Personal Website
It's your name. Make something of it.
Why would I want a personal website?
Good question, hypothetical person that we're using as a plot device. Sure, anyone can make the argument that you need some kind of web presence if you want to become internet-famous (or just a big name), but what about the average person? Why would they want their own place online? As it turns out, we've got quite a few personal website examples, and a ton of reasons why you would want one of your own.
Personal Website Examples
It's not difficult to find a reason why you'd want a personal website. In fact, it's probably harder to find why you wouldn't.
Here are a few great options.
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Online Resumes
Let's say that you've got a great job and everything is going fine, but you feel like it might be time for a change. Maybe your boss doesn't believe in coffee breaks, or you feel like you've hit a ceiling in your current role. We've all been there. Being prepared to jump ship to another job means you need a resume, work examples, possibly a cover letter or two — and one good place to house all that is on a personal website. Register your name and make your site an online portfolio. Start it with a cover letter that's broad enough for a general audience, then put up work samples, including pictures and videos. Just like that, you've got an online resume, and a killer personal website.
![none]({"src":"https://img1.wsimg.com/Sitecore/E/8/personal-website-001.png"})
Domain Names
OK, example #2. You're a student in college and you have a super common name — let's use "John Doe" just for kicks. There are lots of John Does out there, and you need a way to stake your claim on the internet, so you can show off your cool collection of vintage trucks or maybe just put your resume out into the world. With a name that's so common, how do you stand out? Throw your middle name in there. If you're "John Quimby Doe," then a good domain name could be a variation on that. Then you can use that on business cards, school papers or just in the future as a branding method. Sometimes putting up a personal website is a way to set yourself up for the future, and this is one such version.
![none]({"src":"https://img1.wsimg.com/Sitecore/E/7/personal-website-003.png"})
Family and Life Events
Last example: You're happily engaged to the person of your dreams. You know that you want to have kids someday, and you start thinking about the memories that you have right now. It sure would be cool to put pictures, videos and stories from today somewhere that's safe from natural disasters. And putting them onto a social media platform seems cheap and unimportant – your most sincere and valued memories are mixed in with pictures of what you had for lunch last week or that selfie that you took when you were out way too late with your friends. The solution? Well look, if you've read this far you know the answer, and it's a personal website. Now you can have one central place to put your memories for your budding family that anyone can check out. Cute, right?
How do I set up a personal webpage?
Ah, this is where the rubber meets the road, and where a lot of budding websites never take off. After all, it seems like a super complicated thing to do. You need to learn how to code, figure out hosting, learn about FTP and CMS and a whole mess of other techie acronyms — it's exhausting. How do you do all that, anyway?
Domain Names
Look, it's really not that hard. It all starts with a domain name. Pick something that's memorable or a play on words that works with your name. If you think about the "personal" in "personal website," you want to have a domain that's specific to you and your personality. Checking to see if the domain is taken or not is easy and free, so just bounce around a bunch of ideas until you find one that you want. Then pounce on it like a cat.
Hosting and Website Builder
Then there's hosting, coding and all the complex stuff. Now yes, you could create your personal website with a text editor and a whole lot of work, but if you're looking for the easiest website builder, then consider GoCentral Website Builder.
First, GoCentral includes hosting right off the bat. For the technically uninitiated, your domain is the address for your website, while hosting is the home itself. You need a place for your website to live, right? And GoCentral includes hosting for your site, so you're covered there. As for coding, there's none of that with GoCentral Website Builder. Everything is easy to do — so much so that most people build their personal website in under an hour. And you can do it on any device you want, from a smartphone to your desktop computer. Now that doesn't sound so hard, does it?
Where can I find personal website templates?
Ah, templates. They're great because they give you a jumping-off point for your page. But where do you find them?
Well you know we've got an answer for that.
![none]({"src":"https://img1.wsimg.com/Sitecore/A/9/personal-website-004.png"})
![none]({"src":"https://img1.wsimg.com/Sitecore/B/5/personal-website-005.png"})
![none]({"src":"https://img1.wsimg.com/Sitecore/0/D/personal-website-006.png"})
What content should I put on my personal webpage?
Out of all the things we've talked about so far, this one step can seem the most daunting. Some people are writers, therefore it's easy for them to write up a webpage. Others are photographers, so they have lots of images to work with. But what about everybody else? If you can't write and you're not an artist, where do you get all that content?
![none]({"src":"https://img1.wsimg.com/Sitecore/1/5/final_Personal-Website-Features-images.png"})
Images
Let's start with the images. Put your camera away — GoCentral Website Builder comes with a library of royalty-free images for you to work with. Want a shot of a pencil? Search for it and choose one of your favorites. Big fan of peacocks? We've got pictures of those, too. That doesn't mean that you can't use your own shots, but if you don't feel comfortable with that, tap into that library. There's no extra cost.
![none]({"src":"https://img1.wsimg.com/Sitecore/6/3/final_Personal-Website-Features-content.png"})
Content
Now the words. We know that it's intimidating to put your thoughts down on a page for all the world to see, but GoCentral even makes that easy. Every page has recommendations on what to put where. For example, in one area you'll see "Tell a little bit about your business," and that's where you would — you guessed it — write a small section about your company. Or, in the case of your personal website, about you. Sometimes all it takes is a good prompt to get you going and you're off to the races. Easy, right?
Get your personal website started today.
On the surface, it looks intimidating. Write, design, code and provide images for a personal website? Forget that, I'll go grab a latte instead. But as you now know, it's not that hard. You just need to start with a simple solution like GoCentral Website Builder. Since it comes with all the tools you need to succeed, you're ready to go. Now all you have to do is start.
So, what're you waiting for? Your dream personal website is waiting for you. Get started for free today.
A personal plan is the best option if you're looking for a beautiful and affordable site, but you don't need to sell anything.
Look good everywhere.
Get the word out.
Lock it down.
