Do you really need to have your own personal website?
The answer’s a resounding yes. Personal websites are important for so many reasons.
Whether you’re job hunting, running a business or selling a product or service online, a personal website helps you build credibility and shape your online presence.
Of all the branding tools out there, 56% of hiring managers are most impressed by the candidate’s personal website, according to a report by Forbes. Unfortunately, only 7% of job seekers have one.
For freelancers and other professionals, a personal website can help you find better clients and convince prospective clients to hire you. Research shows that 30% of consumers won’t consider businesses without a website. This is becoming increasingly true even for personal brands.
But creating a personal website can be daunting. You may be wondering what you should include on your homepage, what to say on your About page, or how to present your portfolio.
If you’re looking for inspiration, here are 15 personal website examples to get your creative juices flowing.
Listen to this post narrated by a real person:
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1. Amy Porterfield, online marketing educator
Amy Porterfield’s website shows she knows digital marketing. Although she presents a lot of information about herself and her work, the website does not look cluttered or disorganized. She welcomes visitors with a warm photo of herself and personable copy.
For social proof, she includes logos of sites where she has been featured and the current ranking of her podcast, which has over 1700 five-star reviews.
Throughout her site, visitors will find helpful visual cues that guide them in the right direction. From a photo of herself looking in the direction of her website copy to lines and arrows, Amy ensures her visitors know exactly where to look.
A study by CXL found that directional cues, such as an image of a person looking in a certain direction, have a significant impact on how users interact with a website.
As an online marketing educator, Amy’s website is focused on converting visitors into subscribers, readers, and listeners. She uses clear calls to action and relevant lead magnets to capture the interest of her target audience.
2. Gary Vaynerchuk, founder and CEO
Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk needs no introduction in the business world.
His personal website does a good job of capturing his many interests and the different facets of his work. The video on the homepage contains interview clips that introduce site visitors into the world of Gary V.
A “First Time Here” link in the footer area makes it easy for first time visitors to find their way around the website. Also, his site has only five navigation links in the header. While it might be tempting to include several links in your menu, research has shown that the short-term memory can only hold seven items, so fewer menu items are helpful to site visitors.
Although Gary has built a widely popular brand, he still generously shares his contact information on his personal website. He invites visitors to join his texting community and includes his phone number. He also lists all his social media channels, from LinkedIn to TikTok, and leaves a note explaining what visitors can expect on each platform.
Gary’s website is a good example of how people with many differing interests, projects, or portfolios can present themselves without overwhelming website visitors.
3. Raewyn Brandon, graphic designer
Raewyn Brandon’s website is an excellent example of a portfolio website.
Potential clients can discover her graphic design work and she shows off her experience by listing clients including Adobe and Behance.
Her graphic and website design skills shine through in the layout, use of white space, and typography.
Raewyn lists the services she offers and briefly describes each project included in her portfolio. She also gives prospective clients clear guidance about how to contact her — she includes a contact form on her homepage and links to her social media channels.
Raewyn’s website is a great example for creatives who want an impressive way to showcase their work and experience.
4. Andy Raskin, strategic narrative consultant
Andrew Raskin takes a minimalist approach in his personal website; this is a great example of a one-page site. The hero section only lists his name, title, and location with an arrow that nudges you to scroll down.
The website also has a chat widget that encourages visitors to leave a message.
Having live chat software can increase conversions anywhere from 8% to 20%. In addition, those who use the chat function are more likely to convert than visitors who do not.
Andy doesn’t say much about himself. Instead, he relies on testimonials from previous clients, including leaders at Intel, Salesforce, Google Ventures, and IBM to establish his credibility.
If you have a lot of solid testimonials from recognizable brands in your industry, Andy’s approach may work for you. According to Bright Local, 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family.
5. April Dunford, positioning consultant, speaker, and author
April Dunford‘s website features bold typography, bright colors, and great website copy. These capture your attention the moment the website loads.
The site has a pleasant color scheme and there are prominent CTAs that clarify the action April would like visitors to take — contact her.
April speaks directly to visitors in her copy, using personal pronouns. This makes her immediately personable and real.
For social proof, she includes testimonials and the logos of clients she’s worked with — more than 15 recognizable startups.
6. Jessica Hische, lettering artist and author
Jessica Hische’s website lives up to expectations for a designer’s online portfolio. With a pleasing color scheme and typography, the website highlights her graphic design work and published books. The website also includes an online shop where visitors can purchase her books and fonts.
Jessica includes a client email helper, a tool to help those in creative industries respond to prospective project requests, particularly if the request is for low-budget or free work.
This free tool which auto-generates templated responses, will no doubt have many people coming back to the site frequently, which is great for SEO purposes.
7. Jacob Cass, brand designer & strategist
Jacob Cass‘s website is clear and professional. The homepage hero section includes a headshot and crisp copy with a clear call to action.
Jacob provides a detailed description of the services he provides and a portfolio of his work. Logos of previous clients, such as Disney, Nike and Nintendo pack in the social proof.
His website also features a creative counter which highlights his years of experience, awards won and the number of clients served. His testimonial page includes detailed testimonials from verifiable clients.
Jacob is interested in conversions, so he offers an irresistible branding briefcase containing hundreds of design resources as a lead magnet to capture email addresses from website visitors.
A 2020 study by Getresponse revealed that text-based and visual lead magnets have the highest conversion rates, next only to video-based content.
8. Syed Balki, entrepreneur, investor, & marketing expert
Syed Balkhi is a popular figure in the WordPress community and nearly every user is likely to come across one of his products. His personal website is a clean impressive online portfolio that links to his other projects.
Syed uses the first person to describe himself and his work and encourages site visitors to connect with him on social media. Syed offers visitors a Growth Toolkit as a way to build an email list and get new subscribers.
His website is a good example for people who have several successful projects that they wish to highlight because he uses it as a landing page to help visitors discover his other projects and products.
9. Nathan Latka, founder & venture capitalist
Nathan Latka’s website is focused on selling his book, How To Be A Capitalist Without Any Capital. It’s a good example of a product-focused personal website.
Given the subject of his book, Nathan knows he has to prove his authority and he handles this exceptionally. He uses great wit and humor to explain his background, share his finance experience, and answer personal questions about his net worth and whether he comes from a rich family.
Overall, Nathan’s website does a great job of establishing credibility and making a strong case for his book.
10. Ramit Sethi, personal finance advisor
Ramit Sethi uses his personal website as an online resource for his target audience. The conversion-focused website features an interactive “Earning Potential Quiz” that users can take and get results via email — a great way to capture leads.
His about page copy captures the reader’s attention right away and is infused with his straightforward matter-of-fact writing style.
He has also created several products which he lists on a dedicated page that’s highlighted on the menu. The website is easy to navigate and visitors can easily find the information they’re looking for.
11. Dave Gerhardt, marketing leader
Dave Gerhardt‘s website is simple and to the point. He welcomes visitors with a cheerful photo of himself and classic first person copy that tells us clearly who he is and what he does.
The choice of black as the website color creates an immersive experience for site visitors who are immediately drawn into Dave’s world.
Dave shares photos of his speaking engagements and draws attention to his private DGMG community, which has over 2000 members.
12. Ryan Holiday, marketing expert & best selling author
Best-selling author Ryan Holiday uses his personal website to connect with fans and new readers. His website features his books, courses and speaking events. He also maintains a reading list for interested visitors.
Visitors can order his books via Amazon and he includes a notification that shows his website’s affiliation with Amazon.
Ryan is interested in gaining new subscribers to his already 200,000-strong email list. He uses a pop-up form and banner to encourage visitors to join his email list.
13. Marie Forleo, entrepreneur & best selling author
Marie Forleo‘s personal website shows off Marie’s unique style and personality. A video of Marie auto-plays in the hero background, welcoming site visitors.
She includes lots of social proof with photos of her interviews and moments with recognizable public figures like Oprah Winfrey and Richard Branson.
Marie’s writing skills shine through in her About page where she tells a relatable story about her background before switching attention to the reader. Well-written About pages are a great way to warm people up to your brand and answer the question, “Why should I care?” She cross-promotes all her other channels — podcasts, courses, TV shows and more.
Marie does a good job of welcoming readers into her world and pointing them in the right places to explore. A “New here” button on the menu may help first time visitors find their way around.
14. Simon Sinek, inspirational speaker
Simon Sinek needs no introduction in the self-development and business leadership space. His simple and minimalistic website highlights his books, courses and speaking events.
The homepage features some of his best-selling books and courses. Simon doesn’t include any testimonials for social proof; instead, he focuses on immersing the visitors in his work and philosophy.
15. Tim Ferris, bestselling author
For Tim Ferris, author of the Four Hour Workweek, his website primarily serves as a one-stop-shop for his fans.
Website visitors can find the latest episodes of his podcasts, order his books, read his latest articles and sign up for his newsletter. The simple website has helped Tim curate all his content from 2007 when the blog was first launched.
Key takeaways from these 15 personal website examples
All of the websites listed above have a unique thing going for them. Overall, here’s what you can learn from these websites as you build your own:
- Let your personality shine through. Don’t be afraid to use warm, reassuring photos of yourself or to write in your unique style. Design elements such as colors, typography, and images help to define your personal brand. The more authentic you are, the faster and better you connect with your true audience.
- Pack in the social proof and credibility pointers. People want to trust experts. List websites where you have been featured or any other information that proves your credibility. Namedrop your biggest clients, partners or collaborators.
- Consider the end goal. Think about conversion when building your website. What actions would you like site visitors to take when they arrive? Use clear calls to action so you don’t leave visitors guessing the next action to take.
- Highlight your strengths. Showcase your best work and emphasize the uniqueness of each project. Whether you are creating a portfolio or resume website, focusing on your most relevant work/achievements will be an advantage.
- Build your email list. Most of the websites featured above have pop-up forms, freebies, and other resources to encourage visitors to subscribe to their newsletters. Using Getresponse, for instance, you can easily start an email list and capture leads on your website in a variety of ways.
- Think about user experience. This means planning your pages and navigation links properly so visitors can easily find information. If you have a lot of content to share, consider using a “Start Here” link to guide new visitors to the most important areas of your website.
Important pages/features to include on your personal website
Below are some of the important pages and features to consider when creating your personal website:
- Homepage
- About page
- Portfolio
- Services page
- Contact form
- Social media links
- Subscriptions forms
- Pop-up forms
- Live chat
- Ecommerce store
- Blog
Wrapping it up
A personal website is a great way to take control of your online presence and present yourself to employers and potential clients in a way that is best suited to who you are and what you do. Your website can serve as a resume website, online business card, portfolio or personal blog. Whatever your goals are, be sure to focus on user experience and highlighting the most relevant areas of your work.
Best of all? You don’t need to hire a web designer to build a personal site for you. You can, for example, use the new GetResponse Website Builder tool. It can create a personalized, stunning website for you in an instant, using AI.