What does a personal branding website need?
Five pages: a homepage that says who you help, an about page, a proof page, a contact page and a writing page. That is enough for a founder, consultant or B2B seller; you can start with all five as sections of one page and split them later. The table shows what each one has to do.
| Page | Job | Must include |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Tell a visitor in one screen who you help and what to do next | Your statement, a photo, one proof line, one button |
| About | Explain why you are credible on this topic | Your path in 150 to 300 words, roles and dates, a photo |
| Proof | Show work, not adjectives | 2 to 4 short case notes, quotes used with permission, logos only if allowed |
| Writing | Give people a reason to come back and search engines pages to find | Your best 5 to 10 posts, each on its own page with a clear title |
| Contact | Make the next step easy | Email, a booking link, what to send you, how fast you reply |
The word counts and numbers are our suggestions. The one sentence that heads your homepage is the hardest part; our 13 personal brand statement samples give you a formula to start from.
Which website builder and domain should you pick, and what do they cost?
For a one-page site, a cheap builder plus a separately bought domain is enough; for a site with a blog, pick a builder with a blog built in. These are the prices and billing basis on each provider's pricing page as we opened it on 5 November 2026, before tax. The list ranks nothing.
| Provider | Cheapest plan with your own domain, as shown | Billing basis on the page | Domain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrd Pro | Pro Standard, $19 a year, 10 sites (Pro Lite at $9 a year has premium URLs but not custom domains) | Per year | Bring your own |
| WordPress.com | Personal, US$4 a month billed every 12 months, or US$9 paying monthly | Yearly, 2-year, 3-year or monthly; excludes taxes | Free domain for one year |
| Framer | Basic, $10 a month, labelled for creative personal sites | Shown with yearly billing selected | Page lists a free custom domain |
| Squarespace | Price not given here: the page showed us only Indian rupees | Pay annually or pay monthly options | Annual plans include one year of free domain registration, per the footnote |
| Wix | Price not given here: the page showed prices including GST and says prices and currency vary by location, with USD shown for reference only | Check from a US connection | Free domain for 1 year; the FAQ says the voucher is redeemable within 60 days of purchase |
| Porkbun (registrar) | .com domain, $11.81 | The page says the price you see is the price you pay, year after year | Includes free WHOIS privacy and email forwarding, per the page |
Worked example of year-one cost, our arithmetic from the prices above:
- Carrd Pro Standard plus a Porkbun .com: $19 + $11.81 = $30.81 a year.
- WordPress.com Personal paid yearly: $4 x 12 = $48, domain included for the first year. Paying monthly instead: $9 x 12 = $108.
- Framer Basic on yearly billing: $10 x 12 = $120.
Two traps: a free first-year domain is paid for from year two (Squarespace's footnote says these renew at its standard rate, plus taxes), and some pages localise prices, as Squarespace and Wix did for us. Open the page from your own country before you compare.
What should each page say? A page-by-page outline
Copy this outline and replace the sample text. The sample person, Priya at Acme, is invented.
Reuse the same statement in your LinkedIn headline and About section so a visitor who checks both sees one story; our 30-minute-a-week LinkedIn system covers the profile side. For the booking link, Siela's calendar and booking pages check availability against every connected calendar and send reminders, though any booking tool works.
How do you set up basic SEO for a personal branding site?
Get the five basics from Google Search Central’s SEO starter guide right, and skip the rest until you have pages worth ranking.
A title per page
The guide says a good title is unique to the page, clear and concise, and accurately describes the contents of the page. Sample: "Priya at Acme: Month-End Close for SaaS Finance Teams".
A meta description per page
Google describes a good one as short, unique to one particular page, and covering the most relevant points: one or two sentences.
Readable URLs
The guide suggests words in the URL that are useful to users and notes that a URL of random identifiers is less helpful. Use /about and /writing/month-end-close-checklist, not /page-2.
Alt text and link text
Describe what each image shows and how it relates to the page, and write link text that says what the linked page is about.
Skip meta keywords
The guide says Google Search doesn't use the keywords meta tag, so don't spend time on it.
Then wait. The same guide says some changes take effect in a few hours and others could take several months, and suggests waiting a few weeks before judging. Our post on how long a new website takes to rank has the longer view. If you also want AI answers to quote you, the writing page matters most: see how to get cited in Google AI Overviews.
What accessibility basics should a personal site follow?
Seven checks, taken from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's tips for writing and tips for designing. Most builders handle the code; these are the parts you control.
| W3C tip | What it means on your site |
|---|---|
| Provide informative, unique page titles | The same unique titles you wrote for SEO |
| Use headings to convey meaning and structure | Use the builder's heading styles, not big bold text, for each section |
| Make link text meaningful | "Read the month-end close checklist", not "click here"; W3C names 'click here' and 'read more' as ambiguous link text to avoid |
| Write meaningful text alternatives for images | Alt text for your photo and case images; W3C says purely decorative images need none |
| Provide sufficient contrast between foreground and background | Check text over your hero photo and on buttons, which W3C names |
| Ensure that form elements include clearly associated labels | A visible label next to each field of your contact form, not only placeholder text |
| Create transcripts and captions for multimedia | Captions on any intro video |
What should you do this week?
Build the one-page version in an afternoon and split it into pages later.
- Write your statement and three proof lines.
- Check the domain you want at a registrar and the builder price from your own country; the year-one sums above give you a starting range of about $31 to $120.
- Lay out the five sections from the outline, each with a heading.
- Give the page a title and meta description, add alt text to your photo, and check link text.
- Ask two people to find your contact details in under ten seconds. Fix whatever slowed them down.
If you still can't settle on what the site should say about you, read our sibling post on whether to hire a personal branding coach before you pay anyone to design it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a personal branding website if I have LinkedIn?
Not on day one, but it helps. A site is the one place you control: your domain, your layout, your writing on pages search engines can find. A LinkedIn profile depends on LinkedIn's rules and layout. Many people start with a one-page site that repeats their headline and links to their profile.
How much does a personal branding site cost?
From our arithmetic on prices shown on 5 November 2026: about $31 for year one with Carrd Pro Standard and a Porkbun .com, $48 with WordPress.com Personal paid yearly, or $120 with Framer Basic on yearly billing. Add design help if you pay for it, and check renewal prices for year two.
What should be on a personal brand homepage?
One sentence on who you help and with what, a clear photo, one line of proof such as a role or result, and one button for the next step. Keep it to one screen on a laptop if you can. Everything else can live on the about, proof, writing and contact pages.
Should I use my name as the domain?
Your name is the usual choice because it still fits if your job or company changes, and people searching for you type it. If your name is taken, add a middle initial or a word such as your field. Check the price and renewal terms at the registrar before buying.
Does a personal website help with SEO?
It can, mainly for searches of your name and for the topics you write about. Google's starter guide says changes can take from a few hours to several months to show, so expect slow results. Unique titles, clear descriptions and readable URLs on each page are the basics to get right first.
Sources
- Carrd: Pro plans (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- WordPress.com: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Framer: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Squarespace: Pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Wix: Plans (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Porkbun: .com domains (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- W3C WAI: Tips for Writing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- W3C WAI: Tips for Designing (checked 5 Nov 2026)