    Design
Servers
Web Authoring
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Publication Validation
Publicity
Last updated: 10/24/04 Comments? Questions? E-mail me. Before
you do anything else, spend some time checking out the websites of other
authors, especially authors who write the same sort of books you do. This
will help you get a feel for web design, and to make content and design decisions
for your own site.
Below are some general resources to get you started.
Top of Page  There are lots of servers that provide space for web pages free of charge.
Yahoo provides an extensive listing.
Your ISP may also provide you with free webspace; if so, your ISP's website should provide details. And there are
a number of free "authors' communities", such as AuthorsDen.Nearly all the freebies include extras, such as pagebuilder utilities, graphic libraries, FTP, e-mail, etc. However, while they're a bargain in terms of space, many of the free providers have various disadvantages, such as slow loading times, design impositions (such as a uniform frame for websites--this is especially common among the authors' communities), a limited number of pages (a problem if you have expanding content, such as articles or reviews you want to regularly place online), and intrusive advertising. A word of advice: think long and hard before deciding on a provider that forces you to use popup ads (those little screens that appear before the website itself loads, or which remain on your screen after you exit the website). Popups were relatively rare when I put this website online in 1998. But they're nearly ubiquitous these days, and they're right up there with midi (sound) files and the overuse of animated GIFs on my list of Most Annoying Things About the Internet. Like a lot of people, I use popup-blocking software, but even so I sometimes encounter popups that freeze my computer or cause my browser to crash. If the popup is limited to the index (main) page of your website, it's not so bad: visitors who don't have popup blockers can minimize it and it won't bother them again. But some servers force popups--sometimes multiple popups--on every single page of your site. People who run into these may leave without investigating further. (On a related subject: I've run across some websites where authors use popups to good effect--for instance, to draw visitors' attention to contests or special events. However, if you're considering something like this, be aware that a lot of people do use popup blocking software, and won't see your special popups.) I'd also advise you to think carefully before joining one of the free authors' communities such as AuthorsDen or Published.com. Some of these communities don't let you work with code, so you can't build the META tags that help search engines find you (see the section on publicity, below) and your website may not appear if someone does a websearch on your name. Also, these communities are often populated by large numbers of self-published authors, and as such tend to be regarded as less than professional. Despite what self-publication advocates may tell you about changing attitudes within the publishing industry, among readers the "stigma" of self-publishing is still pretty strong. Even if you are self-published, it's a good idea to disassociate yourself from other self-pubbed authors. In my opinion, it's worth paying for a server in order to avoid the problems noted above. If you're a genre writer, or a member of a professional authors' group, you may be able to get a website at very low cost. SFF Net, for instance, where this website is located, offers webspace for science fiction, fantasy, and horror authors. Eclectics.com hosts romance authors. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America offers web design services to members. And the Authors' Guild recently began offering low-cost websites to members. How much space do you need for your website? Probably not as much as you think. This entire website, for instance, takes up less than 1.5mb (of course, I don't have great numbers of graphics, animations, or midi files). For an average website without big graphic files or a lot of tricky technology, 5mb is plenty. Note that some webspace providers have objectionable clauses in their Terms of Service (TOS) agreements, such as claiming the right to re-use webpage contents in various formats and for various purposes. The likelihood is that this will never happen; but you can't be sure. AOL (whose TOS claims the right to re-use anything posted in its chatrooms) recently announced plans to publish a book of excerpts from chatroom conversations about the September 11th terrorist attacks. Some AOL users are not happy about this. Be sure to read the TOS carefully before committing yourself. Graphical Software
Graphical (WYSIWYG) web authoring software works a lot like a desktop publishing program, allowing you to view your webpage-in-progress more or less exactly as it will look online, and to work without using HTML. Graphical software is fairly easy to use, and the convenience of mouse-click formatting and drag-and-drop can't be beat. Plus, it's nice to see what your webpage looks like as you assemble it, rather than staring at a page of text and code. I wouldn't recommend, however, that anyone use graphical software as a substitute for knowing HTML. In order to use the software most effectively (and to accomplish extras like adding webrings and counters to your site), you really do need to be conversant with HTML. The disadvantage of the graphical programs is that they lock you into their own HTML styles, which won't always validate (see the Validating Your Site section below for the importance of validation). Most include an option that allows you to work directly with HTML if you wish, but here again the programs have their own way of doing things, and they may alter code you import or write yourself. Most WYSIWYG software isn't free, unfortunately, though some companies do let you download demo versions. The very nice software I used to create this website, Visual Page, is no longer available.
Text Editors
With a text editor, you work directly with HTML, rather than with a graphical interface, but a variety of tools make it easier. Some HTML editors are free, and many are inexpensive shareware. But some are as pricey as the graphical products.
HTML Resources
As I mentioned above, it's not a good idea to embark upon making a website without understanding at least basic HTML, no matter what kind of software you choose. There are a host of excellent HTML tutorial and help sites on the Web. Below are a few I liked; you can find many more in Yahoo's HTML Guides and Tutorials Index.
General Resources
Useful for general information, as well as for those who want to go beyond HTML.
Other Options
Many of the free webpage providers include pagebuilder utilities with templates and tools that make it possible for you to create a webpage online. The later editions of Netscape offer Composer, a pretty nice web authoring option. And ZyWeb,
an Internet services site, offers a nifty feature that enables you to make a webpage from scratch using just your
browser. There's a free 30-day trial, but if you want it permanently you have to pay.Freebies aren't nearly as
common on the Internet as they were when I first put this site online, but there
are still an amazing number of places where you can get free backgrounds, graphics, guestbooks, counters, and lots
of other embellishments for your website.
Follow Internet etiquette, please: if the site owner asks for a link or a credit, be sure to provide it.
Top of Page  FTP (File Transfer Protocol) programs are used to upload webpage files to the server, and download them again
for revision. You probably already have an FTP program, either through your server, your web authoring software,
your Internet service provider, or your web browser. If not, some FTP resources are below.
You can find more in Yahoo's
FTP Index.
I know I'm going to reveal myself as incredibly stupid, but I can't be the only one who has made this mistake
(I hope), and I would have been very grateful if this had been made clear to me. So here goes....
A webpage is a text file. It contains text with embedded code that tells browsers how to display the text, and also how to display the graphics (backgrounds, headings, and images) that go with the text. The graphics, in other words, aren't part of the page: they are separate files. Browsers call them up and display them according to the directions provided by the code. When I was initially putting this site together (remember, I knew little about HTML at the time), I didn't realize that. Working with my graphical software, which displays everything onscreen just as it will look in a browser, I thought that all I had to do was upload the page itself, and it would magically take the graphics with it. I wound up, of course, with a page of print, a plain white background, and blank spots where the graphics should be. It took me some anxious time to figure out that I had to upload not just the page, but all the graphics too. D'oh. I'm much smarter now. Browsers and Monitors
Browsers interpret HTML code in different ways, so it's wise to check your website in a number of different browsers to make sure it looks good all of them. Also, more people than you think use text-only browsers, or surf with their graphics turned off. You want to be sure they can navigate your site as easily as everyone else. It's also a good idea to see what your website will look like on different-size screens. Most browsers will automatically reformat your pages to fit your visitors' screen size, but this can dramatically alter the look of your website. Remember, not everyone uses a 19-inch monitor.
Links
Links must be checked for functionality not only when you first put your website online, but on an ongoing basis to make sure they haven't expired. If you don't want to spend the time to check your links manually, you can get software that will take care of it for you. In my experience, though, link checkers--especially the free ones--are limited: if you have a page with more than a certain number of links, they won't function. There really is no substitute for checking your links by hand.
HTML Validation
One annoying feature of the software I used to create this website is that its idea of HTML doesn't always accord with what's absolutely, perfectly correct. This doesn't seem to affect how the page is viewed in most browsers--I've tried a number of them to make sure--but it does mean my site won't validate with any of the validators below, and I can't put the nifty validation icon on my index page. But at least I know why the site won't validate. And the validation process turned up a lot of other errors that I was able to correct.
Other Kinds of Validation
 General
A good general essay on website promotion can be found at JimWorld. Another good resource
is PR
2 Free Website Promotion Course. And check out Yahoo's
Announcement and Promotion Index for a list of sites that discuss promoting and marketing your website.NetStrider
provides a page that reviews search engines, provides information on how websites are ranked and listed, and hosts
a large listing of search engines, directories, and indexes to which you can promote your site.For a one-stop-shopping approach, try SelfPromotion.com, a service that will automatically submit
your site to a big list of search engines, indexes, and award sites. The owner requests a nominal donation for
use of the service, but it's well worth it. There's also a lot of excellent practical promotion information here,
as well as helpful tutorials to get you started.Search Engines It's important to get your website indexed by the major search engines. A substantial portion of my traffic comes from netsearches, either for me specifically or for some category I fit into. (And some I don't. I often get visitors looking for the Victoria's Secret catalogue, especially around Valentine's Day, and I cannot BELIEVE the number of people who wind up at my website because they're searching for dirty books. On the Internet, "fantasy" is more or less synonymous with "sex fantasy". I can only imagine their disappointment.) A netsearch on Yahoo for "submit url" will turn up a list of submission programs that will submit your site to a limited number of search engines for free. Each of these programs has a slightly different mix of search engines. Use the manual submission option--it takes longer, but it avoids submitting to the same search engine twice and lets you know which links are outdated or broken (there are quite a few). You may have to go separately to the Big Names (see the paragraph below) because not all the free submission programs include them. Write down the search engines to which you've submitted so you won't forget, and check them periodically to be sure they've added you. It can take months to get listed, and often more than one request is needed--but be careful, because you don't want to spam these folks. Once you're listed, check back now and then to be sure you're still there. Websites can drop off a search engine for no apparent reason. If you vanish, resubmit. It's really not worth your while to sign up for one of those "submit your URL to 500 sites for $99" deals. There are dozens of search engines, but the vast majority of people use only a few (there's info on that on Search Engine Watch--see below). It's nice if you can get a high search engine ranking for the keyword searches you expect people to do (for me, that's "fantasy novels," "fantasy authors," "novel excerpts," "book reviews," and a couple of others). Most people abandon websearches after a few pages, and if your site appears on page 10 it's unlikely the searcher will persist long enough to get to it. META tags, which make it easy for search engine spiders to index your site, can help with this. But META tags aren't an automatic guarantee of a good ranking. All search engines categorize websites differently, using a variety of criteria, including link popularity, number of hits, and keywords on various pages. If you want a good ranking, you must use more than one strategy (again, look for instruction on Search Engine Watch). One last note: don't even think of spamming search engines (creating META tags that repeat a keyword or a set of keywords over and over, or repeating a particular keyword hundreds of times on a particular page). Many search engines watch for spamming, and exclude sites that employ it.
Web Directories
While listings for search engines are created automatically by "spiders" that crawl the web and index web pages, web directory listings are created by human editors, who review a site description submitted by the site owner, and then decide whether to list the site. For a literary site, most web directories aren't all that useful: I receive less traffic from my directory listings than from almost any other source. Yahoo is the major exception; it's also important to get listed in the Open Directory Project, which is increasingly used by search engines to help rank sites. And there are a couple of others that are worthwhile, some geared specifically to writers or the arts. Be sure your site is fully functional and complete before submitting to the directories--anything less may result in a rejection. Be aware also that the various shifty techniques by which some site owners attempt to fool search engines (keyword spamming, sites that exist solely to drive traffic to other sites, single sites listed under multiple domain names, etc.) are frowned upon by the directories, and may result in the de-listing of your site. Submissions to the major directories should be carefully crafted. Follow the directory's submission rules to the letter. Be careful about submitting to a directory more than once. Some are quite selective--if they decide not to list you they may not let you know, and if you bombard them with requests they will become annoyed and will never list you in this lifetime. Bear in mind that it often takes a long time to get listed--Yahoo took over four months to add my listing. Wait at least two months before trying again. There's comprehensive information on submitting to the directories in this very helpful tutorial from SelfPromotion.com; be sure to check it out: Getting Into the Big Guys.Here are the directories from which I get traffic:
Yahoo's
Web Directory Index lists many more.Awards Ever wondered about those "Best of" or "So-and-so's Site of Excellence" graphics you see on websites? Most are fairly pointless--do you, or your visitors, really care if Joe's Personal Homepage gave you its Smiley Cute Web Award? Other awards are little more than free advertising for the website they come from. But there are awards that are more meaningful, and can add interest and credibility to your site. The best way of finding appropriate awards is to surf sites similar to yours, and check out the awards they've received. There are also free auto-submit services that will submit your site to a long list of participating awarders. Only use such services if they offer you the option of submitting manually; this prevents you from submitting for an award that isn't appropriate. Don't submit for an award more than once (unless the award criteria indicate that you can, or you've substantially changed or updated your site). And don't submit for an award that isn't appropriate for you. Awarders check out your site personally. They don't want to waste their time on spam submissions.
Webrings There is a webring for every topic you can think of, and probably some you can't. While not as popular as they were a few years ago, webrings can definitely bring visitors to a site. Some webmasters place all their webrings on a single, separate page. I find this annoying. If you arrive on a slow-loading page that has nothing but webrings on it, how inclined are you to check out the rest of the site? I think a webring is most effective when it's placed on the page to which it best applies. Don't think you're limited to one subject for webrings. If your website covers a number of different topics, you can join webrings for each of them. On this site, for instance, I have general writing-related webrings (on my Index page), book review webrings (on my Book Review page), and a children's literature webring (on my Young Adult Books page). One drawback: webring graphics can be hideous. I try to stay away from these (though sometimes it's not possible). Also, to avoid aesthetic schizophrenia, I standardize the look of my webrings by using the same basic arrangement and links format for all of them. Most webring owners don't mind if you do this, as long as you don't mess with the graphics, and get all the links right.
Banner Advertising
Banner advertising services will display an ad for your site on a big list of member sites. Categorization allows you to broadly target the kind of site where your ad appears. In exchange, you display others' ads on your site. The number of displays you receive generally depends on your website's traffic. A few years ago, when e-commerce was in its infancy, many people believed that banner ads would provide an inexpensive and effective way to grab consumers' attention. This has not generally proved to be the case (hence the growing dominance of popup ads, which are far more intrusive and force you to pay attention simply because you must take action to get rid of them). Two of the largest banner exchange services, SmartClicks and LinkExchange, which dominated the banner exchange market in the late 1990's, are no longer in business. Personally, I'm not crazy about banner ads. I find them annoying, overly commercial, and aesthetically displeasing. They can also add substantially to loading time and can freeze or crash people's browsers. Also, if your site is already plagued with popup ads from one of the free webspace providers, a banner ad really seems like overkill. Nevertheless, there are many people who still feel banner advertising is a valuable publicity tool.
Link Exchanges and Free-For-All Link Sites
Many sites will link to your website for free. Link exchanges ask that you give them a reciprocal link, while free-for-all sites don't. In my experience it's rare that free-for-all sites or link exchanges are either useful or appropriate for an author's website. There are usually several hundred very diverse links, organized according to extremely broad categories--you have to wonder how interested people are in picking through them all. Plus, many sites use a classified ad approach, and after a few weeks either drop your link entirely, or push it way down the list. A better approach is to go in search of writing-oriented sites (of which there are a huge number), and judge on a case-by-case basis whether it's worth suggesting an exchange of links. I get a steady stream of visitors from such exchanges. The free link sites I've submitted to, on the other hand, have generated almost no traffic for me.
Newsgroup Postings and Mailing Lists
A short, matter-of-fact posting to a newsgroup appropriate to your website is a good idea when you put your website online, and again if you make any substantial changes or updates. Writing-related Usenet newsgroups include alt.writing and misc.writing; there are also specialty groups, such as rec.arts.sf.composition and rec.arts.sf.written. Be sure to check out the newsgroup FAQ's, and lurk awhile before you post to monitor newsgroup etiquette. And don't bombard a newsgroup with update posts. Usenet users are very sensitive about unsolicited advertising, and aren't shy about telling you so. You can also join mailing lists that are appropriate to your writing. Again, blatantly commercial announcements, or making it apparent that you joined the list only in order to promote yourself and your work, will meet with a very cool reception. Don't join the list unless you're really interested in participating, and limit your promotion to low-key announcements and a sig line (more on that below).
Online Announcements and Press Releases
PR Web is a free online press release distributor, which will distribute a press release to a wide database of companies and consumers. This makes it distinct from companies that simply post a press release on their websites for open viewing, and because its databse is opt-in (companies and individuals sign up for the service) its mailings are less likely to be regarded as spam (see the next category). I don't know how effective it is, but it might be worth a try. Bulk E-Mail
Writers--especially those who publish with one of the fee-based print-on-demand services, or with smaller Internet-based POD publishers--are often advised to send out a blitz of bulk e-mail to announce their books or websites. This is bad advice. Whether you send it yourself or employ a service to do it, the likelihood is that the majority of recipients will regard it as spam. People LOATHE spam. Consequences can range from nasty personal responses to complaints to your ISP--and if enough complaints are received, you will lose your account--to actual damage to your career. A cautionary example: one writer published by a major commercial house didn't trust his publisher to handle publicity properly. So he hired a marketing firm, which convinced him to send out bulk e-mail to a supposedly targeted list, urging people to read his book. Reaction was so intensely negative that his sales actually dropped.
Other Marketing Tools
"Viral marketing" (basically, marketing by word of mouth, on the theory that enough buzz will eventually create a sort of critical mass that tips you over the line into wide recognition) is an Internet catchword these days, and a number of services claim to offer a viral marketing approach to help build website traffic. Some appear to interpret "viral marketing" rather loosely, with plans that more closely resemble pyramid schemes. The aim is to increase website hits by any means possible, regardless of whether the visitor who winds up at your website is likely to be interested in it. But what's the point of getting 1,000 hits a day if three-quarters of those people don't stick around to take a look? The purpose of website promotion isn't just to draw visitors, but to draw visitors who will be interested in what you have to offer. I list these without comment, since they represent avenues I haven't tried:
Author Listings
There are many websites that host lists of authors and their URLs. A search on Yahoo or Google for "author websites" or "author listings" will turn up a lot of them. Most can easily be approached to request that they add your site. Genre-related sites also often provide links to authors (SFF Net, where this site is located, is one example). Independent bookstores with websites also may have author listings. And if you're a member of a writer's group, its webpage may host a list of members' URLs. Business Cards, Stationary, and Signature Line I'm sure this sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people don't think of it: place your website URL on your business cards, your stationary, and in the signature line of your e-mail messages. A sig line is the easiest promotion there is. Every time you post to Usenet or a mailing list, or send an e-mail, you're providing people with an opportunity to visit your website--all without effort, cost, or spam. At a minimum, a sig line should include your full name and website address. Some authors also include the title of their most recent publication. Keep it short (no more than 4 lines); Usenet denizens especially can be insanely touchy about small issues of this sort, and may become annoyed if your sig line is too long. My current sig line looks like this:
--------------------------------------------------------
Victoria Strauss THE BURNING LAND (HarperCollins Eos) Website: http://www.victoriastrauss.com/ Writer Beware: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/ In placing your URL on stationary and business cards,
it looks neater to leave off the http:// (i.e., just www.yourwebsite.com).
But don't leave the http:// off your sig line, or it won't show up as
a clickable link in an e-mail.
Domain Names
Should you have your own domain name? In my opinion it's a good idea. Many servers--especially the free webspace providers--force very long URLs, which are difficult to remember and take up a lot of space on stationary and business cards. A short, snappy domain name is preferable, and gives a professional impression. What domain name to choose? Most logical--again in my opinion--is www.yourname.com (not .net or .org or any of the new suffixes; .com is the default Internet address that's fixed in people's consciousnesses, and it's what they think of when they remember URLs). Some people choose the name of their book or, if they're writing a series, the series name, or even the name of a central character--but this is limiting, because what happens once you move on to the next book or series or character? For commercially published writers, there's another consideration. Cybersquatting--a practice where unrelated parties buy up choice domain names, often with the intent of reselling them to the name owners at exorbitant prices--is a growing problem. Cybersquatters don't just target famous writers; many newer or lesser-known writers have found their names taken also. It's not necessary to find a server that will host your domain name (an issue if you're going with one of the free webspace providers, which won't do this for you). An extra service called domain forwarding, offered by most of the domain name providers, will send visitors who type your domain name to your actual URL. I use domain forwarding to keep my site here at SFF Net.
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