Blog 16: How to create a Personal Website

 Hello, my wonderful Readers! 

As mentioned in my last blog, I would like to focus more on the nitty-gritty details of having a personal website. If you've decided to now create a personal website for your work, this blog should hopefully help you with the next steps of how to create a personal website. Now let me first mention that I'm not a coder or a website guru, but I have done these steps to make my own website, which you can find at this link below: 

 http://katieandersoncoaching.com/

Before we get started, know that website creation is not a start and finish process. There will always be maintenance and updating your site, whether it is adding new content or updating older content. Take that into account when carving out time to create a personal website. Or, if you prefer, have someone else create it for you. It's your choice in the end, but know that a personal website has to reflect you in style and content. 

1. Find the right domain name for you 

What do I mean by domain name? It's the URL that your website will be found by. For example, my domain name for my personal website is "KatieAndersonCoaching.com." This is what any person on the internet will see as my website domain, and what makes my website unique. Most domain names are between $10 to $50 to renew a year, similar to paying rent on a property, this is paying annual rent for an internet space. 

So what makes a good domain name? Usually the shorter the domain names the better. Plus the domain should be somewhat descriptive of you or your business. If you find your dream domain name is already taken, don't worry. You can always change the ".com" to ".net" or ".org" if that's easier, or find something cheaper and better. A domain name isn't everything, but it will help you to set yourself apart 

2. Find the right web platform for you 

    Once you've figured out what domain name you want for your website, find the right web platform to register it on and then start building your site. For me, I use Weebly for my platform as it's super easy to use and pretty cheap. Squarespace, WordPress, and Wix are also good platforms to use, and each will have a monthly subscription for a personal website. Once you register your domain, you can start designing your site. 

3. Design your website to reflect you as an individual and your style 

    What I mean by this is to make sure your website has a color scheme that you think reflects your personality, as well as an easy-to-read layout. You don't have to be good at coding thankfully to do this, as many web platforms come with preloaded templates that you can use to build your website off of. 

4. Use quality photos on your website 

    Whether these are photos of you, such as headshots or conferences or office photos, make sure they're good quality. The last thing you want is your beautiful personal website to be ruined by poor-quality photos. If you're also needing just stock photos, try using websites such as pixabay.com or unsplash.com for high-quality stock photos. These will really help to make your site stand out and seem more professional. 

5. Make a logo that suits you 

    Not every website needs to have a logo, but having a logo on your website allows you to personally brand yourself and make yourself more sellable. Whether it's something simple or something fancy, logos give you a coherent style and make you professional. 

6. Give your website quality content 

    Quality content may be things like your resume, added in more of a biography form, or links to different projects you've worked on, or videos, or audio clips of your work. Having a blog can also make your website look more professional and relevant as you continually upload new content. Making sure that the content on your website is informative and engaging allows for your viewers to better understand you as an individual and makes you more sellable as a person. 

While I hope these tips help you to create a beautiful and functional website, know that there are many other websites out there that can give you other pointers to make sure your website truly reflects you. Let me know if these tips helped you by reaching out on my social media or subscribing to my email newsletter on my website. 

Until next time! 

Katie