Frequently asked questions
Author Site Kit is a $149 one-time author website for indie authors and KDP self-publishers: customize it live, buy it once, deploy it to a domain you own. Here's everything people ask before deciding.
Deciding
What exactly do I get for $149?
A private GitHub repo containing a complete Next.js author website pre-filled with your name, your first three books, your series, and the color theme you picked in the customizer — plus AI-drafted bio and book descriptions you can edit. The site includes a home page, per-book pages with SEO structured data, series read-through pages, an about page, an MDX blog, and newsletter signup (ConvertKit, MailerLite, or Buttondown). Also included: a step-by-step setup walkthrough and email support for setup questions for 7 days after purchase. It's a one-time purchase — hosting runs on Vercel's free tier, so the only recurring cost is your ~$12/year domain.
What's the difference between the $149 Self-Serve and the $349 White-Glove tier?
Self-Serve ($149) is what's on sale today: you get the pre-filled repo and do the deploy yourself — sign in to Vercel, import the repo, paste two DNS records into your registrar. White-Glove ($349) — where we handle the Vercel deploy, DNS, and the first round of book data for you — isn't open yet. We're measuring demand first: there's an interest list on the pricing page, and we'll open the tier if enough authors want it.
How long does setup take?
Customizing your site before you buy takes a few minutes — the customizer renders your real site live as you type. After purchase, your repo is provisioned in about a minute. The hands-on deploy — signing in to Vercel, importing the repo, pasting two DNS records into your registrar — is typically 15–30 minutes. DNS changes can take anywhere from minutes to a few hours to propagate, so most authors are live at their own domain the same day.
Do I own the site, the code, and the domain?
Yes. The site is deployed on your Vercel account, your domain stays at your registrar, and the code lives in a private GitHub repo you have admin access to — clone it or copy it to your own account whenever you like. Nothing routes through our servers, and there are no recurring fees from us. If Author Site Kit disappeared tomorrow, your site would keep running unchanged.
How does Author Site Kit compare to Squarespace or Wix?
Cost and ownership. Site builders run roughly $16–$50 a month depending on the plan — $200–$600 a year, every year, and the site only exists while you keep paying. Author Site Kit is $149 once; hosting is free on Vercel and your only recurring cost is the domain (~$12/year). It's also author-specific out of the box: series read-through pages, per-book SEO, newsletter embeds. The trade-off is editing style — site builders give you a drag-and-drop visual editor, while here you edit JSON text files and push to GitHub. If you want to visually redesign your layout every month, a site builder fits better. If you want a fast site you update when a new book ships, this is cheaper and you own it.
How does Author Site Kit compare to WordPress?
WordPress software is free, but running it isn't: hosting typically costs $5–$25 a month, and you're responsible for theme choice, plugins, updates, and security patches — author sites on WordPress usually need several plugins to get SEO, caching, and newsletter forms right. Author Site Kit is a static Next.js site on Vercel's free tier: no server to maintain, no plugins to update, nothing to hack. The trade-off: WordPress's plugin ecosystem can do almost anything (stores, courses, forums). For the standard author site — books, series, about, blog, newsletter — this is lighter, faster, and $149 once.
How does Author Site Kit compare to hiring a designer or developer?
A custom-built author site typically costs $1,000–$3,000 and takes weeks of back-and-forth. Author Site Kit is $149, and you see your actual site — your name, your books — rendered live in the customizer before you pay. It's built on the same modern stack a developer would use (Next.js, Tailwind CSS, TypeScript). The trade-off: a designer gives you a bespoke, one-of-a-kind design; this is a polished template, so other authors' sites share the same layout with different content, covers, and color themes.
The details
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You edit text in JSON files (it's like editing a spreadsheet, but with curly brackets). The setup walkthrough shows you exactly which lines to change, and email support for setup questions is included for 7 days after purchase.
What does it cost to run after I buy?
Vercel free tier covers everything. Your domain costs ~$10–15/year wherever you bought it. Your newsletter (ConvertKit, MailerLite, Buttondown) is whatever they charge — we don't touch that. Zero recurring fees from us.
Can I move my domain?
Yes — you point your domain at Vercel via two DNS records. The setup walkthrough covers GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Cloudflare. If you bought your domain through Squarespace, you'll need to switch DNS providers — email hello@authorsitekit.com if you get stuck.
What if my newsletter is on Substack / Beehiiv / Mailchimp?
We support ConvertKit, MailerLite, and Buttondown out of the box (one-line config). Substack, Beehiiv, and Mailchimp have embed snippets that work as drop-ins. If you use something more exotic, email us and we'll point you at the right embed.
Can I add more books later?
That's the whole point. Open data/books.json, add an entry, drop a cover image, push to GitHub. Vercel rebuilds in 90 seconds. No add-on fees, no per-book pricing.
Can I change the colors / fonts?
Pick one of five color themes in the customizer before you buy — your repo ships already themed. After that, it's Tailwind CSS: every color is a class name, so a site-wide recolor is a find-and-replace. The setup walkthrough covers it.
Can I see the code before buying?
Yes — the customizer renders your actual site live with your name and books filled in. You see exactly what you're getting before payment.
Refunds?
14-day refund, no questions asked, as long as you haven't deployed the site to a custom domain. To request one: email hello@authorsitekit.com with your Gumroad order number, or reply to your purchase receipt. Full details on the /refund page.
Why isn't this a SaaS / subscription?
Because indie author sites are a configuration problem, not a recurring service problem. You don't need our servers to render your books page. You need a thing that ships once and gets out of your way. So we sell the thing.
What if you go out of business?
Your site keeps working. It's hosted on Vercel under your account, the code is in a private GitHub repo you have admin access to (and can copy to your own account), and the domain is at your registrar under your account. We hold no keys.
Still deciding? The customizer renders your actual site — your name, your books — before you pay anything, and the demo site shows the full template running live. Questions we didn't answer: hello@authorsitekit.com.