The Death of a Website, an author's lament. (article) by Patricia Hilliard on AuthorsDen

Adaptation is not always good, but sometimes it becomes necessary. We drop old tech and move on into the future.

So it happened that I went to my internet website provider to update and add another item, to check out the links and view the emails. THIS WEBSITE WILL BE SHUT DOWN BY JANUARY 15, 2026 a banner warned from the top of the page.

I fell back into my chair. My website had been there for over 15 years. I was struck by the sudden loss. So much fun I'd had posting stories, articles and poetry there over the years. But I had to admit, when I looked at the stats, they were never good. Yet the low price kept me holding on.

Soon it will be gone. How will I survive? What will happen to my ego? I once had a Homestead on the Internet. Now I'm Home-less. I quickly looked for alternate places to re-create the Author's Website--a thing they told me I had to have to be REAL....but now the price has skyrocketed. And they wanted me to pay AI to design it for me..and they promised SECURITY. But stability was gone.

FORTUNATELY, I still have Authorsden.com And I must admit, I've had more fun with Authorsden than with my lonely little web site floating around the internet with few viewers.

Yes, there I am on Facebook and LinkedIn. I have not disappeared. I now must adapt and move on! Maybe I should try writing for commercial publication again?

Web Site:

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Reviewed by La Belle Rouge Poetess Of The Heart

Reviewed on January 4, 2026

That's so sad, Patricia. I know you feel a sense of loss. I use WIX and it's worked well for me.

Reviewed by Ronald Hull

Reviewed on December 30, 2025

I'm with Robert, but Authorsden has fewer members each year and is only kept alive by the generosity of the Millers.

I started my website (learned a little HTML) in 1997 with a template. I captured the HTML (easy to do) and found an Internet provider. When that provider failed, I joined hostgator.com right here in Houston. I've been asked many times to update my website, but it works well even with mobile phones and my 1500 pages that I've created can be reached easily by a couple of clicks from the homepage.

If you call Hostgator (877) 828-5278 I'm sure they will tell you what it might cost for you to start a website using your HTML from your previous website, saving you money. It currently costs me about $200 a year to maintain my domain (with my own email addresses), the site, security and backup services. Over the 25 years of operation at an average of about four clicks a day, I probably have had a million viewers or more using a free service called StatCounter. But keep looking because there may be a place where you can restore your website for free.

Ron

Reviewed by Robert Drews

Sorry to hear this Patricia, but authorsden remains. Someone who has done marketing for me quoted a price of $600 to do a website. Lotta book royalties would be needed for that. Like you, I shall stick to authorsden and other low cost/free social media.

Wishing you a happy and blessed New Year.

Bob Drews