Why You Need a Personal Website + 5 Tips to Make It Awesome
Maybe you’re already a certified #GirlBoss, maybe you’re still working your way to the top or maybe you’re finally ready to quit your day job find your passion. Whatever the case, perfecting your personal brand is a good idea at any career stage. And one way to control your own narrative is with a personal website which can allow you to control the conversation about yourself, provide information to potential employers or clients and highlight your skills. But how do you make sure your personal site is as awesome as you are? You follow these five tips from Jane Scudder, marketer, career coach and founder of Never Settle Coaching.
1. Be authentic. Spoiler alert: Your personal website should be personal. You know, be all about you. Jane says, “The number one thing I tell my clients as a career coach is to be themselves. Yes, you want to be the best version of yourself, but portraying someone that you are not is a bad idea.”
2. Stay focused. We know you have skills, but your website needs to be an area of focus and clarity. Visitors to your website should be able to easily and quickly understand exactly who you are and what you do. Jane adds, “A focused, clear message that highlights the main, most compelling feature of something will always win the day. The same goes for your personal brand and website.”
3. Know what you stand for. You should think of your personal website as a visual, digital display of your elevator pitch, a declaration of who you are. Jane encourages her clients to spend some time reflecting on who they are and what it is that is important to them. She says, “Just like a brand all of the messages and sound bites on your personal website, LinkedIn, Twitter, resume and beyond should ladder up to this.”
4. Execute well. Once you’ve made the decision to build a personal website, it’s important to keep in mind the importance of a strong execution. Jane notes, “Whether you build it yourself, use WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or any other website building tool out there, spend some time on this and make it look sharp. A bad website can actually have a negative effect.”
5. When in doubt, keep it simple. Don’t have the keenest creative eye or the best writing chops? That’s okay, says Jane. “Stick to short and sweet, and most importantly: simple. A short page that states who you are, what you like to do, what you do professionally and imagery/fonts that are aligned with your style will go a long way.”
Do you have a personal site? Tweet us the link to @BritandCo!
(Photo via Getty)