How to Create a Personal Website (4 Steps)

A personal website enables you to shape your online identity, expand your reach, and position yourself as an authority in your field. It’s a great fit for creatives, consultants, entrepreneurs, and those who want to document their experiences. But how do you create one?

You can simplify the process by choosing the right tools. Some website builders make it easy to design pages and write content. Plus, with the right provider, you can purchase hosting and manage your domain name from the same place.

In this post, we’ll look at when it makes sense to create a personal website. Then, we’ll discuss what you need and show you how to get started. Let’s dive right in!

What Is a Personal Website (And Do You Need One)?

A personal website helps you carve out your corner of the internet. It’s a suitable project for anyone who wants to establish an online presence to cultivate a personal brand or share their work and thoughts with audiences.

Here are some examples of personal websites:

• Blogs
• Portfolios (for artists, designers, writers, photographers, etc)
• Online resumes
• Personal use (e.g. creating a site to document your wedding journey, a renovation project, or travel adventures)

For instance, an author might create a site to sell their books and promote book signing events. Even professionals like comedians, choreographers, and actors can benefit from having a website.

A website provides room to communicate your achievements and experience. You can also use it to promote affiliate products, set up an online store, publish blog posts, and interact with your audience.

What You’ll Need to Make a Personal Website

You’re probably wondering how to make a personal website. Before we get to that, here’s what you’re going to need:

• Domain name. Every website needs a domain name. This is the website address (or URL) that people and search engines use to find your content. Ideally, you want to use a popular domain extension like .com or .net to build trust with your audience.
• Web hosting. A web hosting provider stores your site files on a web server so that your content is publicly accessible on the internet. Some web hosts provide extra features like automatic WordPress installations and free domain names.
• Website builder. Although you can build a personal site from scratch, website builders simplify the process. Pre-made templates give you a head start on the web design, while drag-and-drop editors make it easier to customize the template to your liking.
• SSL certificate. When you install an SSL certificate, you’ll encrypt data that’s transferred between a browser and your server, making personal and financial information indecipherable. This is a key part of securing your site and protecting your visitors.

You can find hosting providers that offer everything you need in one convenient package. For example, NameHero’s WordPress hosting plans install WordPress for you. They also come with free domains, free SSL certificates, daily backups, security updates, and more.

How to Create Your Own Personal Website (4 Steps)

Now, let’s look at how to make a personal website.

1. Register for a HeroBuilder Account

We always recommend setting up a WordPress site.

For starters, it’s the most popular content management system (CMS) on the market, powering over 40 percent of all websites. It’s also free and open-source software, with a wealth of free resources to help you use it.

That said, the platform comes with a steep learning curve for beginners. That’s why it’s a good idea to use a website builder like HeroBuilder:

This offers an easier way to use WordPress for your personal website. Powered by AI, it generates a site based on your needs and preferences.

Click on Get Started Free andcreate an account (no payment details required). After that, you’ll be directed to the client area where you can create and manage your websites:

Here, click on Create First Website to get started.

2. Generate Your Personal Website

HeroBuilder will walk you through a setup process to create the right personal website for you. Unless you wish to import an existing WordPress instance, click on Create New Website:

Now, enter the site name you wish to use. You can amend this later if you change your mind.

Now, HeroBuilder will create your personal website, which may take a few minutes. Once it’s ready, you’ll need to enter a few sentences to describe your website.

You can also select the tone you want for your personal brand (e.g. friendly, inspirational, persuasive):

Next, define the goals you wish to achieve with your personal website. For instance, you may want to promote an event, publish blog posts, or grow site traffic.

HeroBuilder will then ask you to choose your preferred site structure. Some personal sites work well as single-page websites. In this instance, all the content will be displayed on just one page, but in different sections.

This is also the way to go if you want to create a static site that doesn’t need to be updated regularly. However, if you want to add more pages, choose the Multi-Page option:

Based on your responses, HeroBuilder will present a tailored selection of website templates:

Pick your favorite design. In the next step, you can choose (and preview) all your pages.

HeroBuilder will automatically create pages based on your website type. So, if it’s a portfolio, you might find a gallery and testimonials page. You can add extra pages like resources, FAQs, and more:

HeroBuilder will then add all the pages and apply your chosen styles. It also installs necessary plugins, like WPForms for contact forms and newsletter opt-ins.

3. Customize Your Personal Website

When your site is ready, HeroBuilder takes you to the WordPress dashboard. Here, you can customize the design, configure plugins, and more:

If you go Pages, you can choose a section you want to edit. This will launch your page in the WordPress Block Editor, where you can use the AI Assistant to write content for you, such as paragraphs, blog posts, and headlines.

Here, you can also select existing blocks (like images, buttons, and columns) to make customizations. Highlighting the block will open settings to the right of the editor:

Depending on the specific block, you might be able to change the font family, font size, colors, borders, dimensions, and more.

Feel free to remove blocks if you don’t need them, or add new items by clicking on the + icon directly in the editor:

Once you’re happy with your work, save and preview the design.

4. Get hosting and a custom domain name

You can use HeroBuilder for free for up to four days. Then, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium plan to take your website online and connect it to a custom domain name (which you can also purchase from NameHero).

This will also give you full access to WordPress. For example, you’ll be able to install additional plugins like search engine optimization (SEO) tools to improve your search rankings.

HeroBuilder plans include essential features like backups, personalized email addresses, SSL certificates, and more. They start at just $7.46 per month, so they’re ideal for small, personal websites.

Conclusion

WordPress is the perfect platform for building websites. However, since it has a steep learning curve, you’ll want to use an intuitive website builder to design your portfolio, blog, or online resume.

To recap, here are four steps to create a personal website:

1. Register for a HeroBuilder account.
2. Generate your personal website.
3. Customize your site.
4. Get hosting and a domain name.

HeroBuilder generates an entire site for you in minutes. Get started for free today!