While this website is far from perfect and humbly polished, I found the process and final outcome to be promising. I made a website, regardless of its minimal content, and I feel grateful to have this new skill in my toolbelt. I could use my personal website professionally as a visualized resume to represent myself to future employers. I could also use it in a social, informal capacity to update my close family and friends about what is going on in my life with pictures and posts.
A benefit to hosting your own website instead of signing up for a service or using a social media platform is that you have your own independent site; if people want to find you, they can easily because you are separate. At the same time, this separation can be a drawback; people are less likely to come across you by chance. For example, if people are browsing on social media in content that is related to yours, their platform’s algorithm will most likely direct them to you and, in that way, you share and receive a wider audience. On the other hand, another benefit from hosting your own website is the individualization and creative freedom that comes with taking charge of the structure, layout, style, and all design considerations that go into creating it. Because you are doing the brunt of the effort, hopefully it doesn’t cost as much. With the AI weightlifting vs forklift metaphor we discussed in class today, hosting your own website requires you to strengthen your muscles, do the work, and become more proficient in website creation and customization than you would be assisted by a service. However, depending on your goals, if you are willing to compromise a bit of the creative process, using a service grants you access to ongoing updates and improvements in technology. Hosting your own website would require you to have to manually modify to stay current with aesthetics and trends.
Here is my personal website: Sylvie’s Site
