Personal websites

Before I begin this article I would just like to make one thing clear. I'm no expert. I admit that. In fact that's partly why I'm writing this. This is just an outlet for me to share my likes and dislikes about personal websites, what I think works and what doesn't and to hopefully make you think I know what I'm talking about (which I usually don't). My experience comes from tinkering with websites myself and therefore have a habit of loving or loathing other websites for a webmasters perspective.

I don't really want to get into an in-depth discussion on the technical side of a personal website in this article. I'll save that for another time. I just want to go over common things personal websites have and share my opinion on them. I understand people might agree or disagree with me but this is just how I see the web.

So let’s get down to it. Personal websites. What are they? Typically they are a small sized website with information about the owner on them. The content varies from hobbies, interests, diary entries or blogs, photo galleries to reviews, writing, articles and media downloads and much more besides. They are generally managed using a pre-made content management system (CMS), such as Wordpress or if they are a very small site, simple static pages. Creating your own CMS is becoming increasingly popular but requires knowledge of different scripting languages. But could be quite fun to do if you're into that sort of thing.

A few years ago, not everyone knew what a website was; let alone how to make one. Personal webpage’s were usually restricted to free hosting sites with mountains upon mountains of advertisements. Now most people can buy their own domain names for a nominal fee, get cheap hosting with lots of stuff and put together a site, somehow.

Which is fine. I'm not begrudging anyone doing this. Heck, I've done it myself far too many times to count. But if you're going to do it, do it right. Or half right. Or even just a teeny bit right. Otherwise it's no fun.

#1 Content, content and content
Sure your site could look pretty but without any information, that's all it will ever be. Don't you want it to stand out from the other websites? Have an opinion, make some noise and start writing. Don't copy and paste content from other websites. Not only is this stealing someone else's work (which is illegal by the way), it also isn't satisfying. Once you have an idea for a site, take a look at similar successful sites and see how they do it. See what people like and don't like. Market research isn't just for business. The whole point of publishing something on the web is to get it seen, isn't it? Otherwise you might as well not bother. So make everything count. Every word, every link, every image.

For personal websites, think blog entries, reviews, galleries (original content), articles, information related to the owner - quotes, favourite things etc. But make them interesting. Otherwise you might as well just create a Myspace or something. Which I wouldn't recommend, its crap.

Using a spell check can't hurt either. Ok so you may not be the world’s best writer, but there is no excuse for spelling mistakes. And anyone writing in text talk should be shot. The whole point of a personal website (well I think anyway) is for personal development. Development for what exactly, is up to you.

#2 Design, structure and layout
So you have some information you want to publish online, but now what? You want to make it look good. Who wants to read about your life on a standard black and white page with no hint of originality? Logical thinking should now be taking over, or should be. When a user comes on to your site, they want information and they want it now. They don't want and shouldn't have to traipse through a maze of links just to find something out. Structure is the key.

A website consists of design, links and content. The design is the skin, links are the skeleton and the content is the meat.

The most common page layout is the two or three column design. Take my current design for instance. The navigational links are positioned on the right hand side in a column and along the top underneath the header. This doesn't change no matter what page you are on. The links themselves might change, but the layout doesn't. Keeping uniformity to your site will make the experience nicer for your visitors.

Links structures are important too. Things should be grouped and categorised so that they may be found quickly and be indexed correctly by search engines. Naming urls is a personal preference but keep it simple. Short and simple urls are easier to remember and look nicer. There are many ways to achieve this and it goes beyond the scope of this article, but is something to think about.

Once you have your content and link structure sorted, you now have to make it look nice. Again, design is such a personal preference. I used to favour one or two colours for a design, using different shades to make things stand out. Recently though I've been experimenting with three or four colours which I'm starting to like more. There are lots of colour scheme type websites out there which inspire me when creating a new look, Colourlovers and Kuler to name but a few.

Common designs feature a header with an image or two, side menus with alternating colours, page background images or colours and an increasing trend is footer with images and/or content. I personally like the matching or co-ordinated header and footer look. I can't stand sites that look basically like a box, centered in the middle vertically and horizontally with a space above the header and below the footer. I just feel squashed when viewing them.

There are plenty of sites to look at to inspire you when you've decided on how your site will look, so get out there and start looking! And don't feel inclined to do what everyone else does. It's fine to experiment with different layouts and styles before you feel like you've made the right one for you.

#3 Ads, pop-ups and the devil. Most personal sites don't feature any ads; however some people love to pimp out their space to generate an income. It's a personal choice but it's something I've never been inclined to do. And because of that, I won't be providing any advice on the subject. Sorry. But I will just say if you do decide to place ads on your site, please spare us sanity and not use pop ups. I usually stray from a site with pop-ups (even if I use my pop-up blocker) just out of principle. They were created by the devil and these days there are plenty of visitor-friendly alternatives.

#4 Affiliates, friends and cliques. Have you ever been on a site and noticed an exit page, or something similar? These are usually filled with links to different websites that the owner likes, visits or is reciprocally linked with. I quite enjoy these. Because they are often in keep with the subject of the website I'm visiting, thus providing me with even more places to visit. What I don't like is when links are added just for the sake of it. Affiliation should mean something in common and something good. Not just to gain popularity or increasing PR. This sort of thing is very common on personal sites and helps create an online presence.

Finally, having a personal website is something to constantly expand upon. It may start with a single page but can grow to accommodate your life, your interests and views and expand into a fully fledged website. I love watching websites and their owners grow and change. I like being inspired by them, learning other people’s opinions and getting things recommended. Owning your own site should be an enjoyable experience for you and the visitor and lastly, it should be fun.