Creating a Website that Works for You

For the month of September we are talking about streamlining your online presence. Last week we talked about why your online presence matters and how that includes your entire digital footprint. Today we are going to talk about building a website that truly serves your audience. We’re going to cover why a website still matters today, the basics that every author, speaker, or coach website should include, the importance of a clear call to action, and some simple design tips for usability and professionalism. The bonus will be some quick tools for building and refreshing your website.

As someone who has built a ton of websites over the years, I can say that I know a thing or two about websites. I now have a wonderful lady on my team who does most of the website builds for our clients. Ashtyn has an eye for graphics and color palettes and she just does all those things that are amazing. If you are interested in having a website built by Alyssa Avant and Company, go over to our website, and you can get a quote. So let’s get into why a website still matters.

Why a Website Still Matters

A website is your home base online. It, unlike social media, is a place that you own and can act as a digital business card plus a hub for all your other platforms. You can link out to your social media, your podcast, and all the different places that you might be online. A website helps you to build credibility and professionalism in an instant.

Most people, like we talked about last week, Google you before they ever come to your store or reach out to have you speak, buy your book, or whatever it is. That is where they are going to look first and where you lead people when they find you elsewhere.

If you are speaking on a podcast, you want to give them your URL or your website address. If you are on social media, you want to share with them how to find out more about you through your website. If you are speaking somewhere, you want to direct them back to your website to learn more. 

The Basics

These are the basics that every author, speaker, or coach website should include.

The most important page on any website is the about page. The about page is where you share your story, your credentials, and who you serve. You really want to speak to the person that you are wishing to serve so they know that “hey, this is the person who can help me with X, Y, and Z”—whatever your area of expertise is.

You also want to have a services or books page, depending on if you offer services or you just write books. Clearly list what you have to offer and how to get it. 

You want a blog or podcast page. The way that Google gives someone the results, like when they search for something, is through what is on your website. That includes keywords. Once you put your website out there, in order for it to still be relevant to Google, you have to do some sort of updates. If you have a website that just has all the facts about you and you never update it because there are not a lot of changes, then it’s not being pushed out to Google on a regular basis. This is why putting a blog or updating a podcast on your website is a good way to keep the search engines over there.

In Google terms, it’s called crawling your website. Google sends these little things out to crawl your website to see what is new, and if there’s nothing new, then it’s not going to point people to you on your website for those topics. Ongoing content helps Google to crawl and come over to your website to push out your topic. That is why it’s important to have ongoing content on your website that builds trust and authority. The way that I do this is I use a podcast and then I create a blog post from the podcast that then goes on my website. I then embed the podcast into the blog post. That gives me content every week without having to write something. I’m already doing the podcast. I’m just using it to create a blog post. A blog or podcast page will help you to stay relevant.

You’ll want to have a contact page, an easy way for people to reach out. You can use a form, plus email, maybe even a social media link. That way they can reach out to you. 

An optional page is a speaking page, if relevant, that highlights your topics, your past engagements, and your booking information. That obviously depends on if you do speaking or not. 

A Clear Call to Action

Let’s talk about the importance of a clear call to action. Every page should have one primary next step.

When somebody’s coming over to your website, you have to tell them what to do. What do you want them to do next? I always compared it to a map. You have these people come to your site and you have to point them in the right direction. It’s like you’re putting out road signs and every page should have a primary step, whether that means joining your email list, booking a call with you, or buying a book.

Don’t overwhelm them with too many choices. Some examples are downloading a free guide, scheduling a consult, or buying my book. You’ve got to do this multiple times, not just once on your website. You do this once per page of your website.

On my homepage, the very first option for them is to learn more about what I’m offering and that takes them to a services page. As soon as they get there, it tells them a little bit about the services, and then it gives them the opportunity to book a call. You want to always be pointing them in the right direction.

What do you want them to do? I want them to book a call with me. So I say, “Schedule a consultation.” Yours is probably different. You might want them to join your email list. You might want them to buy your book; whatever the case, point them in that direction. Consistency is key, so always stay consistent with what it is you’re wanting them to do.

Simple Design Tips

Let’s look at the simple design tips for usability and professionalism. 

You have to keep your website clean and uncluttered. That’s why white space on your website, the open space on the sides or in different places, is your friend. You want to have the white space, but you also want to have easy-to-read fonts and don’t want to use more than two to three fonts. It can get a little bit overwhelming if you use too many different fonts. It’s hard to follow, and it’s hard to read. Stick to one or two.

One of the most important tips I can give you is for your website to be mobile friendly. Over 60% of the traffic that comes to your website now is mobile. It’s coming from someone on their cell phone, their tablet, etc. It is important that your website looks just as good on a mobile device as it does on a desktop computer or laptop. Most websites or platforms that people build their websites on give you the option to look at the mobile version and fix anything that might not look as good on a mobile device as it does on your laptop.

It is important that you have professional photos. Even if it’s just one or two good headshots, they need to be professionally done. I have always heard that it’s best to do this every two to three years. Oddly enough, I am coming up on two and a half years, so I just scheduled a session to get my branding photos or headshots redone. Mine are from January of 2023, which is a little over two years ago now. It feels like I just got them done, but the truth is it went by really fast and I need to update my headshot.

You also want to use consistent colors and branding. This creates trust and recognition. I’ve ventured to guess that most people know when seeing me by the purple because my website has purple on it, and all of my branding is purple. I absolutely love purple and it is what I chose as a brand color, and it has stuck with me this whole time that I have been in business. 

Across different places you need to use the same fonts. If you do flyers, a media kit, or business cards, try to make those things all brand-friendly so that they all look the same.

Bonus Tips

Finally, here are some bonus tips and some quick tools for building and refreshing your site. 

The top two platforms that I would recommend building a website on. 

1. WordPress. It is powerful. It is customizable, and it is widely used. WordPress is my favorite. I have used WordPress for many years.
2. Squarespace. It’s a beginner-friendly, all-in-one platform, and you can always hire someone if you are not sure or don’t know if this is a territory that you want to venture into. 

Your website does not have to be perfect. It just has to work for you and your audience.