Best Website Builders for Authors

Overview

The best website builders for authors are the platforms that make it simple to showcase books, manage a mailing list, host a blog, and sell or link to sales channels. This comparison examines established builders and publishing-focused platforms so you can pick the right mix of ease, customization, cost, and growth potential.

What I am comparing: WordPress (self-hosted with page builders), Squarespace, Wix, Ghost (hosted), Carrd, and Webflow. Key decision criteria include ease of setup, content and blogging features, email/list integration, e-commerce options for selling books or downloads, SEO and discoverability, design control, and total cost of ownership (hosting, themes, transaction fees).

Quick summary of who each option is best for: WordPress self-hosted is best for authors who want full control and long-term scale; Squarespace is best for authors who want attractive templates and simplicity; Wix is best for authors prioritizing a drag-and-drop editor and built-in marketing apps; Ghost is best for writers focused on newsletters and member monetization; Carrd is best for a single-page author landing site or minimalist portfolio; Webflow is best for authors who want pixel-perfect design and a scalable CMS without coding constraints.

Best Website Builders for Authors

Wordpress (Self-Hosted with Elementor or Gutenberg)

Overview and Positioning

org is open-source CMS software used by a majority of content-heavy sites. When paired with a visual builder like Elementor or optimized themes for authors, it becomes a flexible platform for book pages, blogs, SEO, mailing lists, and e-commerce. Self-hosted WordPress requires separate web hosting and some setup but delivers unmatched extensibility.

Key Features and Strengths

• Full control over site structure, themes, plugins, and code.
• Huge ecosystem: SEO plugins (Yoast, Rank Math), membership/newsletter plugins (MailPoet, MemberPress), e-commerce (WooCommerce), and book-specific themes.
• Best for multi-page author sites, long-form blogging, podcast pages, and selling direct downloads.
• Ability to scale performance with managed WordPress hosting.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Steeper learning curve than hosted builders; requires managing hosting, backups, updates, and security.
• Initial setup time and plugin compatibility management can be nontrivial.
• Costs can rise with premium themes, plugins, and managed hosting.

Pricing and Value

• WordPress software: free.
• Hosting: shared hosting $3-10/mo, managed WordPress hosting $15-30/mo for small sites (examples: Bluehost, SiteGround, Kinsta, WP Engine).
• Premium themes: $30-100 one-time; page builder licenses like Elementor Pro $59/yr.
• Plugins for memberships or e-commerce: MemberPress from $179/yr; WooCommerce free core plus payment fees.
• Typical total first-year cost: $60-400 depending on hosting and premium tools.

Best For

Authors who want complete control, plan to blog regularly, sell books or digital downloads directly, need customized design or integrations, and are comfortable with occasional maintenance or outsourcing it.

Squarespace

Overview and Positioning

Squarespace is a hosted, all-in-one website builder known for polished templates and integrated features like blogging, newsletters, and commerce. It is designed for creators who want a stylish site quickly without handling hosting or updates.

Key Features and Strengths

• High-quality, author-friendly templates for book pages, events, and portfolios.
• Built-in blogging tools, email campaigns (with paid plans), and simple commerce for selling digital products or linking to external stores.
• Easier setup than WordPress; visual editor with predictable styling and mobile-responsive templates.
• Integrated analytics and domain management.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Less extensible than WordPress; third-party integrations are more limited.
• Fewer membership and advanced CRM options; complex workflows may need external tools.
• Template customization is more constrained than code-access platforms.

Pricing and Value (Prices as of Mid-2024)

• Personal: $16/mo billed monthly, or $16/mo billed annually (Squarespace often lists annual pricing as lower when billed yearly).
• Business: $23/mo.
• Basic Commerce: $27/mo.
• Advanced Commerce: $49/mo.
• Email Campaigns: limited free credits; paid email campaigns add cost.
• Transaction fees: 3% on Business plan, 0% on Commerce plans.

Best For

Authors who prioritize strong design out of the box, quick setup of book landing pages, integrated blogging, and moderate e-commerce needs without managing hosting.

Wix

Overview and Positioning

Wix is a widely used hosted builder with a drag-and-drop editor, app marketplace, and many templates. It emphasizes ease of use and built-in marketing tools, suitable for authors who want visual control without code.

Key Features and Strengths

• Intuitive visual editor for designing pages and book landing pages.
• App Market includes email marketing, booking (for author events), forms, and e-commerce.
• Wix Bookings, Wix Stores, and Wix Email Marketing make common tasks accessible.
• ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) option to generate an initial site quickly.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Editor freedom can lead to inconsistent design if not careful; mobile responsiveness sometimes requires manual adjustments.
• Less SEO control and portability than WordPress; moving away from Wix can be difficult.
• App costs can add up; some advanced features require higher-tier plans.

Pricing and Value (Approximate, Mid-2024)

• Combo (personal): $16/mo.
• Unlimited: $22/mo.
• Business Basic (to accept payments): $27/mo.
• Business Unlimited: $32/mo.
• VIP: $45/mo.
• Additional app costs vary; domain often free for first year.

Best For

Authors who want a visual, drag-and-drop builder with straightforward integrations and prefer an all-in-one hosted solution with minimal technical overhead.

Ghost (Hosted or Self-Hosted)

Overview and Positioning

Ghost is a publishing-focused platform built around fast content delivery, newsletters, memberships, and paid subscriptions. It is optimized for writers who want to monetize content, run paid newsletters, and maintain a clean reading experience.

Key Features and Strengths

• Native membership and subscription tools for paid newsletters and gated content.
• Clean, fast-rendering themes optimized for reading and SEO.
• Built-in email sending (in hosted plans) and native subscription management.
• Lightweight, modern stack focused on performance.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Less flexible for complex e-commerce like selling physical books; typically integrates with third-party storefronts or uses Stripe for digital sales.
• Smaller ecosystem than WordPress; fewer plugins and templates.
• Self-hosting Ghost requires more technical work (Node.js environment).

Pricing and Value (Ghost(pro) Hosted, Mid-2024)

• Starter: $9/mo billed annually (basic membership features).
• Creator/Team tiers scale with members and features; plans typically $25-$50+/mo depending on active members and bandwidth.
• Self-hosted Ghost: platform is free but requires VPS hosting ($5-20+/mo on providers like DigitalOcean) and technical setup.

Best For

Authors prioritizing newsletters, paid memberships, and a publication-first experience who want minimal overhead and integrated email/member monetization.

Carrd

Overview and Positioning

Carrd is a single-page site builder that excels for simple author landing pages, link-in-bio pages, and minimalist author portfolios. It is lightweight, fast to build, and extremely affordable.

Key Features and Strengths

• Simple single-page designs ideal for event signups, book launch landing pages, and linking to stores.
• Very low cost; fast setup and hosting included.
• Integrations with forms, Mailchimp, Stripe (for payments on Pro plans), and embed options for book widgets.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Not suitable for multi-page blogs or complex sites; limited CMS capabilities.
• No native blog engine or large-scale membership features.
• Design options are intentionally minimalist; not for heavy customization requiring many pages.

Pricing and Value (Mid-2024, Yearly Billing)

• Free: basic features, Carrd branding.
• Pro Lite: $9/yr (custom domains, forms).
• Pro Standard: $19/yr (more sites, Stripe payments).
• Pro Plus: $49/yr (multiple sites, advanced integrations).
• Excellent value for small budgets and single-page uses.

Best For

Authors who need a single landing page for a book, newsletter signup, or event, and want the lowest cost and least setup time.

Webflow

Overview and Positioning

Webflow is a visual web design platform that outputs clean, semantic HTML/CSS and has a built-in CMS. It targets designers and creators who need pixel-accurate control without hand-coding. For authors, Webflow offers strong design freedom and a reliable CMS for blogs and book pages.

Key Features and Strengths

• Powerful visual builder with full control over layout, interactions, and responsive behavior.
• Built-in CMS for blog content and collections (books, events).
• Hosting included with site plans and performant global CDN.
• Exports clean code and allows expansion into complex sites.

Limitations and Tradeoffs

• Learning curve is higher than Squarespace or Wix; not for absolute beginners.
• More expensive at the entry-level for CMS sites than simpler builders.
• E-commerce and membership features are available but can be more complex to configure than other platforms.

Pricing and Value (Mid-2024)

• Site plans: Basic $14/mo (no CMS), CMS $23/mo, Business $39/mo (billed annually).
• Workspace plans for teams add monthly fees.
• E-commerce site plans start around $29/mo.
• Typical first-year cost: $23-60/mo depending on CMS and e-commerce needs.

Best For

Authors and small publishers who want complete design control, sophisticated layouts for book showcases, and a scalable CMS without managing hosting stacks.

How to Choose

Decision checklist (4-5 points)

1. Content focus and growth: If you plan heavy blogging, serial content, or long-term SEO, pick WordPress or Webflow. If the focus is newsletters and paid posts, choose Ghost.
2. Technical comfort and control: If you want full control and don’t mind maintenance, self-hosted WordPress, Webflow, or self-hosted Ghost work; if you prefer managed simplicity, choose Squarespace, Wix, or Ghost(Pro).
3. Selling books and payments: For selling physical books and complex e-commerce, WordPress with WooCommerce or Webflow e-commerce is best; for simple digital sales or paywalled content, Ghost or Carrd (with Stripe) can suffice.
4. Design priority and time to launch: Squarespace and Wix offer fastest path with attractive templates; Carrd for one-page quick launches; Webflow for custom, pixel-perfect design.
5. Budget and scaling: Low-cost quick sites: Carrd and basic Wix plans. Mid-range all-in-one: Squarespace. Scalable, long-term: WordPress (variable cost) or Webflow (higher predictable hosting).

Use this checklist to map requirements to platforms: list must-have features, desired integrations, and monthly budget, then eliminate options that fail must-haves.

Quick Comparison

Feature | WordPress (self-hosted) | Squarespace | Wix | Ghost (hosted) | Carrd | Webflow — | —: | —: | —: | —: | —: | —: Starting price (monthly) | $3 - $30 (hosting) | $16 | $16 | $9 (Ghost Pro starter) | $0 - $4 (approx $9/yr) | $14 (CMS plan) Ease of setup | Medium | Easy | Easy | Easy (hosted) / Hard (self-hosted) | Very easy | Medium-high Blogging & SEO | Excellent | Very good | Good | Excellent (newsletter-first) | Limited | Excellent Mailing list & members | Via plugins | Built-in campaigns | Apps/Integrations | Built-in memberships | Integrations | Integrations, custom Sell books / downloads | WooCommerce | Commerce plans | Business plans | Stripe for digital/members | Stripe on Pro | E-commerce plan Best for | Total control, scale | Style + simplicity | Visual editing | Newsletters & memberships | Single-page landing | Pixel-perfect design

Pricing breakdown (example scenarios)

• Basic author landing + blog for hobbyist:

• Squarespace Personal: $16/mo (all-in-one), domain included first year.

• Carrd Pro: $19/yr (single-page) + separate blog elsewhere if needed.

• Author selling ebooks and managing members:

• WordPress on managed host: $20/mo + Elementor Pro $59/yr + WooCommerce (free core) = ~ $300/yr first year.

• Ghost(Pro): $9-25/mo depending on members; Stripe transaction fees apply.

• High-design author portfolio with CMS:

• Webflow CMS: $23/mo billed annually; template costs may apply.

FAQ

Which Builder is Best for an Author Who Wants to Sell Ebooks Directly?

WordPress with WooCommerce or a payment integration is the most flexible for selling digital and physical books directly. Ghost(Pro) also supports paid memberships and digital sales for authors focused on newsletters and subscriptions.

Can I Start on a Simple Platform and Move Later?

Yes, but moving platforms can be work. Moving content out of WordPress is relatively straightforward since you control the database. Moving out of Wix, Squarespace, or Carrd may involve manual export/import and reformatting, so plan for portability if you expect to migrate.

Do I Need a Separate Email Marketing Tool?

Not always. Squarespace and Wix offer built-in campaign tools, and Ghost has native newsletter features. However, many authors use dedicated services like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or MailerLite for advanced automation and subscriber segmentation.

What is the Cheapest Option for a Professional-Looking Author Site?

Carrd for a single landing page is the cheapest; Squarespace Personal or a low-cost shared WordPress host can give a full professional site at modest cost. Remember to include theme and plugin costs when budgeting.

How Important is SEO for an Author Site and Which Builder is Best for It?

SEO is important for discoverability, especially for blog content and book-related search queries. WordPress and Webflow offer the most granular SEO control; Squarespace and Ghost are also strong for standard SEO practices. Wix has improved SEO but can be less portable.

Should I Collect Email Addresses Before Selling a Book?

Yes. Building a mailing list is often the highest ROI activity for authors. All platforms support signup forms; choose one that easily integrates with your email provider or has built-in delivery (Squarespace, Ghost, Wix).

Further Reading

• Best Website Builders for Wordpress - Top Page Builders
• Website Builders Squarespace Practical Guide
• Best Drag and Drop Website Builders Guide
• Webflow Website Building for Small Businesses