Portfolio Website
Introduction
Our in-house team provides superior web design services that deliver results. And our goal is to collaborate with your business to create a memorable website that helps you achieve your goals. We have over five years of web design experience, allowing us to produce successful websites that look great on every device and implement modern web design practices that facilitate growth for your business.
We develop WordPress websites and portfolio solutions while maintaining a focus on user experience, responsive design, creativity and growth. So, if you’re just getting started and need a simple website to get your business online, or you’re a seasoned vet that requires a more sophisticated portfolio solution, our web design & development team can help bring your vision to life.
Design
The design you choose can mean the difference between driving most customers away and inspiring most of them to bite. This is especially true if you’re a web designer as your website is an example of your work. Minimalism is definitely the way to go when it comes to portfolio sites. You’re trying to attract new customers with your work, therefore, you should choose a design that draws attention toward your portfolio and any information you list about your business, not away from them.
You don’t need to choose a white or bright color scheme, but you should use white-space and stick to a maximum of three fonts. Your color scheme should contrast well, and your typography should have a dramatic flare that draws your eye to it. Also, try not to use animations that don’t serve a purpose.
Logo with Tagline
This doesn’t need to be complicated, and you can use a simple text-based logo that that displays your name. What’s important is your tagline as it can describe yourself and the services you provide with a quick, short phrase. This provides a quick way for visitors to decide if your services are right for them before they contact you.
Try to be short yet descriptive with your tagline. “Developer” is descriptive, but it’s not as descriptive as “WordPress developer.” In the same sense, “New York-based graphic designer” is more descriptive than “graphic designer.”
High Quality Images
This ties into the first point we made about design. Always make sure you’re using the highest quality of images to represent your work. This isn’t only true for photographers, artists and graphic designers. Even if you don’t create visual works, you should still be using images for presentation purposes, and those images should be high in quality.
The images should also complement the rest of your site’s design. Take the Minimal Photography demo in our Weston theme, for example. It uses a dark color scheme, which complements the black-and-white photography in the demo’s portfolio beautifully.
Testimonials
You should get into the habit of requesting a testimonial from every client you work with. Craft your email in a tone that represents the working relationship you have with an individual client. If everything’s been business first, keep it professional. If you’ve broken through barriers and are quite friendly with a client, make it casual. Just remember to keep it short and only ask them to share a one to five-sentence summary of what it was like working with you. Reading and replying to this email is taking time out of their day. Be mindful of that.
Showcase your best testimonials on the homepage. Most developers prefer to use sliders for this, but you can also use rows. Here’s an example of a testimonial slider in the Freelancer demo of our Weston theme.
Services
Sure, you may be a photographer or a web designer, but those likely aren’t the only services you provide to your customers. Designate a spot on your homepage that briefly lists the services you offer.
Contact Information
One surefire way to make sure customers don’t contact you for quotes is to make it impossible for them to actually go about doing that. Make things easy for them by inserting a contact form on your homepage or a link to your Contact page, at the very least.
Even if you do place a contact form on the homepage, make sure you actually create a real contact page. It’s best to name it “Hire Me” on a portfolio site, and it should be filled with the various ways clients can contact you. Be sure to include your business email address even if you use a contact form as some clients prefer it over forms.
Information About Yourself
Don’t underestimate the curiosity of potential clients. Some would love to learn your professional story about how you learned to do whatever it is you do as well as any official education/training, awards and recognition you’ve picked up along the way. Don’t be afraid to break away from a professional tone to share your thoughts, feelings and opinions while you tell your story. You don’t need to tell your life story, but you should mention any obstacles you’ve overcome in your niche.
Content
Producing content related to your niche is one of the best ways to establish yourself as an authoritative presence on a particular topic. Content marketing also provides a wonderful way for you to grow your audience.
Blogs are the traditional way to go, but what happens if you aren’t a strong writer? Start a YouTube channel or podcast. Video and audio content are definitely more popular these days, so if you can speak better than you write, go for it, and share the content on your website.
A High-Quality Image of Yourself
This is optional, but it may help clients connect with you better if you share a picture of yourself on your website. Unless everything you post is highly professional, I wouldn’t insert your Instagram feed on your site. Instead, opt for a high-quality image, and place it on your homepage, About page or both.
Relevant Social Media Accounts
Speaking of Instagram, if you use any of your social media accounts professionally, be sure to include it on your site. Not only is it another form of marketing, it can also provide yet another way for you to look like an authority in your niche.
A FAQ Section
As you freelance more and more and go through negotiations with new and potential clients, you’ll probably notice the same questions and concerns popping up every now and again. A FAQ section is a great place to address these questions and concerns, and it can even cut back on the number of questions and comments you receive from potential clients.
If you have a Services page, you can place your FAQ there, but the best place to insert it is your Hire Me page. This is where clients are going to view your skills and determine if you’re a match for them. Help them out a little by answering questions they haven’t asked, yet.
A few popular topics to address here are the way you work (your process), the way payments are handled, how you prefer to communicate with clients, etc.