The book market is highly competitive, with many authors publishing books regularly. Making an author website can help you sell more books and build your brand awareness. This article provides five tips that you can't ignore in creating an efficient author website. 

1. Make it easy for visitors to buy your book
One of the most crucial goals of an author's website is to help you sell your books. So, purchase links to major retailers are necessary; you should prominently display them in a structured, well-ordered way on your website. But don't give readers too many retail options because too many choices can confuse readers and hurt your sales. Three retailers are enough. Let the reader choose the format at the point of purchase. Or you can create a universal link that directs readers to your book’s page on their preferred retailer with just a single link.

2. Tell people who you are and where to find you
Your author site needs to provide basic information about you to your visitors. It should be easy for visitors to find your brief biography, contact information, and links to your social media. Your bio doesn’t have to narrate your complete life story. It doesn’t even need to be true when you write under a pen name. But still, try to be honest and personal in your approach to readers. 

3. Get visitors' email addresses
Don't miss the opportunity to turn most of your visitors into potential fans and readers of your work. Online visitors are not likely to return to your website without good reason. So, your author website should focus on capturing visitors’ contact information. Use it to build your mailing list, so you can engage interested readers with regular, fascinating newsletters and alert them to your latest book. At the very least, have a section on the homepage that asks people to sign up for your newsletter. Then, when you’re ready to take things to the next level, add a lead magnet. 

4. Your photo shouldn't be the highlight of your visuals
The visuals on your website shouldn't be a large photo of you. You may see this on the websites of famous authors with a personal brand, and it is an excellent strategy for them. But if you're starting out as an author, that is not a good strategy for you. What's the point when your target readership has never set eyes on you before. Instead, your design should highlight elements of the cover art of your books. Of course, you should have your photo on your bio page, which is an essential element of your site. But don't make your picture the center of your visuals unless you're famous. 

5. Let your theme emphasize your brand
Understand your author brand and how to demonstrate it to your audience through the design of your website. If you write contemporary thrillers, having a website with a papyrus scroll background and text in Comic Sans tells a different story. But a simple, bold color scheme with clear text matching the fonts and colors used on your book covers gives a perfect representation of your brand. So, ensure the theme of your website aligns with and accentuates your brand.