Personal websites are a great way to display yourself to the world and provide an awesome way for employers to see your skills firsthand in ways that a resumé and cover letter simply can’t convey. However, making a website can be a daunting process, and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed in putting everything out there that best represents you. I'm here today to help! Here are my best tips and tricks to create a stellar personal site! 

1. Know Your Message and Stay True to It! 

It can be super tempting to dive head-first into making your website, but I’m here to tell you to take it slow! The most important part of the process is understanding the message you’re trying to convey with your website. 

What makes me stand apart from the rest? – in life and to employers? 

What impression am I trying to give off with my site at first glance? 

What am I trying to accomplish for myself with my website? 

Asking yourself these questions makes all the difference between a successful site and those that miss the mark. Understanding your website’s message will serve a greater purpose in the long run, as it influences the foundation, layout, and overall design of your website. 

As a marketer, a storyteller, and an artist, I knew I wanted to showcase all sides of my identity to employers. It was crucial that my personal branding was versatile so I could display my best self through professional and artistic elements on my site. You’re not limited to what you can showcase on your website as long as you stay true to your messaging! 

2. Find a Website Builder that Suits Your Needs 

While some of us out there are expert coders, I certainly am not one of those people, so it was a no-brainer for me to use a website builder to help me through this daunting process. What I didn’t realize coming into this process, though, is that not all website builders will serve you in the same way. 

Some website builders are more freeform and allow you to create your website from scratch, but may require you to code. Other website builders walk you through every step of the process with ease but leave little room for creativity. Definitely do your research beforehand to figure out which site builder is the best for you! Personally, I found a happy medium using Wix because it allowed me to incorporate my own branding while providing easily navigable functions to curate my own perfect personal site. 

3. Move Offline to Layout Your Site 

Now that you have your messaging and your website builder in your arsenal, it’s now time to think about the structure of your site. Think of it this way: you wouldn’t just show up to your piano recital without knowing what you’re going to play beforehand, right? I mean, more power to you if you can, but that’s beside the point. By mapping a layout of how you want your site to look, you’re creating that cohesive messaging that we talked about in step one. 

This may sound counterintuitive, but I encourage you to move offline for this step. Grab a pen and paper, and make a list of everything you want to include on your site. After you’ve done that, doodle out where you want those elements to go. 

Do I want a short bio that gets straight to the point, or do I want a long one that details my story? 

What kinds of graphics, photos, and links do I want to include? 

How will I arrange my portfolio? 

Undoubtedly this can be overwhelming, but start out with a rough layout and you can always add more later! By the time I was finished with my site, it didn’t look like what I had originally envisioned, but by having a vague idea about what I wanted to include and omit, the process became less daunting when it came time to build my site from scratch. 

4. Write Your Copy Beforehand 

I have to admit, I did not do this and I suffered in time, so dear reader please learn from my mistakes! By curating your textual elements beforehand you’re going to save so much time! From your bio and site menus to page descriptions and domain names, there are little things you don’t consider that end up being massive in terms of the completed look of your website. 

If you struggle with coming up with original layouts for these elements, there are templates and guides for how to phrase what you want to say! 

5. Building Your Site Structure: It’s CRUCIAL! 

By now you all are probably going to be jumping out of your seats to see your website come to life, and this is where all the previous steps will come in handy! By taking the time to layout the site beforehand, it will be a breeze to create your online structure. Well, maybe more like a mildly windy day. 

It can be easy to sweat the small stuff such as color scheme, fonts, graphics, and more, but I promise you that stuff will come together in time. It pays off to create the skeleton of what your site will actually look like and then go in with the details later. If you go in straight away with detail, you will end up having to fix them when your structure isn’t sound. 

. These building blocks will come together in the designing stage. 

6. Have Fun Designing! 

Now comes the fun part! Seeing your website come to life with a design is incredibly rewarding. Though it may sound trivial, it’s important to spend time finding the right fonts and colors that truly represent who you are. Design is such a crucial part of making your website stand out, and there’s no shame allocating a good amount of time to get it right. 

To find a color scheme, I recommend looking at color palette sites to find one that is right for you. Having to balance a professional and an artistic mindset, I ended up using the color palette that I formed for my resumé and incorporated it throughout the site which ended up giving it a cohesive look and promoted the curation of my personal brand! While I chose bright colors such as blues, pinks, and whites, that may not be what’s right for you. Depending on the field you’re in and what you’re trying to accomplish with your site, you may need to use a toned-down color scheme to remain professional, but don’t be afraid to add little pops of color here and there. 

To add personalized touches, I used Canva to create my own graphics for elements as big as my logo to elements as small as buttons that link to my social media accounts. If this task sounds daunting, go back to my second point and make sure you find a website builder that suits your needs: no matter how big or small. 

Use fonts that are stylish, but LEGIBLE! You can use more than one font if you’d like, but just make sure that people can read it! To emphasize titles, I used a more stylish font than my body copy to make sure they stood out. 

7. Get a Second Pair of Eyes On It 

Don’t be afraid to ask your friends and colleagues to take a peek at your work! Sometimes, being so close to your work can cause you to overlook little things. When I asked my friends to check over my site, they couldn’t accurately read my copy due to one of the fonts I used: that’s a big deal! 

Welcome feedback with open arms, but be cautious in the amount of people you ask. Sometimes too many eyes on your website can lead to contradictory advice. Send your link to a few people you trust to give you an honest opinion. You can even provide them with a guide of questions you have about your site. 

8. Make Edits How You See Fit! 

After you receive feedback from your friends and colleagues, it’s now time to approach your website with a fresh pair of eyes and make edits how you see fit. Circle back to the first step in the process. Reflect on the components of your website and make sure they fit the message you want to put out to the world. At the end of the day, it is your website and it is you who has to be happy with the finished product. 

9. Apply Final Touches That’ll Boost Your Site - SEO, Contact Info, and Privacy Settings 

Remember, you can always go back in and make edits to your site as time goes on and you gain new experiences you want to share, but it’s important to make sure you include these final touches that’ll elevate your site to the next level. 

SEO is definitely a buzz acronym lately that has taken the online world by storm. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which helps your website appear as a higher result when using a search engine. This can be a difficult road to navigate, as they are still relatively new to the scene, but some website builders such as Wix and GoDaddy help you in figuring out the best ways to apply them to your site or provide outside help. If you are more confident, SquareSpace and WordPress give you more freeform experiences with SEO. This feature is important if you’re trying to reach a wider audience with your personal brand. Be sure to also add your contact information in a visible space so that your audience can contact you if need be! 

Privacy settings are also equally important in adding finishing touches to your website. If you want a personal site that’s off the radar, you’re definitely not going to want to go near SEOs and that’s totally fine! Just make sure to check out the privacy settings on your website builder and customize it to your liking. 

10. Good Things Take Time 

Coming up with a website takes time no matter how skilled you are and it requires a lot of patience. I worked on my personal site for about a month over my winter break from university so I had plenty of time to dedicate to this passion project before applying to internships in the spring. If you find yourself wanting to make your website during a busier time, I recommend making a schedule and holding yourself to it to make sure your website doesn’t fall to the wayside. 

It may be a daunting process in that making a website can be time-consuming, but I promise you the payout is worth it. Have fun creating your own corner of the internet!