Maybe those of you who have been following my blog are curious why I suddenly changed its design. Maybe, like me, you've noticed how a lot of author's websites have changed. Take Jeffery Deaver, Robert Crais, for example. A few years ago, I'd go to their respective websites, and I'd come to a page with a dramatic black background, a brilliantly colored banner, and white or gray type. Very pretty, but kinda hard to read.
Check out those same websites today, and you'll always see a white or beige background, maybe or maybe not a similar colored banner, but black, black, black type. Check out: http://jefferydeaver.com/ or http://robertcrais.com/ or http://michaelconnelly.com/. All have white background, black type, and the color is most often in the book cover art.
Another thing I've noticed, is that the best websites are simple, easy to read, and easy to navigate, with all the important stuff right there in your face, easy to get to via good links. Permalinks. Those links that take you directly to the end-zone, without having to go from screen to screen to screen before you get where you want to be (like the last play in a football game where one runner passes to another and to another and to another). Nice. User-friendly. A link like this, for example, (if I wanted to send you directly to Michael Connelly's bio): http://michaelconnelly.com/Biography/biography.html.
Well, if you're famous like these guys, I guess you can have any kind of web design you want. But if you're an aspiring author, methinks it's prudent to follow the old advice: KISS.
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