WEBSITE DESIGN ELEMENTS Test Friday, February 28, 2014

ABOUT ME… The “About Me” page is the place to tell your story. Write in first person, channeling your inner storyteller. Show your personality, too, so people get to know the “real you” behind the personal website. Most blogging and content management software will come with an About page, so take advantage of it. There’s no need to write an autobiography, but you’ll want to give the most important details about yourself in the first paragraph and expand on that information in at least two more. Think of yourself as the subject of a news article and answer the next few questions about yourself and your career or field of interest. Who are you? Where do you go to school? When will you graduate? What do you enjoy doing as a hobby?

CONTACT ME… Don’t make people guess how to contact you. Put your “Contact Me” information at the top of your website (most people have it on the right upper-hand corner of the homepage). Ideally, include a form on the Contact Me page with fields for name, address and phone number, plus a large field so visitors can type in their specific question. There’s no excuse for not having a working contact form on your site. If someone reads your About page or resume and becomes interested, they’ll be searching for a quick way to contact you. You should also include alternative forms of contact on this page, such as your address or social media profile.

UPDATED BLOG… There are many ways to incorporate your blog into the website. Some websites have teasers to the latest blog posts right from the homepage. Others have a link to the blog from the top navigation bar. And other websites list the most recent blog post titles on their homepage. Play around and find the best solution for your website design and audience. While you don’t need to take a personal blog to any extreme, writing a weekly blog post in which you discuss new developments in your life is a great way to showcase your skills. When shared, these posts can attract the right kind of attention. Asking friends on Facebook or Twitter to share your posts is a great way to get your name out and get connected with people outside of your current network.

VISUALS It is extremely important to provide good visuals on your website. Visuals that will drive more traffic to your site are an appealing theme, photos, and videos. Try to have at least one photo and one video on your site at all times. Would you want to read a website that was ALL text? I didn’t think so. B-O-R-I-N-G!

RESUME We will be working on resumes later in the year. A resume is a one page document that details everything in which you are involved such as sports, bands, clubs, extracurricular activities, etc. It also highlights your academic grades in school and any community service in which you have been involved. It is very important to have your resume on your website. We will be adding resumes to our websites within the next month or two.

WEBSITE DESIGN ELEMENTS 1.About Me 2.Contact Me 3.Updated Blog 4.Visuals (appealing theme, photos, videos) 5.Resume