What Does Your Website Say About You?

Posted on November 06, 2014
Posted by Rahna

If you are an entrepreneur, most likely you have a website.  If you are in the corporate world, you may maintain a blog that expresses your personal brand.  But what is it saying about you? Today I am pleased to host guest blogger Donna Fitch, who is a digital marketing specialist and CEO of Maximum Author Impact.  She has done some work for me on my blog and has some great information to share about expressing yourself on a website.

What Does Your Website Say About You?

Your website or blog is an important part of your brand. Visitors to your site gain an impression of you and your business from the moment they reach your URL. Are they receiving the message you want them to? Have you left it up to chance by creating a website without prior thought of its impact? Read over these descriptions and see if your site is saying any of these things about you.

 

  1. I’m out of touch.
    Your website design impacts your site visitors before anything else. Clashing colors, amateur graphics and an out-of-date theme announce to everyone who sees your site that you aren’t attentive enough to trends to update to a more modern, professional look. Avoid this perception by using a graphic designer for your header image and other graphics, using minimal colors to prevent distraction from the content, and apply a modern theme. And while you’re at it, make sure that theme is responsive—meaning it is easily viewed on a desktop, a tablet or a smartphone.
  2. I’m not focused.
    Your website should not try to be all things to all people. You may have included a wide variety of widgets and plugins, each vying for attention on your site. Reading through the information on your site makes it hard to understand just what your purpose is. The best way to avoid this problem is to apply what you’ve determined about your personal brand to the website. Only include the information relevant to that brand and the purpose of your site. Weed out anything that doesn’t contribute to it. Show the world your focus through your brand.
  3. My online brand isn’t important to me.
    When was the last time you wrote a blog post? What you say in your blog reflects your personal brand. If readers visit your site and see the last post was two months ago, they have no reason to come back. Current and compelling blog content is the single most important reason visitors return to your site time and again. Help visitors see your online brand through what you’ve written in your blog. Help them make a connection with you.
  4. I don’t pay attention to details.
    Blog posts full of spelling and grammatical errors say you aren’t careful about details. Granted, a blog post is more informal than a book or whitepaper, but with spellcheck, there’s really no excuse for sloppy writing. Your posts will be visible on the Internet for a very long time, so make your prose shine. You don’t need to spend hours making it perfect, but do make sure words are correctly spelled, and you’ve correctly used “they’re,” “their” and “there.”
  5. I’m marketing savvy and up to date.
    Your theme is current, your graphics are professional and your blog post is current and free of spelling and grammar errors. Congratulations! You’re proclaiming to the world that you know your personal brand and how to market it. Keep up the good work!

 

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to stop by my website, maximum-author-impact.com, for a free webinar, “5 Signs It’s Time to Break Up With Your Current Website.”

Donna K. Fitch, MasteDonna Fitch headshotr of Library Science, Master’s Certificate in Web Design and Development, is the founder and CEO of Maximum Author Impact, creating beautiful WordPress websites, training webinars and other resources for indie authors. She is the independent author of Second Death, The Source of Lightning, and The Color of Darkness and Other Stories, and a long-time member of the Horror Writers Association. In her day job, she is the digital communication specialist in the office of marketing and communication at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

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