If you’re an artist, graphic designer, photographer, or writer, you’re likely to have an online portfolio. After all, if you have a website where potential clients can check out the work you’ve done, the skills you’ve honed, and find the best contact details to get in touch with you, you won’t need to do much leg work at all!
Let your work speak for itself, make sure you’re easy to reach out to, and let the calls come pouring in in their own time.
At least, that’s what an online portfolio is meant to do for you. The reality of this, however, can be far less black and white. Whether this is your full time job or a side hustle you’re trying to get going, you’ll still need to advertise yourself and bring attention to your name and work through things like social media.
But even when you put in this extra effort, your portfolio still might not do anything for you at all.
If that’s the kind of problem you’re running into, there’s a chance your portfolio has something not quite right about it. Make sure you double check for the problems below, and if you find any of them, don’t delay in fixing them!
Table of Contents
It’s Hard to Use
When an online portfolio is difficult to use, the person who was willing to give you a chance is now just as likely to click away and find another creative for the job. After all, they can’t even check out your portfolio pages! How are they supposed to trust your creative judgement if they can’t see what you’ve got on offer?
Always check the way your website loads during the various web design phases you put it through. You don’t want people sitting there for ages while a buffering wheel goes round; even if the images on the other side are top quality, no one has that kind of patience in the digital era!
There’s Little Content
It’s OK to keep your portfolio bare bones, but you need to include written descriptors for any and all projects and case studies you upload to it. You want prospective clients to know what you worked on, what the client wanted from you, and how you delivered the perfect result to them.
Pictures paint a thousand words, and you can always link to articles and posts you’ve written, but add your own little bit of context to the equation as well. Keep it succinct, focus on the achievement rather than the effort, and try to use actual statistics wherever you can.
The Photos Aren’t Great
Any time you take a picture for use on your portfolio, check it for these three things:
- Is the subject well lit?
- Is the subject properly framed and in focus?
- Is the image interesting enough?
If the picture doesn’t tick off all three of the factors above, it doesn’t deserve a place on an online portfolio.
Of course, sometimes you only have a few images to work with. If you’re a baker and you want to upload images of a wedding you recently catered, you can’t magic the cake back out of thin air to take more pictures of. In this scenario, you’ll need to choose the best of what you’re working with, and look into ways to digitally enhance it.
You’re Displaying Too Many Old Projects
Early projects tend to be of lower quality. Sounds harsh, but it’s true. Even when you’re proud of the project in question, if you have more recent work to share, share that instead. You might not be as proud, but that’s because you’re an expert now and the work is second nature!
Let’s Make Your Online Portfolio Stand Out
Having an online portfolio is the first step. The next steps after that are ensuring you’ve put together a quality collection of work that’ll help you to stand out. If you want the clients to take a chance on you, make it easy for them to make that decision.
Don’t let your website load slowly, be hard to navigate, or simply be difficult to read. Make sure you’ve created some content to complement the work you’re laying out, and if you’re providing pictures, that they’re high definition and well framed.
And finally, never forget to keep your portfolio updated. You don’t want only the earliest and oldest of your projects to be on show; they’re simply not a good reflection of the kind of work you can deliver now!
