How to Make a Personal Website: What to Put on It and Where to Host It

A personal website needs four things to actually do its job: a clear line on who you are, a way to show your work, a way for someone to reach you, and a domain you control rather than someone else's username. Beyond that, the "right" way to build one depends entirely on how much you want to touch a code editor versus a drag-and-drop tool. This covers the practical content a personal site needs, then the real build routes - from a one-page tool to your own static host - with costs stated only where the vendor itself states them.

What actually needs to be on the page?

Four jobs, and most personal sites can do all four without needing more than one page:

• Who you are. A short, specific description - not a vague mission statement. What you do, and who it's for.
• Your work. Selected projects, writing, photos, or a portfolio - whatever "your work" means for you. Curated, not exhaustive; a shorter, better list beats a complete one.
• A way to reach you. An email address, a contact form, or a link to wherever you actually respond (a social profile, a scheduling link). Pick the channel you'll actually check.
• Your own domain. Not a subdomain of a builder's own site or a link-in-bio profile you don't control - a domain registered in your name, pointed at whatever you build.

That's the whole list for most people. A resume/CV download, a blog, or a newsletter signup are common additions, but they're optional extensions of the same four jobs, not separate requirements. If you're trying to decide whether your site needs more than one page at all, our guide to when a one-page site is enough covers that decision directly - most personal sites, especially ones built around a single portfolio or a single professional identity, fit on one page cleanly.

Do I actually need my own domain?

Yes, if the site is meant to represent you specifically rather than serve as a quick demo. A domain is the one piece of this that travels with you regardless of which builder or host you pick later - your content and design might need rework if you switch tools, but yourname.com doesn't have to change. Domain registration has a real, recurring cost, but registrars typically price by TLD and often run promotions that vary by region and by domain extension, so this guide won't quote a number - check your registrar's own current price for the specific domain you want before you commit to it.

What are my actual build options?

These range from no-code, one-page and free to writing and hosting the code yourself, and the right one depends on how much control you want versus how much you want to avoid touching a text editor.

Option 1: A dedicated one-page tool

Carrd is built specifically for this job - a single responsive page, not a multi-page site. Carrd's own free Basic plan is real, not a trial. Carrd's own site: "Build up to three sites per account and use all of Carrd's core features – for free!" (Carrd, checked September 2026), publishing to a Carrd-assigned address. A custom domain and working contact forms require Pro Standard or higher - our full guide to building a Carrd site covers the actual steps and exactly which plan tier unlocks a domain versus forms. This is the fastest, cheapest route if an about section, your work and a way to contact you fit on one scrolling page.

Option 2: A general website builder

Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and Framer can all build a one-page or multi-page personal site - you're just using a heavier, more general tool for a job Carrd is purpose-built for. This is a reasonable choice if you expect to add real additional pages later (a blog, a shop, a multi-page project archive) and don't want to migrate tools when that happens. Entry paid tiers on these general builders typically cost more than Carrd's for an equivalent one-page result, and each vendor's own pricing page is the only reliable source for current numbers, since plans and regional pricing change.

Option 3: A static host and your own files

If you're comfortable with a text editor - or your site is a portfolio you're already building as plain HTML, or output from a static site generator - GitHub Pages is a real, free, and fully documented option. It's static hosting only, no server-side code, and it comes with a real, stated usage boundary: GitHub's own policy says it "is not intended for or allowed to be used as a free web-hosting service to run your online business, e-commerce site" or a commercial SaaS product (GitHub Docs, "GitHub Pages limits", checked September 2026) - which is exactly the shape of a personal site, so that limit doesn't bite here. Our full guide to GitHub Pages covers what it hosts, its size and bandwidth limits, and how publishing and its Jekyll default actually work.

This route asks more of you upfront - there's no visual editor - but it's genuinely free hosting with no plan to upgrade later, and your source lives in a Git repository you fully control.

Option 4: Design it in Figma, publish it with Figment

If you'd rather design the layout visually before publishing, and you're comfortable with a design-first workflow instead of a drag-and-drop page editor, building the page in Figma and publishing it through Figment is a fourth route. Figment's plans, as figment.so/pricing states them (checked September 2026): Free, with unlimited sites on a figment.so subdomain and a visible badge; Pro at $49/month (or $39/month billed yearly) for up to 10 custom domains, no badge, and HTML/CSS export to hand off or self-host; Studio at $199/month (or $159/month yearly) for up to 50 domains and priority support. Pro and Studio both start with a 30-day free trial. This fits a one-page personal site cleanly, since Figment's plugin publishes a single Figma frame as the site - it's a fit if you already think in Figma, not a fit if you want a drag-and-drop editor or a built-in blog.

How much does each route actually cost?

Only as far as each vendor states it plainly:

Domain registration is a separate, recurring cost regardless of which row you pick, and it's the one line item this guide won't quote a number for - registrar pricing varies by domain extension and by promotion.

Which option should I actually pick?

• Pick Carrd if you want the fastest, cheapest, purpose-built tool for a page that will stay one page.
• Pick a general builder if there's a real chance you'll add a blog, a store, or several more pages later, and you'd rather not switch tools when you do.
• Pick GitHub Pages if you're comfortable with plain files or a static site generator and want free hosting with no editor to learn.
• Pick Figma plus Figment if you already design in Figma and want full visual control over layout before you publish.

What if I outgrow my first choice?

This is common - a one-page portfolio grows into something with a blog, more project pages, or a different design entirely. If you're on Carrd specifically, our dedicated guide to outgrowing Carrd covers the real paths forward. On any of these routes, the domain you registered up front is the one asset that should survive a rebuild cleanly - point the same domain at whatever comes next, rather than starting over on a new address and losing whatever links or recognition the old one built up.

Bottom line: the content a personal site needs is short and stable - who you are, your work, a way to reach you, your own domain - and the build decision is really about how much visual editing you want versus how much you're willing to touch code or a design tool. Carrd, a general builder, GitHub Pages, and Figma-plus-Figment are four genuinely different routes to the same short list of jobs; pick based on your own comfort level, not a ranking, since each is a legitimate way to get there.