How to create a portfolio on the site? - 9 tips

Therefore, the portfolio on the site should look "appropriate", for which there are many more or less important examples of good practice.

Therefore, check out the following tips to help you display your skill swatch properly.

What should be followed when presenting a portfolio on a website?

1. Don't include all your work.

Portfolio is certainly not the place where absolutely all of your projects.

Only include work you are happy with. After all, you want to attract potential customers, so you need to make the right impression.

We know for a reason this proverb: "You're only as good as your last one...". - of which the word "project" can successfully complete this sentence.

In other words, show off the best that you can you suggest.

2. Update your portfolio constantly.

Will there be a person who wants you to create a new one for them, for example? website to ask how you worked a few years ago?

Should I show past work (I guess that they are inferior to the real thing, since you have no doubt been consistently honing your craft during this time)?

Look once again to the statement that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. The issue of updating your portfolio is extremely important as it shows your skills are "fresh".

After all, you want so that potential customers know your current disposition, not a (heavily) archived one.

3. Post different types of work.

A diverse portfolio on your site is especially important if you create different types of work.

Web design, layout, logo development, perhaps creating simple animations - if you are creative in various areas, make it stand out!

Then there is a better chance that a potential client will contact you when they are looking for a person or a company to create several separate projects for him.

4. Consider presenting how you work.

Showing your creative process should not be the main focus of your portfolio (unless only it's not really unique), but if possible it can be an interesting addition.

When appropriate to demonstrate how do you work?

• when you have a really nice office and "have something to show" , usually from an aesthetic point of view
• if your way of working is attractively documented (for example, if you have great photos , showing the individual stages of work, say, on a logo)
• if you stand out from your competitors by the way you working
• if you are using some non-traditional methods of work, which can be kind of a curiosity

If at least one of the above conditions is met in your case, you can safely enter the section "See how we work" in the portfolio on your site.

5. Be aware of the so-called social proof.

Social proof, or social evidence, is designed to convince others that you should be trusted.

The most basic form of social proof is feedback on your work. You can easily get them from your clients who are satisfied with the level of services you provide.

Get from a few to a dozen such testimonials (preferably with photographs of people) and place them accordingly on individual projects. Potential clients will look at you much more favorably if they see that the people who are satisfied with working with you are real.

After all, you can talk about yourself for hours and still no one will be interested.Of course, it's better when a stranger talks about you.

6. Use high quality images.

If you are going to present your work, you must do it in the best possible way.

So don't let little things like too low quality graphics limit the impression potential stakeholders will have from exploring your design .

High resolution, high-quality images, interesting frames, highlighting important details - these are the things to keep in mind when collecting designs for your own portfolio on the site.

7. Create intuitive and responsive navigation.

Almost every visitor who views your portfolio (and doesn't immediately leave) , will want to look not only at the project he has chosen, but also at several others.

Therefore, you need to make sure to make browsing different works easy.

Provide subsites with various navigational elements (for example, arrows to move between projects, and also indicators in the form of dots to display the current position in the so-called carousels) to make it easier for the visitor.

And don't forget to filter projects properly, as not everyone will want to read all types of work. Some users will be interested in, for example, logos, while others will pay attention only to web design.

8 . Consider providing a PDF or print portfolio.

A website portfolio does not have to be just a subpage with a brief content and links to individual projects.

Recently, it is increasingly common to see portfolios in the form of extremely aesthetically pleasing PDF -files. This way of presenting your skills is especially convenient for people who are great with graphics (because they can develop such a file themselves), but do not want or do not know how to add additional subpages to their site.

This is also a great solution for designers with simple websites where single file upload fits perfectly into minimalist conventions.

And if your office is visited by a lot of potential clients, then printing a kind of brochure with samples of work would also be a very good idea .

9. Don't forget about SEO.

Expanding your portfolio has a big impact on SEO, because with each new work you add to the index one more subpage.

So you need to remember not only to maintain the SEO of all your subpages, but also to properly treat images from this perspective.

The basics are proper file naming, appropriate file formats, high enough resolution, lossless compression, and the values ​​of the so-called ALT attributes. These are all things to keep in mind when adding new images to your site.

Why is an attractive portfolio on your site so important?

Because for a lot of people visiting your site, it's sort of a decision gate.

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This is where the decision to choose you or your competitors is often made.

The basis for this is the choice of sufficiently attractive works, as well as the form of their presentation and intuitive navigation between projects. Social proof is also very important, it makes you more "human". With this text, you will be able to attract more interest from potential clients to your work.