4 Things I Learned from Building My Professional Website

Why bother building your website if you’re not a professional developer? This question stayed on my mind for a long time while creating my digital home on the web, AKA Littalics.com. The effort might seem unnecessary, given the abundance of social media, professional networks like LinkedIn, and expert services of all kinds and sizes. Yet, building a website offered me?long-term worth that was even more valuable than the outcome.

1. Embracing Multidisciplinary Skills

Building my professional website revealed the power of integrating multidisciplinary expertise. From design to coding, I realized how these skills interacted to create a compelling user experience and unique branding. Merging my professional background in business and management with data-driven insights on people's preferences and behavior and applying them to website design enriched the process. Albert Einstein once said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." The endeavor of building and maintaining my website highlighted how embracing diverse skills (and sweat!) drives genuine creation when combined purposefully.

"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." - Albert Einstein

2. A Platform for Self-Expression

My website became a canvas for self-expression, allowing me to showcase my brand authentically. Choosing visuals, colors, layouts, and writing content reflecting my identity was empowering and challenging. This exercise reinforced the idea that design and messaging can genuinely align with my core values and experiences. As Brené Brown notes, "Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day." I learned that crafting a website is a commitment to showing up as your authentic self online.

"Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day." - Brené Brown

3. The Joy of Continuous Learning

Throughout developing and maintaining my website, I encountered technical barriers that required problem-solving and skill-building. Learning about servers, performance, optimization, security, and analytics transformed obstacles into opportunities for personal and professional growth. This nicely aligns with John Dewey’s belief that "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." Tackling these challenges reminded me that learning is not a phase but a constant process, especially in the digital age.

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." - John Dewey

4. Measuring Success with Performance Indicators

Finally, I discovered the importance of defining and tracking performance indicators to measure my website’s success. Metrics like bounce rate, user engagement, and conversion rates offered actionable insights for continuous improvement. I believe we all encountered Peter Drucker's principle somewhere in our careers: "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." Monitoring these indicators taught me to view success as a dynamic, evolving target rather than a fixed endpoint.

"If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." - Peter Drucker

Each of these lessons has enriched my journey, transforming website building into a profound learning experience. They have encouraged and inspired me to explore the next stage in leveraging AI into my digital home at Littalics.com and to continue blending creativity with technology. I invite you to follow my journey, where I’ll share insights and discoveries beyond my recent agenda as a Workforce Data Strategist into what's next after People Analytics.

Acknowledgment: ChatGPT assisted me in finding the quotes used in this article, which I wrote on its Canvas (Great experience! I recommend trying it)

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