Authorlicious has everything author websites need

As an author, your website is your hub. It's like home base on the Internet. You need a good presence on Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter and Facebook, but having a stellar website is the axis that they all spin around.

My own author website is here at ScottAndrewJames.com. It's not bad for DIY on a free Wordpress theme. I give myself about a 5 out of 10. But a few weeks ago I looked at it and realized it's missing some key components. I started wishing people could see my Amazon reviews and my GoodReads author account, and that it featured my book a little more, and just that it looked a little more, well, polished.

Enter Authorlicious, by 30 Day Books. 

Laura and Brandon, founders of 30 Day Books, built a Wordpress theme especially for authors. Wow. I bought it last week and will be converting my site as part of my author platform spring cleaning push. I'll check back in and share my new site at the end of May.

Here's why I am so excited:

1. Integration: They basicallly built the theme I was dreaming about. Their theme has widgets for Amazon reviews, GoodReads reviews, a blog tour calendar, a Facebook page preview, purchase links, etc.

2. Help: I'll just quote them on this point: "WordPress can be overwhelming with all its features and options. So we’ve organized the settings you need in one place, with helpful instructions and videos to guide you along the way." That's exactly what I want.

3. Book Portfolio: They specifically built the site to display books. No more mucking around with pictures in Wordpress for me to get it to look right. Their site is laid out to make displaying my book(s) with a description, etc. in mind.

4. Little Tech: Their site says you don't need to know anything about tech/coding/etc. I know enough to be dangerous, sometimes to my own projects, but I spend a lot of time Googling the bits I don't know how to do. It's reassuring to know that they set out to make a site that is easy to use for those of us who want something beautiful but don't really know how to code.

5. Cost: Authorlicious is just $45. For that, you get a customizable theme + tutorials from them + a year of email support. That's a steal.

Have you checked out Authorlicious? What do you think?

Image courtesy of Authrolicious.com screenshot