My Favorite Squarespace Website Templates for Authors & Bookish Business Owners
Note: This blog post contains affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission if you purchase through them. I only share things I love!
If you’re an author or business owner, you know the work doesn’t end when your book is written or when your client project is done. Running a business involves so much more, from website creation and maintenance to social media marketing to bookkeeping—and so much else in between.
Sure, you can hire some of that out, but when we’re just starting out in business, we often don’t have the budget for that. So we wear all the hats to get it done ourselves!
Luckily, there are lots of tools to make that easier. Today I’m sharing all of my favorite website templates for Squarespace and who I think they’d be a good fit for.
I’ve used templates from all of these shops either in my own business or with my clients’ businesses, so they’re tried and true. Let’s dive in!
For Authors: The Darling Designer Template by 23&9 Creative
Yes, this template is technically for interior designers, but the best thing about a website template is that it’s super customizable, and I think this one is a great pick for authors. Here’s why:
👉🏻 It’s a simple, one-page website. You can easily update the sections with your branding and info and get the site published in no time. Then you can create other pages on your site for your books, or link directly to where you sell them from the home page.
👉🏻 The sections work really well for what you need. The main header is scrolling, meaning you can put more than one featured item at the top of the page—this is perfect to show off your books or series! The areas for design packages would be perfect for you to link to your books, your author Facebook group, freebies, a blog, etc. There’s also an area to introduce yourself to your audience, a section for you to share logos of places you’ve been featured, and an opt-in box to grow your email list.
Learn more about this template and view the live demo.
For Editors, Book Coaches, and Other Service Providers: Unearth by Big Cat Creative
This template is bold yet clean, and I think it’s the perfect choice if you’re a developmental editor, a book coach, or another book-related service provider. This is a multi-page website with areas to showcase your services, portfolio, team, and more. And since it’s a template, it’s—you guessed it—super customizable. Keep the sections that work for you, and erase the ones that don’t. For example, if you don’t have a team, you could remove that section, or repurpose it for something else, like sharing fun facts about you as the founder.
Code MARIN10 gets you 10% off this template, or any others from the Big Cat Creative shop.
Learn more about this template and view the live demo.
For Book Cover Designers: Exurban by GoLive
This is another template created for interior designers that I think would be perfect in the bookish world! If you’re a book cover designer, a book interior designer, or another related designer, I think this would be a great choice.
It’s crisp and simple enough to let your work stand out, but it’s eye-catching and visually interesting enough to keep people scrolling through the site.
Use code MARINJOHNSON for 10% off this template or any others from the GoLive shop.
Learn more about this template and view the live demo.
For Editors: Clean Freak by 23&9 Creative
I think this template has bookish vibes—the crisp text and light shades just feel literary to me. This template customized with book-related photography (whether you’ve taken it yourself or gotten some stock photos) would be perfect for copy editors, query letter editors, or other related service providers.
Learn more about this template and view the live demo.
For editors: Belief by GoLive
This is another option I love for editors, and it almost feels like a funkier version of the Clean Freak template—it’s clean and crisp, but with a quirkier layout and a few unique elements.
Use code MARINJOHNSON for 10% off this template, or any others in the GoLive shop.
Learn more about this template and view the live demo.
For Marketers & Designers: Noire by Big Cat Creative
If you do any kind of design or marketing work for authors, this is an artsy template that would work really well. The dark vibes work great for fantasy, dystopian, dark romance, and similar genres, but with an updated color palette, it could look artsy and airy, perfect for literary fiction and other genres.
Use code MARIN10 for 10% off this template or any others from the Big Cat Creative shop.
Learn more about this template and view the live demo.
For Book Bloggers & BookTubers: Impact by GoLive
This template is clean and straightforward, which is great when you have a lot of content, for two main reasons:
👉🏻 Your blog cover images or video thumbnails can stand out. Branded covers and thumbnails are important (especially for YouTube itself, and when you share content on Pinterest), so having a site where your graphics can take center stage is really nice.
👉🏻 Your content will be well-organized. This site has a great layout for organizing content by category, platform, etc.
Use code MARINJOHNSON for 10% off this template or any others from the GoLive shop.
Learn more about this template and view the live demo.
For nonfiction authors: Amplify by GoLive
While this template would work for any author, I think it works best for nonfiction authors who are an expert in a particular area, which is pretty much who this template was designed for! If you have an area of expertise and do coaching, speaking, and writing about it, this is the template you’ll wanna get.
Use code MARINJOHNSON for 10% off this template or any others from the GoLive shop.
Learn more about this template and view the live demo.
For authors: Book Page Add-On by GoLive
This is great if you already have a website and want a dedicated page for your book. This add-on page is less than $50 and is perfect for showing off your fiction or nonfiction book.
Use code MARINJOHNSON for 10% off this template or any others from the GoLive shop.
Once you’ve got your website, it’s time to make sure your social media is up to snuff! Download my free guide that walks you through how to audit your Instagram profile to make sure it’s set up for success.
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