.com/

Samantha Altea is a writer, copywriter, journalist, and author. That requires a big website to display everything. Right? Well, no. Samantha clearly understood the power of a clean website. Combined with the words on the background this makes a truly inspiring author website!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Playful design
• Unique styling
• Bold and powerful design

8. Judy Moody

URL: https://judymoody.com/

Judy Moody has an amazing website for those who are authors of children’s books. The menu is set up around the main character, which makes the website unique and engaging. Well done!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Playful design
• Really great fit with the target group
• Bold and powerful design

9. Amy Krouse

URL: http://www.whoisamy.com/

Want to have a look at an inspiring author website? Check out this one. This website is so minimal, yet so playful and awesome. Play around with the moving umbrella, and you’ll understand why this website is awesome!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Fun design
• Playful typography
• Very unique website

10. David Sedaris

URL: https://www.davidsedarisbooks.com/

David Sedaris is an author who focuses on a target group ‘who likes to read’. Makes sense. The website starts with a nice ‘about me’ text which tells you more about the type of books David wrote. Nice one!

What you can learn from this great author website example

• Clean design
• Lots of whitespace
• Great structure

11. Brad Thor

URL: https://bradthor.com/

Brad Thor definitely has a great example of a conversion-focused author website. The website is filled with enticing call to actions and personal images. Definitely a professional author website!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Clean design
• Great focus on conversions
• Great pictures

12. Frogburps

URL: https://www.frogburps.com/

Looking to be inspired by a children’s author website? Have a look at Frog Burps. The website is filled with great cartoons and definitely matches the target audience!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Incredible fun design
• Awesome animations
• Great touch with the target group

13. J.K. Rowling

URL: https://www.jkrowling.com

J.K. Rowling – the one and only! This author’s website definitely should be on this list, as it uses quite a different technique than the others. The focus of this website is more on the background, instead of the foreground. Inspiring!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Playful design with an amazing background
• Unique design
• Simple yet effective design

14. Sandra Brown

URL: https://sandrabrown.net

Sandra Brown understands the power of personal branding. The image of Sandra is right above the fold – and definitely grabs your attention. Right below you’ll find several ways to follow Sandra on social media. Nice approach!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Lots of whitespace
• Clear call to action above the fold
• Nice and big images of the author help the visitor to connect

15. Spilled Ink

URL: https://www.spilledink.ca/

Nicole Laidler is an author with a different approach. Instead of showcasing her work, she focuses in converting website visitors to become paying clients. I love this sentence: “My name is Nicole Laidler, and your words are my business.”

What you can learn from this great author website

• Lots of whitespace
• Clear call to action
• Images that make the design more personal

16. Jake Knapp

URL: https://jakeknapp.com

Jake Knapp has one of the most clean and minimal author websites I’ve ever seen. Inspiring!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Simple yet effective design
• Lots of whitespace
• Great social proof by embedding the ‘as seen on’ logos

17. Erin Edits

URL: https://www.erinedits.com

Erin Edits is a great website of a – you guessed it – text editor. This website is filled with some powerful copywriting. Definitely have a look at this one if you’re looking to get more writing clients.

What you can learn from this great author website

• Cool background image
• Great copywriting, turning visitors into potential buyers
• Clear call to action at the bottom of the page

18. Francesca Serritella

URL: https://www.francescaserritella.com

Francesca has a very personal website, filled with personal images. It’s a great way to connect with your website visitors. Great approach!

What you can learn from this great architecture website

• Engaging background image
• Lots of whitespace
• Clear call to actions throughout the design

19. David Bach

URL: https://davidbach.com

David Bach has a professional and conversion focused author website. The website is filled with great call to actions and personal images. Well done!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Great background image
• His call to action is a perfect way to connect with your audience
• Lots of social proof

20. Meg Medina

URL: https://megmedina.com

Are you looking for a more playful author website example? Have a look at Meg Medina. I love the color scheme and the typography throughout the website.

What you can learn from this great author website

• Unique style
• Great menu hierarchy
• Big images of the author help the visitor to connect

21. Dan Pink

URL: https://www.danpink.com

Daniel Pink has a professional and clean website. The website is filled with articles written by Daniel, yet the website doesn’t feel ‘too much’. Great balance!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Great color scheme
• Unique design
• Lots of whitespace

22. Jerry Jenkins

URL: https://jerryjenkins.com

Last but not least. Jerry Jenkins. Oh boy – this website is a conversion machine! The call to action button above the fold is one you pretty much can’t resist. Great job!

What you can learn from this great author website

• Great call to action above the fold
• Lots of whitespace
• Great social proof by adding testimonials

23. Daniel Oliver Bachmann

URL: https://jerryjenkins.com

The very eye-catching photo above the fold gives Bachmann’s website an immediate strong impression. The visitor gets an overview of all the books he has written, making clever use of a scroll bar on the right side where his books are seen like chapters in a book.

What you can learn from this great author website

• Great dark/light contrast
• Page filling content
• Manages to be creative while still being “just” a list of books

BONUS – Here is my favorite template

VIEW THEME / DOWNLOAD

Author Website Template

URL: https://mycodelesswebsite.com/try-theme/author

Why this is such a great template

• Clean design, great to turn visitors into customers
• WordPress compatible, easy to customize
• Free download if you’re a Divi member

Get started in 2 steps

1 ► Download your theme, click on the button above

2 ► Get a free domain with a one click Wordpress installation

BONUS – Here is my favorite template

VIEW THEME / DOWNLOAD

Ebook Author Website Template

URL: https://mycodelesswebsite.com/try-theme/ebook

Why this is such a great template

• Clean design, great to turn visitors into customers
• WordPress compatible, easy to customize
• Free download if you’re a Divi member

Get started in 2 steps

1 ► Download your theme, click on the button above

2 ► Get a free domain with a one click Wordpress installation

BONUS: Elegant Themes

URL: https://elegantthemes.com/

Although this one officially shouldn't be in this list - I couldn't keep this one from you. Elegant themes has amazing website themes and leads by example. Their own homepage looks stunning.

What you can learn from this great  website

• Playful design
• Clear call to actions
• Great user experience

Author website hosting

Where should I host my author website?

After trying many hosting services we found 2 which stand out.

#1 Bluehost [learn more]

✓ Great for hosting a single website
✓ Cheap
✓ Great support

#2 WPX Hosting [learn more]

✓ Great for hosting multiple websites
✓ Free migrations

Author Website Best Practices

#1 Claim the right domain before it’s gone

#2 Spend your money wisely

Many authors pay high hourly rates to web designers who use simple templates to build a website.

Don’t let that be you. Nowadays it’s easy to build and customize templates using drag & drop website builder. We recommend Divi, it’s great for beginners and allows you to customize everything.

Actor Website FAQ