Definitive guide
Best Author Websites of 2022 | 40 Examples + Templates
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My name is Ralph de Groot. I'm the founder and author at My Codeless Website. Wake me up for a great web design. I love writing about website examples, too!
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Best Author Website Examples
- Maria Felipe
- Odd Socks We Shall Wear
- Om Swami
- Ane Riel
- Elsbeth Egholm
- Kiran Dellimore
- Samantha Altea
- Judy Moody
- Amy Krouse
- David Sedaris
- Brad Thor
- Frogburps
- J.K. Rowling
- Sandra Brown
- Spilled Ink
- Jake Knapp
- Erin Edits
- Francesca Serritella
- David Bach
- Meg Medina
- Dan Pink
- Jerry Jenkins
- Daniel Oliver Bachmann
- Moira Young
- Fast This Way
- Railway Ladies
- Nicole Lapin
- Woohyon
- Ryan Vet
- Le Imperatice
- Shel Silverstein
- Ann Voskamp
- William Golding
- Gabby Bernstein
- Situdio
- Nemes P
- Mel Robbins
1. Maria Felipe
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. Om Swami
URL: https://omswami.com/
Om Swami’s website will ignite your curiosity. The designer did a great job of putting nothing at the beginning unless you hit the “Enter” button. Very clever! I also love how relaxing the color tones are as the author tackles life journeys and deepest truths. Great job!
What you can learn from this great author website
- Unique web design
- Great typography
- Relaxing 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
24. Moira Young
This fear-inducing website is quite incredible. The eerie pictures painted and illustrated on the web grab attention. Everything presented on this web: the books, notes, writeup, and pictures develop curiosity.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Sensational depiction of background
- Great combination of greyish brown
- Simple design that provokes an emotion
25. Fast This Way
The presentation of the books shows this website is about authors writeup. The bolded words fast this way attract the user at one glance. and the web design is quite professional, simple, and sophisticated.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Simple and decent writeup with a nice layout
- User captivating adorable interface
- Nice choice of pink background with blue fonts
26. Railway Ladies
URL: https://railroadladies.com/
The pointer with a written heading to turn the page develops a curiosity in the user to further discover more. The photography and the bolded white font with the background are giving more highlights to this web design.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- The highlighted font looks professional
- Creative way to introduce a book
- Sophisticated photography
27. Nicole Lapin
Get welcomed by the bright smile of the author by landing on this webpage. The layout of the conversational pictures gives an attractive look to discover some professional services.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Personal pictures
- The white bolded font on black walls is amazing
- Professional web writeup with nice interface
28. Woohyon
URL: https://woohyon.com/
Get the greetings by meeting the smile of the artist. His picture depicts his biography, with the added words giving the details. The website is amazingly designed by adding a black background.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Aesthetically designed
- Classy writeup with the white-colored font on black
- Quite a decent layout with pictures
29. Ryan Vet
URL: https://ryanvet.com/
What an amazing gliding slide changing white color to bright yellow! Added with the picture of a person smiling gives more exciting vibes and enthusiasm. The other sections are crafted in different ways showing pictures and seminars.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Unique started page design
- Nice interface
- Good choice of colors and professional write-up. Amazing!
30. Le Impératrice
URL: https://l-imperatrice.cool/en/
The live French timeline playing on-page can take you to web design with a single click. The glittery blue background is a catcher. The animated picture and the picture of women are real charm creators of his website.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Lovely animated layout and pictures
- Simple, classy, and bright, all in one web design
- Lovely choice of colors
31. Shel Shilverstein
URL: https://www.shelsilverstein.com/
Shel Silverstein has a unique web design that does the author a favor since the website features snippets of the author’s book. The website basically looks like a book with its white background – black lines combination. Overall, it has a clean interface and distinctive features that are memorable to its audience.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Playful design
- Impressive line art graphics
- Unique pop-up animations on the menu
32. Ann Voskamp
This website has a great way of storytelling. The first thing I noticed on this website is its lovely color scheme – very soft, pleasing to look at, and it just emits warmth and healing. Next is the gold gradient color overlay on the texts which I think is very elegant. And lastly, a sentimental video just right below the blog section – very comforting.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Soft color scheme
- Attractive accent fonts
- Captivating imagery
33. William Golding
URL: https://william-golding.co.uk/
William Golding, a novelist, playwright, and poet, has one of the most detailed and aesthetically pleasing websites. Clicking on a photo on its one-pager home page, instead of the page loading, the photo expands to fill the whole screen instead. It’s a subtle detail but it provides an excellent user experience to its audience.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Detailed information is provided
- Pleasing color scheme
- Interesting videos
34. Gabby Bernstein
URL: https://gabbybernstein.com/
This website has a modern yet graceful feel to its web design. The overall layout of this website is easy to follow and draws the reader’s attention to the books and free resources by utilizing thumbnails of episodes and images of the author’s books.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Impressive and fun visuals
- Clear call-to-action buttons
- Persuasive copywriting
35. Situdio
URL: https://situdio.com/
The first look on this website’s landing page is an image of a person wearing a VR headset and a brief text stating the team’s vision and mission. This gives a sense of visual perception to its audience and tells the purpose of the website. This sets the mood, and with just a little bit of scrolling, voila! Supporting information, images, and graphics further explains the services they provide.
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Smooth scrolling animations
- Cool color scheme
- Clean font
36. Nemes P
URL: http://nemespe.hu/
Nemes P is a black & white website not until you press a button that reveals all the colors beneath. To be honest, it was a nice concept. I love it! Imagine my surprise when the colors popped on my screen. Haha. Great stuff!
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Nice concept
- Informative website
- Clean font
37. Mel Robbins
The talk of the town is that Mel Robbins creates an emotionally and visually stunning experience for her audience. Was it all a ruse? I think not. Her website INSPIRES people and provides a wealth of information. Although the design looks typical for an author website, it’s definitely worth the visit! Yes!
What you can learn from this great author website design
- Nice concept
- Informative website
- Clean font
These are my favourites.
BONUS – Here is my favorite template
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
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
here are your next steps.
1
Find a web designer, or do it yourself.
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2
Website hosting that I recommend.
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3
Selecting the right page builder.
Analyze the best examples on this page and select a page builder that is powerful and isn't buggy.
Here is the one I recommend.
Get a professional logo.
I recommend you to hire a professional designer to create a logo. Prices starting at $5!
4
Grab my install guide.
Analyze the best examples on this page and select a page builder that is powerful and isn't buggy.
Here is the one I recommend.
5
Best Practices (BONUS).
Claim the right domain before it's gone
Spend your money wisely.
We recommend Divi, it's great for beginners and allows you to customize everything.
About the author
Ralph de Groot loves great web design. In fact, you can wake him up at night if you found an inspiring website. Besides writing at My Codeless Website he also loves to read and to travel.
FAQ
What makes a good author website?
A great author design should have a clean design, be easy to navigate and include a lot of social proof. Have a look at this page for great example websites.
How to create an author website?
- Analyze the best examples on this page
- Make notes of what you like – and what you don’t like
- Design your own site with this a drag & drop website builder
- Publish your website with our recommended hosting platform.
How much does an author website cost?
A web designer will charge anywhere between $1000 and $3000 for a decent website. However, this article will teach you to do it yourself for less than $100.
What information is needed on an author website?
Your website will need at least the following pages: ‘Home, About us, Contact, Portfolio’. To create trust with your visitor it’s important to show lots of pictures of your team and your latest projects.