Is BookBub About to Change Author Websites Forever?
by Lisa Norman
For years, authors have been told they must have a website.
And for years, most of us have built them using whatever tools we could figure out—WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or, if we were really daring, something hand-coded. But as I wrote in "Disrupting Your Author Website" and "Trust in Technology: A Fairy Tale of Open Source", that process has been getting harder.
WordPress is an ever-changing beast. The tools we used to rely on are shifting beneath us. And keeping a website running is starting to feel like one more full-time job.
Now, BookBub has thrown its hat into the ring with Author Websites by BookBub, a beta platform designed to make the whole process easier.
So… is this the magic fix we’ve been waiting for?
Or just another option in an increasingly crowded landscape?
What Is BookBub’s Author Website Builder?
If you don’t know BookBub, they’re the powerhouse behind some of the biggest book promotions in the industry. Their daily deal emails introduce thousands of readers to new books, making them an essential tool for authors looking to reach a wider audience.
For years, they've put out articles on trends in author website designs. They know readers and they know writers. They specialize in connecting readers with writers they'll love.
Now, they’re expanding into author websites. Their new platform promises to give authors a simple, professional site—without the hassle of managing updates, plugins, or security.
At first glance, it looks great:
- Fast-loading pages (no need to worry about site speed)
- Easy setup (no wrestling with themes and plugins)
- Built-in book promotion features (because it’s BookBub, after all)
For an author who just wants a solid online presence without headaches, this could be a dream come true.
The platform costs about $10/month right now (with an early signup discount available). You can set up a site for free and see what you think. You'll have 30 days to decide if you want to pay for it or not.
A Case Study
My first test
As soon as I could, I created a simple site on this new platform. The setup took under 5 minutes and made it clear that these folks have built a tool designed to make authors' lives easier.
I've never seen a website setup this clean and easy to use.
What surprised me most was how beautiful the website was, and how easy it would be to maintain. If you have books out, BookBub will happily build your book pages for you, including going out and finding the buy links, because they already have tools for that.
Now understand: this is "beta" software, cutting edge new. Bleeding edge new. Like a shiny new pair of shoes that is going to get better as you break it in, some amazing features are still being developed. Expect more great things to come. But wow. I'm as impressed as I thought I would be.
Real world testing
My second test was to run through the setup with a couple of clients, especially some that were not comfortable with technology. Those who have worked with me for years know that I prize software that a client can control themself without needing a developer. And this is definitely in that category.
They have several templates available to choose from, but they take that process a step farther that I love. They ask which pages you want (blog, privacy policy, media kit, etc.) and based on your choices, they help you create those things. Authors can keep their site simple and lean or build it out. BookBub doesn't present authors with technical jargon. It gives them author jargon. No translation to Geek required.
Clients were surprised and excited by their new sites. Within a few minutes, they had sites that were more beautiful than their old WordPress websites. And even the most tech-phobic could see how to update style and create something unique and delightful.
The Tradeoffs: Convenience vs. Control
BookBub’s websites are part of their ecosystem. That means you don’t have full control over your site—it’s not self-hosted like a traditional WordPress site.
That’s fine for some authors. Maybe even ideal. But it raises a few questions:
- Who owns the data? If BookBub ever changes direction, will your site still be there?
- SEO and discoverability? From what I can see, these sites should rank well with search engines. I'm hoping that BookBub includes some sort of discoverability where they send their readers to writers that match well.
- Customization? Can authors truly make their sites their own, or will they all look the same? Those initial websites are beautiful, but I can see that they might start to look the same. The good news is that they've made them easy to customize without breaking things.
These are the same concerns I raised in my earlier posts about author websites. The industry is changing, and more platforms are stepping in to solve the problem of website maintenance—but often at the cost of flexibility. In the case of BookBub, it looks like they've created something that even tech-phobic authors can customize and make unique.
The tool is brand new. It lacks some functionality that I feel is needed, but they are eager for suggestions and definitely still developing the system. I've recommended that they add an import from WordPress functionality and it looks like maybe we'll have that soon.
How will the sites perform over time? I look forward to watching what they do next.
What This Means for Authors
I see two paths emerging.
- Authors who want to be completely hands-off. If maintaining a website feels overwhelming, a managed solution like BookBub’s could be the perfect fit. You get an attractive, professional presence without having to deal with the tech.
- Authors who want full control. If you care about owning your platform, you might find these managed solutions too limiting.
There’s no right answer—only what works best for you.
With WordPress, you need to handle your own security. BookBub makes that part of the service.
With WordPress, you'll be doing constant updates. BookBub has a team managing that for you.
With WordPress, you need to figure out what types of pages you want, and you can build exactly what you want. You may need a developer if you want something custom. With BookBub, they'll suggest common pages, provide styles that fit with your overall design, and then give you a sample based upon market research into author websites.
Those are just a few differences.
The Bigger Picture
I have to admit, I’m intrigued.
BookBub has the trust of authors, and if anyone can create a friction-free website builder that actually serves authors’ needs, it’s them.
But I also know that the internet is littered with the remains of once-great platforms that changed direction or shut down entirely. And I don’t like the idea of putting everything in one company’s hands.
So, what’s the verdict?
If you’re struggling to keep a website running and just need something easy (or a way to escape WordPress Drama), BookBub’s builder is worth a look.
BookBub's platform marks a shift in the author website conversation. We have more choices than ever—but that also means more decisions to make.
What do you think? Would you trust BookBub to handle your author website? Let’s chat in the comments.
* * * * * *
About Lisa
Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.
Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of No Stress Writing Academy. She also runs Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.
Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her school, No Stress Writing Academy, where she teaches social media, organization, technical skills, and marketing for authors!
Top image by Deleyna via Midjourney.
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59 comments on “Is BookBub About to Change Author Websites Forever?”
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Thank you for this. I find the idea of going with BookBub intriguing as I now pay someone else to maintain my site. I'd love to do it myself, but... yeah. WordPress has made it increasingly difficult to use. I'll be looking into this and keeping an eye on things.
That's it, exactly Vicky. You'll most likely have MORE control over your website with BB because you'll be able to make changes yourself.
I've loved WordPress for years, but given rising costs and increasing complications - not to mention DRAMA - it doesn't make sense for me to recommend it to authors any more.
My clients who have gotten out are surprisingly happy with their new sites on other platforms.
Lisa,
Great information. BookBub has certainly been on my radar, but I yet have a book to "bub". I suppose it would be fun to try; I'll would have to investigate further.
My main concerns lie with the points you mention, mainly "who owns the data?" and then like all things that go 'boom,' how easy will it be to take data or content with you, when it does?
From the little I know right now, I'm thinking a BookBub and Substack combo might be an ideal way to shout, "I'm here." I would love to find something that avoids reliance on social media for discovery and marketing.
I wonder if BookBub will be as helpful for smaller niche writers than those who write for wider audiences.
Why would you make me think about so many things so early in the morning? LMHO - too old to roll on the floor (ROFL) - 'laughing my head off'.
Anyway, thanks for poking the dragon!
Cheers,
Jennifer
Hi, Jennifer! It seems that they DO have an option for "not out yet", but for authors who don't have books out yet, I'm recommending Carrd.co for those who don't blog and Substack for those who do. You can build the entire site JUST on Substack if you want.
Once you have the book out, you could maybe add that combo!
In the separate article that I linked to about Content ownership (just too long!!!) that I put on my own website, I talked about how anything can go away in an instant.
That is the most important take away from the WordPress Drama. Even on a platform where we supposedly "own" our content - it became painfully obvious that we don't.
And FWIW, if I could have NOT spent the last few months focused on this, my life would have been much easier!! So I feel your pain this morning!
Hi Jennifer - Rick from BookBub here. Thanks for the nice comment! To answer your question "Who owns the data?", you do!
We're developing Author Websites because we want to simplify the process of building, managing, and updating author websites. We think author websites are important assets for authors because, unlike social media profiles, authors own their websites. We don't want to change that, so while Author Websites is a fully hosted software service, authors own their sites.
Our domain set-up is a good example of the ownership I'm talking about. When you're setting up a site on Author Websites you can purchase a domain through BookBub or you can use one you purchased elsewhere. Then, if you ever decide to leave Author Websites, you can take your domain with you because ... you own it! We're happy to work with you to transfer your domain to another provider.
Hi, Rick! Are you going to have any sort of export functionality?
This is definitely something that we’re thinking about! What sort of export functionality would you like to see?
In the meantime, if authors have questions about specific data exports they should definitely reach out to our support team.
While I can't imagine anyone WANTING to leave your platform, I'm thinking exporting blog posts would be helpful. I believe you already have email list export.
I appreciate your comment to my quandaries!!
This is really interesting, and now I'm intrigued! Thank you for sharing 😊
Have fun exploring, Lori!
Sounds good except for the ownership problem.
I wonder if they'll have an annual payment possibility. I object to the monthly payment so many companies seem to move to.
Especially things like Microsoft's Office. You could once buy it for a one-off payment. Now it's a monthly 'rental.' Even charities are going that way. We even found some that didn't have the facility for a one-off donation.
So, personally, I would prefer to have an annual payment.
I *highly* recommend that a bunch of us make that suggestion for an annual payment. They're very open to suggestions.
I also prefer annual payments, but I have a system for tracking those things. I can not tell you how many authors I've seen lose their website because they forgot to make a payment, changed their email address, lost the password... so there is that aspect of monthly that may be why they started that way? I'm not sure.
When I first noticed the monthly only option, I was also a bit surprised.
Re: the content ownership problem - I think that's a problem that is much more pervasive than we thought it was. (See above note about folks not making payments on time...)
Hi Lisa -- Rick from BookBub here. Annual payments are definitely on our radar. We haven't gotten to them yet because we're just getting started with Author Websites, they're a little more complex on our end than the simple monthly payments, and we've been focused on other improvements.
That said, it's really helpful hear more about why annual payments are important, e.g, losing your site because you forget to make a payment!
Hopefully we can move annual payments up the list soon!
Woohoo! Welcome, Rick! I'm so glad you could stop by! You're doing amazing work.
They absolutely need to hire you as a consultant. Who else would know so much at the intersection of web page design and author needs? I must admit that since you posted late last year about the coming WP issues, I've been considering simplifying. My Buy Me a Coffee space is taking off, but I realize that isn't my space either. This is a tempting option, but I guess we're all a bit gun-shy about giving over full control. Simple sounds amazing and is a newish goal for me, though. As always, Lisa, you're brilliant. I adore yo💜💜💜 Thank you for this.
HA! That's fun, Laura, but I'll confess: I've looked to them to tell me the trends for years. And they are one company that I feel like actually DOES live at that intersection, because author needs are their livelihood.
Yay for Buy Me a Coffee! Sweet! Sadly, very few spaces are truly "our" spaces these days. They're all fragile, constantly changing things. We have to be adaptable.
I do not LIKE being adaptable.
And to clarify, I see BookBub giving authors a LOT of control.
Lisa,
I love my new website on BookBub!
Thanks for helping me make the switch from my WordPress site!
You are a Godsend for this technophobe author. 🙂
Grateful client,
Maggie FitzRoy
You outed yourself! You made a stunning website in like what... 10 minutes? It is beautiful.
Thanks! I love it. 🙂
Nice, informative article. Thanks! To be honest, Bookbub had fallen completely out of my attention as something to help with promotions.
While I have a WordPress site, I’ve mostly left it unattended. However, having completed my second novel, I desperately want to start actually promoting my books. WordPress can be difficult, but when kept up is not so bad.
The short of it is the list of “things you must do” as an author is overwhelming. I’ll refresh my memory on Bookbub and other choices over the next few weeks, as I try to get into any swing at promotion. Everything is work.
Jerold - I'm hoping that under that "mostly" is that you've been doing your updates. "Not so bad" is a good way of referring to WP these days... and that's an interesting thought when you realize that over the years, we've slowly adapted to that.
I agree, the "things you must do" list is just horrible. Try the 14 day free trial for author websites at BookBub just to see what you think. Then compare your costs. Might change your mind.
Oh - and BookBub - have you ever tried their pay-per-click ads? Those can be a lot of fun.
Thanks, Lisa.
I agree with you about the intricacies of managing your own website. Having previous experience with network administration and hands-on coding, I feel comfortable with most of the wrenches that WordPress throws my way, but KathySteinemann.com requires a growing time investment. Some days I wonder if it's worth the stress.
It will be interesting to see where BookBub lands in an internet world plagued by scammers and AI bugs.
Hi, Kathy! You feel my daily pain. I *can* handle WordPress websites - I manage a bunch of them - but the slowly increasing drain has been a problem.
I live in that author space where more and more authors are coming to me asking me to just do it for them... and I feel that's doing a disservice to authors. We WRITE, and writing on the web is powerful. When we have a platform we're afraid to touch... or just too tired to deal with... that becomes a problem.
My *hope* is that since BookBub is a "Service as a Subscription" model that they'll put a solid team of developers on it to keep it safe. And since it IS SaaS, they do have tech support that you can work with that knows they only get paid if they keep their authors happy.
So I'm hopeful for this one.
Very interesting, and worth thinking about. My concern is giving up yet another thing I own to a company that could pull the rug out. It's tempting, but I'm going to stay with my wordpress site for now.
I agree, Kay. But have you SEEN the WordPress Drama lately? That's literally the definition of a rug pull. Waiting to see what happens next IS a viable solution. Just make sure you have good backups in case your site gets caught up in the collateral damage.
One other question, Lisa. Are you talking about wordpress.org or wordpress.com?
Well, the two are sadly more linked than we ever realized. Both are owned by the same person and a lot of the drama has come from the "paid" side - Automattic. As far as stability, they are moving most of their resources away from WordPress.ORG and over to WordPress.COM. So the hope is that WordPress.COM will become better than ever. The drama definitely affects both sides, but the .org is much more in danger than the .com. (Speaking of Service as a Subscription... WordPress.COM is definitely SaaS.) Excellent question!!!
Thank you for this great information. It is tempting - except for the ownership. As someone who has several books out and is looking into selling direct, I wonder how that would work, or if it would even be possible.
The two ways we have of owning our own data is our email list and our website.
In some ways this feels like only using Facebook, then having no control as they manipulate visibility behind the scenes because they own the data. That’s why it makes me hesitant. However, I can also see how it could become an unspoken “requirement” for receiving BookBub feature deals or good ad campaigns. . .
Kelly - you can add your own links right in there! If you are looking hard-core into selling direct, Shopify is probably your best option. It *also* has a discoverability algorithm and the authors I know who have moved over there were happy after their sites grew so that they were making money.
I haven't heard anything about this becoming a "requirement" but that HAS been on my radar and something I wonder about.
They've built their own reader platform now, so that is an interesting blend as well.
You definitely still own your list with BookBub. They don't actually have a newsletter platform yet, but integrate with MailerLite and MailChimp, or just collect emails for you. From what I can tell, you can get that list any time you want. (But like all platforms with something that precious, we should have a off-site backup anyway.)
I put my comments about the content ownership problem in a separate post on my own website, but I'm starting to have doubts if we actually DO own our content anywhere. Or rather: we own it everywhere, but we don't really have good solid control of it most places these days, in my opinion. I've just seen too many horror stories lately!
I second your recommendation. I have a complicated site based on a WordPress model but it's expensive and now that I'm publishing my own work (so not trying to impress agents or publishers), I could probably use a simpler, less expensive alternative and from what I'm seen testing out the BookBub offering, it's easy to use, nice looking, and does the job. And my guess is they will continue to grow it in the months ahead.
That's certainly what it looks like, Maggie. They're asking for feedback and seem to be genuinely interested in it.
I actually tried to get them to write about it for us, but they were a little busy with their launch!
Testing out the simpler options is interesting these days. When we started our WordPress sites, those were the BEST. But... there are really amazing options these days.
And the only people you need to impress are your readers. THAT is a powerful space all on its own!
It's good to keep up with the changing landscape of author website possibilities. Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome, Amy. And - thank YOU for pointing me to Carrd. That just blows me away. Several of my clients have gone that direction and they are happy.
Thanks for investigating this option for us, Lisa. So far, it's not for me. I'm a control freak. I am not in favor of sites that require either an email address or a subscription to get information, nor in one that does not give me the option of self-hosting or controlling my data. My posts and website and lists are one of my biggest assets even though I am still a very small business. I'll keep an eye on BookBub (or an eye on what you dig up for me, haha) but until they allow me to control my assets, this one's not for me.
And that's fair, Lynette! You're doing great with your WordPress site. You're using it and developing it. As long as you stay safe from the drama - and I think you're with Jay from TechSurgeons, who seems to be doing a great job protecting his clients - it may even be safe long-term.
The next "moment of truth" for WordPress is in March, and I'm REALLY hoping it'll be a non-event.
All the changes with WordPress are crazy-making. I'm thinking BookBub may be a better option for me.
I'll definitely give it a good look.
Thanks for this!
Some people are just offended by the drama and what has come out because of it. Others are just tired of the instability.
BookBub gives you a 14 day window to play with it, and it seems like a few minutes is all you really need to see how it works. They built all the geeky bits to use AUTHOR speak... which is lovely.
[…] To read the complete post go to: BookBub About to Change Author Websites Forever? […]
Love to see so many comments so far...and I wanted to chime in and say I love that there are options out there.
You know I walked away from almost 2 decades of WordPress myself, and dozens of websites for another option, but what I choose isn't what everyone wants.
As you stated, you have to do what's right for you...and to be HAPPY in that decision.
On the other side, I'm now of the mindset that no platform is perfect, and you will never 100% own anything. Even if you confined yourself to real life, local and live interactions with readers...you don't own the library, pub, or park where you meet.
The truth is "this is what you can control 'ENOUGH'...today".
Be ready to move today, but build like you'll stay forever.
That's my mindset, anyway.
Jaime - I've been delighted watching how you've been building your online presence. And with the broader approach that you've been using, I think several things would need to die at once to take out your robust presence. You're building redundancy in, and I am IMPRESSED.
Is this going to be better than Substack? And can you have a store on the website?
They link to buy links, no store that I can see. Although you can use your PayHip links the way we did on the other platforms. Blogging looks pretty basic right now, and the newsletter functionality is almost non-existent. For you - with me knowing your platform and what you have to work with - I'd still rather see YOU on Substack.
For lurkers: one of the things about Sylvia is that she interacts with her readers a LOT. She's got the newsletter / blog thing down, and her readers WANT that interaction. I think Substack is a power tool for people in that scenario, and I don't see BookBub there YET.
Now... on the other hand, Sylvia also has a LOT of books out, and having something like BookBub auto-creating book pages... now THAT is a thing to consider.
You CAN merge the two, using Substack as the blog and BookBub Author Websites for the base site. Haven't played with that yet. Let me know if you want to!
This is a really helpful answer!
Sorry if this has been answered, (I have a headache) is there an option for direct sales?
They don't have a store right now, but I've been having people use PayHip as a store front and sell through there. Also if you are on Ingram Spark, their new eCommerce links work as well.
There are a few challenges with direct sales, specifically taxes and shipping. Usually those require more customization than we really want to do as authors, so having a platform handle that for us is huge.
And Shopify is an option for your site if you are focused on direct sales. They're better set up for authors with a bunch of books that they want to sell. See Morgana Best's article from December here at WITS: https://writersinthestormblog.com/2024/12/selling-books-from-your-own-website/
She's the expert on direct sales!
Hopefully Rick from BookBub will pop in for this question...
When you have a domain with an email attached, does BookBub plan to allow that email address to stay attached to the domain when we switch to do the website under BookBub?
That, and an annual pay, are a big deal. As is the ability for people to sign up for newsletters and such.
Newsletters is coming. Right now they DO take signups and just give you the email addresses to do what you want with. They also have MailChimp and MailerLite integrations available so that it can easily connect there and send your signups to that platform. But I don't know if they have any options for email addresses. (Thinking) One of my clients DID have a custom email address that we needed to set up a new "inbox" for - she is with GoDaddy (ugh) for domain name. They wanted to send the inbox stuff to a Microsoft 365 inbox. There were some DNS shenanigans needed, but BookBub had all of the geeky bits available for me to set that up. So... it is possible, but a lot depends on your domain name registrar and their ability to skim off the email traffic.
It would be AMAZING if BookBub had that feature natively!!! Or even just a forward, I suppose. Although, I have been spoiled with branded emails.
Hi Jenny, It's Rick from BookBub again. Many of our customers today have email accounts on the domain they use for their website. In these cases, Author Websites does not offer the email account itself. Instead, authors update the email records in their Author Websites domain settings to point to third-party email service providers like Google, Zoho, or Fastmail.
We're always happy to help authors walk through this setup process!
How does the BookBub platform compare with Wix?
Lynn - I'm so biased against Wix, I don't know if I can answer that reliably. BUT... trying my best to be neutral - I think BookBub will outperform it.
Too soon to say for sure, but I'd be very surprised if it isn't optimized well.
I just did a quick check and don't see any dip in discoverability from SEO for the authors that I know who have switched. Actually, looks good. But I can't compare to Wix because the only ones I've worked with on Wix were people leaving that platform.
DO be aware that with SEO being impacted by AI search, BookBub's discoverability algorithm (something I'm assuming they'll have because it is a logical fit for them with their new reader platform), I would expect them to actively be able to send readers TO your website. Something Wix isn't going to do.
Thanks for the full and honest take on this new builder. A few years ago I spent six months learning WP, with tons of notes on plug-ins, security, back ups, builders, SEO, and so on, only to feel overwhelmed and finally just plain annoyed by WP's constant need for updates (always served up with a generous heap of ads right in the dashboard). So to find something simple, easy to manage, and cheaper than Squarespace... it's a definite tool to keep an eye on.
I hear you, Steve. I've been building author websites for over 20 years (on Joomla before WordPress existed) and have always tried to go where it was easiest and most powerful for authors. And for many years, that WAS WordPress. But times and technology is changing. For authors with books out, I'm very excited about BookBub. The best part of it is that they are SO author centered. Easiest website setup process I've seen, and all explained in "author" rather than "geek." I'm very impressed with them.
This is intriguing.
One thing with BookBub and their deals is that it's just for ebooks--several of my books are not listed on my author page because they were never ebooks or are no longer available as an ebook. Will we be able to list books we have which are only available in print (per the publisher or availability)?
Hi Denise -- Rick from BookBub here. BookBub Featured Deals are indeed only for ebooks. But a website built with Author Websites (which you own and control) can list any type of book you want.
As Rick said: yes! And you have custom pages that you can set up to do anything you want, very similar to pages in WordPress.
All without the drama and the stress, and all backed by a support team of people who understand authors and actually CARE.
Support people who care is a rarity in the tech industry and is one of the key things I look for in a platform.
As always: thanks for reading, Denise!
I'm the Please Take it kinda gal! I did run right to it, and got to the page that said 'wait! you forgot to pay!' Actually it didn't say those exact words but it did say my 'free trial' expired. Which was interesting since it's a beta program! It does look intriguing however.
I use WIX currently. I think changing my https would be a hassle?
Hi, Claire! It actually won't be that hard. You do need to pay in order to have the URL pointed to the new site. Once that is set up, they give you the information on how to point the domain name. Is it registered through Wix? If so, they may make it harder, but it is absolutely worth any hassle. And the nice thing about BookBub is that they have support that will help you.
Now - if by https you mean the SSL certificate (what the S in https stands for), the good news is that BookBub will take care of all that for you. Once the domain is pointed at them, they'll handle pesky things like the SSL certificate for you. This is the SERVICE in the Service as a Subscription. (Something - my bias does slip out - Wix is NOT great at even though they are ALSO Service as a Subscription.)
If your domain name is with GoDaddy or any other domain name registrar, getting it pointed at BookBub will not be hard at all. It looks a lot geekier than it is, and they'll walk you through it. Takes about a day to finish changing over.
Hello Lisa. Nice review. Your question about what happens if bookbub changes course applies to any and every service we use unless one self-hosts on her own hardware.
I have a WordPress hosted site. What happens if one day WordPress folds? For that matter, what happens to all my books, ebooks bought or my books published, if one day Amazon declares bankruptcy?