Recently, I built my personal web portfolio website. After doing so, I noticed 5 things that I thought could improve almost any web portfolio.
Tip #1: Keep it simple
Someone browsing your portfolio only came there for so many reasons. Hopefully, to check out what you have accomplished, assess what you're capable of, and if they like what they see, hire you.
This means that the shorter, and more obvious, you make the path to browsing live examples of your work, the better an impression you are going to leave on a potential employer or co-worker.
Tip #2: The Real Thing
It really helps to engage a user when they can browse live versions of your work. Imagine how disappointed a potential employer is going to be when they see a nice piece of work they like, and want to explore, but it turns out to just be a barely perceptible image of a website. So, make a link and give them the real thing!
Tip #3: Good Website Design
Sounds a bit cliche to some, I'm sure. Having a design that not only looks good: but, is easy to read, navigate, and engages a user is of the utmost importance for making a good impression online. Using the A.I.D.A. formula is a good idea when designing: A - you want to capture their Attention. I - Hold their Interest D - Convince them they Desire what your offering. A - Lead them to take action. Remember that design doesn't stop at how the site looks. You will also need to consider the main goals your users will want to achieve on your website: and, how to make that process as intuitive, interesting, and as gratifying as possible.
Tip #4: Have a Strong Logo
This goes for business owners more than the freelance types. For a business, having a brand and a logo to represent that brand will help get you noticed and remembered. It really is important to have someone that knows what they are doing on this one; if you're not familiar with the process yourself, hire someone that is. Building a brand and logo that is memorable, distinct, and truly represents the theme of your business should be a detailed, thorough process.
Tip #5: More isn't always better
If you don't have a lot of work to showcase, then this probably won't be much of an issue for you. If you have lots of work to show off though, you should definitely think about limiting your selection to your best pieces of work. Think about which pieces highlight skills you want to offer, highlight stronger skills you have, and always try to pick one that shows off something that was challenging for you: this to highlight your more advanced/valuable skills.
Well that concludes my 5 tips for a better Web Portfolio; I hope you've gained something of value from this article. Thanks for reading!
Ben HartLenn
http://benhartlenn.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_HartLenn
