After hearing that KDP had Hardbacks in BETA, I thought I’d take a look at the setup and see how things worked, what was different.
The first page where you type in your information is the same as for the ebook and paperback, so if you’ve already done them, then page one will automatically be filled in for you. Still, it is best to check for errors or changes you may need. Save as a draft and go to page two. This is where the changes start.
You will need to have a different ISBN number for your hardback book. You can either use the KDP Free ISBN, which can only be used on Amazon, or you can buy your own. Next, you scroll down, picking your book size, page colour, ink colour etc until you get to where you upload your interior. Is it the same as for paperback?
NOT COMPLETELY
Though the pages are exactly the same sizes, the margins on the most popular size (6 x 9 or 15.24 x 22.86) are bigger, probably due to the extra width needed in the spine for a hardback. You will also need a manuscript of 75 pages or more to make a HARDBACK BOOK, which, of course, doesn’t bode well for young children’s picture books.
Once you’ve uploaded the correct manuscript, you get to do your HARDBACK COVER and yes, this is different. Unless you know the ins and outs of hardback books, you will need the TEMPLATE or you can use the KDP COVER CREATOR. Personally, we will use the templates until we’ve learnt how to size the covers correctly. Like many of those who may read this, we are learning to.
Click on the DOWNLOAD A TEMPLATE link just above the box where you upload the cover and it will open this page shown below.
In the Image it asks you for your book details. For those who are sight impaired or blind, the list consists of:- BINDING, INTERIOR TYPE, PAPER TYPE, PAGE-TURN DIRECTION, MEASUREMENT UNITS, INTERIOR TRIM SIZE and PAGE COUNT. Once this is filled in, as shown below, you can Calculate Dimensions.
This opens a new page! As shown below.
This image gives you all the information you need and what everything means. Don’t worry about what this image shows too much because now that the dimensions have been calculated, you can DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE to your computer and open the ZIP file. Inside, you will find three files. A PDF and PNG version of the TEMPLATE with instructions on what is what in the image. The THIRD file shows you HOW TO USE YOUR TEMPLATE. The instructions are shown below.
*HOW TO USE YOUR TEMPLATE*
1. Open the PDF or PNG file for the Paperback Book Cover Template in your image editing software. 2. Create a new layer in your image editing software. This layer will serve as the design layer. 3. Design your cover in the design layer, using the template PDF or PNG file as the guide layer. The artwork should extend to the outside edge of the template’s pink zone to ensure a white border will not exist within the printed work. Do not move the guide layer, as it is properly aligned for our printing specifications. 4. Ensure text and/or images that are intended to be read do not appear in the pink zones of the template. 5. The barcode area is indicated in yellow on the template. Do not place important images or text intended to be read in the barcode location. We suggest filling in this area with your background color or design. KDP will automatically generate a barcode representing your title’s ISBN when printing copies of your book. 6. Once your design is complete, you will need to turn off the guide layer so that it is not printed on your final product or rejected during the review process. If you are unable to turn off the guide layer, then you will need to format the artwork so that it completely covers the guide layer. 7. Flatten all layers, save the file as a press quality PDF with CMYK color profile, and upload the file via KDP.
Message from my Illustrator
My advice is that when you are creating ANY image for any template, always use the template as a guide, I will make an image for you to use, that includes your cover, and the faded template. You need to keep everything inside the red walls 🙂 and remember to set your DPI @ 300+ when working with printed covers as opposed to digital (e-book) covers. The below image shows you the cover and template and how everything sits.
On the last page for KDP the pricing is done the same way as will paperbacks and ebooks. Choose a price and approve to publish. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to buy some Author Copies to check over. Sadly, with living in New Zealand during Covid, it isn’t possible for me to do so.
PLEASE ALSO REMEMBER KDP HARDBACK IS IN BETA AT THIS TIME AND CHANGES AND UPDATES MAY OCCUR AS WE ALL START TO LEARN TO USE HARDBACK INFORMATION
There was a bit of confusion on my first post. I’d like to say, this series of posts is aimed at writers who wish to be Authors and make an income of some kind or another. As an Author, you run a business. In business, NOTHING is FREE, most certainly not your TIME.
You’ve made your choice. You’ve written a few short stories and sent it out to friends and maybe family. The replies you get back are positive. ‘We Want More’ (Yes I know this doesn’t happen to all of us). Strangely enough, this is what happened to me, however, I also had a lot to learn about writing in the English of today. There are many changes since I was at school. A lot of stuff I didn’t understand, though with examples (like Cathy who write Word Wars) a lot was instantly understandable.
“You should write a book.” and this is when you start your research. Most writers don’t have a clue where to look, how to research, who to trust. However, it had improved in recent year with Facebook Groups, with saying this, there are still plenty of Scammers and Spammers in those groups. Many get removed and blocked when they are found. The first question I asked myself was “how do I connect to agents and publishers?’ I had no clue and I’d never heard of Independent Publishing back in 2012. It was a bit of a nightmare. Once I found an Agent, I found out they didn’t understand my genre. I still laugh about it. As for publishers…or editors, well they wanted things set out in a certain way or your email would go straight into a bin never to be seen by anyone.
What’s this got to do with Websites and Social Media you ask. Well as you learn how technology works, your start to realise there is more to writing a book than you thought. I’d never heard of AUTHOR BRAND back then, it wasn’t something I was even aware of. SALES and MARKETING can be done via your WEBSITE and SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, though you need to have the knowledge to do this. You need to learn or find a tutor. A traditional publisher won’t touch you if you can’t format a document how they wish you to. They also prefer you .to have a following which helps to add up to SALES.
Where and how do I find or make a website?
A great question. We started our first one way back in about 2012/13 and it was a complete disaster. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing, though we were pretty good with technology, even with continual frustration. Where was our first website? WORDPRESS.
In 2014, we tried WIX, it was easier to use with a few learning curves to find out how to design and use templates. It was enjoyable to use. In fact, we still have an Author Website there, which needs updating. The thing with WIX we didn’t like was not been able to download our website content to take elsewhere if we found a better deal. By this stage we had a few author friends on Facebook and they suggested trying WORDPRESS again. One friend, Markie, helped us through the process until we knew what we was doing. It was great. WORDPRESS had lots of tutorial if you needed them. These days we’re happy helping others with WORDPRESS, however this year they’ve updated and though the basics are the same, the editing isn’t. It’s still annoying and post take a lot longer to produce.
Your Website on WORDPRESS
Due to knowing how to use WordPress better than any other I’m going to show you the ropes. Some simple steps. I’ve included images for those who have a hard time with technology. I know we all learn differently. The will also be a description for those with sight impairments or who are blind.
Below is a view of the page which opens up to create the first step of your website.
The first thing you need to do for you WEBSITE is pick a name for your Business or Author website. In the image below it will show you what is available. My advice…is to start with the FREE WEBSITE as indicated by the tabs circled in the image. You can always buy later if and when you can afford.
This next image looks a bit scary, though it really isn’t. It shows the pricing for the different types of websites you can have. However, right above those panels it says ‘Start with a FREE Site’ You need to click on this. I have drawn a circle around it so you can find it.
Now it’s time to build your website. You have a name and if you look at the image below…
As you can see it is straight forward. There is a bright pink tab saying GET STARTED in the middle of the page and on the RIGHT there is a list of things you need to do. As each one is done, they will get a GREEN TICK.
Also note you can go back and change your website at any stage if you find you don’t like something. It’s a good learning curve to be able to do this because you get to find your way around.
You’ve hit the GET STARTED tab and it takes you to a page to NAME YOUR SITE! Something you seriously need to think about. Remember this is part of your marketing and AUTHOR BRAND.
Is this site for a BOOK SERIES or for you as a writer? Is it for an anthology of multi-authors? The ideas for your website are endless though it is worth playing with different names until you find what is right for you, be it your actual name, pen name or book series name. Remember once you know what you’re doing you don’t have to stop at one website, however you do need to publish posts to each one at least once a week.
This image shows you where you fill in the blanks…Again…with your business name. As you can see on this sample, I am building a website for Jenny Raven Gifts, who has recently started an online business with recycled items and upcycled then into new items. Under her business name it asks for a TAGLINE. (something under discussion still for Jenny). This is another important part of your marketing. My own TAGLINE is – Building Books One Step at a Time. This shows that the Author Services we offer will help our client turn their manuscript into an professional book file for online distribution websites or local printers to where the client lives.
You have your website name and tagline, so what’s next? Continue to follow the list until you are ready to launch your website to the world. Play around and learn how it works. There is still plenty of work to do. MENUS, CUSTOMIZING, WEBSITE TEMPLATES…
The list includes, Updating your HOME PAGE, CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL FOR THE SITE AND CREATING A MENU (this is where your pages show and in what order). After you are happy with your website set up you can LAUNCH your website. This is great, you’ve done it. One last thing to remember BEFORE SHARING YOUR LINK…ASK A FEW TRUSTED FRIENDS TO HELP YOU PROOFREAD THE CONTENTS AND MAKE SURE ALL THE PAGES WORK.
The last few images are to help guide you around your website to make changes. You need to know about WP ADMIN. This takes you do a new page where all the things you need are listed in a black panel down the left-hand side of the website. Have a look through the list to see what you can do. The following two images are to help you customize and choose a theme. Once you open customize as shown on the image to the right of your screen, you will be able to change COLOURS, FONTS, BACKGROUNDS. You can add WIDGETS, SOCIAL MEDIA, PAGES and sort out your MENU and what order you’d like your PAGES in.
First you need to look for APPEARANCE, which opens a new list and you then click on CUSTOMIZE. The best way to learn is through PLAY, just don’t play for to long or you’ll get totally frustrated and none of us want that. If you still need ASSISTANCE, then ASK!!!
We know we haven’t shown you the CUSTOMIZE PAGE, we thought it would be fun for any of you making a website to have a look around on your own. LEARN BY PLAYING.
This image shows you how to find THEMES. It will take you to a page of TEMPLATES you can use for your website. There are a lot to try out. You can choose to PREVIEW them before you pick the one you wish to use. Take your time and find something that suits you, your genre and or book series.
Below is a screen shot of the TEMPLATES. You can do a SEARCH for what you want. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT NOT ALL THE TEMPLATES ARE FREE. MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE FREE TAB ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE OF THE IMAGE.
Once again, choose wisely. We have updated my websites a few times of the years and we always use a template which shows WIDGETS down the right hand side of the screen. We also prefer the smaller Header Photos. This is of course a preference for YOU TO THINK ABOUT.
HOPING THIS HELPS YOU WITH YOUR WEBSITE AND BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR BRAND. PLEASE SHARE WITH THOSE WHO NEED A HAND WITH RESEARCH. THERE IS SO MUCH MIS-INFORMATION OUT THERE ALONG WITH SCAMMERS AND SO MANY STILL GET CAUGHT OUT.
PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH IF YOU WISH TO BE AN AUTHOR, AFTER ALL YOU CAN’T BE A CERTIFIED PLUMBER WITHOUT THE CORRECT TRAINING!!
Our next post will be about SOCIAL MEDIA SITES and how they work
Until now, I had never used a website builder before…
Having developed websites for a while, I’d rather dive straight into coding HTML, CSS and PHP. And avoid those drag-and-drop functions that website builders have.
I was pretty sceptical.
However, I was positively surprised by the ease-of-use and customization options that some of these website builders have.
Especially for the cost. Unfortunately, I also ended up trying website builders that were just outdated or used sketchy billing strategies (hint: #10).
Website builders vs. hiring a web developer?
A good custom website could easily cost $2000 (on the low end). Making changes could still require a freelance designer and developer to help you continually update your site (additional $$$).
Yet, for only a few dollars each month, some of these website builders below could give you almost everything you’d ever want at less than 1% of the cost.
Not to mention, you can easily login yourself and change copy, upload images, or add new pages within seconds (all without calling for tech support).
Website builders for Who?
Website builders are the perfect solution for individuals or small businesses with low budgets. Just to name few of them:
small business owners
writers
musicians
artists
photographers
wedding planners
and so on…
Here’s What I Did To Uncover Website Builders:
Unlike many other blogs you might read on this same topic, I really spent some money and signed up with each one – so you’ll be able to see the “test sites” I made.
My goal is to provide a review, by actually going through each product in detail, to help you make the best decision.
Here’s the process I took:
1. I signed up with the top 10 website builders (I paid for them).
I searched on Google until I had a list of 10 most popular website builders on the market.
2. Setup a simple ‘5-minute’ test website.
After signing up with them, I decided to make a quick ‘5-minute’ website on my own domain name, like websitesetup-wix.com and websitesetup-yola.com etc.
3. Monitored each site’s uptime and page load times (1-12 months, ongoing).
Over a period of 1 to 12 months (still ongoing), I monitored my websites uptime and page load times via Pingdom.com. Some of my sites had more than 24 hours of downtime…(!)
4. Uncovered the TRUE cost of each website builder.
Many of these website builders trick you with their low introductory prices, like letting you set up a website for free. But once you want to launch it, you’ll need to pay. That’s why it’s VERY important to check the pricing before you set up a website with them.
This last point is especially important because most website builders will claim to be ‘free’ even though you’re gonna be forced to take out that credit card at some point.
So before we dive into the detailed review of the top ten website builders, here are the gory pricing details. Read why…
Best Website Builders 2019 (Review)
Keep in mind that the usability is the most important factor of a website builder. Second is uptime, third is speed, and the least important factor (for me) is the price.
Full disclosure: I earn a commission if you end up purchasing a SiteBuilder, Site123 or Wix through my referral links in this review. This is how I keep WebsiteSetup.org up and running and there are no extra costs to you at all. Regardless, I only recommend website builders that I’ve personally used and found reliable and simple.
Without further ado, let’s dive into a detailed review of each website builder. Starting with the best, narrowing it down until we reach the ones to avoid.
#1. Emails cost extra at $5/monthly through Google’s GSuite. (You’ll notice that this is a pretty common tactic across nearly every website builder on this list.)
#2. E-commerce plans are only available on the most expensive plan. HOWEVER, that plan is currently only priced at $9.22/month. It’s promotional for the first year (about 50% what it usually is), but it’s easily the cheapest e-commerce option available here.
PROS of SiteBuilder Website Builder
#1.SiteBuilder is a very reputable option with over 200,000 users.
#2. With over 1,200 template options, I honestly don’t think you’ll find more design options to pick from.
#3. As mentioned, they boast an awesome (and affordable) e-commerce product to build a fully-functioning online store. Each template is extremely easy to customize as well. Just point, click and adjust.
#4. SiteBuilder gives its users a free domain name for the first year, and not forcing any ads on your site under any plan, either.
#5. My test site saw excellent uptime over the last six months, only going down for about two minutes across two outages. That’s almost as good as it gets over 99.99%.
Sitebuilder average uptime and speed (last 6 months)
#6. SiteBuilder’s friendly support rep hopped on our live chat session within seconds. They were helpful throughout, answering my (many) questions with personal detail. They didn’t just link out to a bunch of support docs and force me to manually comb through, looking for a needle in a haystack. Very positive experience!
They are also currently running a massive 50% discount. So if you purchase a 12 or 24-month plan, you’ll not only get a free domain but lock-in a lot of savings, too.
For example, I paid $143.76 for two full years. The $16 domain was free as well.
Just keep in mind that renewal prices will adjust back to the normal rate. That means you’ll often lose the initial discount.
You’ll notice below that pretty much all website builders do this. So try to lock in a longer term, if possible to save the most.
Do I recommend it? YES.
SiteBuilder is at the top of my list.
There are tons and tons and tons of theme options that can be easily modified by dragging and dropping sections.
The current promotions they’re running right now are awesome, too. You get a free domain name for the entire first year. And, the e-commerce plan is significantly less than any other website builder on this list.
All of those reasons, plus near-flawless uptime, make it an excellent place to start.
Very easy to use, professional and reliable website builder (out of 10 I’ve used).
#1. I found customer service to be a little lacking.
For example, I tried asking about how many users they have, how many template options, etc. Yet, they wouldn’t be transparent and answer anything, instead of responding with, “In our webtool support department we do not have access to information concerning how many clients we have.”
Seems more like they just didn’t feel like finding the answer for me.
And when I asked a few other standard questions, they would just give me a link to the answer.
#2. Standard pricing is pretty good, but the bigger plans get really expensive quickly.
For example, the Gold and Professional plans range from $22.80 – 28.80 per month paid annually.
PROS of Site123 Website Builder
#1. Emails are thrown in on three out of four plans. Hooray!
#3. From what I can tell (they wouldn’t confirm), there are at least a few hundred design templates to choose from. They’re both visually pleasing easy to navigate!
You can reorder pages or posts in minutes by clicking and dragging in place:
#4. Site123 is another website builder that delivers strong uptime at 99.99%, going down slightly more than SiteBuilder.
Last month Site123 performance stats
#5. Basic plan pricing is good if you only need a simple, content-driven site or blog. I only paid $129.60 for the year, which also included the domain name.
Do I recommend it? YES.
Overall, I definitely recommend it for relatively simple sites.
There are a lot of design template choices, uptime was great, and you even get a few emails without having to pay a ton extra! Customer support and the editor were a little lacking, though.
You can use it for bigger, more complicated ones. But it also gets expensive in a hurry.
So it might be a good alternative vs. getting a custom site built out. Just be ready to spend a decent amount over the course of a year if that’s the route you’re going.
#1. Wix partners with Google’s GSuite to offer email accounts for $5 each. Notice a trend, here?
#2. E-commerce and online stores are only available on more expensive plans, starting at $20/month.
PROS of Wix Website Builder
#1. Wix is legit, hosting more than 100 million users worldwide. There’s a reason so many people use it.
#2. Wix is also an excellent option for e-commerce stores. This includes everything from simple products to even bookings and registration for events.
#3. Wix has one of the biggest libraries of site templates, boasting over 500 “designer-made” options. They’re also good for any level, whether you’re a beginner or pro.
This site builder might just be my favourite. The customization options are almost endless. And you can tweak your site in a matter of seconds.
#4. You can build just about any site imaginable with Wix. That includes typical e-commerce features to handle online payments, but it also includes a customizable music player, video uploads to the media gallery, events with invitations and bookings, even online ordering for restaurants!
#5. I submitted a support ticket with a few questions for their customer service department and received this thorough reply about 12 hours later. Pretty good overall!
#6. Our Wix test site has seen decent uptime over the last nine months at 99.93% (and solid speed at ~600ms).
Wix website builder speed and uptime
#7. Wix also offers long-term discounts. The longer you prepay, the less per month it comes out.
I opted for the annual plan and got a free domain in the process, paying just $132.00 for both.
You can also purchase two or even three years plans to save as much as $216!
Do I recommend it? YES.
Yes, I do.
Wix was one of the easiest site builders I used.
There are so many themes to choose from. They’re all well designed, too. The extra features that Wix sites include mean you can basically use it for any purpose, from a simple blog to an advanced restaurant site or e-commerce store.
Plus, the budget-friendly pricing is perfect for even your personal or hobby site. Highly recommended.
#1. Jimdo comes with ONLY 17 themes. Yup, you need to pay $90/year to get access to ONLY 17 themes!
#2. You can easily change the colour and add text or images. Anything more sophisticated than that is difficult. Otherwise, the templates themselves are fairly rigid, making it difficult to make large-scale changes.
#3. If you’d like unlimited eCommerce product options, be prepared to pay $20/month (or $240/year).
PROS of Jimdo Website Builder:
#1. Pricing was advertised as $7.50/month and I paid exactly $90 for one year.
#2. Up-and-running in 30 minutes. Not bad!
#3. Best speed performance. Just take a look at the graph below (fast & stable loading times with over 99.96% uptime)
Do I recommend it?
Yes and no…
The initial design is very clean and neat, making it appear more contemporary than some of the ones we’ve already reviewed here.
I’m even OK with one email account and 15 eCommerce product limitation in the short-term. But it worries me that they only have 17 templates and your customization options are limited to only relatively basic changes.
Great for a one-page-website. Need something bigger? You’d be better off with SiteBuilder.
#1. Emails can get pretty expensive. And this time, they don’t integrate with Google but with Microsoft Office. So that could go either way, depending on which you prefer.
#2. I’ve previously had pretty good customer service from GoDaddy. However, this last experience was a complete nightmare.
I tried to quickly get some questions answered on their live chat. I logged on, and the estimated wait time was 35 minutes! Really? For “live” chat?
By this point in time, I had already been able to research everything on their site to be able to answer my questions. But I didn’t want to give up just yet.
So a rep finally connected, and they immediately said, “To access your account I will need your 4 digit support PIN. Please provide your PIN with this secure form I am sending you.”
But… what if I didn’t have an account? What if I was just looking to buy and had a few simple questions?
Not great, to be honest.
#3. E-commerce plans are more expensive, starting at $19.99 per month, paid annually (which means you’re looking at $239.88/year on the low end).
PROS of GoDaddy Website Builder
#1. GoDaddy offers hundreds of different design templates, all broken down into categories based on the site you want to create.
#2. All of the templates feature the same drag-and-drop interface that most website builders now offer. GoDaddy’s isn’t quite as intuitive as Wix, but it’s still decent.
#3. E-commerce is fully supported, as is a handy scheduling feature. This might be perfect for coaches who want to bill for their time and help clients schedule themselves into their calendar.
#4. GoDaddy might be one of the only site builders that offers a free month trial. That’s a good deal, allowing you to test things out before getting locked into a much bigger annual commitment.
#5. I’ve been pleasantly blown away by how solid the performance for each site builder has been. GoDaddy offers another 99.99% uptime, only going down once for two minutes.
Last 30 days uptime and speed data for GoDaddy website builder
#6. GoDaddy is slightly more expensive than the other alternatives we’ve seen so far. I paid $143.86 for the year, but no free domain is included. So that cost another $14.60. including tax.
Do I recommend it? YES.
Yes and no.
GoDaddy’s website builder isn’t terrible. But it’s not great, either.
I found the others on this list, like Wix, Gator by HostGator, and SiteBuilder, to be much stronger overall.
In addition, the e-commerce plans were expensive and I can’t overlook the half-hour live chat session, either.
