A well-done personal website also lets you combine all your projects into one place that is easy for the casual viewer to browse, letting them know what they can expect from you overall.
This article will offer step by step instructions on how you can create your own personal website and give you insight on how to optimize it for your brand.
How To Create Your Own Twitch Website
If you are tech-savvy enough to stream, you should be able to create a basic website on your own. There are many valuable tools that will make the process easier so that you can get back to streaming. Here is a step-by-step process of what you should do.
Step 1 – Select a Platform for Your Personal Twitch Website
We highly recommend using WordPress as your platform. It is free and very customizable. Other sites like Weebly and Wix generally cost money and don’t offer the same level of freedom.
Step 2 – Select a Host for Your Personal Twitch Website
The first thing you need to do when creating a website is to find a company to host it for you. This hosting company will store your website’s files and allow people from around the world to access it. Once you have hosting and a A good host will give your site faster speed and security. Here are two hosting sites that we believe are the best in the industry:
Siteground
Our Pick – We use Siteground for our site and have been very pleased with their service. Several times, I’ve gone to them with a question or problem and they have helped me walk through each step. A couple of times, they have gone far beyond the call of duty in their assistance to this website.
They offer daily malware scanning to help security, make it easy for you to create a staging site (if you choose to make an overhaul on your design later on), and have incorporated CloudFlare CDN into all their plans to maximize speed.
You can also host more than one website on your Siteground account, so if you choose to create a site for your Twitch Team or Esports Team in the future, you won’t need a second host.
Hostgator
Cheap Hosting – Hostgator is the most affordable compared to other major hosting companies. You can get service through them for less than $1 per month for the first year. The company has been active since 2004 and works with clients in over 170 countries.
They offer several services (though some will come at an added cost) including a dedicated IP, regular back-ups for your site, and SSD performance.
You should know, however, that Hostgator did have a security breach in August 2019. They acted right away and helped their clients change the leaked passwords.
Step 3 – Choose a Domain Name
You can usually purchase a Domain name through your hosting company. Try to get one that is based on your streamer name.
Step 4 – Choose a WordPress theme
After you have set up your hosting, you need to pick a WordPress theme. We will cover two great options for you.
StreamWeasels
StreamWeasels has created WordPress themes and plugins specifically with Twitch and YouTube streamers in mind. Their themes and plugins pull from Twitch’s Helix API, allowing you to seamlessly integrate information about your channel onto your website, including:
- Your status (whether you are online or offline)
- The game you are playing
- Your current viewer count
Their themes and plug-ins are easy to use and you can see how it will look as you put it up on your site, allowing you to make quick adjustments that fit it into your brand. Streamweasels’ themes and plugins are mobile-friendly, allowing your viewers to access your page from any device.
Their flagship Theme, Broadcast, comes in two packages. Broadcast Lite is a free version that offers Twitch API, basic blogging support, user comments, and is mobile responsive. It has limited options for design and requires ads.
Broadcast Pro offers unlimited color schemes, control over layout and other design aspects, special image effects, premium support, and is ad-free. You can purchase this theme for less than $40.
Even if you choose to go with another theme (such as Elementor, listed below) or already have a website with a theme, Streamweasels offers several plugins that will help you integrate your Twitch stats on to your website.
Step 5 – Upload Your Twitch Media and Graphics
Gather any images or graphics that you want to use on your websites. It may be a good idea to reach out to your designer and have them create a few panels for you specifically for your website.
Locate a few of your best clips and highlight videos and upload them to the site. Do your best to make it simple, but visually appealing to keep your fans coming back for more.
Step 6 – Personalize Your “About” Page
Build out a page specifically about you, what you stream, and where your passions lie. Add personal tidbits that aren’t available anywhere else on your brand to make it stand out.
You can format it in a “questions and answers” style to make it easy for your viewers to find out the information they want to know. Post a few pictures through the page to personalize it further.
Make sure to add links to your Twitch channel and socials near the top or in your sidebar so that your fans can access the information easily. Finally, make sure to leave contact info for any potential sponsors who may want to work with you.
Step 7 – Set Up Plug-Ins and Merch
Sync your Streamweasles plugins to automatically broadcast your streams live. Followers will be able to watch your show without having to log on to Twitch, and their views will still count toward your concurrent views. As an added bonus, people randomly visiting your site will be able to see that you are live and may tune in.
If you sell merchandise (or are set up with Amazon Affiliates), add a section for those links as well. Your website should be the main hub for all information pertaining to your brand.
Reasons to Have a Personal Twitch Website
There are three main reasons why you should have your own personal website to showcase your Twitch channel. They help you appeal to sponsors, combine your projects into one space, and give you the option to multi-stream easily.
Twitch Websites Appeal to Potential Sponsors
Having a personal website gives your channel and brand an added layer of professionalism. Presenting it as part of your portfolio to future sponsors will show that you are serious about growing your channel and your community.
Monitor your website analytics as you build strong content on your website and send your viewers there through socials. These numbers will be another statistic that you’ll be able to show a potential sponsor.
A personal Twitch website also opens up new doors on how you can work with a sponsor. You can post ads for them on your webpage or write a blog post on why you love their product.
Websites Can Combine All Your Work into One Space
Most successful Twitch streamers work on projects outside of Twitch. Many will make YouTube compilations of their best highlights or teach new broadcasters strategies for their own channels. Other streamers have side hustles where they will design emotes or help people set up their stream alerts.
It is likely that Twitch will not be the only thing you have going for your brand. Having a unique website allows you to combine everything you are doing in one spot so that your followers and fans can support you.
Multistream With Ease
A growing number of broadcasters are choosing to multi-stream instead of streaming to just one platform. For instance, a streamer will create one type of content for Twitch and another for YouTube Gaming. In that way, they are able to attract more viewers to their overall brand.
Having a personal website will allow you to post your full schedule so that your diehard fans know where you will go live on any given day. You can also incorporate other events (such as a meet-and-greet on Discord) or special giveaways into your schedule to encourage fans to check it often.
Actively Maintain Your Site
Add web maintenance as part of your channel’s workflow. Keep it up to date with your latest projects and your schedule. Occasionally add new information about yourself to keep it interesting for your viewers. If done well, a personal Twitch website can be a huge boost to your overall brand.
Chris
Chris is a marketing major with a strong background in small business and influencer branding. He applies his knowledge of content and promotional strategies to design actionable advice for new and intermediate streamers. When he’s not busy crunching analytics, he can be found in the salt pits of League of Legends.