In this episode, we’ll discuss:
- what a website strategy is
- why you need a website strategy
- how to create your own website strategy.
Hello, everyone, welcome to the first episode of the Beyond Your Science Podcast. I’m super excited to be here because creating a podcast was not something I originally planned for 2023. At first, I thought about making YouTube videos. But I feel like many of you are probably listening to podcasts while you’re working in lab or doing chores, or on your way to work. I thought this would be the most convenient way to share a lot of information about websites, careers, and entrepreneurship, all three things that I am super interested in.
And so you might be wondering why a website designer like me, wants to have this podcast and wants to help STEM leaders specifically. And that’s because I’m also in STEM. And so I graduated with my BS in chemistry from the University of Houston, in 2018. And I worked in the chemical industry for about two and a half years before I started my PhD program. I am a second year chemistry student at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Actually, my interest in web design started back in high school, when I was designing themes on Tumblr for fun. So I was learning a lot about cascading style sheets, CSS and messing around with that a lot of so that’s kind of where all this kind of started. But it wasn’t until I started working that I rediscovered my interest in web design.
And also combine that with my online interactions with a lot of STEM people such as professors, researchers, grad students, science communicators, and other content creators on Twitter and Instagram, that this kind of all came together. As I was interacting with them, I noticed a lot of them were relying heavily on social media to share their work. But somehow very few of them actually had a personal website. And if they did have a website, it read a lot like just a CV and website form, or it had a lot of outdated information, or it was not really showcasing the best of the best of what they were doing. I realized that I could use my website design skills, and use that to help them create and build their website. And so that’s where we’ll start today. In today’s episode, I want to talk about the first thing you should do when creating your personal academic website. And that is creating your website strategy.
Before we start, I want to share with you about my website setup workshop. This is for you, if you’re struggling with creating a website that will attract the opportunities that you want, like getting that job you’ve been eyeing for months, or being paid for your experience and expertise and not just getting exposure. In the workshop, you’ll learn how to plan and create website content that will help you achieve your personal and professional goals. And also how to build your website using a premade Squarespace framework. So that you can update and use your website on your own, saving you a lot of time and decision making energy.
Basically, I just want to help more STEM leaders not just recognize the value of their work and their ideas, but actually help them get paid more so that they can free themselves from this academic system, and eventually achieve financial independence. So they can do whatever it is that they actually want to do. And so I could probably keep on going about this topic. But for now, I hope that today’s episode and this podcast in general, can help you take the first steps. So let’s get started.
What is a website strategy?
First off, what is a website strategy. A website strategy is just a plan for the layout and the content of your website that’s also aligned with your personal professional goals. So if you’re planning on making a website, or if you made one before, you’ve probably looked at a bunch of other people’s websites, to get an idea. And so you may have seen that people have like an about page, research page or contact. But then other people also include outreach and teaching. You might be a little confused about, you know, which one, or what pages to put on your website. And so you might end up just compiling everything, and dumping all that info onto your website without thinking about why it’s there. But when you do this, your website becomes really choppy and unclear and it just doesn’t, it’s not as effective as it could be. And when you create a website strategy, it becomes really clear what you actually need on your website and what you don’t.
Why You Need a Website Strategy (Learn from My Mistake)
Okay, so here’s my own example of why I believe you need a website strategy. So back in 2017, I started my first website on wordpress.com. That’s Brittany trinh.wordpress.com If you’re really interested in seeing it, but the website is inactive. So all that stuff is like really old. Back then I wanted to start building my online presence because I was really inspired by all the science communicators that were coming up. And so I wanted to follow in their footsteps.
At the time, I didn’t know anything about making a strategic website, I really just only knew about the design part of it, I only knew how to make it look really good. So I first I really thought that I was going to write about being an undergraduate in a research lab. So I spent a lot of time writing some posts, and a lot of time customizing my website, messing with the designs and things like that. But I actually never shared these posts. And over time, I just lost motivation.
I just thought, you know, no one care about an undergraduate in the lab. I’m not a professor or an expert on this topic. So who really wants to listen to me. And so kind of the combination of not really knowing what I was doing, and then also not really believing in what I was doing, and then also just being focused on the wrong thing, all those things ended up leading to me to stop that project entirely.
And so this might sound familiar to a lot of you, you probably have done this before some version of it, you start a project when you’re really motivated, and you have a lot of ideas. But because there’s just like, no clear plan to execute it, you just kind of like lose that momentum. And I realized now that I lost that momentum, because I didn’t have a website strategy, because the website strategy is not just the plan for the actual website content. It also includes your long term vision and impact of what you’re trying to do.
When you know why you’re creating your website, and how you can leverage it to help you achieve your goals, then you’re more likely to use your website a lot more thoughtfully.
So this could just mean making a more curated portfolio of your best work so you can get the job that you want. Or you can use it for sharing your skills and services, to make extra income for yourself to spend however you want. Or using it to provide resources and information about the cause or a topic that you really care about, where you can also just use it to document your life and your interests and your hobbies in in a different way besides social media.
How to Create a Website Strategy
Okay, so now, how do you actually create a website strategy? This is how I like to remember it. First is your PURPOSE. Why did you create your website? And how do you envision your website helping you towards your goals? Second, are your USERS. Who is visiting your website? Why are they there? And what do they want to know? Next are your GOALS. What does success with your website look like? And how will you measure that. And so in case you forget, the acronym is PUG. And I tried really hard to get a good acronym. And that’s why I decided to use the word users instead of audience even though they mean the same thing.
Anyways, once you understand these three things, it will be a lot easier to plan your website content. So this means the texts, the images, as well as the website layout and the structure. So how the pages and sections are organized and flow together. Here’s what my website strategy looked like when I was first starting out, back in 2019, when I was trying to build up my website design business. So my initial purpose was to promote my services. And to just gain clients. My users, I thought were pretty much anyone who was working in STEM, whether it was research business, or academia who wanted a website. And my main goal was to just break even on my website investment of $150, which was the amount I paid for my hosting for my website.
To be clear, this is not the best example of a website strategy. Because I didn’t have a super strong idea about who my website was for and my goals were kind of too easy. But when I look back on it now, I’m actually really proud of myself, because I just started somewhere, even though I didn’t know anything. And even with that little bit, it helped me land my first few clients, and then eventually, it that snowballed into getting a bunch of other cool opportunities, like being featured on podcasts, presenting online conferences, facilitating workshops for graduate student organizations. I also got the chance to write a digital newsletter for Chemical and Engineering News, which is a pretty big magazine in the chemistry field. And then I’m also now a member, a mentor for the STEM Advocacy Institute, and they do really great work with science, communication, outreach and things. And so all of this was possible because I just started from that point.
So, the lesson here is that your first website strategy will not be perfect. But you know, anything is better than nothing. And just starting from where you are right now can help you create something that you never could have imagined, because I never imagined that I would have done all of those things since 2019. Like, if you asked 2017 me, if I would be writing something for chemical and Engineering News and be paid for it, I would not have believed you. So I would encourage you to, again, start anywhere, even if you don’t think it’s, “perfect,” because for sure, my first website strategy was not perfect at all. But it worked.
Why I Changed My Website Strategy
But now a lot in my life has changed since I started my business in 2019. So, in 2021, I moved to Madison, and I started my PhD program. And so because of this major life change, I also had to make a huge business decision to scale back the business. And now that means that my website strategy is really different. Not only am I more clear on who my users are, and what my goals are, but I have to shift a lot of things to accommodate my current life.
And so this is what my website strategy looks like, since 2021, when I started my PhD program. So first, my purpose for my website is that it will help me build my side business as a web designer, as well as my personal brand overall. And through my side business, I can create extra income for myself, and just have kind of additional financial certainty or some like peace of mind. And I also am able to use this website to create a network, that will be my launch pad for whatever other opportunities that are down the line for me.
In addition to all that, I also want to use my website as a way to encourage more STEM grad students and professionals and other STEM leaders to build their self confidence through their online presence. So that kind of also answers who my users are. So in general, I say STEM leader. And I just mean that to be anybody who is either like a researcher or an academic entrepreneur who really just wants to do things differently in the STEM field. And I’m mostly limiting to US and Canada or like North America, just because I’m more familiar with North America. But I still think that like this information can help like any anybody around the world.
But in any case, most of the STEM leaders have had a website before or had some type of online presence. But they’re just kind of unsatisfied with it at that point in time. And they really want to level up their website, or kind of take their online presence and put it package it onto their website so that they can showcase their work better, and get more funding and job opportunities. And the last important thing is that this is something that they have been delaying for a long time, like they just really want to get it done. And they really want to just be done well and just, you know, be able to kind of take it on to their own later on. And finally, the goal for my website is to just have it be a place where I can keep my business going, even if that just means I gain one client, or do one workshop per year. And also use it as a medium to maintain my online presence through blogging and podcasting without having to rely on the social media algorithm. So as you can see, the website strategy I had in 2019 to 2021 and from 2021 to present are a lot different. And so,
Of course, my purpose and users are definitely more clear and specific. Now, my goals could have been like an income amount like for my business. But of course, that’s not the reason why I keep this business going while I’m in grad school. Like I mentioned, this website is just really a vehicle for me to maintain my personal brand as I am in grad school. And if I’m able to use it to create side income, like that’s also great. And so now that you’ve heard, the kind of before and after versions of my website strategy, I hope that you can use my example to shape your own.
Final Thoughts
To wrap it all up, having a website strategy can change your life professionally and personally. And I say this because that’s what it’s done for me, because through my website and then also providing my services. I’ve not only been able to make extra income, but I’ve also been able to build my professional network and get all those opportunities that I mentioned earlier. And so I am not trying to convince you to become like a freelance worker or start an online business or anything like that.
I really just want to encourage you to start thinking about how you can start leveraging your current experience or expertise, whether that’s in science or outside of science, and use this and your online presence as a way to help you towards a life that you feel more fulfilled by and your website is just one of the tools to help you get there.