Whether you’re a web designer, a photographer or an entrepreneur, one thing is certain – if you don’t have your very own personal website, your reach is limited, resulting in limited sales or “gigs”.

Use this checklist to create a website that highlights the things that make you incredible.

1.  Choose a domain extension for your personal website

The first thing to check off of your list is choosing a domain extension for your website.

Nowadays, your domain name is your brand name. They need to be the same. Therefore, domain extensions for personal websites are just as important as your product or service.

Domain extensions like .com or .org are overused, so the likelihood of you being able to use your desired name is minimal.

Our recommendation? Choose a domain extension that represents who you are. For example, .org usually represents non-profits. Our domain extension, .icu represents innovation and creativity.

2.  Write an impactful elevator pitch

You need people to understand who you are, what you do, and what you’re looking for from the word go. This means you need to grab their attention as soon as they land on your site.

Use your home page to tell them the most important things about you. Make this conversational, but include career highlights such as who you’ve worked for/with and memorable projects you’ve worked on.

It’s important to be yourself, so don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through.

This is your elevator pitch. What are you going to say? Limit this copy; you haven’t got much time.

3.  Show them your best work

Now, hopefully, your elevator pitch will have been enough to sustain their interest. If so, the first thing they’re going to look for is examples of your work.

Treat your website as your digital portfolio. This is especially crucial for creatives, such as designers, artists, and photographers.

If you’re in marketing or business, you should use this as an opportunity to include examples of successful campaigns you’ve run, or products you’ve launched. Provide insight into some of the companies you’ve helped, and be specific on the results you achieved.

4.  Include social profiles

People want to know who you are. The more personal your website, the better.  This means including links to your socials such as your LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram profiles.

Link to all your social profiles. If you appear anywhere on the web and it’ll make you more credible, mention it and provide easy access to it.

If you contribute or have contributed to any websites, link to them. Your personal site is the perfect place to bring all of this together.

5.  Provide visitors with testimonials

Testimonials are another great way to show your worth. By including quotes from colleagues you’ve worked with in the past, or team leaders and ex-employers who have positive things to say about you, you will give people even more reason to hire you, use your services, or work with you on future projects.

Testimonials can help you highlight your soft skills that are somewhat difficult to demonstrate.

Having respected industry players sing your praises is one of the most effective ways of convincing someone that you’re good at what you do.

6.  Visualize yourself

Don’t make the mistake of including too much text though. This tends to bore people.

So, try to visualize yourself, your achievements, and your skillset. This can be in the form of infographics, a well-designed logo, a video and professional photographs of yourself.

This will make your personal website more engaging and aesthetically pleasing.

7.  Include a blog page

Lastly, if you’re looking for ways to boost your credibility, a great way to do this is to share thoughts or methods that relate to your industry. Doing this through a weekly (or bi-weekly) blog is your best bet.

Not only will you be producing unique and valuable content that will help build your audience, but it’s also an effective way to rank organically on search engines.

At the same time, by sharing your experiences, you could establish yourself as a thought leader in your relevant field.

For these reasons, consider adding a blog to your site and use it to talk about the challenges you face as a professional, share your opinions, or give tips to less experienced people in your industry.

 

Now that you’ve got the ultimate checklist for an excellent personal website use it to establish yourself as an invaluable professional, and become sought-after in your field.

.icu is now the 6th largest new domain extension in the world with over 1 million registered domains. Join our collective of trailblazers to exhibit precisely what makes you exceptional.