Do Creatives Need Websites?

Or is a presence on social media sufficient?

Photo by Le Buzz on Unsplash

There is ongoing debate about whether or not creatives need to have a web presence in addition to being on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook.

Many authors and illustrators have decided that their presence on social media is sufficient.

Some, who have had websites in the past, have let them crash and burn and seem to have no intention of resurrecting them.

For those who dislike social media, a website is really essential.

One of the troubles with websites is that they can so quickly go out of date, both in terms of content and design.

It is important that an author or illustrator retains control of their site, and that updates are easy to instigate.

There is no point in having a fancy and elaborate website that can only be appreciated on a laptop. A website needs to be mobile-friendly — just as functional on a mobile phone as on a full-size screen.

Many people assume having a website will involve high ongoing costs. Not so.

Annually renewing costs are limited to hosting and domain charges.

An author/illustrator site should cost no more than £50 a year to host and the domain name registration (usually free in the first year) will be a further £10. So that’s £60 a year, or just £5 a month.

A simple WordPress site is relatively straightforward to set up; much more so than it used to be. There are other options but I would strongly recommend WordPress.

Many people will like to have a little help with this initial setup. There are businesses that specialise in website design. Expect to pay upwards of £500 for bespoke design services.

But help can be found from freelancers for as little as £100. My own fee for WordPress setup ranges from £100 to £500, depending on requirements. Most of my freelance time is currently spent proofreading and copyediting but I am always happy to help authors with website issues — updating an existing site, or starting one afresh. Reach out (as they say) if you need some advice.
[Other freelancers can be found on Upwork.com]