Five Epic Attempts At Website Building & A Facebook Fail

So last week I did a post on Ten Components of a Rocking Author Website and I talked about how I wasn't really thrilled with my current author website (not this site, but my static site). Well, that little thought ending up bugging the hell out of me for the rest of the day. And then I opened up the can of worms that is attempting to build a new website. It put me into the dangerous zone which my husband kindly calls "mission mode" and I refer to as obsession.

So began the journey.

Website Attempt #1 (Homestead)


First, I went to my current provider (Homestead) and tried to mess around with the site I already had built. Well, it didn't really go so well. They have this thing where if you switch your template, you lose all of the personalization you've already done on your site. There's no feature to let you see what the other template would look like without getting rid of what you already have. (Or, if that's not the case, that's how the website read. Click this and all will be lost! Okay, not in those words, but basically that.) So I didn't want to lose all the work I've done, just to "test" out a new template. So I decided to go see what I could do somewhere else while keeping my homestead site in tact as a back-up prom date.

Website Attempt #2 (Wordpress)


So off I went to Wordpress because a) I've had a blog on there before and b) everybody and their mama seems to have their website "powered by Wordpress." Well, I ended up struggling a lot trying to find a template I could tweak enough to get it to how I wanted it. I don't know CSS and I was on cold medicine, so double whammy set me up for techfail. I got a site up, but it wasn't really what I wanted. The columns wouldn't go where I wanted them, the padding in the content window was too thick. It was a decent site, but it wasn't how I wanted it to look and unless I could learn to tweak the template at a html level, I was going to have to live it with it. So off I went again...

Website Attempt #3 (Squarespace)


You get a 14-day free trial on Squarespace, so I decided to give it a shot. I found a template that worked, but I was having trouble figuring out their system. It's seems like a lot at first. I built a basic site. Got frustrated, moved onto #4.

Website Attempt #4 (Blogger)


So after I was completely bald from pulling my hair out and my forehead was dented from banging it on my keyboard, I went back to my fuzzy safety blanket. Oh, Blogger. Me and you are like cream cheese and crackers--a perfect combination. I've been on Blogger for two years and the system is like second nature to me. So I built a nice little website over here. Well, it wasn't perfect. Blogger is a BLOG platform, not really meant to be a website platform. You can only have a certain number of pages, your landing page is your blog (not a welcome screen) and your sidebar is on all your pages whether you want it or not. BUT I was willing to do a work around. So I was happy with the site I built.

But alas...the lovely author Carolyn Jewel messaged me on Twitter and told me I really shouldn't build my site on blogger because it's not on my own host. I have no control over my content. If Blogger decides to shut me down for any reason (say someone reports the site for over 18 content and I didn't mark it as over 18 or something), they can literally shut you down and you lose everything. She then sent an email with her "pitch" on why I shouldn't do it that way. She made a lot of sense and she's had a website for many years so has a lot of experience under her belt. So then I got to thinking again. And I went back to....

Website Attempt #5 (Squarespace....again)


So I still had the site up on Squarespace. I opened up the program again and started looking through the help files. And OMG, their help section is SO fabulous and user friendly. I've never found a help section that was so easily navigated and that answered the exact questions I was looking for. After arming myself with some knowledge, I went about tinkering with my site I had put together. And I finally got the hang of it! I'm really happy with the functionality, the ability to tweak templates liberally, and the way the site turned out. The only complaint I have is I wish they had more font choices--but that's nitpicky.

Oh and did I mention I did all of the above in the last five days? Yeah, mission mode indeed.

So, have I got you curious yet?  Here is my brand new site: www.roniloren.com
(Warning: the pic in the header is sexy--not graphic--but make sure your boss isn't hanging out at your desk or something.)

*Alright and FACEBOOK ALERT:
I also found out through this whole process that it is against Facebook policy to have more than one account. So I have a personal account and one for my pen name and apparently that is a no-no. So no big deal until you're caught right? Well, yeah, it is. If they catch you or someone reports it, they will SHUT DOWN your accounts, BLOCK your email address, and you will LOSE all of your contacts and files on your account. So say my books comes out and I build this nice following of readers on FB. Well, then the account is shut down and I lose all that work. Not to mention losing all my personal account stuff. Gah! Now worth the risk IMO.

So if you are friends with me on Facebook or have liked my former fan page, please please "Like" my new page. There is a link in the right sidebar to click Like or you can go to the page here.

And believe me, I know the fan page thing is kind of lame and it limits me because I can't "friend" people with it, but I don't have any other option. I don't want to get rid of my personal/family account because (sadly) this is how I keep in touch with most of my family and friends who are spread all over the country. And I don't want to open up that page to everyone because it's not a place for my writing/book stuff, it's just family pictures and such. Plus it's under my non pen name. So there you go. I'd love it if you "liked" my page. If not, I understand. (And if you want me to "like" you back, email me your page link."

Okay, so what do you think of my new website? Do you have an author website and what platform did you build it on? Did you know about this facebook policy?

Ten Components of a Rocking Author Website

Photo by Benjamin Cook

I've been mulling over the whole website thing for a while now. I have a separate, static author website (www.roniloren.com). I did it myself. It's fine. Meh. (UPDATE: I've now redone my website, so that link should take you to the new one! It's still one I did myself, but I think it's a whole lot better.) But I really want something swankier for when my book releases. Unfortunately, a professionally done site is not cheap. So for now, I'm going to have to wait.

However, that doesn't mean I can't research, right? So, spurred by a question from the lovely Ashley March, I started looking into what the best author websites do right. This time I will focus on published author sites because Sierra Godfrey did a post on here a while back with website tips for the pre-published author--see that here.)

FOR AN UPDATED AND EXPANDED VERSION OF THE POST see: 13 Steps to Creating an Author Website Readers Will Love

Makings of  a Great Author Website

1. Make sure a drunk monkey could navigate it.

Please, please, please make it easy for me to find whatever I'm looking for. I don't want to have to dig. I will move on. Make the design eye-catching but clean (ignore my busy blog design, this is a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do thing. I'm a mom, I get to do that now.) Oh, and DO NOT HAVE MUSIC that auto-plays. 

2. Make it easy to read about and buy your books.

I'm amazed at how many author websites bury the info about their books like they're some sort of prize at the bottom of the cereal box. I want to be able to see the following:
a) The books you have out now with blurbs AND covers
b) The books that are upcoming and their blurbs and covers once available
c) Buttons where I can choose if I want to buy it on Amazon or whatever.
d) If you write series, LABEL them and put the books in order so that I know which comes first. It's sometimes hard to tell on Amazon what the order of a series is. Please help your readers with this.

3. A photo of you. Not your avatar or cat. You!

Get over your I-hate-all-pictures-of-myself thing. EVERYONE except maybe those kids on Jersey Shore hates pictures of themselves. It's normal. But I as a nosy reader want to put a face with the author name. And I don't care if you don't look like a supermodel. But believe me, if you have no pic, I will imagine you as a wart-covered troll. Just sayin' Also, a bio that rocks is a necessity. (Tips on that here.)

4. Provide links to all the ways I can stalk you.

Have links on your contact page with your twitter, facebook, goodreads, email, etc. links.

5. If you blog, don't phone it in.

If you hate blogging, we'll be able to tell. So if you are going to do it. Really do it. And for the love of all things good and holy, please attempt to make it interesting. And it's not about YOU, it's about the reader. I'm going to quote from a fabulous post over at Author Tech Tips: "Yes, yes, you’re a big famous author. But people still don’t care about you. They care about themselves. Think that is selfish? Take the plank out of your own eye before you can point the finger. If you offer something of value, your readers will want to come back. Photos of your kids will not bring them back." 

6. Be addictive.

Give your readers a reason to want to come back. Do you offer something they can only get on your site? Contests? Super secret snippets from your current project? Pictures of your characters? Playlists for your books? Think of takeaways that would excite a reader.

7. A website is not like a cactus--you can't water it every six months and assume it's going to thrive.

Going to an author site who has an update from months ago is like getting served stale chips at a Mexican restaurant. It makes your image feel stale. Like, wow, nothing exciting is happening with his books right now. Even if you don't blog, make sure that your release dates and such are up to date. Don't say coming soon and the book release date has already passed.

8. Be newsworthy

Are you going to speaking somewhere or did you win an award? Have a news section that you keep updated. It's a good addition or even alternative to having an active blog. Just make sure you keep it fresh.

9. Pimp Out Others

On Author Tech Tips, they quoted a survey that said a third of readers like to see what books your recommend when they visit your website. I think one way to do it is having other authors stop by your blog and do interviews and contests. You can also put a Goodreads widget somewhere on your site (like mine over there on the right) that shows what you're reading right now. That's a form of recommendation.

10. Be likable

Please do not use your site for rants or whining. It should be a positive, happy place for people to be--even if you write about serial killers. You want people to leave your site thinking that they could enjoy being friends with you.

Alright, so those are my tips. What are some of the things that you like to see on an author website? What are some author sites you visit regularly--why? Oh, and anyone know any amazing web designers that would love to offer me a discount on services, lol?