A personal website is just what the name implies. It is a website maintained by an individual for personal use. Similar to a Blog a personal website is usually much larger and contains the personal interests, hobbies, etc. of the person controlling the website.

The purpose of this type of website is to provide information about an individual or group. This type of website is run by an individual or a small group (such as a family) that contains information or any content that the individual wishes to include.

Designing a personal website

The sky is the limit when designing a personal website. Some of you may just want a simple one page website to tell the world something about yourself; others may want larger, multi-page websites that span several areas of interest. Still others may simply be looking for a place to experiment with the web.

In short, a personal website is the place for webpages not directly related to a product or organization or any other entity other than yourself. It is a website that only YOU control. You are the webmaster!

Personal websites are not private

A personal website is not really private. The public will be the visitors to your website and they will be from all over the world. Keep in mind that your website will be browseable by the world, and will eventually get indexed by the search engines. Once this happens your audience will expand even more. Never offer more information about yourself than you need to.

Develop a theme

Although it is not a necessity it is a good ides to use some theme to tie your website together. If you are an artist then by all means use your skill to display your work in the light of your personality. Use your art work to combine your webpages into a coherent whole. I am sure that you can think of ways to do this.

If you are an avid boater then you could use a nautical scheme to emphasize your personality and your content. Maybe you enjoy photography or the great outdoors in which case nature and natural images would serve your purpose. Whatever motivates you can be a source for developing a website theme. That's the fun of having a personal website.

Communication should be a two way street

Always provide a means for your visitors to send you feedback. When your visitors want to tell you something or ask you a question they must have a means of doing so. A simple email address is the least that you should provide them. Better still, post a contact page and create a web form to process correspondence.

The exchange of information and the melding of ideas is the crowning glory of the internet. Through the interchange of thoughts and personal experiences we become a global community. People to people contact is becoming more and more important in the modern world to help us maintain our perspective.

Summary

Making and managing a personal website can be one of the most rewarding experiences to be had on the internet. Through it you can make friends from countries that you will never see and have only read about.

Personal websites are the wave of the future. It is the beginning of a global society at the grassroots level. Where each of us will have our own internet identity and address. Welcome to the global village!

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