30 Best WordPress Themes for Authors, Writers and Journalists in 2024

If you’re an author using WordPress, you’ve probably wondered if there are themes designed specifically for you. And the answer is, yes there are!

There are dozens of themes designed specifically for bloggers, novelists, journalists, magazine editors, and other types of writers.

In this article, we’ll cover the 30 best WordPress themes for authors. We’ll also explain what information you should include on your site.

Let’s get started!

The 30 Best WordPress Themes for Authors and Writers

If you’re looking to create a website to showcase your writing, one of these WordPress themes for authors, writers, and publishers could be a great option. 

All of these themes are designed with authors in mind as they come with features like custom post types and templates that make it easy to publish your work. 

Here’s a quick summary of the top WordPress themes for authors:

Theme Name	Active Installs?	Pricing	Our Rating
Astra	1,653,898+	Free / Starting from $49 €45	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Divi	200,000+	Starting from $89/year	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ultra	8000+	Starting from $59/year	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writers Blogily	1,000+	Free / Starting from $29	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher by BetterStudio	–	Starting from $44	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Themify Float	–	Starting from $59/year	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writee Pro	–	Starting from $49.99/year	⭐⭐⭐⭐
True North	–	Free	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eclipse	–	Starts at $69/year	⭐⭐⭐
Writer	–	Starting from $59/year	⭐⭐⭐

Here is the list of best authors’ themes for WordPress in 2024.

1. Astra

Astra is the most popular WordPress theme available. There are dozens of templates to choose from, many of which are useful for authors. Two, in particular, are designed specifically for displaying eBooks on a single landing page:

If you want to create an entire store of your products, Astra has you covered, too. The theme itself is optimized for WooCommerce and will help you maximize sales.

Features

• Link to multiple marketplaces or sell directly on your own site
• “About the Author” section
• Blog with multiple layout options
• Testimonials and reviews
• Display multiple pricing options with images
• “Related Products” section
• Fast performance; loads in less than half a second and is only 50KB
• Powerful design, color, and typography options
• Build a header and footer with a drag-and-drop interface
• Mega menu support
• Multiple site layouts, including boxed, full width, fluid, and others
• Integration with WooCommerce and WooCommerce-optimized template

Recommended Astra’s templates:

• Author and writer website templates
• Bookstore website templates
• Minimal website designs and templates
• One page website templates

Author Template

The Author template is a perfect minimalist website template for authors who want to showcase their work. 

The template features a modern design that is sure to impress your visitors, and is easy to customize so that you can make it your own. 

Plus, the template is responsive so it will look great on any device. So if you’re looking to create a website that promotes your books, then look no further!

Bestselling Author

Bestselling Author is a great template for authors who enjoy a little bit of a design edge while not going overboard. 

The large visuals and beautiful display for books make it the perfect place to showcase your work. 

The customizable colors and fonts and page builder compatibility give you the freedom to create a unique website that reflects your personality.

Ebook Author

The Ebook Author template is designed for self-published eBook authors who want to showcase their books in a clean and professional manner. 

It includes a beautiful and minimal book gallery on the home page, as well as pages for author details, ebooks, events, and others. The template is responsive and looks great on any device! 

Pros

• Both free and paid themes available
• Tons of customization options if you need something specific
• Premade templates that you can install in one click

Cons

• Because there are so many Astra features and options available, it may take you some time to learn how it all works

Costs

2. Divi

Divi is a WordPress theme and page builder. It replaces the standard WordPress post editor with its own visual-focused designer.

Divi includes over 195 layout packs, a few of which are optimized for authors. The “Author” layout pack, which is shown in the screenshot above, allows you to create an author-focused website. You can show your books on the home page, as well as in a WooCommerce book store.

The theme also has a unique animated loading effect, with the text and images moving slightly in the from the sides.

Overall, Divi is a great choice for web-savvy authors that want to create a customized WordPress website to display their books and other works.

Costs

• $89 / year for unlimited websites (also includes other layout and plugins)
• Single payment of $249 for lifetime access

Features

• Display your books on the home page
• Integrates with WooCommerce to create a book shop of all your products
• Layout library includes over 195 pre-designed options
• Drag and drop items to create your layout
• Edit items visually and see results instantly
• Custom CSS support
• Responsive and mobile-friendly
• Thousands of design options + save and reuse them
• Undo and redo changes
• 40+ website elements, including call to actions, sliders, blogs, galleries, forms, and more

Pros

• Powerful page builder allows you to create a highly customized website
• Premade Author layout gets your author site up and running quickly
• Layout packs let you create other designs (if you change your mind or expand beyond an author-oriented website)

Cons

• While you can create any type of site using the page builder, there is only one layout pack designed specifically for authors
• Many features might be overkill for a simple author website
• Users unfamiliar with web development may feel overwhelmed

3. Writers Blogily

Writers Blogily WordPress theme designed for writers and bloggers and that want to display their work online. The design is clean and minimal and places the focus entirely on your writing, without any distractions. There is no design specifically for displaying your eBooks, however, using WooCommerce, you can create a shop and sell your books.

There are both free and paid versions. The paid version includes a number of extra features, including header slideshows, page builder integration, Instagram feed and other design options.

The paid version also comes with two child themes, which can be used to customize the theme’s design. Since Writers Blogily is one of 30 themes offered by SuperbThemes, two of the paid plans also include these extra themes and plugins.

Writers Blogily, as its name suggests, is a good choice for writers that want to create a blog on their WordPress site.

Costs

• Free version with limited functionality
• One-time payment of $29 for one site with one theme (Writers Blogily)
• $69/year for up to 15 sites with 30+ premium themes and other features
• One-time payment of $149 for unlimited sites, all premium themes, and extra features.

Features

• Custom navigation logo, title, tagline
• Hide or show featured images
• Customize navigation colors or hide the navigation bar completely
• Sidebar and footer widgets
• Optimized for SEO
• Slideshow
• “About the Author” section

Pros

• Modern blog website design
• Cheaper price compared to many competitors

Cons

• No designs for WooCommerce or eCommerce so you need to add and customize the shop yourself
• Not designed specifically for selling books

4. MyBook – WordPress Theme for Writers

MyBook is a simple theme designed to show off your books and other written work. You can create pages using the drag-and-drop MyBook visual composer, customize the site layout and colors, and change other design elements. There is also a blog section, where you can write and promote your works.

The theme has a number of useful predetermined content blocks, including customer reviews, book preview images, and a sample PDF of the book. The theme integrates well with WooCommerce, making it easy to sell your books.

MyBook is an excellent choice for any authors that want an affordable, easy-to-use theme that showcases their books and other works.

Costs

• Single payment of $49 for one domain
• Single payment of $89 for up to 5 domains
• Single payment of $299 for unlimited domains + access to 100+ other templates, plugins, and other features

Features

• Drag-and-drop page builder
• Display your featured books on the homepage
• About the author section with photo and social links
• Book preview section lets you upload image previews of certain pages
• Features section lets you highlight optional features, like audiobook versions, eBook formats, translations, and more
• Link to multiple marketplaces like Amazon, Nook, Kobo and others
• Show reviews from your readers with quotes and photos
• Free sample section to share a PDF sample
• Email signup form
• Show recent blog posts on the home page

Pros

• Very affordable with no yearly subscription fees
• Simple design that highlights your books

Cons

• Theme is designed only for authors, so it’s not as flexible as some other competitors

5. Themify Ultra – Authors Theme for WordPress

Ultra is a highly-flexible theme created by Themify. The theme comes with over twenty-five demo themes. One of these is called eBook and is designed as a one-page landing page for a single book.

Ultra has a very appealing, professional design, with a big focus on typography. There are pre-designed layout options for everything you’ll need to sell an eBook, including an About the Author section, Book Reviews, a free sample area, and a contact form.

Ultra is a fantastic choice for authors that want to sell a single book on a one-page website. The landing page is very attractive and is easy to set up and takes very little expertise.

Costs

• $59 for the Ultra theme (one year of updates and support)
• $89 for the Master Club, which includes 42 themes, Photoshop files, 11 plugins, and other items designed by Themify (one year of updates and support)
• $249 for a lifetime membership (same features as the Master Club)

Features

Pros

• Well-designed theme that helps focus on selling your eBook
• Master Club package includes a ton of other plugins and themes

Cons

• If you want to sell multiple books or have a shop, you’ll need to use a different theme”. None of the other demos are designed specifically for eBooks.

6. Publisher by BetterStudio – WordPress Theme for Authors

Publisher Theme is designed for magazines, blogs, newspapers, and other sites with a focus on writing and publishing content. There are 97 pre-made demos, which you can set up with a one-click installer. These demos are designed for certain news genres, like financial news or food reviews.

Publisher is one of the most popular themes for publishers around the world, so it’s a great theme to use if you plan on publishing a large amount of content. There is no shop design included in the theme, so you’ll need to set up WooCommerce yourself.

Costs

All plans are a single payment and include lifetime updates.

• $44 for the theme and 6 extra plugins, 1 active domain
• $69 for the theme and 20 extra plugins, 1 active domain
• $149 for 5 active domains
• $399 for unlimited active domains

Features

• 97 premade demos optimized for particular niches, including financial news, gaming news, and food reviews
• Install a demo with one click
• Responsive and mobile-friendly, with Google AMP support and Facebook Instant Articles support
• Optimized for SEO
• Embed any time of file format to posts (PDF, DOCX, PPT, Excel, etc.) via Google Drive and DropBox
• Smart thumbnail cropping allows you to make sure your images are cropped correctly
• Optimized to maximize page speed
• Support for Google Adsense and other ad networks making it ads optimized WordPress theme
• Migrate to the Publisher theme easily with a migrator plugin
• White label support
• Sign-up forms with included newsletter designs
• Display quotes and testimonials
• Custom widgets for social counters, Instagram, other popular integrations
• RTL support for Arabic, Hebrew, Persian

Pros

• Very powerful and flexible theme that can be modified to create virtually any type of publishing website
• For the amount of features, it is rather affordable

Cons

• The theme is designed for high-volume publishers. If you publish less frequently, it may be overkill.
• No inherent designs for a shop, so you’ll need to make your own store page with WooCommerce.

7. Themify Float

Float is a theme built by Themify centered around parallax design. Many sites use this design technique, which creates a 3D effect when you scroll the page. The blog also has a unique zig-zag layout, which is designed to match the parallax feature.

There are 11 pre-designed demos, which you can install in one click.

The theme is also included in Themify’s Master Club, which we mentioned above. For $89 you can access the Float theme and 41 other themes.

If you want to create a parallax sales page for your eBook or other works, Float is a good choice.

Costs

• $59 for the theme
• $69 for the theme + Photoshop files
• $89 for the theme + 41 other themes by Themify in the Master Club package

Features

• Easily create a parallax website
• Responsive and mobile-friendly
• Multiple layout design options: 3 header layouts, transparent header, 2 menu styles, and
• Display images in a portfolio with a masonry layout
• Pre-designed demos that can be installed in one click
• WooCommerce support

Pros

• Easy way to create a parallax-oriented layout
• If purchased in the Master Club package, it is very inexpensive

Cons

• Parallax design may not be everyone’s cup of tea
• Not specifically designed for authors or books

8. Author

Author is a minimalist theme designed for authors. With a sidebar header layout, it’s unique and a bit different than many other themes available. It also works well with page builders like Elementor. Author is completely free, which is great for newer authors.

If you’re on a budget, we recommend using Author, especially if you want a simple theme that focuses purely on your content.

Costs

• Completely free

Features

• Responsive and mobile-friendly
• Gutenberg compatible
• WooCommerce integrated

Pros

• Completely free
• Minimal design keeps the focus on your writing
• Tons of tutorials in the theme’s help center

Cons

• The theme isn’t optimized for selling books, so you’ll need to design the sales page yourself

9. Book Author by Templatic

Book Author is a theme that lets you create a powerful eBook library website. You can create individual product pages for each book, link to multiple marketplaces (like Amazon or Kobo), integrate with WooCommerce, and write blog posts to promote your works.

The theme also comes with a one-click install, which makes it easy to set up.

There are a number of premade layout blocks, including a video review, newsletter subscription form, reader testimonials, and an “about the author” section. Templatic also makes the Publisher theme (see below), which you can purchase together with Book Author for $299.

Book Author is one of our top choices for authors. The theme is well-designed, affordable, and full of useful features.

Costs

• $69 for one site
• $89 for five sites
• $299 for unlimited sites plus 100+ other Templatic themes

Features

• Sell an unlimited number of books
• Section for reader reviews / testimonials
• Display your latest blog posts on the home page
• Embed a video review or other explainer video
• “About the author” section
• Newsletter subscription form
• Responsive and mobile-friendly
• Display links to various marketplaces (Amazon, Nook, Kobo, etc.) as well as a direct WooCommerce purchase option

Pros

• Display both a featured book on the home page and a library of other books/products
• Quick install in one click
• Straightforward design is easy to understand

Cons

• Might be expensive for newer writers with no budget
• If you only have one book, the theme may have too many features

10. Hello! Pro

The Hello! Pro Theme is designed for building your personal brand. It is made by StudioPress and uses the Genesis Pro Framework. Its main focus is for presenting yourself as a writer.

The home page is designed to be a landing page that encourages readers to sign up to your newsletter or purchase your books. You can display your work in a simple image icon section.

There is no included design for eCommerce, so you’ll need to set up WooCommerce to sell your products directly from the site. 

If your primary focus is displaying your own identity as a writer, the Hello! Pro theme is a great choice.

Costs

• One-time fee of $97 for the theme

Features

• Choose from premade page templates: default, archives, categories, landing page, and blog
• Sign up form
• Feature/skills area
• Link to multiple marketplaces (via image icons)
• Testimonial area with background image
• Multiple widget areas
• Responsive and mobile-friendly
• Customizable header
• Theme customizer

Pros

• Clean design that focuses on your identity as a writer
• Genesis package includes many other useful themes and plugins

Cons

• Primarily for building a personal brand, not selling books
• Expensive compared to some competitors

11. Angle

Angle is a minimalist portfolio theme with a focus on modern typography. It has everything you’ll need as a writer, including a portfolio section, a bookstore running on WooCommerce, a blog, and a services/skills area.

The design is especially appealing to those looking for a minimalist design with a high black-white contrast. If you write blog posts often, this is probably an important factor for you.

Since the theme is created by WPZoom, you can also purchase all 45 of their themes for $125.

Angle is one of our top five recommended themes, as its flexibility, minimal design, and wide range of features makes it a great choice for any established or aspiring author.

Costs

• $69 for the single Angle theme (1 year of support + updates)
• $125 for all 45 of WPZoom’s themes (1 year of support + updates)

Features

• Services section to show your skills
• WooCommerce integration
• Options panel to customize design and other details
• Responsive, mobile and Retina-ready
• Portfolio of projects to display your clients or written works
• Dynamic homepage builder
• Visual customizer
• Header featured images

Pros

• Well-designed minimal theme that is easy to read
• Includes portfolio, blog, and shop sections
• Very flexible and easy to modify

Cons

• If you only need a single-feature site (blog, landing page, or portfolio) it may have too many features

12. Publisher by Templatic

Publisher is a theme by Templatic (not to be confused with the Publisher theme by BetterStudio mentioned above.) Unlike the other theme, this Publisher is designed for individual writers, bloggers, content writers, and similar individuals.

You can display all of your books in a WooCommerce shop, link to Amazon or other marketplaces, and write blog posts.

The theme also comes with the Digital Downloads plugin, which allows you to sell your books and other products easily.

Publisher is a solid choice for any author looking to sell their own books (and blog about them, too.)

Costs

• Single payment of $59 for 1 domain (1 year of updates + support)
• Single payment of $99 for 5 domains (1 year of updates + support)
• Single payment of $299 for unlimited domains access to 100+ Templatic themes

Features

• Customizable registration page for your eBook’s launch
• Portfolio to display books by category
• Product reviews
• WooCommerce support
• Multilingual support with WPML
• Blog support
• Color and other design options
• Template for coupons
• Order management and reporting for book sales
• Responsive and mobile-friendly
• Multi-currency support

Pros

• Full of features and customization options
• Blog, portfolio, and shop all in one theme

Cons

• If you need a simple site to showcase one book, this theme is probably overkill

13. Writer

Writer is a simple Parallax-style theme. It includes a home page with testimonials and frequently-asked questions, a biography page, a blog, and a portfolio-style layout for your books or other works.

It is built with the Elementor page builder plugin and includes additional JET plugins. While it’s a little expensive, it may be a good choice for writers that really like the parallax look.

Costs

• Starts at $59 for one site, additional features cost extra

Pros

• Display your books in a portfolio-style layout
• Parallax layout is unique
• Easily customizable with Parallax

Cons

• Expensive for only one site

14. Landing

Landing is a WordPress landing page theme. You can create landing pages via the drag-and-drop editor or by importing one of 25 pre-designed layouts. Among the layouts, there are two specifically designed for eBooks 1 for a shop, and many others for personal portfolio-style websites.

If you have a single book and want a landing page theme to help sell it, Landing is a reliable choice.

Costs

• $59 for the theme
• $69 for the theme + Photoshop files

Features

• Over 25 pre-designed layouts, including two for eBooks
• Social icons
• Excerpts and sample PDFs
• Newsletter subscription widget
• About the Author section
• Testimonials and reviews
• WooCommerce support

Pros

• Extremely minimal theme focuses only on your book

Cons

• Although some layouts include a blog section, the theme is not designed for blogging
• The shop design is not optimized for books

15. Brittany

Brittany is a content-oriented theme designed for lifestyle and fashion websites. The templates are designed with images in mind, so it’s a great choice for any authors that incorporate illustrations or photographs into their work.

The theme also has WooCommerce support and a shop template, so it’s easy to sell your books and other products.

There are both free and paid versions of the theme. The free version (Brittany Light) is somewhat limited and you’ll need to purchase Brittany Pro in order to use a carousel, have multiple layouts, change typography options, and have an author box.

Brittany is a visually striking theme that is ideal for any authors that use images in their works.

Costs

All plans except the last one include one year of updates and support.

• Free version with limited options
• $34.30 for just the Brittany theme (unlimited sites)
• $48.30 for access to all of CSSIgniter’s themes and plugins (unlimited sites)
• $62.30 for all above + elementor starter kits
• $174.30 for all above plus lifetime premium support and updates

Features

• Over 30 design, color, and typography settings
• Drag-and-drop page creator
• Support for page builder plugins: Beaver Builder, Elementor, and Divi
• Customizable widgets
• WooCommerce support
• One click demo import
• Translation ready with WPML
• Integrate with social media

Pros

• Great-looking visual design ideal for fashion and lifestyle authors and writers
• Includes shop and WooCommerce support

Cons

• If you don’t use many images, the design might not work well

16. Katib Writers

Katib is a theme intended as a personal website for writers. The home page includes an “About the Author” section, links to blog posts, a portfolio of your books and other products, a skills and CV area, testimonials, a photo gallery and a list of events.

Katib is a best theme for writers and copywriters, as it allows you to quickly display your work and skills.

Costs

• Basic free version
• Pro version for $39

Features

• WooCommerce compatible
• Skills and CV area

Pros

• Affordable compared to other options

Cons

• Primarily designed for copywriters and bloggers, not book authors

17. The Writers Blog

As the name implies, The Writers Blog is a theme designed for writers. You can use it as a blog, journal, magazine, or similar content hub.

There is a free version and a paid version of the theme. At only $39, the paid version is one of the more affordable options available.

Costs

• Basic free version
• Premium version for $39

Features

• Visual-heavy focus
• Multiple layout options
• Customizable sidebar widget

Pros

• Affordable

Cons

• Designed for bloggers more than authors or copywriters

18. Writee

Writee is a minimal theme aimed at bloggers. It has a number of template options, including Lifestyle, Food, Decor, Travel, Fashion, and Wedding. Depending on your particular writing niche, you can likely find one that works for you.

There are both free and paid versions available, with the paid version including extra design options, widgets, and layouts.

Costs

• Single payment of $39
• A free version of the theme is also available

Features

• Post slider with 10+ variations
• Social media sharing options
• Extensive design and font customization options
• WooCommerce compatible

Pros

• Affordable price
• Many template options are available
• Minimal, attractive design

Cons

• Not optimized for selling books directly

19. Presence

Presence is a multipurpose WordPress theme that can be used for just about any kind of niche. Be it a blog, corporate website, online store, or website for authors,

Presence offers several pre-built layouts to choose from with a range of designs and a built-in page builder to help customize it.

Once you import a template of your choice, you can use the drag-and-drop page builder to customize it the way you want. All the themes are compatible with the new Gutenberg block editor, which makes life even easier.

Want to publish your articles in multiple languages? Do so easily with translation-ready themes.

Costs

• $69 / year for a single theme
• Single payment of $179 for lifetime access (for a single theme)

Features

• One-click import and update
• Gutenberg block editor ready
• Completely customizable
• Translation-ready
• Search engine friendly code
• Built-in page builder
• Seamless integration with WooCommerce, Mailchimp, Visual Composer, and more

Pros

• Several ready-made templates that you can easily import
• Themes can be customized to create that perfect website for authors

Cons

• There is no free option available

20. True North

Have you ever wanted a WordPress theme that focused more on the website’s content instead of fancy animations or distracting effects? True North is one such theme. A minimalist theme that guarantees to help promote your work.

Choose from different layout options, such as slideshow, image array, and more, to showcase your work. The search engine-friendly theme also comes integrated with content widgets, social networking, Twitter, Instagram, and more.

The theme works out of the box but makes it easy to customize it to your needs. It is regularly updated and kept current, which is useful for obvious reasons.

Costs

• True North theme is available for free

Features

• Regular theme updates to offer the best in features
• One-click import
• Easy customization
• Lightweight and optimized for speed
• Responsive and optimized for SEO
• Translation ready
• Compatible with popular page builders and plugins
• Premium support

Pros

• A simple and minimalist theme where your work is the primary focus
• The theme is available for free

Cons

• Theme is meant primarily for a portfolio website. May need some tweaking, to begin with

21. Eclipse

Eclipse is designed for photographers and bloggers. It’s ideal for writers looking for a minimal theme that combines imagery with easy readability.

This theme is designed by WPZoom, which also sells the Angle theme mentioned above. You can purchase both themes (and 43 others) for $125.

Costs

• $69 for single theme (one year of updates and support)
• $99/year for access to all of the the themes by WPZoom

Features

• WooCommerce support
• Theme options panel and visual customizer
• Responsive and retina-ready
• Featured slider
• Widget columns

Pros

• Great minimal design
• Works well with images
• Seamless integration with social media

Cons

• Big focus on visuals, so if you prefer only using text, it’s not a great choice

22. Indigo

Indigo is an eCommerce-oriented WordPress theme designed for selling your products. It has an attractive, image-focused layout which highlights imagery. It also has some parallax sections.

Indigo is ideal for writers that both use a lot of images in their blog posts and want to create a shop of their works.

Features

• Works well with WooCommerce

Costs

• $129 (one year of updates and support)

Pros

• Attractive visual design
• Integrates well with WooCommerce

Cons

• Optimized for shops and not landing pages or text-only blogs
• Expensive compared to other options

23. Spencer

Spencer is a theme aimed at businesses and bloggers that want to use large images in their content. It has support for WooCommerce and has a well-designed shop template with plenty of space for images.

Costs

All options except the last one include one year of updates and support.

• $49 for one theme
• $69 for all themes and plugins by CSSIgniter
• $79 for all themes, plugins, and Elementor starter kits
• $249 for all of above + lifetime support and updates

Features

• Flexible layout
• Page builder support (Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi)
• Color control and other design options

Pros

• Many features at a low price

Cons

• Image-heavy design isn’t very minimal

24. Bloger

Bloger is a theme by Access Press that focuses on imagery. It’s ideal for professional bloggers and writers that want to write content about their business, especially if they use visuals in their posts.

Costs

• Basic free version
• $38 for premium version (one year of updates and support)

Features

• Three homepage layouts + three archive layouts
• Boxed or full-width
• Home page slider
• Author profile widget

Pros

• Affordable
• Free version has many features

Cons

• Design is image-heavy and not ideal for text-only blogs

25. Binder Pro

Binder Pro is a theme designed for journalists, magazines, and other editorial-based websites. It has a minimal design with a focus on imagery. You can build your site by using modules, which are small layout pieces like a call to action or carousel.

If you’re creating a magazine or other image-heavy website, Binder Pro is a nice choice.

Costs

• $129 (one year of updates)

Features

• Mobile-friendly
• Translation-ready
• Integrates with WooCommerce

Pros

• Modern design

Cons

• If you are only selling a single book, it may be overkill

26. Modules

Modules is an exceptionally well-designed theme, aimed at authors and freelancers. You can construct your site using modules that add layout elements.

The theme is designed for sites that use a lot of photographs, so it’s ideal for bloggers in the fashion, design, art, and similar industries. It also comes with a shop template that integrates with WooCommerce.

Modules is an excellent choice for writers looking for a design-centric theme. You can also use this WordPress theme for photography websites.

Costs

• $129 (one year of support and updates)

Features

• Blog + shop templates
• Multiple header layouts
• Portfolio functionality
• Video background
• Mobile-friendly
• Gutenberg compatible
• Works with WooCommerce

Pros

• Very well-designed
• Covers everything you’ll need as an author

Cons

• Slightly expensive compared to some competitors

27. Hoffman

Hoffman is an elegant minimal theme for bloggers and other writers. It puts a premium on images and content and eschews extraneous details. Articles are designed to be readable, with plenty of white space and breathing room.

Hoffman is a great choice for writers with a low budget looking primarily for a blogging theme.

Costs

• Free

Features

• Responsive and mobile-ready
• Galleries
• Recent post widgets
• Custom colors and backgrounds

Pros

• Elegant minimal design
• Free to use

Cons

• Not optimized for selling books

28. Chosen

Chosen is a minimalist theme that is completely free to use. It is easy to use and the developer’s website has a number of tutorials and help guides on their website.

The theme itself is very barebones and is primarily for blogging. There are no other distracting features, which makes it ideal for writers that want to focus exclusively on showing off their work.

Costs

• Free

Features

• Gutenberg and Elementor compatible
• Integrated with WooCommerce

Pros

• Free to use
• Appealing minimal theme

Cons

• Aimed at bloggers and not for selling books

29. Book Landing Page

Book Landing Page is a theme designed to sell an individual book. It has a variety of useful features, including testimonials, video reviews, a page sample viewer, an about the author section, and a features/selling points area. While the theme focuses primarily on the home landing page, it also has a blog, contact form and other pages.

There are both free and paid versions of the theme. The paid version gives you access to extra features like a banner with a custom image, Google fonts, more sidebar layouts, WPML translation support, and access to the documentation.

In summary, Book Landing Page is recommended for authors that have only a single book and want to write blog posts to promote it.

Features

• Testimonials and video reviews
• Share sample pages
• About the Author section
• Selling points area

Costs

• Free version comes with many essential features
• Paid version starts at $59

Pros

• Simple, straightforward design that helps you sell more books
• Includes blog (rare for landing page themes)

Cons

• Not designed for a shop or multiple books

30. Author Landing Page

Author Landing Page is a child theme of the Book Landing Page mentioned above. It is designed for authors, novelists, and other writers that want to sell a single book at a time.

Costs

• Free to download
• Comes included with paid version of Author Landing Page for $59

Features

• Sections for banner, features, testimonials, reviews, and more
• Optimized for quick loading
• SEO-friendly

Pros

• Free to use
• Ideal for simple websites that only sell one book at a time

Cons

• Not useful for those creating a shop of multiple products

Things to Consider When Selecting a Theme for Authors

1. Flexibility

Can your theme be easily modified to add new books, series, and other products? If your books change genres from nonfiction to fantasy, will you be able to modify the theme to match your new brand?

Thankfully, many WordPress themes are designed with flexibility in mind. Some of the more popular options include Neve, Divi, and our theme, Astra.

We have dozens of premade templates built on Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy and in the standard WordPress Gutenberg editor.

2. Loading Speed

The loading speed of your website affects how long visitors will remain on a page, and subsequently, the likelihood that they will buy your book or subscribe to your newsletter. As such, it’s really important to select a theme that isn’t too bloated or filled with large files.

In our latest Astra release (Astra 3.0), we dramatically improved website performance for exactly this reason. Read more about it on our blog.

3. Compatibility With Page Builders

A WordPress page builder is a plugin that lets you easily create pages via a drag-and-drop interface. Instead of having to code everything from scratch in HTML and CSS, you can design complex layouts with only a few clicks.

Check out our list of the best WordPress Page Builder plugins.

For example, Astra has hundreds of website templates that work with popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Brizy.

Page builders are especially useful for authors, as they allow you to create a well-designed website without spending a lot of time on design. After all, you want to focus on writing, not managing your website!

4. Responsive and Mobile-Friendly

A majority of Internet users are now browsing from their phone or tablet, which means that your website needs to be responsive and mobile-friendly.

“Responsive” simply means that the website will automatically adjust to the size of the viewer’s screen. For example, the site will look differently on an iPhone, an iPad, a laptop, and a widescreen monitor, as each device has a different screen resolution.

Most newer WordPress themes are responsive. That said, you should still investigate how the theme looks (on multiple devices) and if it’s customizable.

Some themes, while claiming to be responsive, only look good in a highly-modified demo version. Others only work well on mobile when specific options are used. For example, if the menu only has two items.

Since the Astra theme is used by so many people, we double-check its performance on every device you can think of. Some smaller themes might not do this, so you should always try to preview the theme on your own site if possible.

5. SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving your position in search engine results. The goal is typically to appear as high as possible for a particular keyword or search.

If you’re a sci-fi author, you’ll want to appear in searches that include key phrases like “sci-fi books”, “sci-fi stories,” “best sci-fi authors”, and so on. The top results will receive substantially more traffic than any other page result. Results beyond the first page are often ignored entirely by search engine users.

Since SEO can have a dramatic effect on the success of your website, it’s critical to choose a theme that is optimized for SEO.

6. eCommerce Functionality

Self-publishing has become an increasingly lucrative way to write and sell a book. In fact, from a profit-oriented perspective, self-published books often outperform those sold in the traditional manner.

The traditional publishing process tends to leave authors with a very small portion of the total sales revenue.

If you choose to sell your books independently, you’ll need a way to sell them on your website. That’s where WooCommerce comes in. WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce solution on the internet, with over 3 million active installations.

While WooCommerce will work with any theme, it’s much better to select one specifically designed for displaying products. Our Astra WooCommerce theme, for example, is optimized to maximize your sales.

By choosing WooCommerce theme, you’ll sell more books and gain more readers. A win-win all around!

7. Little or No Distraction

Some authors have a tendency to fill their website with irrelevant information that doesn’t relate to their books. Lists of favorite recipes, family photos, comments on recent political events, and other content that only distracts the reader and scares away potential book sales.

Always remember that your author website is not a personal website. It’s a marketing tool for your work and should be designed to increase your book sales, readers, and other professional metrics that help you be more successful as a writer, no matter what your definition of success is.

You should pick a theme that is laser-focused on accomplishing your goals as a writer. That means you probably don’t need any flashy animations or intros.

What Should You Include on Your Author Website?

Once you’ve selected a theme, the next step is install it and populate your site with content. But what should you include?

In this last section, we’ll cover nine essential elements that every author should have on their website.

An Author Biography

Modern readers are hungry for information about their favorite authors. Be sure to include as many details as you feel comfortable revealing. A picture can help, too!

But, as we said above, your website should only include content that helps you accomplish your goals as a writer. The About page is not a place to write your life story, unless, of course, it relates directly to your brand as a writer.

Links to All of Your Books

While it seems obvious, many authors hide the links to their books behind endless menus and subpages. Always try to put your books front and center. After all, that’s why you’re creating the website!

Some consumers like to purchase books on Amazon, while others may prefer Walmart. So, if possible, try to list your books on multiple marketplaces. And if your books are listed in multiple locations, be sure to link to all of them and not just one.

Mailing List

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build a brand, keep in touch with your readers, and sell your books. With the rise of SubStack and other new platforms, some writers are primarily focusing on writing *for email* and not to sell an external product.

There are dozens of email marketing and contact form plugins available for WordPress.

Our own plugin, ConvertPro, lets you easily create email signup forms and popups. It integrates with over a dozen email service providers and CRMs, including Mailster, Active Campaign, MailChimp, HubSpot, AWeber, MailPoet, and other popular options.

Blog

A blog is a great way to drive traffic to your site. You can share excerpts of your work, share “behind the scenes” information on your writing process, and write original content that is designed to attract readers to your site, hopefully to buy a book.

Depending on your ultimate goals, you don’t need to post on your blog every day. Once a week or a few times a month goes a long way toward building your SEO ranking and drawing in potential future readers.

Contact Form

A contact form is a must for any author’s website. Unless you’re Thomas Pynchon, you’ll probably want to interact with your readers, get their feedback and opinions, and address any concerns they may have.

Media outlets will also use your contact form to get in touch with you. You certainly don’t want to miss out being featured in a newspaper because the journalist couldn’t find a contact page!

ConvertPro is a plugin that makes it easy to create a contact form on your site.

Testimonials or Reviews

Social proof is one of the most important factors when it comes to selling products online, especially in a situation where your potential customer is a complete stranger. Most people are (understandably) hesitant to buy a book when they know nothing about the author.

Testimonials and reviews by real people are the key to solving this problem. The more social proof you have, the less hesitance you’ll encounter from new customers.

There are many different types of testimonials, ranging from one-line quotes to video testimonials. Try to get as many different reviews as possible, from as many different people as possible. Always ask if you can feature their comments on your (public) website. Most people will be glad to help.

Here at Astra, we have a page that displays our customer reviews and testimonials. They are all from real world users, many of whom are well-known in the WordPress community. This helps potential customers trust us and know that our products are reliable.

As an author, you can follow a similar strategy. Try to contact any influencers and influential people in your writing niche to see if they will offer a review, testimonial, or even just feedback on your work.

If you don’t have any reviews from your previous work, try reaching out to anyone that has purchased it. Chances are, they’ll be glad to write a one paragraph testimonial about the book. Just don’t ask too much of them!

If you’re a completely new author, try offering free copies of the book in exchange for a review. Make sure that the review is genuine and honest; you don’t want the reader to feel like you’re bribing them.

Excerpts of Your Work

A brief sample chapter (or even a single page) from your work goes a long way toward convincing readers to purchase your books. You can include this sample as a downloadable PDF or simply paste the text on your website.

Many of the themes we mentioned above also have a specifically-designed section for displaying excerpts.

One especially effective marketing tactic is to offer a free sample for signing up to your mailing list. This way, you are able to contact the reader in the future with more information about the book and about your future works. Asking readers to reply directly to the email with their feedback on the sample is also a great way to improve your writing and build a relationship with your readers.

Media Mentions Page

As we mentioned above in the Testimonials section, social proof is a very powerful way to make your customers/readers feel comfortable enough to purchase your books.

Perhaps the most powerful form of social proof is being mentioned in official media sources like newspapers, popular blogs, and other channels that have a large audience. This is especially true if the audience is composed of your potential readers.

If you are lucky enough to be mentioned in major media outlets, feature it prominently on your website. Create a “Media” page and a “Featured In” banner on your home page and sales page. You’ve probably seen sections like this on other product websites.

This is also a good place to put any speeches, talks, or public appearances that you’ve made as an author. When you present yourself as experienced and open to public engagement, you’ll be more likely to be contacted by journalists and other individuals that can help you.

Social Media Links

Finally, you should always have links to your social media profiles displayed prominently on your site. As with blogging, you don’t need to actually post on Instagram or Facebook very often; a few times a month is sufficient. The more channels that you have to access and contact your readers, the better.

Many themes will automatically display social links in the header and footer. Others will only display them if you specifically add a widget to the sidebar or other location.

Our Top 3 Recommendations

1. Astra: We recommend our theme for most use cases. It is endlessly customizable, comes with over a hundred templates (many of which are designed specifically for eCommerce and authors/writers), and is affordable compared to some other competitors.
2. Templatic Book Author: This theme is full of features and is designed specifically for eBook authors. You can create a comprehensive shop and book landing pages.
3. Book Landing Page: Book Landing Page is an elegant and simple WordPress theme designed for selling a single book. If you don’t need any other features and only plan on selling one book at a time, it is a great choice.

Conclusion

If you’re an author, journalist, editor, or other type of writer, making sense of the different types of websites and themes can be confusing. Hopefully, our guide above was helpful!

Are you an author using WordPress? What theme does your site use? Let us know its pros and cons in the comments section!