Digital portfolios are constantly appearing online. Actually, they are one of the most popular types of websites. However, this does not mean that creating a successful portfolio site is so easy. We are so used to the design of these sites that it became difficult to stand out from the crowd.

Table of Content:

  1. Intro
  2. What Is Portfolio And Why Exactly You Need It?
  3. WordPress Portfolio Themes Characteristics
  4. 13 Tips To Make Your Portfolio Site Stand Out
  5. Beautiful Portfolio Examples For Inspiration
  6. Final Word

Intro

If you are a photographer, marketer, artist or web designer, one thing is for sure: you need a portfolio. It is a time-tested best way to let your potential clients see your work and methodology.

For example, a photographer needs a portfolio in order to show best works in different categories and to demonstrate how well he/she manages to take pictures in different styles, for example, black and white or landscapes.

Portfolios can be of different types and styles. But one factor unites them: they are important. If you need to make sure that your work resonates with the target audience and attracts new customers, you can use WordPress portfolio themes. In my opinion, they will allow you to represent yourself on the web in the most profitable way.

In this article, I will give you the best tips to improve your site portfolio, increase your traffic and help you achieve all your goals faster.

What Is Portfolio And Why Exactly You Need It?

A portfolio has a huge set of advantages that will be very useful both for independent activities and for corporate purposes. In the general sense, it is a set of works and projects examples, beautifully presented in the form of a grid gallery.

The main objectives and advantages of a portfolio website:

  • beautiful visual showcasing of successfully completed works and projects;
  • representation of clients with whom the cooperation was successful;
  • the ability to quickly search and filter projects and works;
  • a non-standard way of demonstrating a personal or corporate resume.

As you see a portfolio website helps beautifully and quickly tell about yourself and your activities to potential customers. But the most important thing is that on the website, unlike social networks, you place what you consider necessary and how you consider it necessary. How do you imagine professional portfolios? What should be present in them, and what shouldn’t?

Here is my list of qualities for an ideal portfolio website:

  • modern and responsive design;
  • clear menu structure and easy navigation;
  • strict not pretentious design;
  • support for contact forms, record forms, maps, and other useful business functions;
  • beautiful and convenient portfolio;
  • the presence of a blog (if needed).

Depending on the field in which you work, these features may vary, but the general idea is the same. At least, if you want to achieve serious results in your business.

Whatever you do, be it web design, art, jurisprudence, translations, accounting, apartment planning or copywriting, there are many options for you on WordPress. If your activity is not related to programming, why should you complicate your life and order a website from a web developer? In addition, it is not always possible to guess with the choice of a good performer. With free WordPress themes, you can create your portfolio independently and at the same time have complete control over all stages of development.

“The employment market is an incredibly scary place to be right now as a job seeker – but a personal website offers several important things to improve your odds.”

Charles Pooley, Founder & CEO of Workfolio

WordPress Portfolio Themes Characteristics

WordPress stands out not only for its ease of development but also for versatility. This means that you not only can create any site on the basis of this platform. You will have the opportunity to combine the functionality of different sites in one web resource.

For example, if you decide to create a portfolio on WordPress, using plugins and addons, you can get not only gorgeous work galleries with a filter. You will have the opportunity to take payment for work through the site, blog and organize a forum or even a social network. And all this in one place.

Portfolio WordPress themes are highly responsive and SEO-optimized. Almost all of them support the main premium plugins many of which are included in the kit for free. Most often it is slide show and page builder plugins. If you use premium themes, the site will turn out really high quality and modern. And this concerns not only design but also mobile optimization that is a must in our time.

Since the number of mobile device users is growing, and the share of mobile traffic can sometimes be more than 50% of the total, your site must be adaptive. And if your site will be created on WordPress, this criterion will be exactly met.

To create a portfolio site on WordPress, you should first buy a domain and hosting, and then install the WordPress platform and WordPress theme on the hosting. Then, you will have a simple setup procedure, after which your site will be ready.

And what’s next? Below I will give you a number of tips with which you can create your perfect portfolio.

13 Tips To Make Your Portfolio Site Stand Out

1. Define Your Reasons and Audience

First of all, you need to define why you need a portfolio website and here below are some main reasons what a portfolio might be for you:

  • An online best resume website for searching for a job – impressive and interesting;
  • A tool to create new sales of goods or services;
  • A way to strengthen your image or brand;
  • A means for improving online networking and building new useful connections.

All you need is to understand for yourself the reason. However, it might be the one not described above. The goal is to find it.

The more precisely you know what projects you would like to work on, the more likely your portfolio will make the desired impression on the public. If you want to get corporate customers, show them intelligible and professionally executed works. Give them what they want to see. The materials of your portfolio should meet the needs of the target audience. Communication with the target audience will help you to make your service package unique and stand out among others, create your own niche.

2. Start With the Basics

The first things to start your portfolio website from are the next ones:

  • Write who you are;
  • Show what you do;
  • Indicate how to contact you.

Make certain that everybody can easily find this information which is clear itself. It would be even better to add an About section or page with a photo. John Mccoist is a good example of About section of a persuasive web portfolio.

Keep in mind that writing a lot about yourself is not for everyone. Much does not mean good. And not everyone had such an interesting biography to upload it to the site. But such a section is needed – to help the visitor decide whether to contact you. In the biography, you can tell what inspires you, how you used to and like to work.
Whether to specify the cost of the work, decide for yourself. For some customers, specific pricing will help make a decision. For others, this criterion is not so fundamental: the main thing is your skill.

4. Bring Your Best Works To Your Home Page

Picking the best materials in a special way has become an important aspect for web resources. The owner of each online portfolio solves this problem in his own way, trying to show the best and most important things on the home page. In addition, selected materials attract the attention of new visitors. Below, a Photographer portfolio WordPress theme shows well how the best works can freshen the site.

4. Call to Action

One of your secret weapons is a call to action. All you need is to place a call to action button, just make it a bit special. Instead of the typical “Contact us”, use other phrases, for example “Order a project” or “Order a web design”, and so on. By offering people to do things, you increase the probability that customers will choose you. For example, you can offer a 10% discount on orders made before a certain date.

The owner of Jeromo theme says customers: “Hire me”, and it’s way better than a standard frase, agree?

5. Make Your Website Design Adaptive

The trend is far from new, and speaking of the portfolio, it is even more important, as it demonstrates your personal skills in solving such problems. As a visual example, Videographer has an excellent responsive website portfolio with content and menu that adjust to the screen size. The theme is simple and looks great on any monitor.

Watch a short video on How to Make an Effective Web Developer Portfolio Site

6. Animation Effects

Different effects are able to add a little charm to your portfolio and attract attention.

However, there is a certain limit, after which an obsessive animation will only annoy users. It is important to maintain the balance. Also, you can try adding effects to images and content on the page. Just look at those perfect and extraordinary effects used in Zoomin. One of them, for example, is turning black and white photo into a colorful one when hovering on it.

7. Hidden Navigation

You can save a lot of screen space by hiding the menu. This is especially true for mobile devices. Richard Gore theme perfectly demonstrates this.

8. Make It Minimalistic

The simplest and most popular way of creating a convenient portfolio site is to use a minimalistic style. Nobody says to use only a white background. Just initially think over the main aspects of your page, create a frame, and then add some additional elements. Contact information, About, several pages with services, a section with a portfolio and the main page – it is enough to convey your information. Heyday theme uses this technique just perfectly. Here you will find many beautiful colors and enough free space. Besides, all the necessary information is well read.

9. Be Creative

Of course, you are a creative person. However, before adding any abstract element to your portfolio website, you need to first ask yourself – “For what goals will it serve?” or “Will it help convey my idea to the target audience?” If the answers to all these questions are negative, then don’t embody this creative impulse.

Watch a short video on How to Make Your UX Portfolio Stand Out

10. Go Social

Today, social networks are a great part of our life. Don’t neglect them. They can increase your popularity and bring many new customers. Add social buttons to your site as appropriate and stylish as it is made in this high-class portfolio WordPress theme.

11. Make Contact

This tip is very simple. Contacts must be visible and accessible both from the main and from other pages of the site. The more ways to contact you, the more likely clients will do it. A good example is Dan Adams. The Contacts page is easy to notice, simple itself and has all the needed elements including an address, contact form, and Google map.

12. Run Your Blog

You’re really from the past if you don’t know how important blogging is in the digital world. However, many people when running a site still neglect it. Don’t be one of them. Blogging helps you in branding, increasing traffic, and improving marketing, so don’t skip this tip. Add a blog page to your portfolio site, make it as beautiful as in Remi theme, and be active.

“Show off the range of things which you think best describes you as a person, as a creative individual”

Jim Dale, Admission Tutor at Nottingham Trent University

13. Complete Your Portfolio With Positive Testimonials

A page of thank-yous or a list of customers whose orders you have completed will help you quickly gain the trust of visitors. It is important for customers to know that you are not only a true master of your craft but also careful in meeting deadlines and are easy to communicate. Be sure to collect feedback from your customers about the quality of your services. Pay attention to the design of the feedback page, using the example of Projector theme.

Watch a short video on How to Make Your Portfolio Site Stand Out

Beautiful Portfolio Examples For Inspiration

ToyFight

Fabian Irsara

Black Ninja

Humaan

Shantell Martin

Malika Favre

Dan Mall

Naiara Abaro

Andy Hunt

Daniel Paul

Final Word

In modern realities, the presence of a site speaks not only about the prestige of a company or performer but also about professionalism. Anyone who aims to perform their work at a high level, providing only high-quality services, will definitely take care to ensure a full online presence. Social networks and SMM promotion are great, but in order to clearly and concisely present your brand, you need something more serious than just social media accounts. The relevance of portfolio sites is still high, and if you call yourself a professional, but you still don’t have a site, consider fixing it. I hope this article was helpful and made you think of a portfolio website. Good luck with this!