How to Build a Portfolio Website Right Out of School
When I graduated from college nearly a decade ago, I only had a few creative projects I could showcase. And because I didn’t have a portfolio website, I didn’t even have a place to publish my work.
At the time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do career-wise. I studied film and English in school, but I didn’t want to work on film sets, and I didn’t feel traditional publishing was my calling. In fact, after doing some freelance writing, I found I was much more interested in blogging and copywriting.
I’ve spent years updating my portfolio, but actually starting it only took me about a week of dedication and focus. And I can honestly say just hyping yourself up to start is the hardest part. If I’d had a list of resources then, it would’ve been that much easier for me.
So today, we’re going to discuss some of the resources you need to create a portfolio website.
How to build a portfolio website:
Sort through your creative projects
Make new projects
Start your website
Create a simple web layout
Make your design unobtrusive
Update your site regularly
1. Sort through your creative projects
After graduating, I didn’t have much copywriting experience, because I’d only freelanced for one company, and I hadn’t published any blog posts. (In hindsight, I should’ve used blogs I’d written for school.)
The work experience I did have, I used. I also had video projects, which proved I could write scripts and work on sets—something I do now as a copywriter.
Save everything
This is an important lesson in keeping documentation throughout your classes and career; as you’re making your portfolio website, those files can help you.
While my short-film screenplays would never become commercials, they did show I had the skills needed for commercial videos. I also worked in customer experience, writing emails and handling social media escalations. I helped write official, outgoing emails and training materials, which seemed insignificant at the time.
However, these were skills I used in my first copywriting job: writing emails, creating FAQs, and understanding what customers liked and didn’t like.
Post the work you have
It can feel intimidating to publish your current work to a portfolio website. Maybe there isn’t much work to show, or you feel like you could do better. That’s okay. You’re getting started, and this portfolio will help you on your journey to making better work.
2. Make new projects
That brings us to the next step in building your portfolio website: making new projects. If you want to get hired as a designer, you’ll need to have designs. If you want to get into copy/content, you’ll need writing samples. The same is true for web developers, photographers, videographers—basically any creative.
Image source: Hollye Westbrook
Unfortunately, these new projects will probably be unpaid passion projects (like making an avocado sculpture: See above).
But think of it this way: You’re investing your time so you can get a great job later. And if you can get some small gigs now, great! Take them, keep the examples, and use them to get something even better.
3. Start your website
Don’t wait to start your portfolio website. Even if you want to buy your own domain eventually, or you’re waiting on testimonials, go ahead and start working on your website now. You can get a free site in the meantime, and you don’t have to publish it until you’re ready.
Platforms you can use to build your portfolio website:
4. Create a simple web layout
It can be so tempting to be ultra-creative on your website. Taking people through your process, giving them an experience—it all sounds great, but it’s horrible user experience.
Create a page with your work and, yes, just call it “Work” or “My work.” It may seem boring, but a hiring manager needs to be able to navigate your site easily.
A simple and effective web layout:
Work - This page should showcase the work you’re most proud of, with simple copy explaining each project. (Sadly, people don’t read chunks of text—even in a blog post!)
About - This page can tell the visitor about you, what you do, etc. It’s a great opportunity to illustrate your awesome personality and what makes you different.
Resume - Place your resume here, and enjoy being done with this page for a while.
Contact - Provide a contact form or the best email to reach you, plus your socials.
Even though this is a bare-bones layout, it’s perfect for visitors. They can see your work, your experience, your personality, and they can contact you for more info.
5. Make your design unobtrusive
We’ve all been to artistic websites that barely load because they’re bogged down with design elements. It can be tempting to make your website a piece of art, especially when you’re showing the world you’re a creative.
However, your work should do the talking. Think of your website like an art gallery. It should be clean, clear, and it shouldn’t compete with the art. You’re not there to see the gallery walls, after all; you’re there to see the art. Site visitors are looking for the same experience, only digitally.
To the left is an example from our services page.
We have a few images illustrating what we offer, as well as short snippets. When in doubt, keep it simple.
6. Update your site regularly
As you get more opportunities, you’ll also create more (maybe even better) projects to show off. Because of this, you’ll need to regularly update your site. While updates can be a chore, regular maintenance is much easier than waiting months or even years to do it.
Plus, by keeping an updated resume and recent projects on your site, you may attract the attention of other hiring managers. You never know who’s looking at your work, so keep it fresh.
Conclusion
If you’ve recently graduated, don’t get discouraged. Everyone has to start somewhere, and a portfolio website is the perfect way to begin. By keeping a running list of projects and updates, you’ll start to realize just how much you’ve done and how much you’re still doing.
Good managers want to know you have skills, potential, and ambition. By curating the hard work you’ve already done in a simple, easy-to-navigate way, they can quickly see what they’re getting through you.
