14 Tips To Make A Better Portfolio Website
Posted on 21. Aug, 2009 by Web Design in Web Development
Over the last 5 years, I have used dozens if not 100’s of designers and found some designers get their portfolio very wrong! You have to expect your website’s visitors and clients to be completely uneducated in how to use websites. Therefore, make it idiot proof! Here is a list of 14 tips and suggestions for your online portfolio.
Make it easy for people to contact you
This is my number one point, so often when looking for work to be done I can’t find out an easy way to contact the designer. You need to make it easy for people to contact you because there is no point in having an amazing portfolio if no one can contact you for work. Don’t just have one form of contact either. You can list your email, phone numbers, and also be contactable via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Another idea is to tell them when they can expect to hear back from you. Often potential clients want to start ASAP and so if they can expect to hear from you sooner than other designers then they may pick you over them.
Make it clear who you are
On your portfolio, you need to make it clear who you are. Remember to list your previous experience, so clients know who you have worked with and on what types of projects, etc. Its also useful to list your time zone so clients know what hours you are up and where about in the world you are located.
Your work speaks for itself
Make sure you have a strong portfolio. Don’t list every bit of work in your portfolio, especially if its similar. Display the best, and you will sell yourself at a high standard.
Make it clear what you are offering
Make it clear to the client what you are actually offering to them. There’s no point in getting to the mid project stage and the client is saying, for example, “can you buy this domain for me then?”, if you didn’t make it clear that you aren’t buying the domain but just hosting it.
Make your prices clear
Make your prices clear on your portfolio. You could say web design 5 pages for $… so that it’s clear for customers to know what they are actually paying. When working with potential clients they sometimes don’t see the value in your service and don’t expect to pay very much, so if you are a high end designer, make it clear that you are and your average rates. A great example of making clear how much work will cost is PSD2HTML.
Make your portfolio perfect
If your portfolio is perfect, your customers will think that their website can be the same. This doesn’t just include spelling mistakes, but the navigation, user interface and cross browser compatibility.
Full size previews
On your portfolio, make sure if you are displaying thumbnails that they link to a full size preview of the design. Your customers don’t want to strain their eyes. Plus, a full screen size makes sure clients can see your full potential.
Make it clear you are a real person
On your portfolio, come across as a real person. Maybe put a picture of yourself, so clients know that they are working with a real person. Often, potential clients are put off thinking you may scam them:make it clear this won’t happen because you are a real person offering real services.
Explain the process
Clients can always get confused about the process because every designer is different. You could provide a diagram of how you complete the design process with clients. For example, the design faze, drafts, deposits and so on…
Upsell the client with services they actually need
Maybe on the page where clients get a quote from you, you could sell the client services they might actually need. This may be domain names, hosting, or website management.
If you have been featured by a big company, show off
Designers around the world have been featured all over the place, in newspaper, magazines, news websites and have been interviewed. This adds to your credibility and so it’s important to show it off!
If you work with a big client, show off
The same goes if you actually work with a big client. Say if you designed a poster for Sony’s Playstation 3, why not show off the fact that Sony is one of your clients?
Testimonials: let your past clients write a personal recommendation
By all means let your clients write a statement about your services, and what working with you was like. I’m sure when displaying the testimonials you can link back to their company. Its a win win situation for both you and the client.
Call to action
If you offer a call to action, clients are more likely to buy your services. For instance, if you give 10% discount if the client orders a logo design by a certain date, or if you ask them to fill out a form asking for a quote.
To Your Success,
Iggy
P.S. What do you think made a big difference to the success of your portfolio?
P.P.S. See my recent article on How To Make A Lot More Money Doing Web Design
28 Responses to “14 Tips To Make A Better Portfolio Website”
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Jasmin Halki?
21. Aug, 2009
Fantastic….
Lisa Hilstrom
21. Aug, 2009
Thanks for the quick post! There are a few things I’m going to implement in my site.
Leslie Nicole
21. Aug, 2009
Good tips. I especially like your advice to be clear about what you are offering. I visit so many sites where I have no idea what the intent of the site is.
(mine doesn’t count – I’m just getting it going.
Robert Keny
21. Aug, 2009
Hi Michael Its working. I have tried these tips in designing my web site and finally i got some good results.Really these are too powerful.Thank you very much..
Ashit Vora
21. Aug, 2009
Awesome. This will really help me.
Thanks alot
Dushanthan
22. Aug, 2009
Excellent…
h1brd
22. Aug, 2009
The One Point To Rule Them All: “Your work speaks for itself” !
It’s 100% fact. You can basically see giant media & advertisement companies with an almost blank canvas website but placing their works nicely and correctly turns it into an awesome showcase.
Andy
22. Aug, 2009
I second that!
Clippingimages
22. Aug, 2009
Thanks for the post. Make it clear who you are, Your work speaks for itself these two points are really wonderful.
saidi jalel
22. Aug, 2009
Fantastic
seb
22. Aug, 2009
“Make your prices clear on your portfolio. You could say web design 5 pages for $…”
A web design company that charges on a per-page basis screams amateurism.
Modern web site design and programing practices involve information architecture methods (server-side data architecture, ajax, RSS feeds, etc.) that make the separation of content into “pages” completely irrelevant.
Also, the price of a website depends on whether the site content will be manageable by the client or not (integrated with a CMS or not), which changes everything regarding how future maintenance and updates will be carried out and what they will cost.
I personally do not mention any pricing in my portfolio, and i get a lot of work.
Eric B.
23. Aug, 2009
I agree 100%. I was just about to leave a comment saying the exact same thing. Other than that, it’s a pretty good post.
goldfries
22. Aug, 2009
type on “Make it clear your a real person”
it should be YOU’RE
Ben czajkowski
22. Aug, 2009
I find it ironic that you mention not having spelling mistakes in your portfolio, but you have several throughout the posting.
Other than that, great compilation. I see some of the best portfolios that lack testimonials, which to me is disconcerting.
ngonchan
23. Aug, 2009
Thanks for your greate post.
hope you’ll accept 
Thanks.
I reposted your post on my website to share it to my friends (with your copyright)
Lincoln Plumber
23. Aug, 2009
Good work you’ve done here. Thank you for sharing.
Oliver
25. Aug, 2009
Great post and some really good tips for beginners and anyone who wants to make a good portfolio. Will have to bookmark this and come back to it for the tips. Thanks
FAQPAL
27. Aug, 2009
Excellent tips, and like already stated, “Your work speaks for itself”.
dileep raj
21. Sep, 2009
i got really inspired by this…..helps me for my career…..gud goin….
Kristin Peterson
14. Dec, 2009
I completely disagree on posting prices on a portfolio website. Every project is different and it’s important to interview the client to understand what their needs and objectives are. From the information collected, prepare a detailed written proposal that outlines the project, the project phases, timeline, deliverables and costs involved for the client to sign off on. It makes the designer look professional and having everything in writing helps eliminate misunderstandings.
FW Website Design
03. Apr, 2010
Great tips, Thanks for sharing very helpful.
Sase Antic
27. May, 2010
Very useful article!
Bookmarked.
Jorge M Machado
31. May, 2010
Nice tips, but — “Make your prices are clear”, “Make it clear your a real person” and a capital L in “let” for no reason… Those kind of ruined it for me. Especially because you advise people to strive for perfection.
Also, to faze is a verb. Faze does not mean “phase”.
Otherwise, nice article, and smartly divided into neat, bite-sized chunks. Very usable.
Alrik // Viewbook.com
07. Jun, 2010
Hi Michael, thanks, good read! I’d like to add one; the importance of updating your portfolio. Current work works better and a portfolio update can be a reason to connect with your network. Be active and current!
Dream Media Design
11. Jun, 2010
Good work you’ve done here. Excellent tips taken onboard .Thank you for sharing
Dream Media Design
27. Jul, 2010
Some great tips thanx for sharing
Cre8ive Commando
03. Aug, 2010
Definitely think keeping your work updated is important and also adding some of your own personality to your portfolio site too if you can.
Mario
10. Aug, 2010
Great advice for young designers. Thank you for the post. The only thing I don’t agree with is having a set price. I like to be more flexible in pricing jobs. I like to set the price according to the specifics of the deliverables. There are to many variables to have a set price on your site. You’ll back your self into a corner if you do.