There are lots of services that provide “free websites”
WordPress.com
Wix.com
IMcreator.com
Free site with 3GB space
add a custom domain for Au$5/month
special templates for author/book sites
Free site with 500MB space
add a custom domain for US$10/month
special templates for author/book sites
Unlimited space
BYO domain
Free for students, artists & non-profits
US$8/month
Generally they’ll give you some free space, a system to create webpages, and a subdomain, which you can partly choose – http://AuthorName.wixsite.com – in return for putting ads on your website.
It’s a great way to get started. Later on you can buy premium services, such as removing ads.
Some services make it easy to buy a custom domain through them: http://www.AuthorName.com
What do I do if my author name URL is already taken?
You still have some options if there’s another ErnestHemingway.com out there.
Many authors append “author” to their name: http://www.MaryJonesAuthor.com
They may choose a different domain ending: http://www.MaryJones.tv
Or they may consider changing their author name, perhaps adding an initial http://www.MaryKJones.com
Why buy your own URL?
You’ll have more choice
It looks more professional
You can take it with you if you change website providers – it’s yours forever
You can download a printable pdf of this page here