My new personal website journey

It is said that, ‘571 websites are created within a minute online, every day’.

With Pathway and other businesses, we have built scores of websites but usually this involves a team of people including our digital and marketing team. However recently I have launched my personal site and experienced a more hands on experience and I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts with you. The website is now live at: www.safaraz.co.uk

Firstly, It’s a good idea regardless of your position and present knowledge to learn about the digital scene, changes and updates that are taking place in this market place so that you can understand, challenge and make better sites, posts and of course videos.

Here are the top 3 things I think we should all keep in mind:


STOCK V REAL: First of all, YES- Images are paramount to every website. But there seems to be an ongoing debate about whether we should be using stock images, or not.

For me, authenticity is key. And images that are unique to you and your business, are far more likely to connect with online consumers. By using original photographs on your website, you’re ‘humanising’ your brand, and portraying it in the best light.
Think about it, a snapshot of your HAPPY team hard at work, is more appealing than that photograph of an (unknown) model, who has been heavily enhanced on Photoshop.
You’ll find that I’ve shared a great deal of images on my new website- all of them are of myself, my friends, and my associates. All of them demonstrate who I really am.
I’d recommend that you avoid a search on stock photo sites and instead, ask your team mates if they’re up for a photo shoot, also link your images to your Instagram account too, so now whenever I upload to Instagram, it automatically displays on my website as well.


VIDEO CONTENT: If you’ve been in business for long, you will have definitely heard the phrase, ‘content is king’. Here’s the other thing: Visual marketing is SO IMPORTANT. In fact, it’s video marketing that’ll be the real hero of your website.
Videos have become a staple in our everyday lives and are a must now, if there is no video then the site is automatically considered “dated”

I have tried to do a lot more with videos recently with work on my own youtube page and with my website I’ve dedicated a separate section for videos of myself and my recent projects- please feel free to take a look. We all know that the attention span of online customers is short- and they don’t want to waste time by reading too much text and in some cased reading at all. However much more importantly than that video content on your website will develop the trust between your business and potential customers.


MOBILE & SPEED FRIENDLY: Half of all internet visits are done through a mobile device and this figure is rapidly.
In a digitally advanced world, it is important for us to ‘keep up with the times’ and ensure that our websites are mobile friendly and we navigate easily as well bearing in mind the long the site takes to load – speed is really king now!
So, there’s my tuppence worth, let me know once you’ve take taken a look and at www.safaraz.co.uk.

Thank you once again for your time.

Regards

Safaraz Ali (Saf)
p.s above everything else - ensure you come across as relatable (or some may say authentic) on your site and posts. The content on my website is frankly from the heart, so I’d love to hear your valued feedback.