For years I’ve kept my author website and my blog separate. I’m not sure why. Maybe I wanted to keep my author identity and blogging persona as two distinct entities. Maybe I wanted different analytics for each one to see which got more traffic. Or maybe I just 
like being difficult.
Regardless of the true reason, I have now merged the two, porting over my author domain to my blog host. AdventuresinThirtysomething the blog can now be found under the ‘posts’ tab on ShannonHollinger.com.
As I’ve been making the transition, updating and condensing material, I keep asking myself – what, exactly, should an author page entail? There’s so much hype about branding and presence and social media that figuring out what to focus on to streamline the process can be overwhelming.
There are no cut and dry rules. I did a quick study of some other author’s pages, both those well established in their careers and those just starting out, and came up with the following 5 areas of focus:
1) How easy is the site to navigate? Can you easily find what you’re looking for? Is the site sparse, tasteful or cluttered?
2) How is the author’s “voice” represented? Is the tone casual, professional, personalized? Do you get a sense of the author from their ‘About’ page?
3) How is the author photographed? How are they posed, dressed, smiling? Is it a studio head shot? An outdoor candid? Do they show their personal style, or do they appear conservative for mass appeal?
4) What does the author place emphasis on? Is their site a billboard for their books, or a platform to meet their readers?
5) How well kept is the site? Are there broken links? Is the information up-to-date? Is the author’s social media presence well represented, or do they suggest you check out their MySpace page?
An author website doesn’t need to be a full-time job. If there’s anything you want to add to the list, any must haves, please don’ts, or random observations, I’d love to hear them!
Shannon Hollinger 
I did notice a big change in your blog. I do have a website that is sitting idle. OK, I have two web sites sitting idle… I need to follow your lead and connect everything up into one. Of course then I would need to keep my website(s) up to date…
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You can do it! I believe in you! 🙂
After the initial time drain of getting all of the information in one place and designing the layout, I’ve found having one page easier to maintain. It kind of forces you to keep it updated because you’re there anyway to add new blog posts. I wish I had merged the two years ago.
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Maybe this winter I’ll find the time to do it. It’s coming to autumn and I can here the NH mountains calling my name, so no web page development for a while 😉
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We had a high of 55 today up here in Conway and the leaves are beginning to turn. Can’t see snow on Washington yet, but soon! 😃
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There was a nip in the air today in southern NH. It was one of the first very fall like days. Still very little color, though.
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LOVED this! I completely understand wanting to keep things operate. At the same time it is such hard work keeping up with all the social media not to mention two blogs/websites. I LOVE how you have merged yours into such an amazing space!
I am in the process of revamping my websites, and I wanted something that was more personable, but more then that, easy to navigate! I think my biggest pet peeve of a website (and not just authors either) is how accessible is it. You have done such a great job! And these are amazing tips! Thanks for sharing! ❤
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Thanks! I love what you’ve done with your site! And it’s SOOO easy to navigate, I love your toggle side window bar for Instagram and your top drop down menu – the first time I saw them I was jealous and wished I had stumbled across that theme and used it instead! It feels very clean, fresh and modern!
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