Goed verhaal, lekker kort

In the past couple of months I have been creating my own website.

Let’s just say.. it’s a process.

First of all: I broke up with Wordpress. It’s not for everyone. I used to be able to work with it fine, but not anymore. There are other ‘providers’ now that are so much more flexible and faster to work with if you’re not a designer. I mean, I’d like to think I’m a designer. But I’m not. I do think I know something about design and I’ve learned a lot from friends, colleagues and 20 years in advertising.

I know how to design a good presentation, make a good overview, (no bullet points in a presentation!), make it sexy. In Dutch we say: goed verhaal, lekker kort. But let me tell you, there is a big difference beween making a website or presentation about yourself and creating a presentation about a topic for someone or something else.

"In Dutch we say: goed verhaal, lekker kort"

Anyway. At some point I was stuck in writing about myself. I was fed up talking about myself and my professional accomplishments. I thought it was time to share my website with a selection of experienced friends. I was quite proud of that first version, although I did know I still had a lot of work to do in terms of ‘kill you darlings’. Basically, I had written a novel, haha. Non-fiction, but still, a novel. It was only after my friends saw it and commented on it that I had the most work to do still.

And now it’s practically finished! I do really enjoy working on it. And guess what? It gave me experience I can use in my future career: building websites for other people and (small) businesses. And guess what: i’m already working on a second website as we speak and a third is on the horizon.

So what are my learnings?

1. Look for the best provider that works for you. Reed reviews, talk to people and then make a choice. Also, don’t overestimate yourself ;)
2. When you’re stuck and you don’t know how to continue, share it with a few people. Their feedback will help you move on. Ask them to be honest.
3. A website is not a novel. Think of (the top of) your homepage as the cover of a book. Use a good visual and keep it short: goed verhaal, lekker kort.
4. There should be a call to action on the homepage that speaks to your target group (no brainer, I know, but still)
5. If all of this is too much, call me and pay me to make your website! Send me a DM and I will send you a proposal.

I hope you’re all wondering what my website looks like now. I will share it soon. Of course I have to make a moment of it and do as my friend asked: “so when is the launch party?”

Will let you know soon!

Co  ☕️