There’s one right under the email address on her resume. And that man has one in his Twitter bio (or Instagram bio, or even TikTok bio). Maybe you’ve started to wonder: Am I the only person who doesn’t have a personal website? And do I need one?
The Work Wife reached out to Georgia Gazette, a senior digital marketing account manager at Flex360, Little Rock Soirée‘s web development sister division at Arkansas Business Publishing Group. And she has thoughts on the matter. Practical thoughts.
According to Gazette, you might need a personal website if you need to market skills to potential buyers.
“Anyone who has any kind of portfolio of work,” she says, ticking off graphic designers, architects, photographers as examples.
A personal website can showcase your work, whether you’re looking for full-time employment or freelance work. Unlike a flashdrive, which you can’t update after you hand it off, your website can be constantly refreshed with new material.
A personal website can serve as a personal resume in any kind of job search, although customizing for a specific job application is not practical.
You also might need a personal website, Gazette says, if you’re engaged in a hobby that results in occasional sales. Do you make jewelry that you’re willing to sell? Do you occasionally sell pieces from your pottery collection in order to buy something you love even more? A personal website could be the place to show off your wares and to interest potential buyers.
Perhaps you’re a real estate or insurance agent and you’d like to generate your own leads rather than sending potential clients to the corporate website. A personal website could be part of your marketing strategy.
If a personal website seems like it would make sense, Gazette has words that may give you pause: “Be prepared to maintain it.” Websites become dated quickly. The content should be refreshed regularly, and you should expect to give the site a complete makeover every couple of years.
“It’s the first impression people will have of you or your business,” Gazette says, which also means DIY may not be the best idea. “Unless you know you have an eye for aesthetics, don’t do it yourself.”
The cost of having someone else set up your personal website can range from a few hundred dollars to more than could ever make sense. Whether you DIY or hire someone to get you started, Gazette suggests choosing a user-friendly hosting service like Squarespace or Wix; WordPress is more powerful and more labor-intensive than necessary for most personal websites.
