Check out this great article by Belinda Pollard, readers!
Simple Website Setup for Authors and Editors in 6 Steps
I am not a geek and wouldn’t know code if it bit me… but I’ve set up multiple websites.
Here is a simple step-by-step list with links to the tools I use.
But wait, what’s the learning curve like?
I launched my first website in 2010 using the Stumble Around Blindly method. I didn’t know what anything was called, and there may have been a little hair-tearing and shouting, but over time I became comfortable with it. Enjoyed it, actually.
The good news for you is that the software has become a whole lot easier to drive since 2010.
I currently manage 3 websites that I set up myself: my editing and writer-coaching site here at smallbluedog.com; my online hub and creative author site at belindapollard.com; and gracewriters.com for Christian writers.
You CAN do it yourself. It doesn’t have to be hard, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.
- DIY has given me a lot of power over my online marketing hubs – when I have an idea, I can jump in and experiment.
- When I want to know how to do something, I just google it. Someone somewhere will have asked that question before, and someone else will have answered it. Initially, I won’t necessarily know how to describe what I’m looking for, but I persevere and solutions emerge.
- I don’t have to wait weeks or months for a web developer to be available when I want to make additions or deletions.
- When there’s a typo, I don’t have to describe it to a web developer five times.
I just login and fix it.
After about 8 years, I also found a guru who now kindly steps in (for a fee) when I encounter occasional tricky things that I’d really rather not research. But the rest is DIY.
This is the basic path I’ve taken with my sites.
