Writing Wednesday: Why (and How) to Create a Personal Website + a FREE Checklist!

A personal website isn't just about selling yourself or conveying your message--it's about controlling the narrative. You are restricted by how you can portray yourself on other websites and social media. However, your personal website allows for creativity! Here are some reasons you need a personal website, plus how to create one and a FREE checklist for creating your own. 

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If you are a writer, designer, photographer, or other type of creator, I highly recommend creating a personal website. I'll outline reasons why you should in this post, as well as ways to go about it without spending a lot of money! Even if you aren't considered a "creative", a personal website can be useful and serve as a portfolio, resume, or both. 

1. Control the Narrative
Other websites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, allow us the option to connect with others and open ourselves up. That being said, they have their limits. A personal website that you own provides you with the option to show your creative or unique side. What makes you different? You can use your own website to sell yourself to clients, employers, and everyone else on the world wide web.

2.  Selling Yourself
Your personal website can help you sell yourself in many ways, including with:

• a portfolio
• a gallery
• links to your work
• testimonials
• writing sample (example: a blog!)
• creating personal connections with clients or employers
• showcasing your talents

Great pages for your personal website are an about me, contact me, services, and resume page. Feel free to use these pages to show off your creativity, like I did with my resume page. You can obtain my FREE personal website checklist by visiting my freebie library Freebie Library!

3. Blog
You can create a personal website to showcase your talents and you don't need a blog. But a blog can serve as proof of your industry knowledge and writing samples. If you're a writer, a blog allows you to connect with readers and fans. Even if you aren't a writer, a blog can still be useful. Here are some examples of how:

• Website Designer: You could create posts that teaches or informs on coding and layout design
• Photographer: You could discuss details of photography clients (with permission). Highlight ways you keep clients happy and unique shots or packages you offer.
• Blog=writing samples. If you are a freelancer, writing samples are necessary to land clients. What better way to provide those than through your own website?

​Now that you know why you need your own website, I'll outline the X steps you need to take to create one.

1. Choosing a Website Host
Every blogger will direct you to a different website host. Many love WordPress.com. I've had four or five websites on WordPress and I don't recommend it. It has some benefits, but there's one drawback that I really can't get over: you don't own your own content. Also, the fact that you are limited in how you can monetize your website or blog and that they add spammy looking ads to your site turns me off of WordPress.com.

Here are some other places to host your website and/or blog:

• Weebly--My recommendation and what I use! I love that I can pay month-to-month if I want, which is not possible with WordPress. Get started for less than $8 a month with the annual plan. My link will give you 10% off! I also love how easy it is to use because you only need to pick a theme and drag-and-drop elements to personalize your website.
• Wix--Starts at $13 a month. Many people like Wix, but I personally don't. I've seen some horribly created formatting from Wix. But that doesn't mean they wouldn't be right for you. 
• WordPress.org--Not the same as WordPress.com. That being said, if you're on a smaller budget or time constraint or want something simple right now, this isn't for you. If you can code and want to create a website to show that off, this could be a great option for you!

Weebly is an affordable host for your personal website.

2. Domain Name
Once you've chosen a hosting platform, you'll need a custom domain name. Mine is www.victorianahley.com. If you don't get a custom domain name, your website will look like this: www.victorianahley.weebly.com or www.victorianahley.wix.com. If you can't afford a domain name at first, that's okay, but I would recommend getting one as soon as you can because:

• It conveys professionalism
• Makes it easier for others to find you on the internet
• Makes your site yours--because you have to buy a plan instead of using the free one to add a domain name. Weebly starts at only $8 and you can get 10% off. You can also pay annually if you prefer! Other websites such as Wix also offer month-to-month, starting at $13 or annual pricing. 

I recommend buying your domain name from Hover. That's the service I use and prefer. When I bought my first domain name about five years ago, I bought it from GoDaddy and regretted it. They have a lot of charges and their website wasn't something I enjoyed looking at. There was a lot going on and I didn't like it. I transferred that domain to Hover.com and never looked back. 

I really like Hover because they are affordable and constantly have sales. For New Year 2020, you could buy many domains for $1 each! I've even seen some domains like .design for only 99 cents. Their website is easy to navigate for people who don't know much about working with domains and connecting them to websites. Here are some other benefits of Hover.com:

• Free domain privacy to protect your contact information
• Automatically connect to many popular web hosts in seconds (including Weebly, WordPress, Tumblr, Squarespace and more)
• Hundreds of domain extensions (including .com, .design, .dev, .solutions, and more!)
• Simple & straightforward domain management experience
• You can pay for 1 year or even 10 years at a time so you don't have to worry about your domain name not renewing!

If you want to check out Hover.com, you can use my link for $2 off the price of any domain!

3. FREE Professional Email Address
My email address is victoria@victorianahley.com. And I paid $0 for it. Having an email address like yourname@yourwebsite.com is important because:

• it looks professional
• Shows you're serious
• Allows you to keep your work email separate from your personal email

I love Zoho! I had never heard of them before researching to find out if I could obtain a free email address for my website. They do offer paid plans, but I use the Forever Free plan. That being said, they have other affordable options:

With Zoho you can have a free email address for your website for as little as $0!

​Here are the reasons I love using Zoho:

• With the Forever Free plan, you don't even have to put in payment details. 
• Forever Free plan means: up to 5 users, 5GB/user, email hosting for a single domain. 
• Even with the Forever Free plan, there are NO ads!
• Zoho offers many other services like Zoho Docs, CRM, and more. And many of these services can be used for FREE with your free email!
• They have a free mobile app so you can check your email on the go.

You can run your entire business from Zoho. Whether you're running your website alone or collaborating with others, Zoho has both free and affordable plans (starting at $1!) If you use my link, you'll receive $100 credit to use on any Zoho apps after making a purchase.

Now that you have your hosting, domain, and free professional email address, you can begin working on your website. Be sure to download my FREE personal website checklist. 

Do you have your own website or are you working on one? Let me know in the comments: