How can you create an effective website to market your services as a self-employed person abroad?

1 Know your audience

Before you start building your website, you need to have a clear idea of who you are trying to reach and what they are looking for. Research your potential clients, their pain points, their goals, and their preferences. What are their needs and expectations? What are their challenges and frustrations? What are their motivations and desires? How can you solve their problems and add value to their lives? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your website content, design, and functionality to their needs and interests.

2 Choose a domain name and hosting service

Your domain name is your online identity and it should reflect your brand name, your niche, and your keywords. Choose a domain name that is easy to remember, spell, and pronounce. Avoid numbers, hyphens, or obscure extensions. Ideally, your domain name should end with .com, .net, or .org, as these are the most trusted and recognized by users and search engines. You also need to choose a reliable and secure hosting service that can handle your website traffic, speed, and performance. Compare different hosting plans and features, and look for reviews and testimonials from other users.

4 Create engaging and relevant content

Your website content is essential for communicating your message, showcasing your expertise, and persuading visitors to take action. It should be clear, concise, and compelling, as well as relevant, informative, and valuable to your audience. For instance, a catchy headline can capture attention and summarize your main benefit. Additionally, a compelling introduction should hook readers and explain what you do and why you are different. Furthermore, the body should outline services, features, and benefits. Finally, a strong call to action should invite readers to contact you or book a consultation. Plus, a portfolio or testimonials section can showcase previous work and client feedback. Lastly, a contact or about page can provide contact details and personal story.

6 Test and improve your website

Creating a website is an ongoing process that requires regular testing and improvement. To achieve this, you can enlist the help of friends, family, colleagues, or clients to provide feedback on usability, design, and content. You can also use online platforms such as UserTesting or SurveyMonkey. A/B testing is another useful method of comparing two versions of a web page or element to see which one performs better; Google Optimize or Optimizely are tools that can help you run these tests and optimize your conversions. Heatmaps and analytics are also beneficial in helping you visualize and measure how users interact with your website; Hotjar or Crazy Egg can create heatmaps and track user behavior, such as clicks, scrolls, and mouse movements. Lastly, Google Analytics or Mixpanel are tools that measure website traffic, bounce rate, conversion rate, and other metrics.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?