“Can I have a Flash movie on my home page? Can my design look like a big desk with clickable graphics? Can I have music?”
Those are just a handful of the questions I’ve been asked when brainstorming a website design with a new client. I could name tons of other examples where clients have seen some cool effects on other sites and are wondering if they could do the same. Some of it’s technically advanced, other stuff is simple, but what all of these features have in common is that they’re visually or functionally impressive.
Every time I’m asked about these things, I groan.
Don’t get me wrong. I love cool visual tricks as much as the next web geek. I’ll agree that Flash animations are pretty darned awesome, if only because they’re fairly easy to do with some fantastic results. I think it’s just wonderful that you no longer need the knowledge of a computer programmer to add these features to a website. All of that is great, and if the client insists, I’m more than happy to do it. Except for music. You have to draw the line somewhere.
What usually makes me caution clients against these things is when they’ve given more thought to those neat effects than to the actual content of their sites. A huge part of my job as a Web site designer is teaching and giving advice on more or less everything to do with my clients’ online presence–the technical stuff, the visual design, and yes, the content. I enjoy giving advice, and I don’t charge a dime for it, but there’s only so much I can do. When you visit a site I’ve created, what you’re seeing is my translation of the client’s vision. All too often, that vision didn’t include spending a lot of time and effort on the actual information to be included on the website.
I can’t emphasize enough what a crucial error this is. Most of my clients are authors, and I can pretty successfully advise them on the basic content that an author’s website should contain. Book information, of course. It’s all about the books! Or at least, it should be. Like me, you’ve probably visited some authors’ sites where you had to do an Easter egg hunt for even the tiniest hint of info about the author’s upcoming book. Looking for a complete, printable back list? You might have to click and click and click until finally you spot a microscopic link stuck in the least obvious spot.
How to create a quality website for an author is a continuing learning experience for me, and these days I’m thinking more and more that we need to get back to the basics. In the early days of the Internet, before all those cool special effects, the focus was on the content. There was text–sometimes well-organized, sometimes not, but usually lots of it. Information that made it worthwhile to visit that site.
I’d love it if more of my clients gave more thought to their content. Clients who know that when it comes to their books, there’s no such thing as too much information. You need the basics: the publishing details, the blurb, the reviews, and please don’t forget the excerpt! But why stop there? The possibilities are endless. Behind the scenes notes. Research notes (you know, the stuff that you learned but still couldn’t actually use in the book?). Images, but with awareness of copyright limitations. Original, unique content that can’t be found elsewhere on the Internet is key. The author’s website is often the only place readers can find info about a series of books, and it’s always the most convenient place to find it. This is still information that quite a few authors don’t include on their sites, much to their readers’ frustration.
It’s entirely possible to have a visually stunning website with tons of meaty content. The designer will take care of the visual part, but the content? That’s up to the author to provide. Writers are creatively minded people who should have no problem coming up with interesting and compelling content that will make visiting their websites a fun and informational experience.
To illustrate what I mean, I’d like to spotlight a handful of my clients that have some great, unique content on their sites:
Elizabeth Hoyt has lots of articles with tidbits she ran across during her research as well as some fun essays related to her books on her Extras page. She also has a special page for booksellers and librarians and one for book clubs.
Sydney Croft’s site has an entire area devoted to more information about the world in the ACRO series, including a page with profiles of the main characters in the series. This is all stuff that can only be found on Sydney’s website.
Dara Girard also has a special section on her website, this one focusing on her wealth of information for writers, including downloadable articles and lots of useful links.
Larissa Ione shares one of her non-writing related passions with her Bestiary section: information about animals and pets, including debunking some animal myths and tons of information about feline diabetes.
And finally, perhaps some of the coolest and most uniqe content you can find on Julia Holden’s website in the Julia’s Paris section. Here you can get virtual tours of Paris with images and videos lined up next to the snippets from Julia’s books that those locations inspired.
Now, I’ve scratched only the surface of my opinions on the topic of content. But what about you? Is there information you feel is sorely missing from a lot of authors’ sites? And let’s give kudos where it’s due: tell me about authors’ sites that you think provide a lot of fabulous content. I’d love to hear what you think!
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There’s a lot of great info here, thanks.
I’ll definitely be bookmarking this to refer to.
My marketing site is pretty bare right now. :/ I only have one short story out at this point and there’s only so much I can say about it, much less excerpt from it, without giving the whole thing away. [wry smile]
I have a separate writing blog, which might not’ve been necessary, but I figured readers coming and looking for info about my stories wouldn’t want to wade through a lot of technicalia about writing and submitting and publishing.
I have some ideas on the back burner for what to do with my marketing blog as I develop more of a backlist. This post has given me more, and some other things to think about too. Thanks!
Angie
Vibeke, I’d just like to congratulate you on Elizabeth Hoyt’s site. I’ve always loved it (that peacock is fabulous) and just thought I’d let you know it’s one of my favorite sites. I know just enough about web design to be dangerous, so went to a professional for my own site, and I specifically didn’t go for any flash or gimmicks. It’s all about the content, I agree.
This is just my two cents, but I am not a big fan of flash on author websites. My computer is fairly fast, but it still takes a moment or two to load. Whenever I can hit “skip through to website” I do. Whatever they have usually isn’t worth the few seconds of waiting to see it. This gets especially annoying for authors whose websites I come back to again and again.
My favorite website extra is when authors have “the story behind the story” or neat little details about the books you can’t get elsewhere.
Great, great post!
Yes, the printable complete booklist is a MUST.
When I discover a new-to-me author,
I LOVE to buy up their backlist.
I’ve found time and time again that I’ve had to search for this information.
Why make buying your books so difficult?
The heavy handed effects on websites
remind me of when PowerPoint was first introduced to the office environment.
Folks were going crazy with the fancy page transitions, etc.
Smacked of amateur night and took focus away from the presentation.
Content is indeed king.
For me, Neil Gaiman’s website is one of the best author sites out there. An obvious choice, but then that’s because it’s well done. It helps that his history and status affords him a lot of content to populate his pages with.
I’m also a fan of the blog format. Recent news is there in the postings, but useful links should be provided to one side. John Scalzi’s Whatever blog is a good example of that.
I personally have kept my site clean and to the point (I’m taking a leaf out of Scalzi’s book when he offered his first, and unpublished at the time, novel Agent To The Stars as a free download). I’ve resisted using Flash and fancy Photoshopping even though I use both programs professionally. If a graphic looks like an advert, people won’t see it. And if a user has to work to find your material, they won’t bother.
:wink:Well-stated,Vibeke.
I’ve interacted a lot with readers on-line and visited a lot of authors’ websites and blogs. I think the most important thing to remember is many people surf the Web when they’re tired and/or busy. They’re on a coffee-break or dinner is cooking or there’s a lull in the kids’ arguing. With that in mind, it’s good to remember the following:
1) Flashy, bright, blinking images are irritating to tired eyes. Rather than capture the attention, they repel. Try to keep it to one or two moving things only.
2) Make your content relevent, short and snappy, and fun.
3) Update regularly and let your readers know when you update, if you want them to come back and find out when your next book will be out.
4) Include pictures of yourself, even informal ones. The human face is reassuring on a primal level.
5) Provide something useful to the reader besides how to buy your books. For example, you may want to post writers’ resources. You’ll probably get a lot of aspiring authors passing through, trying to learn the ropes. Remember, they have a LOT of friends they can gush to about your books. Be very nice to them.:wink:
MOST authors’ sites are bad. And no, that’s not a generalisation. They are black, or purple, have no regard for people who don’t have dial up, or the latest flast, or up to date machines, or are partially sighted… the list goes on and on. Even some of my favourite sites such as Isn’t it Romantic is too image heavy for me to deal with.
I asked a friend to write an article on this topic, which is up on the Erotic Authors Assocation website here. It has some great ideas on it.
http://www.eroticauthorsassociation.com/articles/web-as.htm
Four words of advice: Keep it Simple, Stupid.
K.I.S.S.
Think outside the box when it comes to the “bonus” content.
Nalini Singh had a “Which of my heroes is for you?” quiz, and those are a snap to put together at any of various sites.
If you have a lot of “mythology” behind your worldbuilding, your site is the perfect place to infodump all that backhistory and clarify complicated issues (especially handy if you have a series and a new reader jumps in at Book 3 and needs a crash course on what she’s missed).
I had a mental breakdown and made a short comic strip associated with my (as-yet unpubbed) book.
Interviews with and letters from your characters can be a lot of fun.
A lot of readers find all this “extra” stuff silly, but they don’t have to click on it if that’s the way they feel. Having it there for the people who do think it’s fun, though, is a good way to generate and maintain interest.
Also, try to dole out the extra stuff. People have a reason to come back to your site if they know next week or next month there’s going to be something new to look at.
Thank you for this lovely post.
Busy, flashing sites make my eyes bleed.
No music, even if it’s the Beatles. And may I ask for a readable site? Pleasepleaseplease no more white letters on black backgrounds.
Amen to complete, printable backlists, as well as chronological series information.
I waited years to have my website designed and I’d make note of the designer every time. More often then not Courtney was the designer, so when I found an image I wanted my site designed around, I knew where to go. Just like the Kohler commercial, I emailed her my image and said
“Design around this.” with the following caveats: I wanted it clean to the eye, feminine and sensual and simple to navigate. There was only one bell and whistle that I wanted— A script that enlarged or shrunk the text to whatever size the reader required. Courtney delivered in spades. I have too many contracts to do a lot of extra content beyond the virtual lending library (people on my readers group swap books and we have a circulation system to control inventory, to check them out, put holds etc) and my chat room, so I decided to just go for a site that made life easy for the reader searching for information.
Have I mentioned I love my site? I can’t see myself getting tired of it soon and it can be easily expanded upon when necessary, so it’s basic due to my time contraints, but perfect for my needs and Courtney did a wonderful job.
I’m so pleased to see confirmed here what I’ve always thought. Flash and all the other bells and whistles available for websites are not necessary and not even wanted by most readers.
Whenever I visit a site with a flash opening I skip past it if I possibly can, and if I can’t, I do something else while it’s running. But really, ‘less is more’ is the best piece of advice for almost everything, don’t you think? Less flash, more substance.:wink:
As a reader, I tend to go to an author’s site as soon as I finish a first book of hers/his I’ve loved, especially when I think this author is going to be on “autobuy” soon. But what I’m looking for, then, in this order, is (1) the author’s history — has she always written? Did she used to be an accountant? etc. (2)other books she’s written, and I’m particulary interested in the order they were written, and (3) any details about the book I just read.
I love those little details, like “I wrote this on a train to Austria and had to keep looking at a photo of the California desert to keep grounding myself in the story” or whatever. I don’t want to know *too* much about the *behind the curtain* stuff (because that might ruin the story!), but one or two lines is usually fun. And, since I’ve probably just finished reading the book, I probably can’t get enough of it and would like to read/”talk” about the book with her other fans, or ask questions, or read others’ questions about it, or whatever. I’m usually immersed in the world/characters and would like to know a few more details if possible.
I also will probably read all the exerpts of other books and will use them to decide what to buy next.
I remember being quite satisfied with Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ site — it’s not flashy or anything, but what I remember appreciating is the way she listed her books. She had them in the order she wrote them, PLUS the order the series books went, PLUS she mentioned which characters crossed over, etc. I just remember that being ultra-helpful.
Same with Suzanne Brockmann — again, not a super-attractive site, but the info is all there, and she gives tons of detail about the SEALS, the order of the books, etc.
And J.R. Ward gives a few “extra reads” that make you feel like you can enjoy the characters just a little bit more.
For me, as a reader, I guess, it’s all about finding more info on the books/characters. I can do without the flash, music, recipes, etc. …
Candice Hern’s site is hands down the best one out there IMO. It’s beautiful and it has TONS of information about the time period in which her books are set.
Keep it up to date. If your site was last updated in 2003, take it down or commit the money to keeping it current.
Dear People With Web Pages,
As a reader and netizen, I wholeheartedly agree with today’s post. In fact, I would go one further and say, avoid the fancy stuff and opt for content. Music, flash, blinking gifs–all of that stuff may seem cool the first time you see it, but after the second or third go round of waiting for shit to load, or being told I don’t have the right version of the Flash player, or getting startled by the too-loud crapass midi song you set to load automatically with your homepage, it gets old. And annoying.
Also, I know your stories are deep and dark and full of pain and angst, but red (or any other color) text on a black background? That fills my eyes with pain and angst. Please remember that not every visitor to your site has the best vision.
If you want repeat visitors, keep your site simple. Invest in some great static graphics, if you like, and put up plenty of content. You may have heard this saying a time or two in reference to the web, “Content is King.” Content will keep me coming back. Content will make me love you. That flash video book trailer set to a Casio-keyboard rendition of My Heart Will Go On? Not so much.
Sincerely,
bettie
Wow! Great post and so timely to since I’ve been thinking about a redesign on my website. Lots to think about. Thanks so much!!!!
Angie, aspiring authors and those who only have a short story or two published, like you, have to work all that much harder to come up with extra content. The trick is to consider, at this point in your career, who’s your audience? Who do you want to visit your site, and what kind of info would they be interested in? Approach it from that standpoint, and I’m sure you can find something that’s unique to you and your writing.
Michelle, thank you so much for the compliment! Elizabeth’s site came together very well. I can’t take credit for the peacock, though. It was Elizabeth herself who found it!
There are lots of great comments, tips, and suggestions here! Another good point about Flash and other special effects is that they do often require special programs to be installed, which can turn visitors away from your website.
There’s also the issue that while a Flash movie can look impressive on the first visit, on repeat visits it just slows the visitor down. And it’s incredibly important to encourage people to visit your site as often as possible.
Hi Vibeke! Thanks for the great article. I totally agree with you about book lists on author websites. I usually visit an author’s website to check out their books and it annoys me no end when I can’t even find what books they have written, or what their latest book is about.
And yeah, draw the line at music. I hate it when a website starts blaring music. Makes me jump. Although I think websites with lots of pretty graphics are nice to look at, I sometimes find it a real pain to open the page. Graphics can be troublesome for those of us with slooooow connections.
One of my favourite author websites is HollyLisle.com. Holly has lots of useful info in there for both writers and readers. There’s a huge amount of stuff in there, but it’s pretty easy to navigate.
Thanks for the great article. It’s tough to design a site that not only looks good, but loads fast and has enough interesting things to keep readers coming back for more.
I’ll bookmark this page to share with others. Thanks.
Great stuff, Vibeke!
Vibeke was very patient with me as I redesigned my website. I tried very hard to make sure I had everything a reader would ever want. From series FAQs to articles for aspiring authors, to a NOVELS page that included blurbs, excerpts and reviews, I thought it was pretty much where it should be. Then I realized I needed to arrange my books in series order instead of genre order. Spent a half a day on that and now I think my website is finally where it needs to be. Whew!