According to a number of sources, over one-third of websites are powered by WordPress. In fact, the site you’re reading this article on right now is powered by WordPress. A huge part of WordPress’s appeal is that it you don’t have to be a tech-savvy coding guru to use it (although you may still need help), and it offers a ton of pretty user-friendly and highly customizable content for free along with higher-level paid options.
We’ve experienced great success using WordPress here at The Book Couple, and we think it’s a great option for authors. Bluehost (our hosting company) features an article outlining what makes WordPress a great choice for someone looking to build a custom website.
What Is a WordPress Theme?
A WordPress theme is a template that can be customized to fit the aesthetic and functional needs of its users. Basically, a theme is what gives a WordPress website its structure. WordPress features both free and paid themes produced by multiple designers. Elegant Themes is one of them, and they’re the creators of the Divi Builder, a WordPress plugin inspired by their popular Divi theme that allows users to customize their website theme on the front end—meaning literally on the page itself—rather than just using HTML code.
The Divi builder works with multiple Elegant Themes Divi layouts, including the Elegant Authors theme. The Elegant Authors theme does what it says on the box: helps authors set up a website for themselves and their books. The theme includes templates for a home page, blog, event page, shop, and more, all of which is fully customizable. That’s not to say you won’t need the assistance of a webmaster and graphic designer, but it sure makes it a heck of a lot easier to make your own updates and post your blog posts.
What’s the Difference Between WordPress and a Static Website?
Here’s where it gets a little tech jargon-y. A static site is built via HTML code, which never changes no matter where and how you access the website. It requires you to either have personal knowledge of HTML or to hire someone who has that knowledge to build your site, and site changes will be made in that HTML code every time.
WordPress, on the other hand, is a content-management system, or CMS, which allows you to modify and create content on your site without having to touch the HTML code. It uses HTML, but changes are made through a content editor on your WordPress site. This editor works kind of like a middleman between that delicate HTML and you. Even if you’re familiar with HTML, you can utilize this editor, but if you’re not and you still want to build your website yourself, that editor is invaluable. This is great news for authors who’d like a more hands-on role in their own web presence, since WordPress allows you to set yourself up as a site administrator to make changes you might not otherwise be able to affect without knowledge of HTML code.
There are still some elements of your website you might need a webmaster to handle. Even some minute elements of the Divi builder require a basic knowledge of HTML to fine-tune, and a webmaster can be incredibly helpful with initial setup and long-term maintenance and optimization. A webmaster’s knowledge can also be vital in assigning appropriate SEOs and keywords to your web content, which directly inform how visitors find your site via search engines like Google. (Sound complicated? We know; that’s why we have a webmaster, too!)
We’ve created this website, carolkillmanrosenberg.com, and joytoyoubycarol.com using the Divi theme.You can try your hand at building your own website using a WordPress theme or you can hire someone who can set it up for you. Your best bet is to bring on a tech person for troubleshooting, setting up email captures and downloads, and performing other tasks that require a little more know-how. Need a referral? Let us know.
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