Current Best Website Builder for Authors (2023)

The best website builders for writers are Wix, Hostinger Website Builder, Squarespace, and SITE123. They are very easy to use while still offering feature-rich blogging platforms.

These days, if you’re looking to establish a connection with your audience, a strong online presence is the way to go. But unfortunately, many authors – even renowned ones – have websites that look uninspired or outdated.

Sure, maybe Zadie Smith can get away with a so-so website, but most authors really need a website that can attract new readers and pique the interest of existing fans.

That means you need a website builder with high-quality templates and design tools that reflect your genre. The best builders also offer features that cater to your unique needs as a writer, like a blog or newsletter, SEO and marketing capabilities, or even direct integrations with Amazon and QuickBooks.

In this article, you’ll find the best website builders for authors – with regards to pricing, features, templates, editors, and more. Plus, if you’re not quite sure how to create an author website, there’s a list of tips at the bottom.

For modern authors, a website is a great way to advertise and sell their work, as well as communicate with their audience. Share updates on your upcoming book or upcoming events, create a community for your readers, or simply sell your books. All of this and more are possible with a single site.

However, let’s be honest, most authors would rather be building fictional worlds than building a website. After all, website creation can be time-consuming, technical, and complex.

But, the thing is, it doesn’t have to be. With the right website builder, creating a website can be very fast and extremely easy. You can have a beautiful custom author website in minutes.

What We Look For in the Best Website Builders for Authors

There are plenty of good – and even great – website builders out there, but many don’t have the specific tools that authors and writers need to cultivate their online presence. In order to narrow down the list, I made sure to only select builders that met these essential criteria:

• Quality templates. Whether you’re looking to sell your newest book or just keep your fans updated, your website is going to reflect your brand. I only included builders with high-quality and professional-looking templates.
• Customization features. As a creative, it’s important to have the final word over your website, and templates can only get you so far. I chose builders with customization tools that will make your site stand out from the crowd.
• Ease of use. Most writers aren’t also designers and coders in their downtime (although kudos if you are!). These builders give you the tools to easily create your site with no prior experience.
• Ecommerce. Though I can’t overstate the value of a good portfolio, you might want to use your website to do more than just showcase your work. These builders include tools to help you set up an online shop for anything from paperbacks, to merch, to e-books.
• Extra author features. The builders on this list offer tools that, while not absolutely essential, are certainly convenient. Think blogging, reader reviews, and the ability to create newsletters.

1. Wix

Wix is one of the best website builders suitable for creating a highly personalized and unique website for authors. Thanks to its design flexibility with the drag-and-drop editor and its ADI website generator, Wix is suitable for both beginner users and seasoned website building professionals.

Here’s what you can expect with Wix:

• A full-featured blogging platform: The builder comes with a very functional built-in blogging platform, which enables you to make unique blog posts quickly. Plus, for easy blog post optimization, SEO options are within arm’s reach. More so, design elements can be easily utilized, too.
• Artificial design intelligence (ADI) and drag-and-drop editor: Wix comes with 2 different editors. Depending on your level of experience, you can either choose to get your site automatically generated by Wix ADI or create one yourself, by using a template and the builder’s flexible drag-and-drop editor.
• Extensive App Store: While Wix has a pretty impressive amount of advanced features, the provider also offers a large third-party app store, where you’ll be able to find plenty of useful extensions for your marketing campaigns and more.

Building a website for authors with Wix

What is amazing about Wix is that you can choose either a quick and easy website building process or a more challenging but rewarding one. All you have to do is pick how you’d like to build your site. The builder comes with 2 separate editors:

• A traditional and 100% flexible drag-and-drop editor,
• An ADI (artificial design intelligence) automatic site generator.

Both are fast and super easy, but ADI prioritizes beginner-friendliness, while the drag-and-drop editor puts control first. If you go with ADI, all you have to do is answer a few questions, and the builder will quickly generate a website that you can further personalize.

However, with the traditional approach, you can choose from over 800 modern and responsive all-purpose templates. With a choice as wide as that, you’ll definitely find plenty of options suitable for your writings.

Once you pick the one for you, you’ll be redirected to Wix’s flexible drag-and-drop editor that allows you to place elements anywhere on the site. Add anything you wish: links to social media accounts, contact forms, reader reviews, book listings, a blog, and more.

Talking about blogging, Wix offers a straightforward yet functional blogging platform with plenty built-in of analytics and SEO tools for better site performance.

All in all, with its easy setup, flexible editor, and professional templates, Wix is great for creating a unique and personalized writer’s website.

Wix pricing

Wix offers 7 paid plans – 4 regular and 3 eCommerce ones, with prices ranging between $16.00/mo and $59.00/mo. There’s also a free plan that’s suitable for testing the builder out.

All 7 paid plans come with everything you need for a strong kick-start – a free domain for a year, an ad-free experience, as well as an SSL certificate.

As for writers specifically, I’d recommend:

• Combo ($16.00/mo) offers 3GB of storage and 2GB of bandwidth. This plan is a great fit for an author’s blog, informational landing pages, or portfolio.
• Pro ($27.00/mo) comes with 20GB storage, 2 video hours, a free logo maker as well as various apps for a year. The plan is great for a well-rounded author’s site, minus the eCommerce functionality.
• Business Unlimited ($32.00/mo) comes with tons of eCommerce features, 35GB storage, and 10 video hours. If you wish to sell your work online, this is the plan to go with.

2. Hostinger Website Builder

Hostinger Website Builder, formerly known as Zyro, is a very affordable yet highly functional and modern builder for any author looking to build a professional site. With its simple-to-use drag-and-drop editor, advanced AI tools, and good marketing and SEO features, you are guaranteed to build a beautiful site in no time.

This is what you can expect:

• Beginner-friendly blogging tools: These are already built-in into Hostinger Website Builder’s editor, meaning that you can easily edit, design, and publish your blog posts without any coding needed. More so, SEO tools are also available to improve your content for search.
• Advanced AI tools: Hostinger Website Builder offers an AI heatmap that shows you suggestions on where to place important information, like a CTA button or an announcement, on your site. More so, an AI Writer could generate some content instead.
• Flexible editor:  Hostinger Website Builder comes with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor that enables you to create a functional site by adding numerous pre-designed elements to your site. Additionally, its premade grid system also helps to navigate the element placement easier.

Building a website for authors with Hostinger Website Builder

When creating an author website, Hostinger Website Builder allows you to choose between creating one yourself or building it on an empty grid. In both cases, the builder offers a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor to customize the site further. More so, a built-in blog platform is easy and optimized for maximum engagement.

If you choose the empty grid, you’ll get a chance to build an entirely custom site by dragging and dropping any element of your liking onto the page.

However, if you wish to build a site yourself, Hostinger Website Builder has over 130 pre-designed all-purpose templates to choose from. While there are no author-specific templates, all themes are responsive, well-structured, and professional-looking.

No matter which approach you choose, you’ll need to get familiar with Hostinger Website Builder’s drag-and-drop editor. The editor is very beginner-friendly and allows you to easily add, delete, or rearrange pre-designed elements. Plus, you could also expand the existing functionalities with things like contact form, subscribe form, and book reviews.

As for Hostinger Website Builder’s blogging platform, it’s very easy to navigate. Additionally, the builder lets you drag and drop various design elements on your blog posts without any coding.

In short, Hostinger Website Builder is a good choice for an author’s website. The builder comes with professional themes, a powerful editor, and a built-in blog platform, which makes website building a breeze.

Hostinger Website Builder pricing

Hostinger Website Builder has only one plan – Website Builder & Web Hosting. But worry not, the said plan includes everything you might need to start a beautiful author’s website. And the price is very reasonable too, just $2.99/mo. More so, Hostinger Website Builder also offers a demo version to test the editor before committing.

Now talking about the features included, you get a custom domain, an SSL certificate, as well as SEO, blogging, eCommerce functionality, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Additionally, 100GB of disk space, 100 professional email accounts, unmetered bandwidth, and even hosting services are all included.

3. Squarespace

Squarespace is a great website builder for any author looking to build a visually captivating website. Although the builder is on a slightly more premium end, sleek designs, ease of use, and many built-in features will enable you to create a professional author website in no time.

Let’s take a closer look at what Squarespace offers:

• Built-in blogging platform: Squarespace comes with a very functional and easily customizable blogging platform that you can use to engage with your audiences and drive more traffic to your site. Additionally, you can adjust SEO settings for each blog post individually.
• Excellent site-wide SEO and marketing settings: For better website optimization, Squarespace offers pretty extensive site-wide SEO tools. More so, for easier advertising, the builder also includes features like email campaigns, promotional pop-ups, profiles, and many more.
• Social media integration: You can integrate links to your Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms, right there, on your site.
• Good eCommerce tools: If you go for at least a Business plan or up, you get a fully integrated eCommerce platform that enables you to easily sell your products.

Building a website for authors with Squarespace

Squarespace makes author website building very easy. Once you log in, all you have to do is name your site, pick a template, and start editing it to your liking.

For starters, Squarespace has over 110 sleek-looking all-purpose templates to choose from. Although there are no writer-oriented options, all templates are modern, vibrant, and elegant, so you should have no trouble finding the perfect background and layout for your bestseller.

Once you do find the one, you are redirected to the builder’s section-based editor, which enables you to further customize your site. Simply add, delete, and move the sections and blocks within your chosen template. Squarespace has many pre-designed blocks like contact forms, social media links, and even an event calendar to make your site one of a kind.

As for blogging, Squarespace comes with a comprehensive blogging platform. The tool is pretty straightforward and easy to use. You can easily create content, add buttons, and manage each post’s SEO setting to make the most out of it.

All in all, beautiful templates, an intuitive editor, and easy blogging make Squarespace a great option for writer websites.

Squarespace pricing

Squarespace has 4 plans, with prices ranging from $16.00/mo to $49.00/mo. In addition, if you simply wish to test out the builder’s functionalities, Squarespace offers a free 14-day trial.

Now, no matter which plan you choose, all come with a free custom domain, an SSL certificate, unlimited bandwidth and storage, SEO features, and basic website metrics.

While every plan has its perks, some are simply better suited for writers. Here’s the ones I’d recommend considering:

• Personal ($16.00/mo) is perfect for a simple blogging website or an author’s portfolio site. It comes with the basic features listed above.
• Basic Commerce ($27.00/mo) should be considered if you’re looking to run an online store. It comes with an array of eCommerce tools and no transaction fee, as well as extras like a G-suite email, the ability to customize with CSS and JavaScript, and advanced analytics and marketing tools.

4. SITE123

SITE123 is a great candidate for authors looking to create a simple yet functional website. The builder offers quick and simple website creation with many functionalities available. With it, you can get a dynamic author’s website up and running in minutes.

Here are some of SITE123’s main appeals for authors:

• Functional built-in blogging platform: SITE123 offers a very functional blogging platform where you can easily post and manage your content. Additionally, the blogging platform also comes with its own analytics, so you can track and improve all your posts’ performance individually.
• SEO Adviser app: This tool is great for both beginners and experienced users as it analyzes your website and suggests changes to boost your site’s search engine ranking. And higher ranking could help in attracting more visitors.
• Multi-language support: If you go for the Advanced plan or any higher, SITE123 allows you to add additional languages to your website. By offering content in different languages, you can broaden your audience.

Building a website for authors with SITE123

As the name itself suggests, with SITE123, you can have a site ready in just 3 steps. Log in, pick a type of website you wish to build, and edit the generated site. Alternatively, you can pick a template and build your site on it. Regardless of the approach, you’ll be working with a very beginner-friendly section-based editor.

First, SITE123 has over 160 all-purpose templates. While they’re not the most modern out there, they are pretty, functional, and responsive. While there are no writer-specific ones, any template can be altered to fit your design needs.

This is where the section-based editor comes in. The editor is pretty simplistic in terms of design flexibility. However, you can easily add elements like contact forms, a portfolio, images, posts, and many more.

You can even mix different templates to get a truly unique site. More so, depending on which plan you choose, you can add additional languages to your site. this helps to cater to international audiences.

Of course, no author’s website is complete without an active blog. So, you’ll be glad to know that SITE123’s blog manager is intuitive and straightforward, with SEO and analytics already built-in to ensure that your posts reach the right people.

In brief, SITE123 offers an easy no-fuss website building experience for all writers and authors alike.

SITE123 pricing

SITE123 has 5 plans that cost between $12.80/mo and $45.00/mo. There’s also a free plan, but it’s very limited.

Talking about the paid plans, all include a free custom domain and the removal of SITE123’s floating tag, as well as allow to connect your own domain.

Although all plans have their own perks, here’s are my recommendations for a writer’s website:

• Basic ($12.80/mo) includes 10GB storage and 5GB bandwidth, which are more than sufficient for a smaller author website or a portfolio.
• Professional ($17.28/mo) comes with eCommerce capabilities, 90GB storage, 45GB bandwidth, website statistics, and the ability to add 3 additional website languages. This plan will be best suited for authors looking to sell their work online.

5. WordPress + builder

WordPress, while not a website builder, is also a must-mention when talking about websites for authors. The content management system (CMS) is the original blogging platform that enables you to create any website you wish. You can customize every aspect, plus you also own everything on your site.

Obviously, WordPress is a CMS and not a website builder. However, it can be paired up with some builders like Elementor, Boldgrid, Bluehost Website Builder, and many more.

But, with that said, let’s see what you can expect from WordPress itself:

• WordPress is the original blogging tool: WordPress, in its essence, is a blogging platform. It’s easy to use, customizable, and can be heavily optimized for search engines.
• Full control over the website: WordPress is open-source software that you can either run on your computer or host it with the help of hosting services. Either way, you own the website’s content and all the rights to it. You can easily sell books, courses, and more without additional expenses except for the monthly hosting fee.
• Can be paired up with a website builder plugin: WordPress comes with its own templates that you can slightly modify. However, to further extend the customization options, you can install a website builder plugin. Some popular ones include Elementor, BoldGrid, and Bluehost Website Builder.

Building a website for authors with WordPress + builder

Building an authors website is just as easy as with any other website builder. First, WordPress comes with a never ending selection of themes that can be further customized. More so, for even more design freedom, it can be paired up with a website builder. As for blogging, WordPress sets the bar with its platform. It is the OG blogging platform, after all.

Let’s talk about templates first. There are quite literally thousands of free and paid WordPress themes to choose from. You can find anything from simple site templates to designer-made writer-oriented ones.

For more design freedom, pair your WordPress with a compatible builder like Elementor, BoldGrid, and Bluehost Website Builder. The builder extension will enable you to create a very personalized site in minutes.

Now talking about blogging, WordPress is the ultimate blogging platform. All tools, features, and available extensions are meant to help you create a highly optimized blogging site. The interface is very intuitive and comes with everything you to write your blog.

Overall, you get the best of both worlds with WordPress installed with a builder plugin. You get absolute control and flexibility on one hand and ultimate ease of use on the other.

WordPress + builder pricing

WordPress itself is free, but you do need to pay for hosting. The latter’s price will depend on what kind of hosting solution and plan you need. For most websites for authors, the cost can be kept below $10/mo.

Two very popular hosting solutions include Bluehost (from $2.95/mo) and DreamHost (from $2.59/mo). Both providers put extra emphasis on WordPress hosting and even come with their own website builder extensions that are WordPress compatible.

Additionally, both hosts offer resource-rich plans with features like free domain names, SSL certificates, email accounts, and more.

How to create an author website: top tips

Contrary to popular belief, creating an author website can be very easy. But, there are a few things that you need to consider before you take the plunge. This includes platform, blogging functionality, eCommerce capabilities, and marketing features.

Let’s take a closer look:

• Builder vs hosting – If you wish to have a website up and running in no time, a web builder might be the better choice. Builders often are very beginner-friendly, yet still offer good design flexibility. However, a web hosting solution offers full ownership of your site. More so, you can add website builder extensions to your site to further enhance design flexibilities.
• Blogging functionality – Make sure that your builder offers robust blogging features and tools. Having a robust and active blog is vital for SEO and engagement purposes.
• eCommerce functionalities – Decide on whether you wish to run an online store or not. If so, look for a builder with an extensive set of eCommerce features. Often builders have a limited number of products or apply transaction fees, make sure to choose a plan that suits your needs best.
• Marketing tools – Whether you’re a bestselling author or new to the scene, you want the full spectrum of marketing features on your site. This helps to establish a strong online presence and reach wider masses of people. Things like email campaigns (to collect a mailing list), keyword optimizations, SEO, and social media integrations are vital to all authors.