A portfolio website is an essential platform for showcasing your skills, accomplishments, and best work to potential employers, collaborators, and the rest of the online world.
However, the type of portfolio website you build depends on its purpose, your industry, and your personality. Here are four common portfolio styles you can choose from:
- Person-centred portfolio websites spotlight you as a professional but also as an individual. You should include a headshot and a detailed ‘about me’ page to amplify a personal touch.
- Project-centred portfolio websites prioritise page design over personal touches. This is a great style option for web designers who can let the visually pleasing design and easy navigation speak for itself.
- Content-centred portfolio websites prioritise valuable and quality resources such as blogs, videos, and tutorials which draw visitors to the site and boost search engine optimization (SEO). Like a person-centred style, you should include a headshot and a detailed ‘about me’ page to assure visitors that the content is credible and authentic.
- Approach-centred portfolio websites centre around your key strengths and unique interests. You should highlight your favoured project types and work styles and include a clear value proposition outlining what your expertise can offer others.
A portfolio website is particularly beneficial for creative professionals, such as photographers, graphic designers, web developers, web designers, artists, actors, architects, writers, fashion designers, make-up artists, and marketers.
Below is a great example of an approach-centred portfolio website where UX designer Tamara Sredojvic tells visitors what work she specialises in.
(Image Source: Tamara Sredojvic)
In this article, we will look at five reasons why you should showcase your creative work with a portfolio website and how to build one.
5 Reasons You Should Build A Portfolio Website
To Enhance Your Professional Presence
A portfolio website is a platform to demonstrate your professionalism and your commitment to your field. This can help you strengthen your credibility with potential employers or collaborators and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
Sergie Magdalin, co-founder of and designer at Webflow, said: “As someone who looks at designer applicants daily, checking out a portfolio is one of the first things I do. I can get a sense of that person’s experience very quickly based on the project mocks they provide and how they present their information.”
In addition, building your own portfolio website and hosting it on a custom domain—rather than a generic portfolio platform—signals further credibility because you can put your name in the domain and site name.
To Showcase Your Work
A portfolio website showcases your best work, proves your skills, and highlights your accomplishments and qualifications. It is a central online location where potential employers or collaborators can view your work in one place and get to know you better.
A well-designed portfolio website will showcase your work in a professional and eye-catching way. Unlike traditional CVs, a portfolio website allows you to present your work in an interactive and visually pleasing manner through images, videos, and animations.
In addition, a portfolio website is an excellent platform to tell your story and professional journey. You can add a personal touch and give context to your work.
Below is a great example of professional windsurfer Sean O’Brien adding a personal touch to his portfolio website and telling visitors about his professional journey and other interests.
(Image Source: Sean O’Brien)
To Connect With Others
A portfolio website can help you expand your network, grow your brand, and connect with like-minded professionals. This will put you in front of businesses looking to connect with qualified professionals, creating opportunities for collaboration.
Furthermore, you can use the optional blog or insights section on your portfolio website to share your industry knowledge and experiences. This will keep you current and allow others to learn from you.
To Find New Opportunities
While a CV is essential when applying for jobs or new opportunities, a portfolio website is more valuable.
If you’re looking for a new job, a portfolio website can show your potential employer your skills, experience, and work samples. This can help you stand out from competitors who may only have a CV at hand.
Myra Hudson, content writer at Beyond Boundary, said: “Not having a portfolio website of your works is the same as not having a CV, it shows what you’re capable of and further backs your ability to do the job. A professional portfolio website can be the guarantee of your skills to protect your career and showcase you to potential customers.”
To Expand Your Reach
Your portfolio website is accessible to anyone with an internet connection, expanding your reach beyond geographical boundaries. This is important with the continuing rise of remote work.
You need to focus on your SEO efforts to expand your reach and put your portfolio website in the search results of potential employers or collaborators. This is easier to do if you build your website and have complete control over:
- Meta tags. Meta tags provide information about the contents of a webpage to search engines and searchers, impacting search engine ranking and click-through rate (CTR).
- Title tags. A title tag containing your target keyword tells the search engine and searcher that your web page is relevant to this search query.
- Alt texts. Search engines use alt text to determine what images are or what they link to, which enhances their understanding of your content and leads to higher rankings.
- Website structure. Search engines can find and index your website’s pages more effectively if it is structured well.
How To Build A Portfolio Website
We recommend building your own website and hosting it on a custom domain – rather than using a generic portfolio platform such as Dribbble. As mentioned above, this builds credibility and helps with SEO.
You can use web-builders such as Hostinger, Ionos, and Wix to build and host your portfolio website.
While building a portfolio website seems overwhelming, it is not a tough job. Here are seven simple steps to follow:
- Choose a domain name. Choose a professional domain name and a top-level domain (TLD) that suits your niche. The most common TLD is ‘.com’, but web designers and developers could opt for ‘.design’ or ‘.dev’.
- Choose a hosting platform. Choose a dependable web hosting provider that ensures your site is accessible and responsive.
- Design it. Use colours and fonts that align with your branding while maintaining a user-friendly interface that looks and functions well on all devices, including smartphones and tablets.
- Create your content. Create and publish engaging content that introduces you, your skills, and your work. In addition, include images and videos with your content.
- Include testimonials or references. If applicable, include testimonials or employer references that add credibility to your work.
- Include contact information and social media links. Include a dedicated contact page to make it easy for visitors to get in touch with you. In addition, include links to your professional social media profiles to build connections.
- Update it regularly. Regularly update your portfolio website with new work, skills, and achievements to reflect your growth and show you are still relevant in the industry.
Conclusion
This article explored just six of the benefits of having a portfolio website, highlighting that the time, effort, and cost are worth it for creative professionals.
Be sure to personalise your portfolio website to represent you in the best possible light and showcase what you have to offer.
Finally, remember to use social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to promote your work and link back to your portfolio website. This will increase your reach and create new professional opportunities.