Build a High-Converting Author Homepage

Introduction

It’s time for the most visited page on your website. The Home page.

The home page is also where a lot of new and emerging authors wreck their websites.

Sliders, background videos, popups, multiple buttons, multiple calls to action, more pop ups, big images, just more of everything screaming for attention flinging mud at the mental walls of visitors hope something will stick.

That’s not what we are going to do.

The primary goal of this website, and the homepage, is to convert visitors to subscribers.

That’s not to say we are abandoning all other calls to action. No, we’re just putting them in specific places.

The Happy path, the ideal journey we want the website to offer is…

• Bring cold traffic to the site
• Encourage the new visitor to sign up the newsletter
• Use the newsletter to bring them BACK to specific pages for a specific call to action.

Release a new book? – Email your audience with link to that book post.

Need reviews on a mid-series novel? – Ask your subscribers to leave reviews.

• New blog post?
• New event?
• New bundle?
• Want to grow your mailing list?

Email your audience with a call to action and a link back to the specific page.

Use the Homepage to fulfil your primary goal. In this case it’s convert visitors to subscribers.

Homepage’s also have a secondary goal.

Navigation.

New and returning visitors to your homepage are looking for… something.

You’d like it to be to signup to your newsletter but it might not be. They may want to know more about you, about a series, or one of your books. We’ve built navigation into our header and footer but adding more, highly visual, navigation options to the most visited page on your website is only going to increase the time visitors spend on your site and the conversion rate of visitors to subscribers and subscribers to readers.

Just like the rest of this site we are going to keep the Homepage of this CORE build simple but powerful. If you want to see how this core website can be rebranded take a look at the Writers Building Websites portfolio page.

Because we have done a lot of the work already this is going to be fast!

Add Featured Image

• From the WordPress admin dashboard go to Pages > All Pages
• Edit the Home page
• Add your author bio image as the featured image for this page
• Edit the page with Breakdance

Hero Section

We are going to start, as always, with the Hero Section.

• Add a new section
• Style it as a wide hero section

Add Hero Columns

• Add a columns element
• I’ll call this Hero Columns
• Stack vertically at Phone Landscape
• Under spacing set the column gap to 6 rem

Book Cover Column

• I’ll label the first column Book Cover Column
• Under the Size subtab I’ll set the width to 30%
• Add an image element
• Choose the Adventure Danger Book cover – the one with the Free Sticker.
• I’m not going to use a caption here as I’ve credited the image elsewhere on the site. If it was the only instance of using this image I’d consider adding a caption with image credit.

Lead Magnet Column

• I’ll label the second column ‘Lead Magnet Column’
• I’ll set the layout to vertical, left aligned with 3 rem of gap.
• I’ll add a H2 Header
  • Download Your Free Dirk Volcano Thriller Today!
• I’ll add a text element for the lead magnet copy
  • Dylan Danger just wants to be left alone but the crime gang hunting his family won’t let that happen. Download the first book in this exciting series from award winning author Dirk Volcano today!
• I’m going to add an extra 3 rem of space to the bottom of the text element

Call to action Div

• Next I’ll add a Div and label it Call to Action Div
• I’ll set the layout on this Div to Horizontal, left aligned with 6 rem gap and stack vertical at Phone Portrait
• I’ll add a button
• I’ll change the buttons text to ‘Get the eBook’
• Set the link to /sign-up/
• And style the button as primary.

I only want one primary button on this page. We do have another in the footer but that is linked to the giveaway as well.

• I’ll add another button to the div
• Change the text to Read Chapter 1
• And set the link to /books/adventure-danger/#extract

Notice how we are using the section id we set up in the Single Book template to send the visitor direct to the extract on the Adventure Danger Book post?

• I’ll style that button as Secondary.

About Section

• Add another section.
• Style with the Wide Section Preset
• Add another columns element
• Set the layout to stack vertically on Tablet portrait
• And reverse the order on tablet portrait
• Set the column gap under spacing to 6 rem to give it some breathing room

Bio Image Column

• Set the width of the first column to 40%
• Add an image to the column
• Set the image as the featured image
• Go to the design tab
• Under borders set the radius to 8 pixels

Bio Details Column

• Go the second column
• Use the Standard Column Preset
• Add a H3 Heading
• Change the text to ‘About Dirk Volcano’
• Add a text element
• Paste in your medium bio
• Add a button
• Change the text to ‘More about Dirk’
• Link the button to the about page.
• Style the button as secondary
• Save the page
• Exit to front end.

Check the Page

We’re not quite finished but it is worthwhile checking the page to see what we have so far. One thing to note is the column sizes. I’m not sure if it;s a bug or my process but sometimes when I’ve been working in a column the sizes can revert back to 50%. If this happens go back into the Bio Image column, set to 40% and resave the page.

Dylan Danger Thriller Section

If you’re noticing a lot of familiarity in the home page set up then good. At the heart of this website is reusing as much as we possibly can in order to make setup, management and changes as simple as possible. We’re going to continue in that vein to add our series sections to the homepage.

• Add a new section
• Name it the Dylan Danger Section
• Choose the Wide Section preset
• Add a H2 Heading
• Change the text to Dylan Danger Thrillers
• Add a Text element
• Paste in the series description from the series page

It’d be great to just pull this from the Archive description we already set up but I can’t find a way to do this without code… Yet.

Dylan Danger Post Loop

• Add a Post Loop Builder
• Select the Other Books Cover Only global block
• Set the following query
  • Post TYpe = Books
  • 6 Posts per page
  • HAs Taxonomy is all Dylan Danger
  • Order by Ascending Date
  • Apply Query

Call to Action

• Add a button
• Change the text to ‘See Full Series’
• Set the link to /series/dylan-danger/
• Set the style to secondary
• Click Save

Village Detective Cozy Mystery Section

This is going to be quick.

• Duplicate the Dylan Danger Section
• Change the Heading to Village Detective Cozy Mysteries
• Replace the content in the text block with the description from the Village Detective Series page
• Edit the query in the Post Loop to
  • Has Taxonomy is all Village Detective
• Change the link in the Button to /series/village-detective/
• Click Save
• Exit to front end

Summary

You’ve now seen how to build a homepage that puts subscriber growth front and center while offering clear navigation and visually appealing sections. By reusing familiar layouts, highlighting your lead magnet, and linking to key series pages, you’ll keep visitors engaged and guide them toward meaningful actions. This approach ensures a cohesive, author-focused site that attracts new subscribers, supports returning readers, and strengthens your overall platform.

Closing Statement

Congratulations on completing the Build an Author Website course! You’ve now laid the essential groundwork for a professional, reader-focused online presence. To take your author platform even further, consider exploring the Author Website Playbook, where you’ll find advanced strategies, design tips, and best practices to help you refine and elevate your site. Or, if you prefer a more hands-off approach, click the link below to have your author website professionally built, ensuring that your online home truly reflects your unique author brand. The next step is yours—keep growing, keep experimenting, and watch your author career reach new heights!