The Top 3 Website Platforms for Authors & Illustrators
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE:
The Top 3 Website Platforms for Authors & Illustrators
Squarespace Rating: 10/10
Wix Rating: 9/10
WordPress Rating: 5/10
“Which website platform should I use?”
You need a website, but there are a seemingly infinite number of website platforms where you can build your website (or hire a designer to build your website for you). Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, GoDaddy, Weebly, Nexcess…the list goes on and on. So how to choose?
If you’d like a brief overview, you can watch this video. Or jump into the blog below for a more in-depth look.
Video Disclaimers:
When I say “website design company” in the video, I’m referring to the platform on which the website is built. While these sites may have templates you can utilize, they will not build your site for you!
I mentioned that WordPress can handle the security requirements of your site. While it can, upon further research, I’ve realized this is a manual and time-consuming process on WordPress (versus Squarespace and Wix automatically handle security for you). For more details, hop to the WordPress section below!
The Top 3 Website Platforms for Authors & Illustrators
Let’s discuss the three most popular website platforms: Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress.
I'm focusing solely on the three most popular and commonly used platforms as they have the best functionality and the most support available to their users. Versus smaller website platforms, which often end up having one of two fates:
They run a greater risk of going defunct, in which case your website is out of luck.
They get purchased by a larger company, in which case your website ends up having to migrate to a larger company anyway.
That’s why, in my opinion, it's easier and safer to go with a larger website platform.
Squarespace: 10/10
Squarespace is the company I use, and while I am biased, I think it's for very good reasons.
Aesthetics & Functionality
Squarespace has amazing aesthetics. If you invest in a professional designer, your website will end up looking beautiful and well-branded. Squarespace also has fantastic functionality, which means you can do whatever you want on your website, from contact forms to events pages, and more.
E-Commerce & Blogs
Squarespace is known for its e-commerce options. Simple to set up, easy to maintain, and with a simple interface for customers. So if you ever want to sell merchandise or if you are self-published and want to sell your books directly to readers, Squarespace is fantastic for this.
Squarespace is also known for having some of the most robust blogging capabilities of any website platform out there. So if you're an author looking to start a blog, then Squarespace is definitely the site for you.
Ease of Editability
Authors often have to edit their websites as the years go by. If your book receives a new review, or you want to change a picture or add some new book signing events to your website…all of this is going to be very easy on Squarespace as the editing options were created to be simple and intuitive.
For clients who work with me, I will create a walk-through video on your site that shows exactly how to edit everything for easy updates.
But even without that, it's very simple to make changes to a Squarespace website as there isn't a clunky, separate admin section that you have to crawl through (ahem, I’m looking at you, WordPress!). Plus, in most cases, you shouldn't have to custom code, making edits easy for the average non-code-speaking human.
Simple Security
Another great thing about Squarespace is that it has all of the security settings and measures that you need built-in.
Many authors don't consider security when choosing their website platform, but it is vital.
After all, getting hacked might be one of the most stressful experiences out there. Plus, sometimes when you click on a website, you get that alert that says, “This website isn't secure” or “This website might be fraudulent. Are you sure you want to proceed?” You don't want that popping up when people search for you! But Squarespace has taken care of all that, so you don't have to worry about it.
Live Support and Countless How-To Articles
The last reason Squarespace is my top choice is due to its amazing support options. These will be vital as you maintain your website.
First of all, Squarespace has a massive and amazingly detailed library of how-to articles. Anything that you want to update on your website—from simple things like replacing a photo to those quirky little things that you never really think about (like replacing the little favicon icon in the tab of your Internet browser)—you can just Google “Squarespace how to ______” and there's going to be an article. It'll walk you through step by step how to make that edit, often with pictures or a little video tutorial.
In addition to a vast library of support articles, Squarespace also has live humans who can help you. Hop in a live chat or send them an e-mail; they're super responsive and will stick with you until your problem is solved.
Built-In Search Engine Optimization
Ah! One more thing: Squarespace has built-in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tools to help your website rank higher on Google. This includes clean code, optimizing content, and easily adding meta descriptions and keywords…again, these are website features authors might not immediately think of, but they are essential to a well-functioning site that actually gets seen!
Simple Pricing Plans
Okay…now this is the last one (blame my brain…or my love for Squarespace 🤷♀️). Cost-wise, Squarespace is comparable to most website platforms. There are several pricing tiers, so you can choose the plan that best fits your needs and budget. If you’re a newer author, you can almost always start at the lowest tier. Then as your career and website needs grow, you can easily upgrade.
Wix: 9/10
While Squarespace is often hailed as the top platform for authors due to its user-friendly design and comprehensive features, Wix offers a close second, providing many of the same benefits.
Aesthetics & Functionality
While I think Squarespace is a tad better, Wix and Squarespace are kind of like twins. From event pages to connecting with readers, anything you can do on one platform, you can do on the other. I know a lot of website designers who use Wix and love it, and I’ve seen beautiful websites created on Wix.
E-Commerce & Blogs
In terms of e-commerce, Wix is generally considered as capable as Squarespace. With blogging, on the other hand, Squarespace’s features are slightly more robust, so keep that in mind.
Ease of Editability
Wix is known for being simple and intuitive when editing. Like Squarespace, it's not coding intensive. However, its platform is slightly different from Squarespace's, so switching from one to the other will require a bit of a learning curve.
Simple Security & Support
Wix has all the security settings that your website needs already built in, keeping things simple. They also have easy-to-use SEO settings, so there are no problems there.
Wix does have how-to articles, but their library of articles is not quite as extensive as Squarespace’s. However, they do exist and are available for you to utilize. Plus, Wix has a live support option if you need to reach out for any issues.
Slightly Misleading Pricing Plans
In terms of pricing, I want to warn against Wix’s “free” plan.
I’ve had authors who want to use Wix solely because of its “free” plan. While technically you can create a website on Wix for free, you will have to pay to upgrade your plan in order to do the most basic (and essential) things.
For instance, connecting your domain name and removing Wix’s branding from your site both require a paid plan. Without a paid plan, your website will have a randomly generated gibberish domain AND Wix’s branding. Not only do these look unprofessional, but without a custom domain, it will be more difficult for readers to find your site on Google.
So when comparing Wix and Squarespace pricing, start at Wix’s lowest paid plan, as their “free” plan really isn’t an option.
WordPress 5/10
The last option is WordPress. Full disclaimer: I do not like WordPress. I do not recommend anyone use WordPress. However, as it is one of the biggest website platforms out there, I am including it on this list.
Aesthetics
Because WordPress has been around so long, its sites can very easily look outdated. Some of the ways WordPress puts their templates together have long gone out of fashion, so looking dated is a risk if you use this platform.
Functionality & Editability
WordPress is the OG website platform that existed before pretty much anyone else, and it's stuck around because it's really robust and has a ton of functionality.
The reason I don't recommend WordPress is that it has a steep learning curve and is not easy to use.
While WordPress is the most widely used content management system (CMS) in the world—due in part to its vast range of functionalities—it can be overwhelming for authors who are looking for a user-friendly platform.
Quite simply, WordPress is more complex and outdated than newer platforms like Squarespace or Wix.
Functionally, you can do anything you need to on WordPress; it's just not easy and can take a lot of custom coding. One of my least favorite things about WordPress is that it has an admin portal that can get really clunky when you're trying to edit things. While I haven't built a site on WordPress, a company I worked for had their website on WordPress. Editing content was not always simple and took more work to figure out how to use.
E-Commerce & Blogs
Can WordPress do anything - and I mean anything - that you need it to in the world of e-commerce and blogs? Absolutely.
Will these features be simple to set up or easy to maintain? That’s…slightly more complicated.
In the best case, maybe. After you get used to the clunky admin panel. But in all probability, WordPress is likely never to be as simple as Squarespace and Wix. Those two sites were specifically built for non-coders to be able to maintain in a simple, intuitive way. Whereas WordPress was built by coders, primarily for coders.
And as someone who used to work in the technology industry, let me tell you - coders live in a world of their own. Trying to translate their language to non-coders? Cringe.
Slow Loading Times
WordPress sites can become slow if you don’t know how to properly optimize them. A slow load time hurts your SEO ranking and increases the chance that your website visitors will give up waiting for pages to load and leave your site.
To keep a WordPress site running smoothly, you might have to invest in premium hosting services or install additional plugins. This increases both the complexity and cost of maintaining your site. Versus Squarespace and Wix optimize your website speed for you, allowing you to focus on other things, like writing your books!
Self-Maintained Security
For security and maintenance, WordPress can be problematic. Unlike Squarespace and Wix, which handle security updates automatically, WordPress users are responsible for managing their site’s security. This adds an additional layer of complexity and potential stress, especially when you’re trying to focus on writing.
To keep your site secure, you may have to update your plugins regularly, install firewalls, and implement malware scanners. This can not only be time-consuming but requires a fair bit of technical knowledge that the average person usually does not want to have to take the time to acquire.
Hit-And-Miss Support
In terms of technical support, I've heard some negative things about WordPress’ responsiveness. However, I've also heard people who like WordPress, so take that with a grain of salt.
WordPress has been around for so long that finding a how-to article or video can be a bit of a challenge due to overwhelm. There are a billion how-to articles created by a billion different people, but since WordPress has gone through so many years and iterations, finding an article for the version of WordPress that you are using might take a little extra work.
Additive Costs
Similar to Wix, the cost of using WordPress can be misleading.
While using WordPress is technically free, you’ll have to pay for web hosting, themes, and plugins to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing website. In other words, it's easy for the price tag to keep inching upward in unexpected ways. Versus Squarespace and Wix include hosting, design, and SEO tools in their subscriptions, thereby avoiding unexpected costs.
In short, WordPress fails to automatically provide a lot of features that are built into Wix and Squarespace. That, along with its clunky admin portal and outdated aesthetics, land this platform very solidly in last place.
A Clear Hierarchy
Squarespace lands in first place as the best platform for authors and illustrators. Wix is a very close second, while WordPress is a very distant third-place option for individuals who already have the technical know-how to manually maintain a site's technical aspects.
In short, if you want a simple platform that allows you to focus on your craft and avoid stress about the technical aspects of your website, then skip WordPress in favor of the more modern options of Squarespace or Wix.
Ready to get started with your author website? Let’s chat!
