Today, brands are built and managed on social media, so people often assume that building a branding website is a secondary choice instead of a necessity. It’s a misconception.
While brand awareness and trust use social media as a primary tool, sustainability can only be built by presenting a stable front. For online personal brands that stable front is your website. This website can be a simple landing page with an alluring lead magnet. Or it can be a complete branding website with a portfolio, skills, and testimonials.
Here is everything you need to know about web design and development for personal brands so you can not only capture your audience’s attention but also keep this attention with you for long.
The Purpose of a Personal Branding Website
Most brands, big or small, need a constant presence on the blogosphere in the form of a website. The reason is simple: when their would-be fans are ready to explore more about them, they want this knowledge to come easily to them in a single place. Website satiates this need for information about your work and values and encourages them to explore more with quality content and other information sources from you.
A website is also essential because it gives a collection of your work, so if the audience wants to find out about a certain project, it will be displayed on the site. At the same time, many fans and followers want to contact you discretely, avoiding the scrutiny presented on social media. A website developments holds your contact information and you can also give them an on-page opportunity to share their comments using a contact form.
Many brands go for a website because they miss the opportunity to freely present their style on social media platforms. While it may not be the most important reason, it can impact the brand, its presence, and its authority immensely.
Strategizing Web Development
The creation of a fruitful personal branding website starts with a proper web development consulting session with a pro in this field. The professional developer cum designer team will talk to you about your branding needs, check out your presence on other platforms, and talk about the types of websites you will need.
At this point, you can get more clarity over your expected website by asking for a wireframe for the potential expression. This consultation session will conclude with a shared vision and a practical plan for web development complete with layout, name, messaging, and needed resources.
Web Design and Development
Once you have gotten clarity on how your website should look, it’s time to put that plan into action. Start by hiring a certified web developer. This will ensure that the quality of your website remains uncompromised.
You may think that you can understand the quality of the website and rate it by using it, but website performance and quality are more than what meets the eye. You have to check technical issues like page speed, possibilities of errors, and downtime. Note that these factors are important for the sound function of your digital home because they will tell how comfortable your visitors will be here. At the same time, search engines also use these metrics to determine if they should send visitors to the website or not.
Navigation Options
It’s only natural for you to focus only on the layout, style, and branding elements of your website. No doubt, these factors are essential and will make or break your digital image. However, in the quest for sustainability, you need more than just beauty. You need functionality as well.
Some qualities that professional web development service providers pay attention to while building personal branding websites include ease of navigation, accessibility across devices, findability of important information, and predictability of presented information.
If you are a micro-influencer, you will test your website for identification of problems with the design, but it’s suggested that you also ask a few peers and mentors so they can check the quality by interacting with your website. Macro influencers should also pay attention to such details, but they will have lots of opportunities to improve their website in the wake of constantly incoming feedback from the ocean of users.
Focus on the Messaging
Branding is all about expressing and expression highly depends on content. Your brand can take any form of content from images to videos to plain and simple text depending on its needs and your preferences. Whatever content you decide to use, give it a tone.
Note that every piece of content that you share on your website represents your brand. So, plan, curate, and present it carefully. You may stick to an undertone of authority, energy, credibility, or expertise. But don’t forget that behind all these subtle messages, the most prominent message that the inherent psychology of any human and follower demands is that of care and compassion. Use your expression to connect with your followers, and make them feel seen and heard.
Mix and Match
But stay streamlined. You are allowed to be versatile with your branding. Take the liberty to choose your colors and themes to express your dedication, growth, and passion. But whatever you do stick to your story and branding message.
Present a complete and focused message to your tribe so they know the core of your brand and practice. Keep them focused on what matters and your philosophy on why it matters to you. Once you’ve got the foundation right, feel free to bring different content types together and experiment with typography and tones.
Wrapping Up
You may think that your brand is your work, but the digital world is changing and now people want more than just quality of work. They are now more focused on the human behind these talents and services and the authenticity and connection.
Personal branding used to unconscious process where people kept doing their thing and kept getting recognition for it without putting forth a demand for recognition. Nowadays, you have to be proactive about presenting your message to your people. If you want to attract and build your following, mingle with people while giving them a thoughtfully crafted front to understand you. A personal brand website is a surefire way to present such a front. This blog post tells how you can develop a compelling website to gain the right kind of attention.
