Have you ever found yourself networking and needed a quick way to prove your skills? Or maybe you’d like to be discoverable to potential clients through a search engine. If so, it might be time to create a portfolio website to display your work online.
A portfolio site lets you showcase your personal brand and attract clients, no matter your industry. Use it to highlight project examples, testimonials, and your personal style—all woven together into a compelling professional narrative. Here’s how to build your own portfolio site.
What is a portfolio website?
A portfolio website is an online platform that displays your best work (including examples and brief descriptions), basic information about who you are, and contact details. Typically hosted on a custom domain (often something like “yourname.com”), it’s easy to remember and helps others find you.
If you’re a creative professional, a good portfolio with user-friendly design can help you access career opportunities by providing clients with samples of your work—and it’s especially valuable when job hunting. If you’re a small business owner who sells art, photography, or other creative work, an online portfolio allows your story as a creator to live side by side with your work.
How to build a portfolio website
- Establish a brand identity for yourself
- Choose and purchase a domain name
- Choose a website builder with the right tools
- Create a site map
- Gather and organize your work samples
- Choose a template and fill it with images and text
- Double-check the details
- Publish and share
- Keep your portfolio updated
Here are the essential steps to create a portfolio website that’s sure to leave a lasting impression:
1. Establish a brand identity for yourself
Take time to define your personal brand. Your portfolio’s visual elements—like colors, typefaces, and images—help set the tone for your portfolio site’s brand identity. Equally important are your voice and tone. If you present yourself as a polished professional, you might ensure your site features clean lines, classic fonts, and sophisticated language. If your appeal is your playful quirkiness, go for bright colors, graphic fonts, and copy that makes readers smile.
2. Choose and purchase a domain name
Choosing and registering a domain name is easy, typically costing around $20 per year. The challenge lies in securing your preferred domain—especially if you have a common name. If your desired domain name is not available, most domain providers can suggest alternatives. Some even let you negotiate with the current owner of the name. If that’s not an option, try shortening your first and last name, adding a hyphen, or incorporating your field (for example, yournamedesign.com).
If you opt for a domain name other than your given name, aim to keep it short, memorable, and relevant to your personal brand. Avoid overly complex names, and try to pick a domain extension that’s recognized and trusted, like .com. Once you’ve secured a domain name, you can then connect it with a hosting platform like Shopify to set up your site.
3. Choose a website builder with the right tools
A blank page can be intimidating. A great website builder with beautiful templates can ease blank-page anxiety with just a few clicks. Shopify’s website builder is ideal if you plan to sell your work online, and works just as well for non-ecommerce sites. It offers a range of templates and customization tools perfect for professionals, creators, and business owners. Other options include Squarespace, WordPress, and Cargo, a favorite in the graphic designer community that offers image-heavy templates that scroll horizontally, mimicking the feel of a traditional print portfolio.
For more help choosing a provider, explore the best free portfolio sites.
4. Create a site map
Website hierarchy—the structure that organizes your site’s pages and shows how content relates—is crucial in this creative process. Use your brand identity to guide your site’s organization.
If you’ve worked with well-known brands, for instance, consider structuring your site by each major client. If you offer service packages (e.g., logo design for a fixed price) it may be better to organize by service type, including the relevant examples alongside details on how clients can book your services.
If your style is consistent across projects, you might display your entire body of work in one long, scrolling homepage—mimicking the intuitive behavior of social media. If your offerings or projects are distinct from one another, you might add a navigation bar at the top to help users easily move between sections.
5. Gather and organize your work samples
Whenever you switch jobs or complete a freelance project, save your previous projects for display on your portfolio site. Consider producing high-quality images of your finished work—whether that involves photographing an object or making screenshots or PDFs of your digital work. This ensures your portfolio stays up to date and showcases your full range of skills.
For example, an app designer might take screenshots of their app to showcase how a user interacts with its interface, then add text to the page to explain their role in its creation.
6. Choose a template and fill it with images and text
Most website builders come with templates that simplify the web design process. Choose one that aligns with your brand identity and site structure, and don’t worry if it’s not perfect—most templates are customizable. Look for a setting called “design” or “site styles” to tweak colors, fonts, and other elements. This is a great way to dip your toes if you don’t have design skills. Or, consider reaching out to a graphic designer for help.
When displaying your previous work, consider these tips:
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Choose high-quality images. Make sure your image files are around 1,200 by 2,000 pixels, 72 dots per inch (dpi), and smaller than 500 kilobytes. These settings offer clear images while typically keeping your site speed fast. If you use Photoshop, export your images using the “save for web” feature. Alternatively, try an online image compressor like Compressor.io.
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Write concise descriptions. Use action verbs and search engine optimization keywords to describe your work in the same way you’d write on a résumé or LinkedIn. Keep it short—this is just a showcase, not an exhaustive career summary.
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Make sure it’s mobile-friendly. Since you’ll likely build your portfolio on a desktop, it’s easy to overlook how it appears on mobile devices. Don’t forget to preview on mobile and adjust sizing and functionality as needed.
7. Double-check the details
Before hitting Publish, take the time to review everything. Make sure buttons link correctly, update your favicon, and check for blurry images, spelling errors, and formatting issues. Most website builders have help desks that can assist if you run into any problems.
8. Publish and share
Once you’ve hit Publish—congratulations! The world can now find your portfolio online. To ensure they do, add the link to your bio on social media profiles, email signature, and in the contact section of your résumé.
9. Keep your portfolio updated
Learning how to build a portfolio website is a great accomplishment, but it’s an ongoing process. To reduce your future workload and keep your site relevant, regularly update your portfolio by adding new projects you’re proud of.
How to build a portfolio website FAQ
Should my portfolio website include a photo of myself?
Whether or not to include a photo of yourself depends on your industry and privacy level. Do some market research to understand the social norms and expectations within your field. Some industries, like creative fields, encourage a more personal touch, while others prefer a more professional, polished approach.
How do I structure my portfolio?
How you structure your portfolio depends on the types of projects you work on. If you work with major clients, it can make the most sense to organize your work by client. If you work in various mediums or styles, it’s intuitive to sort accordingly. You might also create a highlights page that showcases all your best work or design a website that sorts your projects by recency.
How long does it take to make a portfolio?
Making a good portfolio site can take hours or even days. But it’s worth it—most creative jobs require them, and even word-of-mouth recommenders often send a portfolio along as proof of professional prowess. With a good portfolio, you’re ready to job search, attract new customers, or work with your dream clients.
