Designing a personal website for yourself
Since I have recently relaunched this website and did a lot of research and soul searching for this, I thought I’d share some learnings and tips.
Layering it up in Hossegor © K. K. Quelle
(A word up front: I have accumulated skills over the many years that made this process relatively enjoyable. If you have no design, writing or coding experience then maybe consider outsourcing some of these tasks. )
Do we still need websites?
We live in a time where we can do anything with an app and it’s possible to create a whole brand and run a business without a website. That is pretty amazing. But as the recent changes on Instagram for example have shown, things can change quickly. The worst case — losing all of your audience because a social media platform disappears — will hopefully never happen but is not totally unrealistic. So these platforms should be seen as important tools but maybe not the basket where you lay all your eggs in. A website of your own is like owning your own house - it’s less likely that someone can take it away from you than when you rent. Having your own website means you will have your own real estate in the online world. Even better if you have grown your own email list. As a creative or someone with an online business and particularly if you haven’t got a reputation or representation yet, that is your capital.
Do we still need portfolios?
I would say it depends on the type of work you do but in most cases in my world I see a shift to either content-first sites or very focused/niche product or service oriented sites. Meaning, you are either a content creator and your website is a blog, a magazine or basically showcasing your work and who you are as part of the content creation. Or let’s say you are a coach or a course creator or a YouTuber, then you and your specific product take centre stage.
For those of us who used to just showcase our writing, photography, illustrations or films, you would want your references to still be on the website somewhere but not as the main focus. Tell a story, either with your images or your words, use your website to let people into your world and creative process and let your potential customers see what you are about.
A photographer of course would still have mostly images on their website and a writer maybe a blog or even a magazine to show their skills while social media can be used to supplement this by sharing behind the scenes info and work in progress.
Did I mention sticky notes? I also like writing on mirrors and windows when in major planning mode.
The process
I’m going to skip the technical side of things because this is not what this blog is about and you can find it all on the interwebs. I have been using Squarespace for years (not sponsored) because I like their templates and customer service and they have since turned into a one-stop shop offering anything from email campaigns to an integrated shop and memberships and beyond. I love building websites with it but as to what platform you want to use I’d say do your research. It depends on what you need and what the end goal is.
I started out how I start most projects and solve most problems: with a big pot of coffee and a brain dump. Writing down everything that your website needs to be and all thoughts and ideas on structure and look and feel. Who is my audience? What do I want to achieve with this online space? What colours do I like? I needed to get clear in my head first and I can only ever do that by either talking about it or writing it down - preferably both. I outlined the main pages it needed and those that I wasn’t sure about yet. I wrote down what I didn’t want (a classic portfolio site). I wanted a flexible, beautiful space that reflected my current lifestyle (which had changed since 2015, when I did my last relaunch), and would inspire me to work on it regularly, not just tell people what I do but who I am. So I treated it like my own playground. It is currently still work in progress, only the basic structure is there and it’s ok for now. The beauty of Squarespace is that it is so easy to change and expand.
Only once I had everything down on paper did I start doing some research and look for inspiration. The other way round it will get too overwhelming. You first need to be clear on what you need and what your goals with your website are.
When I started the research phase, I looked for current trends or developments that are relevant to my work or my website. Next, I picked a few creatives and companies that I admire and that align with my values and checked what they have online for general inspiration. That was surprisingly disappointing. I wanted to move away from a corporate look and feel so I also checked websites that have nothing to do with my work at all. I took screenshots of navigation styles, page structures, etc. Colour schemes I liked (even though I already knew what I wanted because that never changes much). This is a fun phase but beware - the rabbit hole is deep and so here is another tip:
Set deadlines! I can’t believe I am saying this out loud because I am the biggest deadline rebel there is. I’m with Douglas Adams when he famously said:
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
HOWEVER. While a new website is an important project, no one is paying you to do it, or worse, you are paying someone else so: set deadlines and stick to them. This will also prevent fatigue, which will inevitably set in at some point if you keep fiddling with this. Also, google Parkinson’s Law if you don’t know what that is.
Next, start sketching some wire frames or rough page outlines, connect the dots to make sure it all flows, there are no dead ends and your visitors are not left confused as to where to go or what to look at.
From my time in web design and marketing, I have learned the valuable lesson of providing different entry points for different types of people. Some look for the classic navigation at the top, some scroll down until they find something, etc. Make it easy for them.
It can also help to speak to friends and colleagues in the industry when we are not sure if we need a certain page or to see if everything makes sense.
Another thing that really helps is to decide on what images you want to use up front and also define your colours and have them ready. While I search individually for a photo to go with each new blog post, it took me forever to lay out the home page and I needed to supplement my own photos with a couple of stock photos to make it look good. To have all the images in one folder ready for upload helped to see what was missing but also how the visuals all worked together. Like a mood board almost.
I copied all the existing text from the old website as reference and just in case I wanted to keep any of it. Then in my writing software (Ulysses) I opened a folder and sheet for each navigation point and each page. That way I was able to work on it as and when I was in writing mode or copy in text elements I already had written previously.
Since I have been in charge of several big company website relaunches, I decided to treat my little one the same. I made sure I had 9 blog posts written, edited and uploaded before I launched and gave myself a week of testing with the help of friends and family.
Lastly, take a step back and let it all sit for a day or two when you are stuck or not happy with it. Sometimes we just need a break and fill up the creative energy tanks for a bit. Then remember your deadline and get it done ;)
That’s it for now. I am sure there was more but if you have any questions or need help, leave me a comment or send me a message.
