How to Create a Personal Website

Guest post: Emily Valentine

At some point during your degree, you’re probably going to be asked to put together some sort of online portfolio, personal website or blog. But where do you start? Luckily the days where you needed coding skills (or a sack full of money) are long gone. But you’ll still need to do some ground work before you reveal your shiny new online face to the world.                                       

1. Choose your platform

For starters, you need to think about what sort of online platform is going to work best for you.

One option is a blog, essentially like an online diary. Businesses and individuals use them to keep their customers up to date with their latest news, and they’re usually written in a relaxed and conversational style. There’s a whole range of blogging platforms out there for you to choose from. If you want to kick-start a blog on a budget and need something user-friendly that looks great, then try Wordpress or Blogger.  Both are super simple to set up, have a range of good-looking themes you can pick from and best of all, they’re free!

If you’d rather have a site that doesn’t require regular updating, then a more static website might be more suitable. There are many different platforms you can choose from, but if you’re just starting out then chances are simplicity and price are going to be high on your list of priorities. Why not give Squarespace a whirl? They have a wide range of beautifully designed themes, and employ a simple ‘drag and drop’ interface which allows you to set up and maintain a site with ease. Plus if they’re good enough for John Malkovich…

2. Do the legwork

Once you’ve decided which platform to use, it’s time to think about content. It sounds basic, but grabbing a pen and paper and sketching out a simple plan of what you want to go on your personal website will make things a whole lot easier in the long run. 

Consider what information you’ll provide on your site. Most personal websites and blogs have sections that explain who you are and what you do, as well as providing contact details. If you’re creating an online portfolio, you’ll need to get selecting your best work. Don’t be tempted to try and put all of your work up – choose examples that are most relevant and up to date to show off your latest and greatest skills.

No one likes a copycat, but why not have a scout around the internet for personal websites or blogs that inspire you. Think about using elements of these within your own site, even if it’s just a particular font that you like. Whilst you might not be integrating 360-degree video or VR into your website, it’s still a good idea to keep up to date with what’s hot and what’s not in web design.

3. Know the basics

The website that nightmares are made of is filled with bad-quality images that take an age to load, has scrawly writing that no one can read and is littered with spelling mistakes. When creating your personal website, keep things simple! Many of the best sites are clean and uncluttered to look at, proving that less really is more. 

Make sure that any images you use are good quality, but low-res enough to keep your website running quickly. You can use simple online tools to compress your files if you’re not a Photoshop whizz. Use a clean body font that’s easy on the eye (no Barbie pink and definitely no Comic Sans…). And remember – spellcheck is your friend! Make sure that you proofread any text you put up, and better still, get someone else to check it over for you as well.

Create a checklist of things you want to include on your website and tick them off as you go. Are you using tags or a search bar to help people find content? Is your site linked to your social media accounts?

4. Get feedback

Before you launch your new website or blog to the world, get feedback from people who will tell you the cold hard truth. Get a range of opinions, and listen to them.  Now is the time to take constructive criticism without getting defensive. If five people are telling you that the neon yellow background on your homepage is distracting, then change it. Sometimes it's good to stand out, but make sure it's for a reason and is achieving your intended effect. If you can ask your guinea pigs to navigate around the whole site, testing all the links for you as well, then all the better!

Once your personal website is up and running, it’s time to shout about it to the world. Tell everyone you know, and be sure to add a web link to your email signature, business cards and social media bios.

Emily Valentine writes graduate careers advice for Inspiring Interns, a graduate recruitment agency which specializes in sourcing candidates for internships and graduate jobs.  

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