If you are a digital creator on the web (designer, developer, etc.), building your own website continues to be an underrated way to learn skills and build your career.

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At the very least you should own a basic one page with your name, a photo, your background and links to any public profiles. I wouldn't stop there though.
My personal experience: designing, developing, and writing https://t.co/N3rFIlFkBs has continued to pay dividends. It got me every one of my jobs in the last 7 years, built me a reputation, introduced me to friends, helped me broaden my skillset, made me easier to find.
All the tools you need are free, well-designed and easy to get started with.
Designing a website is easier than ever thanks to free design tools like @figmadesign and the endless landscape of inspiration on @dribbble and @Behance
Building a website is easier than ever thanks to static site generators like @GatsbyJS, Nextjs @vercel , Hugo, Jeykyll, and css libraries like @tailwindcss.
Hosting used to be a big barrier to entry, but no longer is thanks to tools like @Netlify and @getRender. Simply connect a @github repo, and they will automatically detect your tools and starting hosting your site, keeping it up to date with your main branch.
With all these tools, as long as you get over your own perfectionism or fear of sharing something, you can quickly put something up on the web and unlock a lot of new fields to explore.
Explore visual design, front-end development, build tools, web performance, SEO, writing, photography, illustration, marketing, teaching, interviewing, integrations with tools like newsletter services like @ConvertKit , and @Mailchimp or search tools like @algolia.
On top of that, you can take everything you learn and use it in your day job or teach it to others.
Since it's your site, you can experiment and play in ways that may not be possible in a business context.
You gain empathy for other functions and learn their tools. Developers understanding designers, marketers understanding developers, etc.
If you haven't built and launched your own person website, blog, or portfolio, what's holding you back?

More from Tech

I could create an entire twitter feed of things Facebook has tried to cover up since 2015. Where do you want to start, Mark and Sheryl? https://t.co/1trgupQEH9


Ok, here. Just one of the 236 mentions of Facebook in the under read but incredibly important interim report from Parliament. ht @CommonsCMS
https://t.co/gfhHCrOLeU


Let’s do another, this one to Senate Intel. Question: “Were you or CEO Mark Zuckerberg aware of the hiring of Joseph Chancellor?"
Answer "Facebook has over 30,000 employees. Senior management does not participate in day-today hiring decisions."


Or to @CommonsCMS: Question: "When did Mark Zuckerberg know about Cambridge Analytica?"
Answer: "He did not become aware of allegations CA may not have deleted data about FB users obtained through Dr. Kogan's app until March of 2018, when
these issues were raised in the media."


If you prefer visuals, watch this short clip after @IanCLucas rightly expresses concern about a Facebook exec failing to disclose info.
Ok, I’ve told this story a few times, but maybe never here. Here we go. 🧵👇


I was about 6. I was in the car with my mother. We were driving a few hours from home to go to Orlando. My parents were letting me audition for a tv show. It would end up being my first job. I was very excited. But, in the meantime we drove and listened to Rush’s show.

There was some sort of trivia question they posed to the audience. I don’t remember what the riddle was, but I remember I knew the answer right away. It was phrased in this way that was somehow just simpler to see from a kid’s perspective. The answer was CAROUSEL. I was elated.

My mother was THRILLED. She insisted that we call Into the show using her “for emergencies only” giant cell phone. It was this phone:


I called in. The phone rang for a while, but someone answered. It was an impatient-sounding dude. The screener. I said I had the trivia answer. He wasn’t charmed, I could hear him rolling his eyes. He asked me what it was. I told him. “Please hold.”

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And here they are...

THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE

Remember, this money is just fun. If you launched a product (or even attempted a launch) - you did something worth MUCH more than $1,000.

#24hrstartup

The winners 👇

#10

Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.

https://t.co/M75RAirZzs

@frantzfries built a platform where you can see how skipping your morning latte could do for the world.

A great product for a great cause.

Congrats Chris on winning $250!


#9

Instaland - Create amazing landing pages for your followers.

https://t.co/5KkveJTAsy

A team project! @bpmct and @BaileyPumfleet built a tool for social media influencers to create simple "swipe up" landing pages for followers.

Really impressive for 24 hours. Congrats!


#8

SayHenlo - Chat without distractions

https://t.co/og0B7gmkW6

Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲

Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.


#7

CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!

https://t.co/86Ay6nF4AY

Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.

I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!