Writer Website

Get a fully customized, fully functional author website, designed and built by a professional web developer (and aspiring writer!) with almost a decade of experience.

for just $500!

contact me to get started

What’s Included in your
Custom Author Website:

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wordpress installation

I’ll install WordPress on your site if you don’t already have it. WordPress is hands down the best way to manage your content, whether you have blog or not.

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FREE Divi theme

I love Divi’s drag and drop page builder, and you will, too! It makes life SO much easier. You’ll get Divi (a $249 value!!!) installed on your site for free when I build your website.
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site set up

I’ll take care of all that non-sexy set up stuff, like including your logo & favicon (that little icon that goes in the tab at the top and makes you look like a real professional), and things on the back end that you don’t need to worry about.
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get 5 pages

Your website comes with 4 pages: home, about the author, books, blog roll, and contact.

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plus blog template

I’ll also build you a customized blog template, so you can write about whatever you want and it’ll all match your brand.

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images & copy

Don’t have images for your site? That’s okay, I got you! Your site will look polished and professional with photos and/or graphics from Canva Pro and other sources.
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menu & footer

Your site includes a mobile responsive & animated menu bar at the top and footer with copyright and developer link at the bottom.
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customize your site

Choose your colors, fonts, & style. I’ll make sure everything sets the right tone & matches your brand. I’ll even set them as defaults for your entire site, to make it easier for you.

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connect to your audience

Connect your email list with an opt in, add a contact form so people can message you, and share your social media links, all included.
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revision round

We’ll make sure we get it right by doing a revision round of the site design. This happens once the design is done, but before all the pages are built, for efficiency.
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mobile responsive

One of the advantages of hiring a developer is that we know how to make your site mobile responsive. That means that it will automatically resize and realign so that it always works & looks great, even with screens that are different sizes (like tablets or phones).

Interested?

Send me an email at: chriscadalzo@gmail.com with any questions you have!

contact me to get started

What the Process
Looks Like:

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contact me

Contact me via email at chriscadalzo@gmail.com to get started. Use the subject line: Writer Website.
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questionnaire

I’ll answer any of your questions and send you a simple questionnaire. It’s 2 short sections of mostly basic info, and a third (optional) section on design.
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deposit

Send back your questionnaire and your $250 deposit (via PayPal).
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hosting & domain

Set up your hosting & domain if you haven’t already. Add me as a collaborator. This part sounds complicated, but it’s really not!! I’ll provide instructions, and the whole thing should take less than 15 minutes. (Really!!)
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WordPress install

Once I get the notification that I’ve been added to your hosting, I’ll install WordPress, the Divi theme & child theme, and set up all the defaults.
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design draft

I’ll design your home page based on your questionnaire, using lorem ipsum text as a placeholder. The site will not be mobile responsive at this point, and the links will not work yet, but you’ll be able to see your custom design live on the internet.
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revision round

You review the design and make one list of changes (optional). We’re writers, we know how revisions usually go, but we really do need to just make ONE list here. You can do it, I believe in you. I’ll make the adjustments based on your feedback and send you the updated version for approval.
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content & payment

You send the website content (if you haven’t already) and the remaining $250 payment. The content needed is very basic, and I can provide images (for free!) if you prefer. And of course, you can always edit and add on later!

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finish site

Once I have the content and payment, I’ll make the home page mobile responsive and set the links, then go on to build out the other 3 pages, blog template, and blog roll.
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it's all yours!

I’ll send your login info and officially turn the site over to you.

What other writers are saying:

see the website
see reviews on Upwork
see the website
see reviews on Upwork

Who am I?

I’m a professional web developer with over 8 years of experience.
I’m also an aspiring author working on my debut novel.

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8+ years on Upwork

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100% job success

That’s right, 100% job success across almost 200 projects spanning almost a decade. Over 80% of my projects are long term, with clients who love working with me. That’s not even counting private clients who have found me via referrals.

see my profile & reviews

Why are the websites so cheap?

Full transparency – I’ve had a really successful career on Upwork, but the platform is becoming harder and harder to use. Honesty and integrity are punished, rather than rewarded, and I’m tired of being taken advantage of and competing with AI slop. I want to switch to working entirely with authors and being in the literary world, as I’m currently working on my own debut novel.

Interested?

Send me an email at: chriscadalzo@gmail.com with any questions you have!

contact me to get started

Author Sites I've Worked On:

Grey Francis (custom design)
Amy Stewart

RDD Smith
(custom design)

Eva Lesko Natiello

Interested?

Send me an email at: chriscadalzo@gmail.com with any questions you have!

Aren’t custom websites super expensive? Why is this so cheap?
You’re right, it is suspiciously cheap. I’ve built custom websites for clients that cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Why, then, am I offering to do it for much less now? A few reasons: I’ve been using the Upwork platform to find clients for the past 8 years, but the platform has been degrading very quickly recently. They are no longer rewarding honesty, integrity, and good work, and are instead trying to nickel and dime us freelancers who are already making very little money. And I don’t have to tell you about the fake job postings and AI slop. Also, I’m currently writing my own debut novel, and I’m trying to transition into a more literary world. So I’d like to stop working with clients who aren’t doing things that I believe in, and instead start supporting other authors and creatives. In short, I’m very aware I could make a lot more money doing this, but I’d prefer to work with good people on good projects.
I have an existing website, but...
-I can’t edit it or do anything (it’s on SquareSpace/ other web builder) -the former developer won’t grant permissions -it’s on WordPress with a different theme. Functionally, these situations are really the same as starting over as far as the time and work that would go into moving/ copying the site. But the good news is, I can still build you a fabulous custom website for the same great rate as if you were starting from zero. And, the workload on your end might be less, as you already have a lot of the content and maybe some branding to work from.
Can we do a call first?

Unfortunately, I cannot schedule free calls at these rates. If you’d like to do a consulting call or otherwise discuss your project with me, can do a one hour call for $100, payable 24 hours in advance. If you have a larger project (over $2000), and would like to do an interview, I’m happy to schedule a free 30 minute call for that.

What if I'm not a writer?
That’s okay! Authors are some of my favorite people to work with, but if you’re a creative or small business owner, or writing-adjacent, let’s chat! Depending on your specific website needs, I may be able to offer you the same $500 website deal. And if not, I can still provide you a gorgeous and functional custom website at a reasonable rate. Reach out to discuss your project and get started!

Sample Website Pages

Home Page (dark gothic romance author)
Author Page (coming soon)
Book Page (coming soon)

Contact Page

From the Blog…