Self-Published Author Website Masterclass

Build your author brand to market readers and grow your audience, while showcasing a clear image, about page, and cohesive branding across profiles and a gravity bar.

Gravatar avatars follow you across the web, appearing beside your name when you comment or post, helping establish your online author brand by linking an email to an image.

Choose a dot com domain with your name or pen name to brand your author site; consider other top-level domains and later redirect to your Amazon's author central page.

Learn how to choose and buy a domain name for your self-published author website, including selecting a memorable name, weighing keywords, and prioritizing a dot com extension.

Forward your memorable or keyword domain to your Amazon Author Central page to promote all your books, using web forwarding to point readers directly to your author page.

Host your author website yourself with affordable shared hosting from Bluehost or HostGator, and consider Bluehost optimized WordPress hosting for faster load times and better Google ranking.

Learn how to purchase a hosting package for a self-published author website, with options for fiction versus non-fiction and optimized WordPress hosting.

Propagate your domain by linking your registrar with your hosting provider's name servers. Copy the name servers into DNS settings and expect propagation within about 1 hour to 48 hours.

Learn to assign a domain to your hosting account by updating name servers, propagation, and using cPanel to set it as an addon with a directory and subdomain.

Choose WordPress for author websites due to its history, ease of use, and flexible content management, plus free access and customizable themes, skins, and plugins.

Install WordPress automatically in cPanel by selecting your domain or subdomain, submitting, and configuring the admin password, then verify installation success with the test page.

Configure WordPress basics by reviewing the admin dashboard, managing themes and plugins, adjusting user profiles, and fine-tuning site settings, including title, tagline, and permalink structure for better SEO.

Set up your domain and hosting, launch a WordPress author site with a premium theme, then publish an about page, contact form, blog, and a back catalog with purchase links.

Publish regular, value-rich content on your author site, informative blog posts, free videos, and early previews, to engage readers, build relationships, and boost Google search rankings through user engagement.

Learn the key distinctions between posts and pages in WordPress, including how posts are timely, categorized, and social with RSS feeds, while pages are static, timeless, and highly customizable.

Create engaging posts in WordPress by drafting titles, selecting categories, adding media, linking to sources, and setting a featured image, with SEO metadata and publishing workflow.

Learn to manage post categories by assigning, editing, and deleting categories, creating Slovak history, and setting slugs and optional parent categories for better organization and search engine optimization.

See how to create and edit tags, assign them to posts and categories, and automatically generate slugs for consistent organization.

Install and activate WordPress plugins, search the plugin library, and upload zip files. Choose WP Ultimate Recipe to publish Czech and Slovak recipes in a dedicated recipes section.

Learn to create plugin-powered posts by adding recipe posts with WP Ultimate Recipe, set categories, tags, ingredients, courses, and cuisines, include images, descriptions, and step-by-step methods.

Craft a plugin-powered post by adding step-by-step recipe instructions with optional images, notes, and a featured image, then publish your recipe card page with categories, servings, and social sharing.

Learn how to use WordPress custom page templates to create pages with or without sidebars, view sample pages, and edit pages in the dashboard.

Create a contact page in WordPress using the Contact Form seven plugin. Configure the default form fields, shortcode, and mail settings, then test and customize the layout.

Create an about page for the Slovakia heart of europe website by adding content, media, and metadata, then publish and refine the bio, background, and related keywords.

Create and customize a navigation menu by adding about and content pages and labeling them. Add a home link via a custom url, position it first, then save and refresh.

Install and activate a book plugin in WordPress to create a new book page for Letters from Slovakia, then configure SEO, formats, ISBN, language, and edition details.

Learn how to create a book page by adding a summary from Amazon, uploading a cover image, setting genre, series, tags, retailer links, and publishing the page.

Set up a parent books page and place three book pages beneath it in the navigation. Add title, description, and keywords, then arrange them in the menu.

Add and configure widgets in WordPress with the thesis theme, placing a books widget and a search widget in sidebar one, then customize titles and test search results.

Learn to create customized sidebars for pages, posts, and more in WordPress by installing a custom sidebars plugin. Then add page-specific calls to action and signup prompts.

Master customized sidebars using widgets for books by David James, recipes, and posts, featuring 300-pixel covers, color tweaks in skin design, and a recent posts widget.

Learn how to source fonts for self-published books, websites, and print-on-demand products, and navigate font licenses for commercial use. Explore font marketplaces, bundles, and free options while avoiding licensing pitfalls.

Explore the current state of print on demand and its opportunities for writers and creatives. Learn how Merch by Amazon leverages Amazon's marketplace for royalties, Prime shipping, and low-risk design-to-sale.