What to Know About Making a Personal Website

What to Know About Making a Personal Website Photo Credit: weebly.com 1. Who should create a personal website? Considering only a small portion of our generation has personal websites,  you should make one. As a college student or recent college grad, having a personal website can be a real asset when applying to jobs or starting to plan your future. 2. What should you put on your personal website? The first thing that you should put on your personal website is a well-written bio or summary about you, your accomplishments, your goals, and why people should notice you. The second thing you should figure out is  what your message is.  What do you want someone looking at your site to take away? Whos your target audience? What are you trying to say? These questions are important to consider when youre writing your bio and thinking about making a personal website. If you dont have a message or purpose to your website, your audience will be able to tell and your making a personal website is pretty much pointless. Thirdly, you want to decide on the logistics. What do you want your  personal website  to look like? What will your content say? What site should you use? Youll want to be sure your website has no typos, that your page isnt too crowded, and that your overall design and content are mature and project the right message. Lastly, you should include links to or samples of your work whether its photography, writing, videography, or something else, include pictures of you doing what you love and what youre good at and the pictures should be somewhat professional, not just a bunch of selfies. Photo Credit: Think Stock 3. Why should you have a personal website? There are several reasons why  making your own website  is important. Firstly, it sets you apart from your competition since most people dont have a website, your having one makes you stand out. Secondly, it will make it easier to contact you as your site will include links to your social media accounts and other means of communication that work best for you, all in one place. Thirdly, having a personal website shows youre serious about networking and getting a job, plus it shows initiative, creativity, and that youre technologically savvy. Lastly, your personal website is a great place to publish your creative works in one place, like an online portfolio. 4. How can I build a personal website for free? There are lots of free sites you can use to build your own personal website. Tumblr is easy to use and allows you to pick your theme, plus its completely free though it does include advertisements. Also, if youre part of the Tumblr community, having a Tumblr website means you can easily share or comment on other users postings. Weebly is another good site to use to design your own personal website as it allows you more customization options than Tumblr and no ads. Its easy to use and the basic service is free. WordPress is a great platform to use when building your personal website as it offers a more advanced set of blogging options, plus over 200 themes to choose from or the ability to customize your design. WordPress is free for basic use, with fees for extra features. If youre really serious about building your personal website,  you may want to look into other more customizable and advanced options, especially if youre more tech-savvy. If youre super knowledgable about coding and such, you may even choose to build your personal website from the ground up independently. Once youve built your site and added your content, links, and pictures to it, get a second opinion, like a friend or family member to look at your personal website, and ask them for feedback. Theres no better time for you to create your website than summer, when youve got plenty of free time to explore your site options, write up your content, and start posting. Your personal website is only clicks away!