I had a mentor in college who lived in Nashville, TN named Bob Sanders. Bob was big in the Nashville entertainment industry. He introduced me to local sportscasters Hope Hines and Joe Fisher. He even introduced me to Barbara Mandrell. That was pretty cool.
Maybe the most important thing Bob taught me was KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid.
Here are nine ways that a KISS will make your personal website rock.
1. Keep it to five pages
Anything more than five and you’re starting to make it difficult for employers to find what they want. Don’t make them sort through a bunch of junk to get what they need to evaluate you.
2. Use three colors, max
Don’t use every crayon in the box of 64 Crayolas. Your website will look like a kindergarten project.
3. Use uniform fonts for headlines and texts
Uniformity looks professional.
4. White space is your friend
Don’t be overwhelming because every page has too much text and too many images.
5. Include your name, title and an image in the header
Brand yourself and make the header bold. Make it attractive.
6. Put a brief, first person bio on your home page
First person is key. It’s much more personable.
7. Put your resume in the navigation bar
Your resume is the first thing employers look for yet many sportscasters bury it on their website.
8. Don’t use a contact form
Many people wonder if their message ever finds its target when sent through a form. Instead, publish your email address. Employers will be able to contact you with confidence. Plus, it makes it easy for employers to copy the info to their contacts.
9. Do not put your Twitter feed on your website
I know this suggestion sounds counterintuitive. When you publish your Twitter feed, you’re inviting people to leave your site. Once you take them to twitter, they are going down the rabbit hole and they’re never coming back.