Imagine that you have been studying hard for several years, gaining knowledge, and you have made so much effort to achieve your goal. Now you need to sell your skills in the most profitable way, convert your enthusiasm and ambition into net profit. However, even when applying for a job, you should not forget that you have another exam ahead
Your resume and portfolio should be flawless, reflect good style and skills. If we are talking about web development, design or photography, then it would be nice if this information was online. In this case, WordPress portfolio themes just come in handy. When we talk about the practical implementation of the task, then everyone chooses their own path — some users try to make the most vivid and original portfolio sites, while others prefer fairly simple minimalist templates, for example Bootstrap templates. The technical side does not play a special role (except for programmers).
Table Of Content:
Intro
Common mistakes
The structure of the portfolio website
Tips for creating a better portfolio
Final words
Intro
What is a portfolio? It should be taken as the business card of the author. The portfolio should be only the best work. They are called to tell about the author and his talents. If a person draws, his portfolio consists of drawings, if he is a photographer, then photos.
Portfolio intended for advertising. Why does the photographer need it? A photographer who has created a good portfolio can quickly become famous and get good offers. And in order to create it, it will take only a few days. A portfolio is an essential tool for photographers, who want to sell their services.
Common Mistakes
The most common mistakes made by photographers and designers when creating their portfolio:
Mistake No.1 – Lack of portfolio
When should you start making a portfolio? It is better to do when a person feels that he is quite good at what he is doing, and he wants to work in this area.
Mistake No.2 – There are few pictures and/or they are the same subject
What should a portfolio consist of? It can be pictures of people, nature, some everyday scenes. It is better to present the work simultaneously in several genres.
Mistake No.3 – No contacts with clients
Why is keeping contact so important? The customer always wants to solve his problem quickly and it is essential for him not only to find a suitable professional but also to contact him promptly. Therefore, leave enough information to contact you in different ways, for example, phone number and email address.
Mistake No.4 – Too much information
Believe me, most people don’t care about the details of your life story. Information about completed courses, equipment and software that you use will be quite enough.
Mistake No.5 – Grammatical mistakes
It is just inappropriate.
Avoid these mistakes and it will be easier for your customers to find you, become familiar with your work and place an order with you. Remember that a well-designed portfolio will help highlight your talents and present you in a more favorable light.
The Structure Of The Portfolio Website
The structure of the site of a photographer or designer is always a special case: it is necessary to take into account the behavioral scenarios of your audience, analyze, edit and suggest the most convenient and profitable route through the site.
As a starting point, we can consider the structure:
1. The home page
The home page is the face of a company or an owner. Following one of these directions will be enough to fill the home page with information:
- Uniquely,
- Original,
- Actual.
2. About myself
Information page. The only task is to get to know more about you and give answers to popular questions: who are you, how are you different from others, etc.
3. Portfolio
You show your best works and show yourself in the best light.
4. Contacts
Technical page, whose task is clear.
Tips For Creating A Better Portfolio
The main thing in compiling a portfolio is to observe a few rules:
- Identify the best of your works and post them.
Do not cram too much. It is important for us that the customer sees your best skills, professionalism and appreciate your taste.
Portfolio of Liz Grant is clean, simple and beautiful. It is not over saturated and it is easy to navigate.
Daron WordPress theme is a creative ready-made template that can be used to launch an exciting online-portfolio. There are multiple reasons that can assure you of opting for this solution if you are interested in impressing everyone with your portfolio. There are well-structured blog templates, pre-built pages, and different layout styles (including full-width, right and left sidebars, and boxed ones). A premium version also includes an eye-catching portfolio with columns and masonry, custom and post slider, and header customization. It is also possible to add Instagram Photo Wall to capture even more attention to your website.
- Decide on your specialty.
Many web designers take on any work, because, of course, it is easier to find customers. But quality is more important, than quantity. Therefore, observe what you are most interested, perhaps this is the creation of landing pages or online stores.
Richard Gore WordPress theme will help you to point out all your specialty. It is designed in monochrome style, which is trendy in 2019. There are eye-catching ready pages. All you need is to fill out the information. Thanks to Elementor page builder you can create your portfolio as you wish it.
This theme is modern because it is SEO friendly and it has a fully responsive design. As a bonus, you will get great plugins, a lot of images, Google fonts, and JetElements. The efficient and friendly support will help you to resolve any your question any time you need. Just one click and this theme will be installed. Also, if you want you can sell online your services or webinars thanks to Ecwid ready.
- Do not overdo it.
Too much creativity can also scare away. More specifics are vital: take screenshots of the correspondence with customers, show the blank sites, and do not forget to post the finished results.
REMI WordPress theme is a ready-made multi functional solution for photographers, web designers, and other creative individuals. It is based on Cherry Framework 5 and contains all the functionality that every theme needs nowadays. Social media widgets, fully responsive design, simple slider, and post carousel will help you to present your works in a better light everywhere. Moreover, the theme contains WordPress Live Customizer, with which you can see the results of customization of template pages in real time. Thanks to multiple layouts you can experiment with your portfolio website structure. If you have any questions 24/7 support will give you the answers in a short time.
- Specify the date.
This will show the customer how much time you have been doing your craft, how responsible you are about your work, whether your work is in demand.
- Experiment with style.
The more diverse is your portfolio, the more likely it is that the customer will like your style. In this way, you will already have a better idea of what your employer wants. Due to this, possible rework can be avoided.
Agency Nowhere Famous exhibits the most powerful and beautiful work in its portfolio. They all look so impressive that it is difficult for you to decide what exactly to open in the first place.
Provide a variety of works, but make sure that they are all interconnected in one way or another.
- Remember the main purpose of your portfolio.
This is, first of all, the attraction of new clients, and not a reason to brag to friends or other less successful designers.
- Do not forget about the call for action
This is one of the main elements of a commercially successful site.
If you want a potential customer to call you, send a message by e-mail or fill out a questionnaire, you need to create a button with a compelling call for action.
An accompanying call for action may sound like “Let’s begin” or it may be a similar message in a positive and dynamic way. The call should be in a prominent place on the page — where a visitor can easily notice it, like on Radario website.
- Share your unique and creative work.
Select for the portfolio such style that demonstrates the latest trends. They should not repeat the work of other designers. Make people think “Wow, THIS is really cool!” and the whole site is an example of such uniqueness. A website of Daniel Spatzek is a great example of it.
- Choose high resolution
Even if your entire portfolio is located on the Web, you can never be sure that you will not need to print it out one day. In this case, it is desirable to have photos of all your work in high resolution.
In addition, large clear images are ideal for sharing on social networks. They produce the desired effect on the viewer and give your portfolio a high-quality look.
- Be creative without bright design and focus on functionality
The goal of your site is to get a customer. Even if today you have not sold your services, you still have contact information for the next business contact.
So make your portfolio simple, professional, and navigation intuitive. Potential customers do not have time simply to understand the complex website. See the example below. You immediately realized what to do? Not? In this case, you need to simplify the design. But I’m sure that everyone will see already what this portfolio owner wants to present. Zoomin WordPress theme is a perfect portfolio for a photographer. It is so simple, modern and it has all you need.
The main features are:
- One-click Installation;
- Mega Menu;
- Elemento page builder;
- SEO-friendly;
- Retina Ready;
- Effective 24/7 Support:
- Lots of headers, layouts, and footers;
- Outstanding Plugins:
- Clean HTML Code;
- WordPress Live Customizer and many more.
- Decide on the amount of work.
Focus on quality, not quantity. If nevertheless, we speak about concrete figures, then we recommend placing 10-20 works in your portfolio, but no more, in order not to lose the viewer’s attention. No matter how wonderful your work is, a person will still look at only a few of them.
- Be aware of current trends.
Do not include in your portfolio works, which were performed more than 3 years ago. Trends and technology change very quickly. The least you need is to look outdated.
Keep up to date with current trends.
Projector Multihome Portfolio Theme has stylish pages for all tastes and occasions. Your portfolio will be ready after you choose a perfect home page for you, download some of your works to your gallery page, tell about yourself and your projects. If you want some changes, you can use the Elementor page builder any time you need. Drag and drop, experiment with layouts, headers, and footers. This theme is SEO-friendly and will be good-looking on every screen. Mobile phone, iPad or desktop — it doesn’t matter. It works great. Booked appointment plugin will be a great assistant for you. All your clients can call you or write you an e-mail. It will be also possible to make an appointment with you. You have to admit, it will save you time and spare your nerves. It is very practical nowadays.
- Links to your works are must-have
For example, after going to the site you created, the customer will immediately see the full range of your skills.
Add a variety of comments, descriptions, reviews of previous customers — all this is a guarantee of your professional success.
- Ask first and then post
Before you publish your new project, it is better to make sure that the employer does not mind. In most cases, customers do not prohibit, but just in case you need to know.
- Strive for uniformity
Having selected several works, in the end, make sure that they are all interconnected in one way or another and reflect your brand. A portfolio should not look as if all this is the work of different people. As an example, I will recommend you Anna Solas Portfolio WordPress theme.
Anna Solas is clear and more contrast theme. On the main page, there are sliders with which you can highlight the most important things – works or posts that you want to attract attention. The template Anna Solas has 6 ready-made page layouts. The advantage of this theme is a convenient page builder — Elementor, with which you can create new page designs easily without coding skills. There is a drag — & — drop interface. So, if you want, everything can be dragged simply onto the page.
Additionally, this theme includes several popular plugins to extend its functionality. For example, the Ecwid plugin helps to create an online store. In addition, it has a custom Jet Elements add-on, which has an ability to add more elements to a post or page, like maps, a countdown timer to some event, banners, animated text and much more. Also, this theme is multilingual.
Anna Solas has a fully responsive design, cross-browser compatibility, and it is Retina ready. It means that your portfolio will look great on screens with different resolutions and modern devices. This theme has a friendly interface, and you can add new pages, posts, news and media. Free 24/7 technical support will help you to solve any problems and difficulties. Moreover, this theme is optimizing content for search engines and users. Every website needs it today.
And the last one is on our list.
- Be inspired by other designers and photographers.
Final Words
These are the tips for creating a portfolio that I have saved for you. After a competently compiled list of your works, you can safely cooperate with larger customers.
But your growth does not end there, so do not forget to develop, study, watch videos and communicate with colleagues.
I think that any works and projects will become even more entertaining and attractive for fans of the art of photography or web design if they presented with the help of one of the ready-made solutions that can be found in this collection. At the internet, there are much more portfolio WordPress themes for photographers and designer. And, in truth, I really hope that some of my readers have already managed to note some topic that attracted attention from the first glance at it. I wish you good luck with your portfolio!
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