Why You Should Care

Homepage is still important

First impression for people Googling you.

Why You Should Listen to Us

Thomas’s company Author Media has built over 100 author websites.

Common Mistakes Authors Make With Their Homepage

Mistake #1 Welcome letter

No one reads these. It makes your website look dated.

Tend to be a symptom of not knowing what to do with your homepage.

Shocking Broca, first line of your novel, first line of your website, same thing …

 

Mistake #2 Cramming content above the fold.

There is no fold.

In professional web design, this is how we can tell if someone has not been keeping up to date.

 

Mistake #3 Desktop First Design

Websites are built with computers.

The temptation is to design the homepage for computers.

Most visitors will be on a mobile device.  

Mobile can’t be an afterthought. It must be your first thought.

 

Mistake #4 Focusing on the author.

No one wants to read your bio on the homepage.

That is what about pages are for. And even then … boredom is not your friend. This is your second chapter …

The purpose of your headshot on the homepage is to help people know they are at the right place. And give them a connection. We connect with people. It’s the way we’re wired.

 

Mistake #5 No clear next step

90% of the time the next step should be to either: join your email list or buy your book.

In one sentence  answer the question: “What do I want people to do on my website?”

Don’t use the word “browse” in your answer.

The purpose of my website is to __________________________________

 

Mistake #6 Sliders

The purpose of sliders is to let your boss put his pet project “above the fold” without having to worry about anyone ever seeing it.

Sliders only work if everyone reads at the same pace.

Sliders break the mobile experience

Good place to hide a dead body.

 

Mistake #7 Paragraph Text

Homepages are for headlines and images

You have seven seconds …

Gross Anatomy once again

Exception: If your homepage is a blog, you can have one paragraph of text per post.

 

Mistake #8 No Clickable Book Cover

People want to be able to buy your book right away, it might be the only reason they came to your site.

 

Mistake #9 No Sign-Up Form

Email is one of the most effective ways to sell books. One of?

Always be growing your list.

Scavenger hunts

 

Mistake #10 Ugly Design

You are not a designer.

An ugly website reduces your credibility.

Either stay close to the theme or hire a professional. Don’t do it yourself unless you can explain the difference between hexadecimal, RGB and cmyk and when and where to use which one in design.  

No one has the guts to tell you your website is ugly.

The easiest way to have a passable design is to stick with white and black. Let the color come from your photos.

Good design will not make your site. But bad design can break it.

 

The key to a good homepage:

Put yourself in your reader’s shoes.

Answer these two questions:

Where am I?

Where do I go from here?

 

Apology

We had a snafu with our RSS feed that caused some people to download old episodes. We apologize for the inconvenience.

 

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