Building a personal brand website that actually drives opportunities

A personal brand website is one of the highest-leverage projects a young professional can build. Here's a structure that actually drives opportunities — not just compliments.

The five-page minimum

Home (one-line who-and-what), About (story + credibility), Work (case studies, not just images), Writing (essays, not blog), Contact (real, monitored). Skip "services" until you're selling something.

Case studies, not screenshots

Every project gets a short case study: context, what you did, what changed, what you learned. Three honest case studies beat thirty thumbnails.

SEO basics that compound

Self-titled domain, your name in every page title, a long About page (Google reads it), original writing, and one well-built backlink (a guest post, a podcast, a press feature).

What to leave out

Skip animated splash screens, scroll hijacking, gated downloads and a CV upload. Personal sites win on substance, not gimmicks.

Frequently asked questions

The five-page minimum?

Home (one-line who-and-what), About (story + credibility), Work (case studies, not just images), Writing (essays, not blog), Contact (real, monitored). Skip "services" until you're selling something.

Case studies, not screenshots?

Every project gets a short case study: context, what you did, what changed, what you learned. Three honest case studies beat thirty thumbnails.

SEO basics that compound?

Self-titled domain, your name in every page title, a long About page (Google reads it), original writing, and one well-built backlink (a guest post, a podcast, a press feature).

What to leave out?

Skip animated splash screens, scroll hijacking, gated downloads and a CV upload. Personal sites win on substance, not gimmicks.