How to build a perfect portfolio for artists, models, photographers, or designers. The easiest and most affordable way is to use portfolio website builders. Thanks to these online tools, you can independently create your online portfolio in a few hours and without any programming and web design skills.
WHO NEEDS A PORTFOLIO WEBSITE?
The brief answer first. Anyone who needs to show a past example of creative work done by them, such as artists and photographers, needs a portfolio site. When meeting a client, a creative person would need to carry around a “portfolio” with them to showcase their previous work. This established the client’s confidence that they could deliver the exact type of work required. Times have changed. At the turn of the millennium, one could hand out a storage disk such as a CD containing the material. This was followed by the ubiquitous USB drive. Now it is quite easy to build and maintain a portfolio website. The ease of access to the internet and the ability to host and display rich media due to HTML5 has made it possible for a professional-looking website to do all the talking – and you could easily understand this by checking our previous post about the best free website builders.
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DOES THE PORTFOLIO SITE OPEN FOR CREATIVE PEOPLE?
A portfolio website is not merely about showing a few pictures or videos. It does a lot more. It is your emissary on the internet. Introduce Yourself – The home page or the landing page is a short bio about you, your passion, and why you are better than your competitors. It is all about letting the world know all about your capabilities. The more you express yourself, the higher the chance of landing a client. A portfolio website allows you to make a statement about yourself to a broad audience. Express Your Theme – Your work might have a particular theme. Such as – you could be specialized not only in wedding photography but candid wedding photography. It is possible to highlight your dominance in a certain sub-discipline through a website in a way that would be quite difficult through a curriculum vitae or spoken words alone. In a world where granular specialization has become the pathway to more financial success, it is essential that you are able to point this distinction out to your clientele. A portfolio website allows you to do so with rare panache. Bring In Social Media – Visitors to your site will be able to interact with you easily using social media. Your portfolio website is also connected to your Facebook and LinkedIn pages. As a creative, you would also like to use Instagram due to its strong visual bias. The integration of your website and social media allows certain flexibility that you cannot have with a presence on social media platforms alone. Present Yourself As A Thorough Professional – In this day and age, when portfolio websites are easy to create and very affordable to maintain, how do you explain not having a site? It appears utterly inappropriate in a world where we expect the neighborhood plumber to have a business site.
WHAT OPTIONS AND PAGES SHOULD A PORTFOLIO SITE HAVE?
We share with you the essential tips for building a portfolio website that would help you get more clients. Photo/Video Gallery – A gallery is a must-have section. It showcases your work and provides a brief explanation of the project. This is an exceptional tool to focus attention on your best work and lets you display the expertise that allowed you to pull it off. About Me Page – Who are you? Why do you do what you do? What is your credo? What motivates you to do better for your clients? It is important that clients get to understand your background. Events and Exhibitions – Have you ever done exhibitions of your work? It is eloquent proof that you must be very capable since an inexperienced person would not attempt to have an exhibition of his/her work. Testimonials – Your past clients are your best ambassadors. Allow them to write a few words of appreciation about the projects you have completed for them. Online Shop – Do you sell merchandise? Maybe you sell prints, paintings, and lithographs. An online shop is an excellent way for budding artists to show that they are confident about their work. Blog – Why not share the knowledge that you have with a wider audience? What better way to do it than a blog. And while at it, insert a few keywords here and there for all-important SEO. Contact – How to reach you by phone or email? A contact form is a concise way to state how you can be reached.
