Website Design Made Simple

A plain-language guide to building a personal or small-business website that answers three questions fast and works on any phone.

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Start with three questions

Imagine this. You open an email about your dream job, and there are 153 other applicants. The hiring manager will only interview people who send a website showing who they are, why they are qualified, and why they should be hired. Would you be ready?

Every good website, for a person or a business, answers three questions within seconds:

• What are you offering?
• Why should I pick you?
• What do you want me to do next?

Conversion-centered design in seven words

In MARK 465 we audit sites with seven conversion-centered design principles. Use them as a quick checklist for your own site.

Principle	What it means on your site
Attention	One clear focal point per page. Nothing competing with your main message.
Context	Visitors know right away where they are and who the site is for.
Clarity	Plain words, short sections, and one obvious next step.
Congruence	Every element supports the same goal. Remove what does not.
Credibility	Proof: results, testimonials, certifications, logos of organizations you worked with.
Closing	A clear call to action, such as “Email me,” “View my work,” or “Book a call.”
Continuance	A reason to stay connected after the first visit, such as LinkedIn or a newsletter.

Choose a platform

Pick the builder that fits your skills and goals, not the one with the flashiest demo. Expect to keep this site for years. Prices and plans change often, so check each builder’s current pricing page before you commit.

Platform	Best fit for	Watch out for
WordPress	Anyone who wants full control and room to grow. Widely used in the industry.	Steeper learning curve. You handle updates, plugins, and security, or pay a host to help.
Wix	Beginners who want drag-and-drop design and mobile-ready templates with no code.	Less flexible than WordPress. Heavy designs can load slowly.
Canva Websites	Fast, visual one-page portfolios, especially if you already design in Canva.	Fewer advanced options. Free sites use a my.canva.site address; custom domains need a paid or Education plan.
Adobe Portfolio	Visual and design-heavy work, tied to Adobe Creative Cloud.	Requires a Creative Cloud plan. Fewer features than a full site builder.
Squarespace	Polished templates for people who want a designed look with little effort.	Paid only after the trial. If a subscription lapses, your site goes offline, so keep your own copies of your work.

Template tips

• Choose a template that is mobile-responsive from the start.
• If a template fights you, move on. A hard template stays hard.
• Use built-in SEO fields, free stock media, and analytics if the builder offers them.
• Back up your text and images in a folder you own, no matter which platform you use.

The must-have pages

Keep it small. Five pages cover almost every personal brand or small-business site.

Page	Personal brand site	Small-business site
Home	Who you are, what you do, and a short video intro	What you offer, who it is for, and the main call to action
About	Your story, bio, resume, and links to LinkedIn	Your story, your team, and why you started
Work or Services	Your portfolio and case studies	Products or services, with prices or a way to ask
Blog or Stories	At least one STAR story that shows a skill	Tips, news, and customer stories
Contact	Email, a contact form, and social links	Form, phone, hours, location, and map

Home page anatomy: above the fold

“Above the fold” is what visitors see before they scroll. On a phone, that space is small. Make it count.

• Headline: one or two sentences that say what you do and for whom. Use your value statement.
• Supporting line: one line of proof, such as a specialty, a certification, or a result.
• Visual: a strong headshot or a hero image that fits your brand. Not a stock photo of a laptop.
• Call to action: one main button, such as “See my work” or “Get in touch.”
• Navigation: a simple menu so people can jump where they need to go.

Navigation that does not make people think

Keep the menu to five items or fewer. Use plain labels like Work, About, and Contact, not clever ones. Put your contact link in the menu, the footer, and the About page. Remember that visitors arrive differently: some search, some browse, some are returning. Make every page useful as a first page.

Write for scanning

Most visitors skim. Help them.

• Lead with the point. Put the most important sentence first.
• Use short paragraphs of two to four sentences.
• Break pages up with clear headings that say something.
• Use bullets for lists of skills, services, or results.
• Bold a few key phrases, not whole paragraphs.
• Cut words like “very,” “really,” and “passionate” unless you show proof.
• Write buttons as actions: “Download my resume,” not “Click here.”

Visuals and accessibility basics

An accessible site works for more people, and it usually looks cleaner too.

• Alt text: describe every meaningful image in a short phrase, such as “Instagram carousel for a local coffee shop launch.” Leave decorative images blank.
• Contrast: aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, the WCAG AA standard. Test your colors with a free contrast checker.
• Readable fonts: simple fonts at a comfortable size. Avoid light gray text on white and script fonts for body copy.
• Do not rely on color alone: links and buttons should look clickable in other ways too, like underlines or shapes.
• Video: add captions to your intro video.
• Image quality: use 5 to 10 strong, relevant photos. Compress large files so pages load fast.

Design mobile-first

Design for the small screen first, then add features and content for larger screens. This is called progressive enhancement. Before you publish any page, open it on your phone. Check that text is readable without zooming, buttons are easy to tap, menus open, and nothing runs off the side of the screen.

Simple SEO basics

Search engine optimization helps the right people find you. For a deeper dive, see the SEO and AI Search Optimization Guide. For now, set these three things on every page:

Element	What it is	Example
Page title	The headline shown in browser tabs and often in search results. Keep it short and specific.	Avery Jones | Marketing Strategist, Knoxville
Meta description	A one- or two-sentence summary search engines may show under your title.	Marketing senior at UT focused on customer research and SEO. See case studies and get in touch.
URL slug	The end of the page address. Short, lowercase, words separated by hyphens.	/work/coffee-shop-social-sprint

Domain and URL tips

• Buy your name as a domain if you can. It is the most memorable option and it moves with you.
• If your name is taken, try adding a middle initial or a word like “marketing” or “creative.”
• Free plans usually put the builder’s name in your address. If you stay on a free plan, use a shortener such as tiny.utk.edu or Bitly to make a clean link.
• Use the same link in your email signature, LinkedIn, resume, and business cards.

Launch checklist

• [ ] My home page answers: What am I offering? Why pick me? What should you do next?
• [ ] I have Home, About, Work, Blog or Stories, and Contact pages.
• [ ] My home page has a short video intro (personal sites).
• [ ] Every page has a clear call to action.
• [ ] I tested every page on my phone.
• [ ] All images have alt text, and my text passes a contrast check.
• [ ] Every page has a title, meta description, and clean URL slug.
• [ ] Every link and button works, including the contact form.
• [ ] I proofread everything, then asked a friend to proofread it again.
• [ ] My domain or short link is on my LinkedIn, resume, and email signature.
• [ ] I can walk someone through my site in a one-minute “Why you?” pitch.

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