10 Author and Book Web Sites For Inspiration

Gary Stromberg (Author)

This is a very avant-garde design. Its one downfall is that it is a table-based design. The design itself has a very retro feel. Gary has a large body of work and it’s all neatly organized and easy to find. I could have done with just one video on the front page with a link to more, but it lends a personal touch that is very nice on an author’s web site.

Platform:

Unknown

Design Firm:

Smart Author Sites

Alice Hoffman (Author)

This well-known author’s site is running WordPress. Like Gary Stromberg, Hoffman has an extensive bod of work and it’s all organized quite well, with the latest book featured prominently on the sidebar.

Platform:

WordPress

Design Firm:

Author Bytes

Geraldine Brooks (Author)

Here is another author’s site running on WordPress. It’s very well organized, she also has an articles page and the links to her books are not only on the top navigation bar but also on a panel on the side. I particularly like this design as it is not heavy-handed with graphics and the typography is well thought out.

Platform:

WordPress

Design Firm:

Adrian Kinloch

Jim Collins (Author)

I’m not sure exactly what Jim does. He appears to be a life coach, but for corporations. In addition to featuring his latest book, the site is also a showcase to his large body of whitepapers and videos. It’s design is very clean, with crisp colors that evoke trust. I really like the design work here as well, but rather than have his “Services” link to a generic contact page, Jim could have used that space to expound more on what exactly he does, for people not familiar with his work.

Platform:

Unknown

Design Firm:

Unknown

Nora Roberts (Author)

This is another clean and elegant design, although it suffers from being table-based. Roberts has a lot to offer her site visitors, from merchandise to a forum to press kits and more. The latest book is of course prominently featured on the front page, and there’s a handy scroll box to scroll through all Nora’s books. Typography is excellent here as well.

Platform:

WordPress

Design Firm:

Unknown

Madeleine L’Engle (Author)

This is a gorgeous site and when an author is as prolific as Madeleine, it can be difficult for the designer to keep things orderly. This web site does it beautifully, showcasing each of the author’s books in a logical fashion, and the design is crisp and feminine all at the same time. Well done, Outbox Online!

Platform:

WordPress

Design Firm:

OutboxOnline

Michael Connelly (Author)

Connelly is another busy author, and it is a slippery slope for designers to keep a busy and prolific author’s website from becoming cluttered and difficult to navigate. Connelly’s web site solves this by featuring posts and snippets from his various books and activities on the front page, allowing the viewer to drill down to explore further.

Platform:

WordPress

Design Firm:

Unknown

Espresso Quest (Book)

This gorgeous site is running CMS Made Simple. The design is very clever, using coffee stains as a backdrop. The author offers a preview of the book and has an active blog. This is one of my most favorite designs and I have featured this site at our own showcase site.

Platform:

CMS Made Simple

Design Firm:

R & B Creative

Robert Downs (Author)

A little shame (ful? less?) self-promotion here. We were asked to undertake the redesign of “Manfiction” author Robert Downs, to promote his current book, Falling Immortality, about a hard-boiled P.I. named Casey Holden. Robert stressed all the while he wanted something clean and easy to navigate. He was very pleased with the results we were able to achieve.

Platform:

WordPress

Design Firm:

Pixelita Designs

Between Shades of Gray (Book)

This web site is designed after the book jacket which has a great pastel color palette. While the site is not table-based, it suffers from too much inline styling, IMHO. But the typography of the site is spot-on and makes the site easy to read and navigate through.

Platform:

Unknown

Design Firm:

Unknown

Read More

Here are a few more links to get you inspired about that next book or author web site project!

1. Great Author Websites by AptDesignOnline (2009).
2. 10 Author Web Sites…by The Writing Platform (2013)
3. What to Include in Author and Book Web Sites by Kate McMillan (Outbox Online) (2012)

Are you an author with a book to promote? Why don’t you consider having Pixelita Designs create your next author or book web site? Contact us to learn how affordable a Pixelita Designs can be.

Joni

Joni Mueller has been designing web sites for hire since 2003, when she first blew up her web host’s server by insisting on running Greymatter. Since then, Joni has designed for Blogger and Movable Type, TextPattern, WordPress and CMS Made Simple. She lives with her cat and shoe collection in a bucolic old section of Houston called Idylwood. For some strange reason, Joni likes to refer to herself in the third person. When she’s not working on web design, she’s ordering lawyers around. And blogging about it. Or both.

www.jonimueller.com