Your Personal Website
Note: This article was published while I was in my early 20s. I was much younger and dumber. Please don't hold it against me. One of the perils of having a 20+ year old website!
I’m doing a lecture on Monday, telling students how to properly build a website to promote themselves. After the jump is a sneak peak of what I’ll be talking about.
What Content Should You Have on Your Personal Website?
Home Page
- Short paragraph about you (and maybe a photo)
- One or two sentences about your website (what they will find, etc)
- A “Call to Action.†Point them to the content you want to see most
- How to reach you (email, phone)
About Page
- Extension of Home Page paragraph- include info you want them to know. Where you went to school, your skills, your hobbies (relevant or irrelevant). You want to the reader to feel a little bit of a connection with you
- Optional- Extension of “About this Site†from Home page- why did you start it, who is it for, another call to action, etc.
Portfolio/CV
- A showcase of your best work- title, screen shot (if applicable), description, and link (if applicable)
Resume
- Your Resume- You may have covered a lot of this on the About/Portfolio page, but a resume is more formal, and a lot of people will want to see it
- Try to include a word (.doc) and PDF (.pdf) version as well as the web based version so the visitor can download it
- How to reach you
Optional- Contact Form
- Include a contact page or form if possible. Forms are more user friendly
- Include at least an email address
- You can get a Google Voice number as your “professional†phone number if you don’t want to post your home or cell on the Internet
On Blogging
If you’re going to blog, make it relevant and do it regularly. Here are some tips:
- A blog and a journal/diary are not the same thing (or don’t have to be). Blog about work you’re doing, news in your professional field, etc. Use it to demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about.
- Try to blog at least once a week. If you’re at a loss for content, just post a link to a relevant story. If you’re busy, post that! Posting regularly shows you’re serious about it.