Author Website Mistakes to Avoid
by David Tortorelli
A website is your chance to make a first impression with readers. Its design, readability, and ease of use is a reflection of both you and your book. When done well, an effective website can do wonders for an author’s career. Whereas a poorly crafted website can result in lost sales and missed opportunities. Here are the top mistakes that you should avoid:
1. The home page takes more than 5 seconds to load
The Internet is a source of immediate gratification where people can find information instantly. People are not used to having to wait when they use the Internet, so they aren’t going to wait for your website to load—especially if they don’t know anything about you (they’ll just determine that you don’t respect their time). This is the reason why websites that primarily use Flash have poor marketing results. People are usually gone by the time the progress bar reaches 20% loaded. If your website’s home page is heavy with images or software that has to load before visitors can determine if your site has information they want, then scale it back to make the page load more quickly.
2. The home page contains more than one paragraph
When people first visit a website they scan the content to determine whether the site meets their needs. You have mere seconds to communicate the value of your home page. Multiple paragraphs require a commitment by visitors that they aren’t yet ready to make. The home page of your website is your opportunity to build a rapport with visitors. It must say, “I have what you want and you’ll find the information easily.” On the home page it is essential that people can scan your page to see if you have what they want.
3. Paragraphs with more than three lines of text
Put long paragraphs on your website’s underlying pages rather than on the home page. Use the home page to let visitors know you are the right author with the right book to meet their needs. Do it in a clear and concise way that tells the visitor what they need to know right away. When people are unconvinced that you have what they are seeking they are not willing to read long paragraphs online in order to find out.
4. Lack of bullet points
Again, since people on the Internet scan content before they commit to reading information, they first need to know whether the information they want is present. A few key bullets summarizing a plot to a novel or conveying what you’ll learn in a non-fiction book will be read far more often than carefully written paragraphs. This means you’ll have more potential book buyers. After your bullet points, use a link to more information allowing those who are interested to learn more. The goal is to create layers of information that enable different people to get the level of information they want about you and your book. With too much information, some people will leave before realizing your book meets their needs. With too little information, some people will not be sure whether your book is what they want. Websites allow you to meet the needs of the widest audience through the use of layered information.
5. Disorganized content in too many locations on the page
A website must be focused. It needs to quickly and clearly communicate essential information. When there is information in different parts of the page visitors don’t know where to start reading and it creates a sense of confusion. Make sure the information on your website is carefully organized and use links to other pages rather than putting all of your content in on only a few pages.
6. Lack of headlines
People go to websites looking for specific information and headlines help them find what they need. Without headlines, visitors waste time searching rather than learning about you and your book. If this process takes too long, they may simply decide you don’t meet their needs. Create headlines that stand-out from the main text and clearly communicate what information is contained beneath.
7. Irrelevant content
One way or another, the purpose of your website is to advance your writing career. Everything contained on it - especially the home page - should reinforce this objective. The concept to keep in mind with all of your website content is focus, focus, focus. For example, I’ve seen authors promote a friend’s website on their home page with: Click here to view my friend’s new website. Visitors follow your advice and rather than learn about you, they have now left your website and are visiting your friend’s. As another example, avoid announcements like your grandchild’s birthday. While both of these examples are nice statements about who you are, they detract from your objectives and don’t meet your audience’s needs.
8. Too many font colors
Too many, or an inconsistent use of, font colors is both distracting and disorienting to people on the Internet. Your website should always be leading people from one place to another and font colors can play an important role in making that happen. Further, font colors can also contribute to making it easier to scan your website. At most use two or three font colors and use them consistently. For example, make all of your headlines one color, your sub-headlines another, and your body text a third. Be sure you choose a background color that works well (white is usually best—there’s a reason why you see it used most often in professionally designed websites).
9. More than two font sizes in the body of the website
Similar to the use of font colors, you want to create a consistent experience for visitors where they can more readily find the information they want. A person’s eyes will naturally gravitate to larger font sizes. Use this natural instinct to draw attention to important information. If you put less important content in larger fonts you will draw your visitors’ attention from more relevant information.
10. Poor color combinations
Some authors who are designing their own websites will combine colors to create a more artistic and dramatic looking website. However, sometimes readability is sacrificed as a result. For example, yellow or pink on a white background and blue on a black background is very stressful on the eyes. Conservative looking, even somewhat boring, websites often yield better results than dramatic websites.
11. Navigation that is not immediately seen
Put your navigation bar “above the fold.” That is, do not place the navigation bar anywhere where a visitor to your site has to scroll to find it. The more work you require of visitors, the more visitors you will lose. Many authors inadvertently hide their website’s navigation bar. Since the navigation bar is the primary way people get the information they want, it is critical to put the bar in a prominent location.
12. Unclear terminology used in navigation
If people don’t know what something is on a website, they generally will not click on it. Make sure the titles in your navigation are clear. Ask friends what they think they’ll find should they click on the different navigation titles on your page. If they get any wrong try adjusting the terminology a bit to improve clarity and expectations. Don’t forget to have a “Buy the Book” tab in your navigation.
By avoiding these common mistakes you will maximize every visit to your website.
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About the Author
David Tortorelli is editor of Author Insider (http://www.AuthorInsider.com), a book marketing website that provides articles, information and tips – written by experts – to help authors raise their visibility and promote their books. Mr. Tortorelli also serves as president of the company that builds websites for authors, Book Premieres (http://www.BookPremieres.com).