What makes an effective website for a freelancer, consultant, or agency? It goes far beyond just showing off your work.

In this episode I chat with Wes McDowell from Deep End Design to discuss how he built his new website from the ground up to attract turn visitors into clients.

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Wes shares with us:

• The Key Objective Behind Your Website: "to take away all the barricades to someone hiring me".

• The Components of a Great Portfolio Website:  we discuss the key parts that your website should have, the thought behind them, and the important of a strong call to action (such as getting in touch).

• What Makes a Great Home Page:  the home page should give an immediate small taste of what you have to offer. Wes recommends video if you can pull it off as it can be very welcoming. The goal on this page isn't a hard sell, it's to introduce.

• Creating Case Studies: learn what makes an effective case study and why it's important to present your work this way, rather than just showing some pictures of what you did. Ultimately the case for hiring you is a lot stronger if you can articulate the results that your work has created for the client.

• Obtaining Testimonials from Clients: Wes shares several ways to easily obtain a great testimonial from a client, without feeling uncomfortable and with a very strong likelihood of receiving it. For those who wish to give video testimonials Wes also shares some great tips for success.

• The Call to Action: we explain what a call to action is, and why it's so important for this to be clear throughout your website. We also discuss the type of information to collect from your visitor and some thoughts on whether to ask for budget at this stage.

Find Wes Online:

• The Deep End Design
• Rock Your Portfolio Website by Wes McDowell
• The Deeply Graphic DesignCast