How to Make a Digital Portfolio

Would you like to spotlight your career journey? Or do you want to present your projects and let your academic achievements shine? If so, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we will guide you on how you can create a digital portfolio to reach exactly that, paving the way to your next career milestone.

What is a digital portfolio?

A digital portfolio is more than just an online presentation of your work—it’s a powerful tool for showcasing your skills and experiences to potential employers, recruiters, or clients.

Imagine it like a collage of your finest work examples, compiled in the form of a portfolio website or landing page. From graphic designers and photographers to illustrators and writers, a digital portfolio allows individuals from various fields to exhibit their unique talents effectively.

What to include in a digital portfolio

Your resume should reflect your professional persona. It will have the biggest impact when its content is tailored to your specific line of work. However, the following key elements will apply across industries:

• About Me section
  • This is your digital handshake. In this section, you will briefly introduce yourself and your previous work. It is like a small work biography highlighting the best bits of your career.
• Contact
  • This part should never be missed on any website. Provide your contact and location details or ensure new contacts can reach you through a form.
• Work samples
  • Showcasing your work examples will supplement your about me section. Give examples of your best results so people know what they can expect from working with you. You can show this as a video, gallery, or text snippet.
• Expertise and resume
  • Optional, for those readers who want to know more about you, provide them with your CV. Offer the flexibility to download your resume and skill set.
• Awards
  • You are the best! Bring your wins and honors forward by showing your certificates and prizes.

How to create a portfolio website

This guide to creating a digital portfolio will help you build your personal or professional online presence effortlessly:

Choose a website builder

Select a user-friendly website builder with intuitive navigation that suits your needs. Ideally, one that lets you upgrade the features as you need them. One like Webnode, for example. It is a drag-and-drop platform that does not require any coding skills.

Stylize the design and layout

A visually catchy design with a clear wide layout will get your content straight across. Seek to adapt the style, font, and colors to your persona. When creating your personal portfolio website, you can save yourself the work by using pre-designed website templates.

Streamline your content

Context is the queen, and content is still king. Highlight your work with the appropriate headlines, concise text, and more images or videos. Focus on the about me section and work examples. A constant theme running through your pages that is easy to follow and understand will ensure your visitors that they’ve found the right person they searched for.

Master SEO

Optimizing all of your written content for search engines is the basis of all web presence. Choose your written words to match the specific keywords and key phrases recruiters search for. Read more in “How to do SEO yourself” to get better organic results.

Use social media

Linking your resume to your professional social media accounts will generate more visitors, cultivate an exchange with collaborators or partners, and signal that you are proactive. What’s more, it’s increasingly common these days for recruiters to contact you with a job offer via social media after looking at your CV and profile online.

Connect to job platforms

Similar to social media, also link your online presentation to job platforms like LinkedIn, CreativePool, Dribble, or Upwork. Recruitment skills are in high demand on these platforms, with numerous recruiters actively seeking talented individuals.

Update regularly

Last, but not least, keep your portfolio website fresh! When you regularly update your content and keep up with the latest trends, you will make it more relevant and authentic. It will also further improve your ranking in search engines. In addition, it is a signal to recruiters and prospective clients that you are developing in your field and have an overview of current events.

Portfolio website templates

Having an appealingly designed portfolio will make your work automatically more attractive. This is why choosing the right portfolio website template is crucial at the start. Webnode’s free portfolio website templates are created by our professional UX Designers. They follow the latest trends in web design.

Examples of portfolio website templates

Presenting your digital portfolio effectively

It is not only the look and content that will make your presentation great. To get the maximum possible reach, these last ingredients will enhance your professional online presence and let you share it effectively:

1. Your Domain

Bring your name across by registering your own domain name, which reflects your personality. Your domain and professional e-mail address will give you authenticity, trust, and seriousness. Plus, it will establish your brand right from the start.

Tip: If you already have your brand established, you may find extra help in our brand resume.

2. UX (User Experience)

Concentrate on bringing your message across as simply as possible. Keep the content neat, tidy, and concise. Ensure all your pages load fast and are easy to navigate through with minimal scrolling and clicks. Let your call to actions entice the reader to get in touch with you.

3. Constant Marketing

Populate your resume on social media and job platforms as early as possible. As soon as you have your domain connected and are indexed with Google begin to advertise for your work in:

• groups,
• local events and conferences,
• your social media channels.

Be active constantly by posting regularly to raise your client base. Keep readers and followers in the loop by proactively engaging with trends, news, and more. Another way to do this is to write blog posts about topics related to your work, which also shows how knowledgeable you are in your field.

Are you an artist creating a digital portfolio? We have some tips for your online art portfolio. It compliments your existing presence on job platforms and materials such as your resume and recommendations.

An online portfolio is the best visual way to present your work, so get started today and showcase your professional prowess in the online world.

Create your free portfolio website