If you’re an author, you’ve probably got a website. And if you’re not technically savvy, you’ve probably turned over the design and management of it to someone else, just like we often turn over the pesky details of our business concerns to an agent. But although we all remember (or should) that whether we have an agent or not we need to read every page of every contract and understand the details even if we don’t negotiate those contracts ourselves, we often forget that we should also understand every aspect of the design and management of our websites even if we’ve turned it over to the care of a professional.
Here are eight things every author should know about the design and management of her own website:
1. If your site is accessible to all browsers. How does your site look in Internet Explorer? Firefox? AOL? If you don’t have more than one browser available to you at your home, ask friends and family with different browsers to check your website in theirs.
2. If you have the proper permissions to display any images or artwork used in the design of your site. Often, images on a website will be taken either from stock photography available for free at various sources, or paid for with a small fee by your designer. Make sure you’re not infringing on any copyright.
3. If your design is original and if it’s yours to keep. You pay your designer to create a unique design for your site, but there have been instances reported of designs being stolen from other sites then presented as new and original to prospective clients. Research designers in advance to find out as much as possible about their reputation. Also ask if the design is yours to take with you should you leave that designer in the future.
4. If there is an Amazon Associate or Barnes and Noble Affiliate code in your book cover links that is not your own. If you haven’t signed up as an Amazon Associate or B&N Affiliate, be aware that it’s considered standard practice by some designers to use their own code in their clients’ links without expressly notifying the client. These codes provide potential income to your designer, without your knowledge or permission, if your books are bought using those coded click-throughs to these retailers. Your book cover links should include either no Associate or Affiliate code at all (if you’ve chosen not to participate in these programs) or your own (joining is easy–go to the main pages of Amazon and B&N and click on the Associate and Affiliate programs). Someone may be earning money off click-throughs from your website and it may not be you. Check your links today!
5) If you own your domain name. It’s not uncommon for authors to sign up with a designer and ask them to arrange the domain name purchase at the same time. Make sure that the domain name is put in your name, not the design company’s name. Down the road if you choose to leave that designer for any reason, getting the domain name transferred back to you can become an unpleasant addition to the hassle of switching design management firms.
6) If you’re being illegally charged for free software. There are many programs available that are fun and free to add to your site, like shoutboxes and weather updates and blogging platforms. Find out if the program you’re requesting is free or if there’s a fee (Google for information on the program you’re interested in.) Your designer may charge you for installation and design of the program into your site, but shouldn’t charge you for the program itself if it’s available for free download.
7) If someone is watching your server 24/7. Find out if there is support available at all times where your site is hosted. If your designer goes away for the weekend and the server goes down, someone should be there to reboot it or you’ll lose valuable hours, even days, with your site inaccessible. You should also know whether or not your site is being backed up regularly by your host–and how to back it up yourself.
How to check your traffic statistics. You should know how to get into your CPanel where you can analyze the traffic patterns and interest in the content on your site. Utilizing your website to the best of your ability means knowing where people spend time on your site so you can plan future content to keep them coming.
Do you know all the answers to these questions about your website? Got anything to add to this list? Let me know!
Related posts:
Eight Things Every Author Should Know About Her Own Website
Good tip: don’t pay for free software!…
Love your article! A must-read to all writers who are starting their own websites.
Suzanne,
As a writer and a web designer, I’d like to put my 2 cents into the discussion.
Regarding point - #3 - There is NO WAY that any designer can prevent others from duplicating the same style as your site. On any webpage go to the top line of your browser - select VIEW / SOURCE. Right there you have all of the code for the style of the webpage. Now, you might not have all of the actual graphics, but you can capture nearly everything you need without much problem. In fact, I can generally ‘open’ nearly any website in my web design software and have it 90% of what I would need. While I can guarentee a client I will not resell their design to someone else, there is no way I can guarentee that others can’t.
Regarding the point about only hiring a designer that will keep your site updated for you. That’s a good point. However, there is no way that a web designer could agree to that with a set price in the beginning. If I design a website for $750.00, I just can’t offer free updates whenever the client wants them. I’ll make ‘changes’ for the first few months, provided there was something wrong with the design or something changed. These are not ‘updates’. Also, if your email address, mailing address, etc changes, I’ll make those changes whenever they occur for no charge. But, I can’t be spending hours adding pages, etc and not charging for it.
The point about the registration of the domain name. Put it in your name, not the designer’s name. If something happens and he goes out of business or you have a falling out with him you’ll run into a problem. Put it in your name and renew the registration when it comes due. Forget about the ‘hassle’ talked about with forgetting to renew. Use godaddy.com. They’ll send you notices at 90 days, 60 days, 30 days, 15 days, 7 days, etc. If anyone considers theirself a professional writer and misses all of these notices - well,… maybe they’re not. Don’t worry about hiding the results from everyone? I have about 25 domains under my control. Extra email and spam? Yep! That’s what the delete key is for. If you want to spend the extra to keep it private - go ahead - it’s not a big deal.
By the way, enjoy your blog and several others that you have listed.
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