May 17, 2012

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Guest Post: 10 Tips for Setting Up a Portfolio Website That Sells

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By James Adams
The portfolio that you create represents you and highlights the work that you have done. It should be clear, branded and to the point, leaving potential clients knowing your capabilities and wanting to capitalize on them. Here are some factors that go into creating a successful portfolio website for writers and other creative professionals.
  1. Planning – For maximum effectiveness, your portfolio website needs to have a purpose. Do you want to build your reputation within the community? Do you want to sell your services? Design your website portfolio with that purpose in mind.
  2. Information – Clients do not need to be aware of your entire portfolio. They will assume that you have plenty of pieces in each category. By bombarding your viewers with too much information, you run the risk of confusing them and talking them out of choosing you for the position. Pick your absolute best pieces and let those be the star.
  3. Clarity – Your readers want to know exactly what you do in as little time as possible. Use copy which gets directly to the point and informs your readers of your capabilities. Tell your potential employers what you can do for them in clear, simple terms.
  4. Comfort – Your clients should be comfortable with the layout and the message of your site. People are more likely to purchase items from someone with whom they feel comfortable. The portfolio website should not be different. Judge the level of conservatism within your future clientele and react accordingly.
  5. Navigation – Your readers should know where everything is located on your site. They should have a clear understanding of your icons. Don’t use only graphics to try to convey the point, there should be graphics and words. Try to keep your site map simple, giving your viewers more time to fall in love with your portfolio.
  6. Testimonials – Let your future clients know that you are a joy to work with. Set their minds at ease with a few testimonials from some of your past clients. Include those statements on your home page or create a place specifically to impress your future clients.
  7. Targeting – Your portfolio website should target those people who are most likely to become clients. Choose the work that best suits that industry. You can gain more exposure by creating multiple portfolio websites, each catering to different members of the community.
  8. Contact Information – Make sure that there is a phone number or an email address available for your clients. There are many sites on the web which do not have any of this information readily available. That diminishes the overall effectiveness of the site.
  9. Create a downloadable resume – Your resume is a statement of your capabilities and who you are. There are some clients who will not choose to hire immediately. A resume which wows potential employers will keep them coming back. You are your product. Make your product simple to buy.
  10. Be professional – You may have profiles on all of the social networking sites, but you may not to link yourself to all of them when you are looking for a job. Take the time to evaluate each of your profiles for professionalism before you post those links on your design portfolio.
    11. Creating a web portfolio takes an incredible amount of tweaking and set up in the beginning, but it is extremely useful after you have everything set up. Place some care into your design, and you will have something that shines in no time!
    James Adams is presently working as a writer and blogger for an ink supplies specialist based in the UK. He spends most of his time reviewing newly released hardware such as the HP 364XL and posting blog posts when he gets time.

    Interested in contributing a guest blog post of your own? Check out the guest blogger guidelines.


    Stock.xchng photo courtesy of blary54
    Filed Under: guest post

    Comments

    1. The Red Angel says:
      September 10, 2010 at 2:24 pm

      Wow, that's a lot of great advice! Thanks! I'll probably be making a portfolio website in the future, so this will definitely help me out a lot! :)

      ~TRA

      http://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com

      Reply
    2. Anonymous says:
      September 13, 2010 at 8:05 pm

      What platform do you use for your portfolio? Do you use WordPress or does it matter? I want simple. Thanks.

      Reply
    3. TJ_Munchies says:
      September 14, 2010 at 3:34 pm

      This was a helpful article. What are a few portfolio websites that you think are great examples of portfolio websites?

      Reply
    4. Republic Monetary Exchange says:
      September 16, 2010 at 7:37 pm

      I've always found WordPress to be the best platform to build a site for someone with a portfolio. It's so easy to load your media that anyone can do it and for a small amount of money you can buy an already made great looking website.

      Reply
    5. joolsstone says:
      October 13, 2010 at 1:22 am

      Can anyone suggest any specific WP themes which work well for writing portfolio sites and are also easy to work with please?

      And what if your work cuts across various areas such as journalism, social media, blogging and marketing? Would you have a separate tab/page for each?

      Thanks, Jools

      Reply

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