Author Website Design Examples
Looking for inspiration for your own author website design? Below are 20 real author websites recently built on Author Websites by BookBub — with notes on what makes each design work, from color palettes and typography to layout and branding. Each example links to related templates, so if a design catches your eye, you can start from something similar.
Romance Author Website Examples
The best-performing romance sites signal their subgenre instantly, from cozy to steamy.
Michelle Rowen
What We Like: A clean layout where every design element — headshot, book covers, and the logo at the top of the page — works together to introduce Michelle's brand of paranormal romance.
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A. K. Steel
What We Like: The full carousel of consistently styled book covers (and the matching background image) set a tone and highlight A. K.'s depth of titles. We also like the hiding-behind-the-book headshot — a great option for authors who prefer to stay anonymous.
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Lila Appleton
What We Like: That logo! It's whimsical, on-brand with the book covers, and communicates the author's genre.
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Maisy Magill
What We Like: The logo, the butter-yellow background, the book cover, and the illustration of the author drinking something warm combine to make us feel like we're about to step into a cozy romance.
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Evelyn Tanner
What We Like: This is a clean site with lots of content and excellent sweet-romance vibes.
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L. M. Dalgleish
What We Like: The bulletin-board header image, with its coffee and writing notebook, makes us feel like we're sitting down with L.M. as she starts her next novel.
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Allie Car
What We Like: With its green background and illustrated chameleon, this polished site stands out.
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Jude McLean
What We Like: Jude's logo, together with the Surrender book cover, gives the site a strong Irish-romance voice. She's also using her site to promote a preorder.
See Related Templates →Fantasy & Sci-Fi Author Website Examples
These fantasy and sci-fi sites lean into the distinctive visuals on their covers and header images.
Hester Fox
What We Like: A design built around the book: the color palette and watery background image match the cover and evoke a moody, magical tone.
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Alana Rachel Parker
What We Like: The background image complements the book cover without distracting from it, and helps signal the author's genre.
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Khalia Moreau
What We Like: This site has a personal header image that sets the tone for the whole site.
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Paul Cude
What We Like: Paul's site shows how eye-catching imagery — logo, book covers, and site header image — can make a site stand out.
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Richard D. Bailey
What We Like: All the elements of this site communicate the author's quirky style and genre-bending blend of science fiction, horror, and thrillers.
See Related Templates →Mystery, Thriller & Horror Author Website Examples
Here are some of our favorite suspense-author sites. They take different approaches to design mood and tone — but all of them put their books front and center.
Diane Vallere
What We Like: A distinctive logo image anchors this site and establishes a cohesive color scheme, while still keeping a focus on the book.
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Nancy S. Thompson
What We Like: Nancy's striking site design puts the focus on her book covers, showcasing her entire catalog.
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Uilleam Whitedale
What We Like: Uilleam's site — from the candle in the logo to the misty red background image — makes us feel like we're about to step into a haunted house.
See Related Templates →Nonfiction & More Author Website Examples
Beyond fiction, the strongest sites keep it simple: a clear promise, a credible author, an obvious next step.
Kara R. Hunt
What We Like: This site highlights multiple books by Kara, a podcaster. It also manages to keep her bio front-and-center.
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Vivian Buhler, M.D.
What We Like: This site provides a clean, clear, and helpful introduction to both Vivian and her book.
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Howard Veregin
What We Like: A dark custom header image and brooding headshot set the tone for the site.
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Cuddlefish
What We Like: We just love cute, colorful illustrations! This simple site lets these images pop and speak for themselves.
See Related Templates →Author Website Design Tips
A few patterns from the best designs above:
- Create a cohesive design. Using consistent colors, fonts, and moods for your website helps establish your brand. If you're not sure where to start, use design elements from your book cover!
- Signal your genre instantly. Readers should know whether you write cozy romance or horror before they read a word. Your site's imagery, typography, and color should make it clear.
- Keep the layout simple. The strongest author websites use one clear focus per section. They put the book in one section, the author bio in another, the email-collection form in another.
- Prioritize your mailing list. Make signing up for your newsletter an easy, obvious action so you can grow your owned audience and reach them directly.
- Design for mobile. Most readers will see your website on a phone first. Check that your covers, text, and signup form all look as good on a small screen as they do on a desktop.