Note to reader: The Booksnapper Author Theme is no longer available for purchase.
Changing the WordPress theme once you’ve invested valuable time and energy into building and customizing your author website is not advisable. I know because, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I learn things the hard way.When I set up my original author website in 2011, I used the Twenty-Eleven WordPress default theme, only to discover later that there were themes available built especially for authors.
Unfortunately, there are hundreds of author themes to choose from, and, for the technologically disadvantaged like me, a lot of choice is not always a good thing. I threw up my arms and called it a day after viewing only a fraction of them.
Also, not all themes are created equal. Some, if uploaded from outside the official WordPress Theme Directory, are actually unsafe.
Add to that the fact that website themes involve customizations that aren’t easily transferable if you decide to switch to another theme later.
Book Snapper WordPress Theme
Let me save you a lot of theme-searching headache by introducing you to Book-Snapper, a WordPress theme made especially for authors.
Book Snapper gives you:
- Social Media Integration
- A way to showcase your books
- A section where you could put a book trailer up
- A way to highlight the latest blog posts
- An easy way to get people to sign up to your mailing list
- And more
When users visit your website you have to impress them quickly because they don’t stay long.
According to Jakob Nielsen of the Nielson Norman Group:
…the first 10 seconds of the page visit are critical for users’ decision to stay or leave.
If the Web page survives this first — extremely harsh — 10-second judgment, users will look around a bit. However, they’re still highly likely to leave during the subsequent 20 seconds of their visit. Only after people have stayed on a page for about 30 seconds does the curve become relatively flat. People continue to leave every second, but at a much slower rate than during the first 30 seconds.
A Website Theme that encourages visitors to stay.
The Book Snapper website theme arranges the information on your site in a way that increases the likelihood that your visitors will outlast those initial 10 seconds and maybe even buy your books.
Now that would be a true sign of success.
The price was right, so I purchased the Single-User version, and I’m glad I did. In fact, now I wish I’d ordered the Multi-User version, since I plan to convert the Twenty-Eleven theme I used on my main author website to Book Snapper.
In my next post, I will share step-by-step documentation on the latest version of Book Snapper.
In the mean time, click here if you’d like to research additional WordPress author themes.
Superb blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own site
soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed ..
Any tips? Thank you!
Hello Benidorm. I’m so sorry it took a month for me to respond to your comment. I’ve been neglectful of my website, busy trying to get my next book ready for publication. As to hints for aspiring writers–My advice would depend on your confidence (and determination) in tackling the learning curve necessary to build your own website via a paid option versus a free platform. If you are still writing your first work of fiction or nonfiction and you are not ready to delve into serious marketing, I would go with the free platform to learn the ropes. Keep in mind, though, that all your site content will have to be transferred later to a paid option if you want to get the most out of your author website. Which ever way you go, I would encourage you to stick to WordPress.com or WordPress.org as explained in one of my previous Build Your Own Author Website lessons. You can also go with a free author “theme” offered by WordPress rather than paying for one, until you get comfortable with the process. The other option, is to pay a professional Website Designer, such as that provided by my friend Amy Isaman at https://www.entwinewebdesign.com/. She offers the option of building it for you completely or helping you create your own. She offers a free 30-minute charity call to see if what she offers is right for you. Hope this helps, my friend. Becoming a writer and marketing your work is not for the faint of heart. But the rewards are worth it.