WordPress vs Website Builders: Which Is Right for Your Author Site?
WordPress vs Website Builders: Which Is Right for Your Author Site?
Every author needs a website. That part is settled. Your website is your home on the internet — the one place that belongs entirely to you, regardless of which social media platforms rise or fall or change their algorithms overnight.
The part that's less settled? How to actually build it. Walk into any author community and ask about websites, and you'll get a dozen different answers: WordPress. Squarespace. Wix. Ivorey. Just pick one! They're all fine! None of them are fine!
Let's cut through the noise with an honest comparison of your main options — and help you figure out which one actually suits you.
First, a Crucial Distinction: Two Different WordPresses
Before anything else, we need to clear up a common source of confusion: WordPress.com and WordPress.org are different things, and choosing between them matters enormously.
WordPress.org is free, open-source software that you download and install on your own web hosting. You own everything, you control everything, and the possibilities are virtually unlimited — but you're also responsible for managing your own hosting, security, updates, and backups.
WordPress.com is a hosted service that uses the WordPress software but manages the infrastructure for you. Much simpler to set up, but with more restrictions on what you can do, particularly on lower pricing tiers.
When people rave about WordPress's power and flexibility, they're almost always talking about WordPress.org (self-hosted). When people complain that WordPress is confusing, they've often started with WordPress.com and hit its limitations. Keep this distinction in mind for everything that follows.
The Options at a Glance
WordPress.org (Self-Hosted)
Best for: Authors who want maximum control, plan to grow their site significantly, have some patience for a learning curve, or are serious about SEO.
The appeal of self-hosted WordPress is genuine. You have access to tens of thousands of plugins — tools that extend your site's functionality in almost any direction imaginable (booking systems, mailing list integrations, ecommerce, membership areas, you name it). The SEO capabilities are unmatched. You own your data completely. And there are beautiful, author-specific themes available that make a professional result achievable without hiring a designer.
The trade-off is real maintenance responsibility. You'll need to keep your themes, plugins, and WordPress core updated. Security needs managing. Occasional technical issues will arise. If you're not comfortable with a moderate amount of tinkering, or you simply don't have the bandwidth for it, this can feel overwhelming.
Typical annual cost: Hosting (~$80–$150 AUD/year) + domain (~$20–$30 AUD/year) + optional premium theme (~$60–$100 AUD one-off). Roughly $100–$280 AUD/year depending on your choices.
Drag-and-Drop Website Builders (Squarespace, Wix, and others)
Best for: Authors who want their site up quickly, don't want to deal with technical maintenance, and are happy working within a more curated set of options.
The major builder platforms have come a long way. Squarespace in particular produces genuinely beautiful sites, and both Squarespace and Wix have templates that work very well for author portfolios. Everything is managed for you — hosting, security, updates, backups — and the drag-and-drop editors make creating and updating pages intuitive, even without technical skills.
The limitations are real but manageable for most authors. You have less flexibility than self-hosted WordPress, fewer integration options, and you're dependent on the platform's ongoing health and pricing decisions. But for an author who primarily needs to showcase their books, connect their newsletter sign-up, and maintain a simple blog, a builder platform will do the job beautifully — and take far less of your time and mental energy.
Typical annual cost: Squarespace from around $230 AUD/year (Business plan). Wix from around $200 AUD/year (Core plan). Both include hosting and a domain in most plans.
Ivorey.io
Worth a mention as an emerging platform specifically built with authors and content creators in mind. Ivorey combines website building with blogging, email, and other author-business tools in a single platform — an approach that recognises how many separate subscriptions authors currently manage. It's still building its feature set, but it's worth watching, particularly if you're starting from scratch and want an author-first experience from day one.
How to Choose
Choose a website builder (Squarespace, Wix, or Ivorey) if: - You want to be up and running quickly without a technical learning curve - You don't want to manage hosting, security, or updates - Your site needs are relatively straightforward (book showcase, blog, newsletter sign-up, contact page) - You're a writer, not a tinkerer, and you'd like to keep it that way
Choose WordPress.org if: - You want maximum flexibility and plan to grow your site into something complex - SEO is a serious priority and you want every possible optimisation tool available - You're comfortable with — or willing to learn — a moderate amount of technical management - You want to fully own your platform with no dependence on a third-party service
A Word on "Just Pick One"
The advice to "just pick one and get started" is genuinely good advice. An imperfect author website that exists is dramatically more valuable than a perfect one you're still researching. Most authors change their website platform at some point as their needs evolve — and that's fine. The content (your writing, your bio, your book pages) migrates; the platform is just the container.
Start where you're comfortable. Move if and when it no longer serves you.
The Verdict
For most authors who are new to building websites and simply want a professional, low-maintenance home for their author brand: start with a builder. The time you save on technical management is time you can spend on your actual work. Squarespace, Wix, and Ivorey.io are all solid options worth exploring.
For authors who are serious about SEO, want deep customisation options, or are building something beyond a straightforward author site: WordPress.org is worth the investment in setup time and ongoing maintenance.
Neither answer is wrong. They're just different, and the right one depends on where you are and what you need right now.
Which platform is your author website on? We'd love to hear what you chose and how it's working for you — leave a comment below!
