It’s 2017 and you’ve been thinking of different ways to enhance your professional brand, expand your network, and find personal growth along the way. Setting up your personal website is one of the best ways to create a digital footprint that will lead to progress in all of these areas. Here’s a step-by-step guide in learning how to set up your first website.
Choosing a domain
Your domain is the first thing that people see when they explore what you offer. It’s the first impression that can lead to heavy value placed on who you are, what you bring to the table, and how you’ll make the lives of other better. Things you’ll want to consider:
–Create something that is easy to remember (firstnamelastname.com)
–Domain extensions are crucial (.com, .net, .me, etc.)
–Relate it back to you – how will people connect your domain to who you are?
Robert Mening has a simple guide in choosing a domain name.
Finding a web hosting vendor
Websites don’t usually appear out of thin air. There are websites that host other websites and take care of all of the backend stuff (security, trackers, servers, etc.) for a small fee. Some of the most popular sites that can host your website include:
These certainly aren’t the only options available but are a few of the more well-known options that are easy to navigate for beginners.
Build your site
Many people will choose sites such as WordPress or Squarespace to build their site. These sites are notorious for being extremely easy for website beginners to navigate. They offer step-by-step options that are available for each individual person’s use. What you’ll want to do is make sure that you are choosing a theme for your site that is memorable, clean, and intuitive. Remember: you want people to navigate your site with ease and you want them to remember who you are.
Don’t hesitate to shop around for what works best for you. If you’re ballin’ on a budget, you’ll need to do the research to find what will be the perfect example of who you are and what you offer.
Launch your site
You’ll want to populate your site with things before you launch it into the world. If you’re a writer, you’ll have posts ready to be published before you are ready to go live. If you’re a photographer, you’ll have a portfolio of your own work already set up to be seen once your website becomes clickable.
Thomas Frank over at College Info Geek has a great how-to guide to getting your website ready to be launched. It’s easy-to-use and is packed with snippets of wonderful tips and tricks for beginners.
Market your site
You’ll want to know how to market your site to potential customers/readers/reviewers. Even if your mom is the only one who reads your work, you’ll still want to develop a plan on how to keep them on your site longer. The longer they stay, the more exposure you’ll have and the more the opportunity for sharing occurs.
Figure out what you want out of your site and develop a vision for where you want it to go. Some of the simplest websites are also some of the most visited by people who are looking for something new in their lives. Put yourselves in the position to be one of the websites that thrives.
