Having a personal website is something that can be very advantageous for you. However people who have just procured their own personal website find it incredibly difficult when it comes to narrowing down on, what pieces of information they ought to put on their website. Sometimes no matter what, you get the feeling that your personal website has less content then it ought to, so for your benefit, given here is a list on what to put in a personal website and what you ought to shy away from putting when creating a personal website.
What to Put on a Personal Website?
The following mentioned are few things to put on a personal website.
1. Compact summary of yourself on your homepage with personal details:
When writing a summary about yourself you should always try to keep it as brief as well as impactful as you possibly can. Try to think generally and ensure that what points you are trying to get across about yourself are being conveyed. Think of it this way that if you were an outsider viewing your website, then in matter of a few seconds, what would you be taking away? Remember that you need not use big and difficult words in order to sound erudite, simple grammatically correct language will work just fine.
2. Mention the companies which you have worked for:
Remember that your personal website should necessarily mention the companies which you have previously worked at. One of the very main reasons for having a website is that potential clients as well as potential bosses from various companies might want to see and learn about who you are and what your work looks like. Ensure that you do put in a lot of effort to try and make your personal website look good. If you do not put in your best, then chances are that you might lose out on good professional opportunities which would have been beneficial for you.
3. The successful projects which you have handled:
You should make it a point to mention all the projects which you have been able to successfully manage in the past. When you do give concrete examples of what you are done, then you are silently communicating to the rest of the world that you actually have many successful projects to show off and you are not someone who simply blows your own trumpet for no reason at all. In this day and age there are many people who are only capable of talking the talk but when it comes to walking the walk they show that they are not up to the task.
4. State categorically what is your ‘professional superpower?’:
If you are unsure about what the term professional super power means, then professional superpower is nothing but what distinct specialized knowledge you have. In order to be a relevant part of today’s twentieth century business world, you have to have the ability to stand apart from the rest. You must try and show through your personal website how you are unique as well as gifted. If companies will not view you as someone who will be an asset to their company then why should they go ahead and hire you on board. So think about what your professional super power is and mention it.
5. Have a gallery of sorts to show case your work:
Many people make use of their personal website as a professional gallery of sorts in order to showcase their talent and to place samples of their work. For example, if you are a writer by profession then your gallery could consist of samples of your best work. Or if you are a web designer or even an artist, you can place in your gallery some examples of the best work which you have been able to deliver. Remember that the keyword here is ‘best’, if you just post any and everything you have done, then the purpose of this exercise is entirely defeated.
6. Place links to bring all your dispersed web presence together:
A personal website is a great way to bring together your entire scattered web presence. If for example you have been quoted in some newspaper or if you have been mentioned in an online article, you can place that link on your personal website. In addition to this if you contribute to a blog, then you could strategically place links on to your personal websites and have people know that you are actually good at what you do and have been able to make quite a name for yourself in the field which you work in. Doing something like this could really take your page to the next level altogether.
7. Add a blog to your personal website to air your thoughts:
If you have a flair for writing and are able to express yourself very well, then what you can do is add your blog to your personal website. On your blog you can share your professional thoughts as and when you feel like. However make sure that you do not add a blog to your professional website just for the sake of it because if your potential clients see that your blog has been left redundant for a number of months then they might think that you do not get work regularly or that you are not very serious about what you do. So if you are putting a blog make sure you pay attention to it.
8. Post references given for you by former employees:
If you have some good references which have been given for you then do not forget to post them on your personal websites, as these references are proof of the fact that you are actually very good at what you do. You must especially go ahead and post these references if they are from those professionals who have a good reputation in your field of expertise. However steer clear of posting useless testimonials like ‘you are great at what you do-anonymous’ as testimonials like this often end up looking extremely fake because they have no credibility whatsoever.
9. Place images to make your personal website look visually appealing:
Endless amounts of information and words on your personal website will certainly make things very boring for people that are viewing your website, so you must ensure that you place images as and when required, These images should be examples of the work you have done, pictures of some award which you have received or even a professional photograph of yourself. If you make your page visibly appealing then chances are that you will be able to attract a lot of position attention towards yourself. If you do no put in hard work to your personal website it will not benefit you.
10. Add Twitter as well as Facebook buttons:
In this day and age, owing to the fact that it has become so easy to make use of the internet on the go, almost seventy percent that make use of the internet have at least one active account on social media. Keeping this very thing in mind, you should not think twice before putting a Facebook or even a Twitter button on your page. After all we are living in a technological era and you should try your best to keep up with the changing times in order to remain a relevant part of today’s commercial world.
What you shouldn’t put on when creating a personal website:
1. A long essay on yourself:
Believe it or not, no matter how interesting you might perceive yourself to be, no one is actually interested in reading your whole life history on your personal website. You should shy away from putting in every little piece of information about yourself, because remember that in this day and age, time is considered a very valuable resource and no potential client or no potential boss would like to know that your favorite color is red or that you love to go shopping. Make sure that you know how to differentiate the relevant details from the irrelevant.
2. Useless pieces of clip art which have no relevance to your personal website:
Posting on your personal website, clip art which you have been able to find on Google search is something which you should never do! As mentioned above, images will make your personal website much more visually appealing, but this certainly does not imply that you start posting pictures just for the sake of it. Rather than posting general things, post icons or logos which you have been able to design and create all on your own. Anyone can Google images of various things if they want to. On your website they want to see things which you have done.
3. Never post too many contact details:
Many people post contact information on the websites, you are free to do so if you like, but it is not advisable especially since you have no idea of the number of people who are viewing your website and what kind of people they might be. Very often you might find that if you put too much of your contact details on your personal website it might land you in a fair bit of trouble. So to avoid trouble for yourself it is better to put minimum contact details online.
4. Don’t post anything vulgar or distasteful:
Yes, it is a personal website, yet what you post is a direct reflection of who you are as an individual. Remember that at all times it is up to you to maintain a certain level of decency and propriety. Your thoughts can be as revolutionary or modern as ever but present your thoughts in a palatable form, so as to not hurt the sensibilities of others.
5. Don’t post anything on projects which are in progress:
It should never post anything about your ‘work in progress projects, this is mainly because chances are that while you are in the midst of working on that project, some other individual may steal your ideas and pass it off as his own. This is certainly unethical, but there are a number of people who do not have any qualms about being ruthless as well as conniving. Everyone’s aim in the business world is merely to get ahead, no matter what means they have to use.
6. Don’t copy and paste content from another source:
One thing which you should certainly not do is copy paste the content on your page from another website. If you do something like this then chances are that it will be a severe blow to your reputation. No clients would want to be associated with someone who has no original thoughts or ideas.
So these are just the basic things which you need to remember when you have your own personal website. Depending on what you want your website to be upon, you should decide on whether it ought to be more visual or informative. At the end of the day, you know best what message it is that you would like to send across, so make sure you constantly stick to the dictates of your own mind. In addition to this you can always take the valuable advice put forth by other people as that is what will help you to improve as time goes by.
