Are you a college or university student? Will you be graduating soon and looking for a job? Having your own website will set you apart from other graduates, teach you valuable skills, and even make you money along the way. Don’t believe us? Here are 7 reasons why every student should have a website.
1. It makes you look professional.
These days everyone and everything is just a quick Google search away. As alarming as that may sound, you can use it to your advantage so that you’re more than ready when a recruiter comes looking for you.
A website is a perfect tool to manage your online reputation. Your website is your own curated home base where you can showcase the work you’re proud of, highlighting your accomplishments, skills, and education. When an employer searches your name online, your sleek website will come up, instead of your Instagram account dedicated to your cat. A website gives you control in telling your story.
By pooling all of your information in one place, you’re also making the employer’s life easier because it means less clicking and digging for them.
Just being able to say that you own your own website sounds professional and no matter what you’re doing with the website—selling a product, sharing your thoughts, or looking for a job—it shows that you believe in your work and you’ve put in the time and effort to show it off.
2. It’s the ultimate resume.
On that note, a website makes the greatest resume. Gone are the days of plain paper resumes. These days resumes have to be dynamic and eye-catching to catch an employer’s attention and what better way to do this than on the web?
A website resume is a lot more memorable than a print resume because you can include video, graphics, photos, and even audio. Plus, remember the “show, don’t tell” rule? A website resume will do just that. As well as demonstrating your enthusiasm for writing, editing photos, marketing, or whatever it may be, it proves that you know how to do it. Pretty handy, huh?
3. It shows that you’re tech-savvy and innovative.
Everything is digital these days so you can expect that whatever job you get will require some sort of technology. Having your own website shows employers that you’re tech-savvy and know your way around the web. It also shows that you’re creative and not afraid to try something new, setting you apart from your paper resume-wielding peers and solely social media-using schoolmates.
4. It could be a source of income.
Make money doing something you love.
Once you get enough traffic to your website, it’s time to start thinking about money, because who isn’t a fan of some extra cash? Depending on what you dedicate your website to and how much time you invest, it could be a source of income for you on the side. Here are some of the most common—and easiest—ways to make money with your website that you’ve probably encountered:
Advertising
Display ads on your website and earn cash when users click on them. The ads you display on your website don’t have to be overwhelming; Choose tasteful ads that are relevant to your visitor, like ads for a travel tour company on a travel blog website. Google AdSense can help get you started.
Affiliate Marketing
Partner up with a company and link to their products or services on your website. Every time someone clicks, you get a sales cut. It’s an easy way to make a “passive” income, which is long-term and low-effort.
Sponsored Content
Allow retailers to post on your website for a fee or write product reviews in exchange for freebies.
Premium Content
Sell downloads of premium content you put together, like videos, tutorials, eBooks or PDFs. This provides value to your reader and shows your authority on a subject.
Sell a Product or Service
Turn your website into a small eCommerce site and sell something you make or do, like:
- Terrariums and floral arrangements
- Graphic design art
- Drone videography
- Wedding Photography
- Music production lessons
- Customized pillows
- Fitness and nutrition plans
- The options are endless!
Also, here are some other things to consider when starting an online business.
5. It’s a creative outlet.
Your website is a space where you can do whatever your heart pleases, like:
- Share your travel photography
- Upload code you’ve made
- Track your journey in learning how to yodel
- Raise money for an important cause
- Express your love for a television show
- Share what you’ve learned in school
- Practice creative writing
- Work towards your career aspirations
Not to mention, having a creative outlet to express yourself is just good self-care.
The freedom to do your own thing is often incentive enough for people to have their own website. If you end up really enjoying what you’re doing and accumulating a lot of content, you could go with the monetization route mentioned above, which is a bonus.
A website is a place you can share your work online.
6. It gives you hands-on experience.
Have you ever looked at a job posting only to be discouraged because they required 1-2 years of experience of doing this and another 1-2 years of experience doing that? Making your own website is an excellent way to get hands-on experience in skills like coding, web design, writing, and SEO—and you bet that you can put it on your resume. And because it’s your own website, you can experiment. Want to try that neat snippet of JavaScript that creates a moving particle background? You can do that. Want to try a new SEO technique that you believe will allow search engines to find you better? You can do that. Want to try making your own WordPress theme? Yes, you can even do that.
Having your own website is a good place to get comfortable with working with websites overall. You can get familiar with popular Content Management systems like WordPress or Drupal and learn web terminology, which may come in handy depending on where you plan to work.
Lastly, not only are you building hard skills, you’re building soft skills like problem-solving, research, storytelling, design sense, creativity and resourcefulness.
7. It’s really easy.
Last, but not least, it’s ludicrously easy to make a website these days. You can have your domain picked, hosting sorted, website created, and first post up in less than a weekend.
Building your brand and website will take time of course, but the longer you stick with it, the more likely you are to turn your online work into something more.
Owning a website is also very affordable and for many students, a shared hosting plan is more than enough.
So what are you waiting for?
Are you interested in starting your first website? Get in touch with us and we can help you set up a website in a few simple steps, or you can get started here.
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