My Website Story

I knew nothing about websites. To be honest I didn’t even know the average person could create one. So, why did I even attempt to make my own?

As an author, I needed one. Whether you are an indie author or traditionally published, it’s a good idea to have a website. Once people read your book they may google you. Having your own website is professional and helps link them to other books you have. Even knowing this I avoided this step. Why? Because I didn’t know how to start or what to do.

This is where I got incredibly lucky. I’m in a writers group with K. J. Harrowick. She happens to be a web designer. Yea, I know lucky. So her and I came up with a plan for my website. She would teach me how to maintain the website and she would do all the hard stuff. The amazing picture on the home page, that was all her. The cool cat and my name all fancy, again her. If you see something amateur on the website, that’s me. And I am happy with what I have done. Just being able to write this blog and add pictures is an improvement.

So, no. I didn’t build the website. It’s not one of my strengths. And I’m okay with that. If you are reading this in hopes of some tips, I have a few but I’m no expert. There are also videos to help you step by step. You could start with something very simple or dive in and do an elaborate web design.

The web platform I use is WordPress. There is Squarespace, Wix, and many others. WordPress can be free, but I chose to upgrade. If you use the free version their domain is linked with yours. So, instead of melodycaraballo.com it would have wordpress.com at the end. For me, that was a personal choice to only have my name.

WordPress was simple. They have templates for the design, all you do is click on the different blocks to add your texts and pictures. As for the pictures, except the ones that K.J. made for me, I used free ones from the internet. Canva and Pixabay were the two sites I took advantage of. They have free images you can use anywhere. There is also a gallery of images you can pay for. The rest is a learning curve. Try something, if it doesn’t work, do something else. I know little about websites and I can do it, that means anyone can.

Hugs and Best Witches to all of you.