A portfolio website is a genuine reflection of your work skills and accomplishments. It demonstrates your mastery over a topic and gives the visitors a clear understanding of your capability. It is a super assessment tool for your clients and it improves your value while giving you an opportunity to be seen, be heard.
What is a Portfolio Website?
A portfolio website is like an online resume that contains all your works and projects in one place displayed in an interactive and informative way and it can be accessed by anyone 24*7.
A portfolio website is a boon to billion of designers, artists, photographers and others to showcase their work online.
Who needs a portfolio website?
If you are a skilled professional and keen on developing an online presence, a portfolio website is the best way to start.
Imagine you are a skilled photographer. Other than putting up your work on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, how will you make your work accessible to your clients all the time? Simple! It is through a portfolio website. It gives your clients complete information about you, your work and your contact details. While a client may have to surf through the posts on Instagram, your photography portfolio website will neatly categorize and describe your work.
A portfolio website works wonders for photographers, dancers, software programmers, graphic designers, artists, beauty experts and so on. It gives your clients and potential customers easy access to your work to let them decide if you are the suitable candidate for their requirements.
Why have a portfolio website?
1. Professionalism-
A portfolio website is a professional way of displaying your work to clients. It presents your work in a clean and clear way. It is also a great way to build the first impression of your work. The website design, its content, your work, services and testimonials all indicate your dedication to work.
2. Self Introduction-
A portfolio website design gives the client a sign of you as a person. If your website is simple, clean and minimalistic, it shows that you are disciplined and clear in your thoughts. An updated website shows that you put effort to manage your career and work. Your portfolio website is your brief introduction to the outside world.
3. Easily Searchable-
Being online means that a client can easily search for your work. It helps the client to make an informed decision regarding your work and services. Based on your work, a client can judge your expertise, experience, scope of work and uniqueness. The client can decide if you can match up to their expectation.
4. Easy Access-
Your portfolio website is an easy way to access your work. You don't have to email your business PDF brochures or links to your work. All you have to do is send them a link to your portfolio website. If you are a blogger, you can publish your blogs regularly on your blogging portfolio website. If you are a real estate agent, buy a clean real estate website template and upload your business success stories in it along with customer video testimonials. This will help you get more clients.
5. Proof Of Your Work-
A personal portfolio website is proof of your work. It displays your past accomplishments. If you are a dancer, your portfolio website contains event dance videos and collaboration videos. If you are a blogger, upload blogs on niche topics. If you are a photographer, your best work of art is on display right on your portfolio website.
6. Put Forth Your Ideas-
Showcase your ideas to the world through your work on the portfolio website. A blog section gives you the freedom to put forward your innovative thoughts. The visitors get a glimpse of what you are as a person and as an artist.
7. Stay Ahead In The Competition-
In today's competitive world where people go to any length to get customers, it becomes necessary that you stay ahead. This can be best achieved with a portfolio website. Invest time and effort to build a portfolio website. You will be at the top of the competition. Also, you get an edge over your competitors.
8. Build Trust-
Having a portfolio website helps build credibility among clients. It shows that you are a thorough professional when it comes to your work. Always keep your website updated. Upload the latest works and blogs. The customers find it easy to trust you.
9. Flexible & Scalable Resume-
Your portfolio website is about how you want to show your work to your clients. With a portfolio website, it is easy to edit the content. Add new projects as and when it is completed. Add new skills you have earned. Upload new videos, images and testimonials.
10. Secure & Safe Portfolio-
You have the liberty of designing the portfolio website as per your liking unlike a resume in a simple word document, Dribble, Upwork, Behance, Github or LinkedIn. Also, your portfolio website remains safe and secure with you. It is a permanent archive of your works accomplished to date.
Website Vs Portfolio
A website is basically meant to tell or sell your products or services to the world online. A website may be an e-commerce website that sells products and services online. Or it may also be a simple informative website like a school or hospital website. It can also be an interactive website like Facebook or Twitter.
Similarly, a portfolio website is nothing but a website that is designed to showcase the work of an individual or a company. It is informative and may have an e-commerce component in it. For instance, a management coach may use his portfolio website to showcase his skills and also provide an option for interested clients to book and pay for management sessions or buy merchandise online. Some may keep the portfolio website simple and include only a "contact us" section for interested clients. It is completely up to you to decide on the features of your portfolio website.
What to include in a portfolio website?
- A portfolio website could be a single-page portfolio website that includes a clean and to-the-point description of the work. A portfolio website design will have necessary sections like About, Services, Work, Gallery, Social Media integration and Contact details.
- The Hero banner showcases glimpses of the best work. It may also contain your image and a brief two-line attractive introduction. This gives a personal touch to your portfolio website. Viewers relate more to photos and it improves your trustworthiness.
- The About section includes a brief about your passion, skills, experience and everything to connect with the clients.
- The services section or the work section is the highlight of a portfolio website design. It includes the best works. Do not overdo this section. Keep it simple, relatable and clean. Take considerable time to decide the work that has to be included in it. Do not crowd this section by showing irrelevant projects just to impress the visitors.
- The Call To Action is a must for customers to get in touch with you. You can direct the interested visitors to a contact page or simply put your contact number there.
- Do not forget to include client testimonials. Feedback in the form of video testimonials is a great way of showing your reliability to the clients.
- Integrate your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Behance, Instagram, Telegram and other important social media accounts on the portfolio website. This way, your clients or interested visitors stay in touch with your work.
- You may add a Blog section in your portfolio website design to include your insights and experience or share your knowledge with the audience. Adding value automatically attracts new visitors to your portfolio website.
Purpose of a portfolio website
The purpose of a portfolio website is to tell the world about you, your accomplishments, your skills and talent.
- For visually displaying your resume
- To showcase your best works to date
- You tell clients about your potential skills and talent
- Make your bio-data accessible to visitors 24*7
- Provide a means of easy contact for the interested clients
- To make it easily searchable for visitors
- To give you an edge over your competitors
- To tell the world about your ideas, thoughts and innovation
- To easily make the online portfolio flexible and scalable
- To create a lasting archive of your works, accomplishments
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