Need is a strong word. Self-published authors don't need their own website, but they can be immensely beneficial. Websites are often compared to real estate because they're such a good long-term investment. Own your site and invest time and energy consistently to grow your equity by way of reputation, audience growth and connection, and even sales.

When you build your author website with The Bookshelf, you don't need any previous experience in coding or design. Our team includes designers specializing in the author to reader space, so all you have to do is choose a template you like and customize it to suit your brand, books, and target readers. It's as easy as selecting fonts, colors, and images and adding your content using our intuitive, visual tools.

If you register your domain through The Bookshelf, it is still yours even if you choose to leave the platform in the future. We'll work with you to transfer the domain to an alternate host of your choice.

You are welcome to experiment with our Demo any time by visiting demo.thebookshelf.io. It doesn't save or transfer any of your information or content but it does allow you to use a fully functioning website builder to make sure you feel comfortable with the tools before you buy. We also offer a 30-day, no restrictions, money back guarantee.

General website builders cater to an extremely wide and diverse marketspace whereas an author-specific website builder like The Bookshelf is designed specifically with the purpose of connecting authors with readers. Every one of our templates is built around books, specifically, and the style and type of content an author may need or want to create to connect with their readership. Seemingly little things, like book-centric sales pages and metadata fields (genre, trope, spice levels, even content warnings), make it easier for you to share the most important details of your books and author business.

The Bookshelf's professionally designed templates are built to provide authors with a foundational tone and mood that matches their genre and style of writing, but they're entirely customizable. You can set your logo, color palette, and typography once and use those as easily accessed global settings throughout your entire site. You can also adjust the layout of any page, easily adding or removing sections as needed, and integrate your own images and content throughout.

Our design team is always working on new templates, so keep your eye on the library for new additions. You're also welcome to send us an email if you have a special request. We can't promise immediate solutions, but we're always open to suggestions and will do our best to accommodate. The greatest thing about The Bookshelf templates, however, is how customizable they are. A fresh color palette and different font selections can entirely change the look and feel, so we encourage you to experiment.

Every author account with The Bookshelf includes a professional email address to match your custom domain, so you'll be able to send and receive business emails without an additional service. This is not the same as an email marketing platform, however. We do recommend integrating a newsletter services such as Mailerlite to manage your email list and send mass emails broadcasts or automations.

All the templates designed by The Bookshelf are automatically optimized for mobile responsiveness by default, so they'll adjust to phones and tablets seamlessly.

When a reader buys your book through Amazon or another similar retailer, it will be printed and shipped directly to the reader without your participation. You will get a royalty and the retailer will retain ownership of the customer relationship. You are also limited to the terms of each retailer's service agreement, which can impact special offers or promotions you want to run. When you sell books directly from your website, you own the customer relationship and set your own terms for pricing, promotions, and more. You also retain the entire profit* from each sale.

If your book is enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited or KDP Select program, you cannot sell your eBook through any other platform, including your own website. The program is specific to eBooks, however, so you can sell print or audiobook versions safely.