10 Best Website Builders for Authors and Writers in 2025

It pains me to say it, but fan mail is mostly a thing of the past. 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 But unfortunately, many authors – even renowned ones – have websites that look uninspired or outdated.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.

The best website builders offer professionally designed templates that align with your genre, along with essential features like blogs, newsletters, SEO tools, and marketing integrations. Some even connect directly with platforms like Amazon and QuickBooks to simplify book sales and financial tracking.

I tested the best site builders on the market to find the best options for authors. In the end, I narrowed it down to 10 that cater to different types of writers. Wix stands out as the best overall choice, balancing ease of use with creative flexibility. You can try Wix for free or keep reading for more author-friendly recommendations.

What We Look For in the Best Website Builders for Authors and Writers

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: An Easy-To-Use Builder That Sparks Creativity

In the same way that changing just a few key words can alter the meaning of an entire paragraph, small details in your site’s design can significantly alter its look. Granted, not every writer is looking to fine-tune every single aspect of their site, but if you’re looking for maximum design freedom, Wix’s is the way to go.

Wix has an extensive library of over 900 high-quality templates (including a dedicated category for the literary arts) that you can customize as much, or as little, as you like. Alternatively, you can let its AI website builder create a custom site for you by answering a few simple questions. Regardless of the route you take, you can further customize your site with Wix’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, even if you don’t have previous site-building experience.

Wix’s versatility doesn’t end with your site’s visual design. You also get access to a huge range of apps and features for creating virtually any kind of site – everything from a book launch landing page to a full author portfolio.

The only thing to be aware of is that although you can access most of Wix’s features on the free plan, you’ll need one of the dedicated e-commerce plans if you want to sell your work online.

Features

• Extensive app market. Not only is Wix one of the most feature-packed builders on this list, but it also offers over 900 apps and integrations that allow you to connect directly to your Amazon page, display real-time reviews, and more.
• Personalized SEO. Wix comes with an AI-powered SEO Assistant designed to give you personalized tips to help you rank higher on search engines.
• Outstanding contact forms. Do you want fans to contact you through your website? How about press inquiries? Wix comes with tons of pre-made contact forms to help you interact with visitors on your terms.
• Separate mobile editing. Wix’s templates are what I would call semi-responsive. This means that Wix automatically resizes certain aspects of your site to work on mobile screens, but you can edit the mobile version separately for an even greater degree of creative control.

Read our expert Wix review for more details.

Wix Author Website Example

Visit website at https://www.taylortyng.com/

2. Squarespace: Stylish Templates With Powerful Marketing Tools

Squarespace is well-known for its trendy, polished templates. However, it offers much more than just great templates and design features. You’ll also get author-friendly features like blogging, ecommerce, and marketing tools.

Its marketing tools are particularly useful if you need to attract new clients or keep your readers up to date on your writing. Squarespace allows you to create stunning marketing campaigns with ease, which you can use to promote your newest books, announce events, or contact potential clients. And if you’re hoping to improve your chances of being discovered, Squarespace has you covered with some of the best SEO tools out there.

There’s no free plan, but you can try out any plan with a 14-day free trial. Personally, I recommend the Business plan, as it’ll let you set up an online store to sell unlimited products, including your books.

Features

• Squarespace Blueprint AI. If you have a specific design in mind, you can use Squarespace Blueprint AI to build your own template. This tool lets you pick pages, sections, and style options one at a time to create a unique look. Plus, you get expert design tips to guide you
• Effective analytics. With Squarespace, you can easily access important information such as bounce rate (what proportion of visitors leave before visiting another page), unique views, the devices that your site is viewed on the most, and more. This information can help you optimize your site to your specific needs.
• Simple yet powerful ecommerce tools. Squarespace’s ecommerce tab makes it easy to set up an online store for both digital and physical products. The friendly user interface makes personalizing your store surprisingly simple.
• Social media marketing. You can use Squarespace’s Unfold mobile app to promote your work on social media. This platform provides custom Instagram templates for photos and videos, plus a variety of fonts, filters, and stickers to elevate your content.

Check out our expert Squarespace review for more.

Squarespace Author Website Example

Visit website at https://www.eileengarvin.com/

3. Hostinger Website Builder: Perfect for Authors Who Want to Get Online Quickly

If you’re pressed for time with publishing deadlines and need to quickly build your website, Hostinger Website Builder can help. White not as advanced as Wix, it strikes an ideal balance between creative control and simplicity, perfect for writers needing a custom website fast.

Hostinger speeds up website building with its user-friendly interface and suite of AI-powered tools. You can quickly generate a website complete with design elements and relevant content using its AI tools. These include an AI writer, image generator, blog generator, and more. Some of these AI tools are only available on its higher-tier plan, which is still more affordable than most competitors.

It’s important to note that Hostinger lacks an app market and has fewer third-party integrations, which might be restrictive if you need an author site with advanced functionality. That said, you still get plenty of customization options, including the ability to choose your colors, fonts, and layouts. Additionally, you can use widgets or embed code to add specific elements like a book-release countdown or display your Amazon book reviews on your site.

Features

• Mobile editing. Hostinger lets you build, edit, and maintain your site from your mobile devices, ensuring you have full control on the go.
• Free domain for a year. With your professional writer’s website, you get a free domain for the first year when you commit to a yearly plan.
• Free business email. Hostinger includes a free business email with 1 GB of storage space for your site. This provides a professional edge in your communications with readers, publishers, and collaborators.
• AI SEO Assistant. Hostinger’s AI-powered SEO Assistant can generate SEO titles, meta descriptions, and keywords for your pages. This helps you optimize content to rank higher on search engines, making it easier for your audience to find your work online.

See our Hostinger Website Builder review for more features.

Hostinger Website Builder Author Website Example

Visit website at https://www.jaredmccormack.com/

4. IONOS Website Builder: A Professional Author Website on a Budget

IONOS is a fast-loading, easy-to-use builder that offers amazing value for those looking for a professional site without having to spend a lot of money. Though you can create multi-page websites with IONOS, its editor is best suited for crafting professional-looking single-page websites such as an author’s bio or a book launch landing page.

Its simple section editor allows you to easily make both broad changes to the overall design of your site and granular adjustments to the position of individual elements.

To get started with IONOS, I strongly recommend the Plus plan. For only $1.00 a month, IONOS offers a free domain for one year, professional email address, 50GB of webspace storage, and up to 200 pages, which is a steal by any measure.

Features

• Integrated photo editor. Enhance your photos by editing them directly in IONOS’s built-in image editor. You can add overlays and backgrounds, use Instagram-like filters, and more.
• AI tools. On the Plus plan and up, you get access to the AI Text Generator and Improver, AI Image Generator, AI Palette Generator helps you maintain a cohesive visual identity and AI SEO Text Generator.
• Professional designers available. If you’d prefer to focus on your craft and leave the website building to designers, you can get one of IONOS’ professional designers to build a custom, fully-optimized site for you.
• Performance checker. IONOS includes a useful performance checking tool to help you diagnose your website’s responsiveness, loading speed, and security.

Read our expert IONOS review for more details.

5. SITE123: Best for Creating a Simpler Writer Website

If you need a simple, minimalist author website, you’ll definitely like SITE123’s efficiency. Everything from its ultra-simple editor to its easy-to-navigate UI is perfect for beginners and busy writers.

Though it has fewer templates than other builders on this list, there’s a nice selection of modern designs. Some of its author-specific features include the ability to add testimonials, a timeline of your work, an event calendar, and more.

SITE123 has a free plan, but it’s limited in terms of features. The affordable Premium plan offers great value as it lets you connect a custom domain and includes online store tools.

Features

• Advanced language features. If you’re a multilingual author, SITE123 offers easy-to-use tools to help you reach an international readership, like an automatic website translator and the ability to edit SEO tags in various languages.
• Easy contact forms. SITE123 offers pre-made templates for various types of contact forms, which can help you get in touch with different interested parties on your own terms.
• Ready-made page layouts. Whenever you add a new page, you can choose from different layouts and customize elements such as slideshow intervals and layout box colors.
• Plugin extensions. Even if SITE123’s tool catalog is somewhat limited, you can add tons of third-party plugins that you can use to add live chats, marketing features, and more.

For more, check out our in-depth SITE123 review.

6. Webador: Amazing Tools to Boost Reader Engagement

If you want to make it easy for your readers to reach out to you, Webador has all the tools you need to succeed. For instance, you can add a rating system and a comment box anywhere on your site, either to boost engagement or gauge your readers’ reaction to a particular book or article you wrote. Also, you can add widgets for social buttons and custom contact forms.

I really appreciated that Webador has beginner-friendly blogging tools to help you create compelling blog posts. For instance, you can add photo albums and videos to your posts to complement your writing. Also, you can share your posts on social media to encourage visitor interaction.

Webador has a solid free plan that includes access to all of its templates, blogging features, and unlimited storage. That said, you’ll be stuck with Webador’s subdomain and ads, which doesn’t look professional. The paid plans are worth the upgrade, as they remove the platform’s branding and ads and provide features such as contributors, customizable forms, advanced reports, and more.

Features

• Multi-purpose templates. Webador offers 50+ mobile-friendly templates, which are formatted to fit any category. Select a template and specify if you want a website, online store, or blog, and Webador will suggest suitable pages.
• Block-based editor. You can use Webador’s intuitive editor to drag and drop any element onto your page and it will automatically snap onto a grid. This ensures your layout stays clean and visually appealing.
• Excellent media streaming widgets. Webador offers media streaming tools such as audio and video players, which can help you promote your work.
• Easy SEO settings. Webador lets edit your site’s SEO settings easily by modifying page titles, meta descriptions, visibility on Google, and more.

Read our in-depth Webador review to learn more.

7. Shopify: Best for Selling Your Work Online

Shopify has top-notch, mobile-responsive themes that put your work in the spotlight. Though they can be pricey, the designs look sleek and professional and include effective built-in tools. Product pages to showcase your books, social media apps to connect with your audience, and even countdown timers for events and promotions can do wonders for your online presence.

Shopify may not have the most advanced customization options, but that makes it simple to build and manage your online store. You can easily add products, track orders, and set up payment methods, all from the intuitive dashboard. Additionally, Shopify ensures a smooth customer experience with features like customer login areas and product filtering to make it easy for your readers to find what they want.

Offering great value, most of Shopify’s features are available on all plans. Even on the cheapest plan, you get access to features such as unlimited products and storage, abandoned cart recovery, and discount codes. Higher-tiered plans provide advanced reports and lower transaction fees. You can use Shopify’s 3-day free trial to test the platform before committing.

Features

• Multi-channel selling. In addition to your own website, Shopify lets you sell on other channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Walmart. You can manage all channels from your Shopify dashboard.
• Built-in email marketing. Shopify’s native email marketing tool lets you send up to 10,000 monthly emails for free. You can send automated emails tailored to your readership, such as welcoming new subscribers, teasing upcoming projects, and offering discount codes to loyal customers.
• Extensive app market. Shopify’s robust app store has over 8,000 free and paid apps. You’ll find plenty of tools for independent authors, such as Lulu Direct for printing and shipping your books and Digital Downloads for selling e-books online.
• Shopify Payments. In addition to offering access to 100+ third-party payment providers, Shopify has an in-house payment solution, Shopify Payments, which eliminates transaction fees. 

Find out more about Shopify in our comprehensive review.

Other Notable Website Builders for Authors and Writers

8. BigCommerce

BigCommerce offers robust e-commerce features for writers who want to monetize through selling (e-) books, bookmarks, merch, journals, and audiobooks. Additionally, its SEO and marketing automation tools can help you reach a wider audience.

That said, BigCommerce’s extensive feature set comes with a steeper learning curve, which might be challenging if you’re new to e-commerce platforms. However, it could be worth the time and effort if you have a large online store or experience substantial traffic during book launches and other events.

9. WordPress.com

WordPress.com is super customizable with tons of themes and plugins, making it a sweet spot for writers wanting a blog to showcase their work and engage with readers. For example, themes like “Author Personal Blog” and “Novel Writer” cater specifically to a writer’s needs, providing an elegant display for written content.

The downside? A steeper learning curve and no access to plugins unless you purchase the Business plan or up. However, this is something I would recommend looking into if you plan to scale your site. The Business plan offers advanced SEO, analytics, and e-commerce capabilities.

10. Web.com

Web.com is a solid choice for authors and writers wanting to get online without fuss. It’s easy to use, offering different templates and tools tailored for writers to showcase their work and connect with readers. These tools include advanced SEO features tailored for literary content, and specialized portfolio layouts that highlight writing samples in an engaging way.

While Web.com’s pricing is higher compared to platforms like Wix, this is balanced by its specialized features and support tailored to the writing community, such as an hour of design support from an expert. The investment in Web.com can be particularly justified if you’re an established author or if you have a strategic plan to monetize your online presence.

How to Build Your Author Website

I know, I know – you’re an author, not a developer! Don’t worry, you don’t need to teach yourself how to code to build a great website to boost your online presence.
This is just a brief overview of the key steps to creating your author website. For a deeper dive and more detailed advice, check out our complete guide on building a website.

1. Choose a website builder. As a writer myself, I recommend Wix. Wix gives you complete freedom to express yourself and comes with all the tools you need to promote your work, maintain your portfolio, host a blog, and more.

2. Design your website. No need to start from scratch! Choose a template that reflects your personality and writing style, then customize it to match your vision.

3. Connect your domain name. A custom domain makes your website look professional and easy to find. Some website builders include a free domain with their plans, or you can purchase one separately.

What to Include on Your Author Website

You may not need all of these, but here’s an author and writer website checklist to help you build your ideal website:

Essential Features

• Home page. Clearly define your niche, highlight your main selling point, include a strong call to action (CTA), and reinforce credibility with testimonials.
• Author bio page. Share your background, inspirations, and what drives your writing.
• Work page. Showcase your published books and other work with descriptions and covers, and include quick buy links.
• Contact page. Make it easy for readers and collaborators to reach you by listing your email, social links, and other contact details.
• Newsletter/subscription form. Grow your email list by offering freebies like guides, e-books, or exclusive content in exchange for sign-ups.

Highly Recommended Features

• Blog. Blogs aren’t just a great way to connect with readers – they also boost your website’s SEO. Engage your audience with regular updates, writing tips, or insights related to your expertise.
• Strategic CTAs. Use calls to action like “Pre-order Now” or “Join My Newsletter” to drive engagement and sales.
• Social proof. Showcase your awards, credentials, memberships, notable features, and reader reviews.
• Legal pages (copyright notice, affiliate notice, and privacy policy page). These additions provide legal protection and should be included, especially for sites selling books or collecting visitor data.

Useful for Some Author Websites

• Online store. If you sell books, guides, or other content, create an easy-to-navigate shop.
• Events & appearances. Keep your audience informed about book signings, readings, or other events.
• Services page. If you offer services, dedicate an entire page to explaining what you do (editing, coaching, or speaking engagements).
• Promotional pop-ups. Promote your latest work, special offers, and discounts.

Some Final Thoughts on the Best Website Builder for Authors

Writers come in all shapes and sizes (and chances are, not one of them enjoyed that cliché), so the best website builder for you will come down to your specific needs. That said, although there are many author-focused website builders, none of them offer the creative freedom or advanced tools you can get with the best general-purpose website builder.

Speaking of which, if creative freedom is what you want, Wix is my top recommendation. Its friendly drag-and-drop editor and myriad apps and features make it an incredibly versatile choice for getting the exact site you want.

If you’re after a builder that will give you a slick site and simple yet powerful marketing tools, Squarespace is the way to go. You also get excellent SEO, blogging, and e-commerce tools to broaden your audience and increase your book sales.

Finally, if you want a custom site as quickly as possible, Hostinger is a fantastic option. Its user-friendly interface and suite of AI tools, including an AI writer, image and blog generators, and SEO assistant, help you get online fast and maintain your site with minimal effort.

If you want to see how each builder stacked up, take a look at the table below:

FAQ

What kind of website does an author need?

Your website should be a centralized place for showcasing and selling your work, as well as communicating with your readers. Wix makes it easy to achieve this by offering templates with useful apps preinstalled, such as galleries, contact forms, and social media integration.

How do I create an author website?

Building your own author website is now easier than ever thanks to the wide availability of website builders. Although there are writer-focused builders out there, I wouldn’t recommend them, as they don’t have the same feature variety and design tools as other website builders. For instance, a general purpose builder like Squarespace gives you access to a robust set of features, plus in-app guidance if you get stuck.

Can I sell my books on my website for free?

Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it. There are a few website builders that will let you create an online store for free, but you won’t be able to connect your own domain to your site, and their free ecommerce features tend to be very limited. If you’re on a budget, I recommend IONOS Website Builder, as it offers a suite of ecommerce features for only $1.00/month.

What is the best website builder for beginners?

I recommend SITE123 for most beginners, as it offers an extremely easy editor to help you build and design your site. Hostinger Website Builder is another beginner-friendly option that gives even more creative control without a learning curve. That said, every person will have different needs and tastes. If you want to find the best builder for you, I recommend that you check out our list of the top website builders in 2025.