How To Plan And Create A Portfolio Website
I was recently given the task of planning and creating a portfolio website for someone.
Now, portfolio sites are incredibly important.
A few years back, the idea of having active social media accounts and building an online portfolio would have been something I avoided like the plague. I’m not exactly Mr. Life-of-the-party and I try and keep my private life private.
But those years ago, a friend explained it to me like this:
Look at how technology is progressing. Think about where the internet started and where it has come to. Think about employers checking out your Facebook or LinkedIn becoming necessary for some jobs and ask yourself: Do you think this trend is going to reverse? Or do you think it’s going to continue along the same path?
You need to maintain control of your digital footprint… otherwise you’ll get lost. Even if you manage to avoid it all, what about your kids? Do you want to be the parent that doesn’t understand what their kids get up to in this new online world?
I paraphrase and can’t adequately capture how well my friend explained it, but I was convinced. Ultimately, you’re going to be represented online.
You can either choose to represent yourself or have someone do it for you.
… Unless you think the trend is going to reverse.
Your Website: Your Hub
My general approach to internet profile stuff is this; it’s just like a CV. Represent yourself in the best light possible because the internet is the best tool ever devised for putting you in front of people and connecting with other people. You don’t want to waste that opportunity – or worse – get that opportunity taken from you.
I’m talking about the guys who burn out after being banned from Twitter, Facebook and whatever else because they can’t keep all of their opinions to themselves. Seriously… regardless of your political beliefs and from an entirely pragmatic viewpoint, what do you gain by trolling Twitter and getting banned?
…And remember this stuff is going to be more important in the future, not less important.
Back to the topic of building your own portfolio site; your site serves as the hub of all your online activities. In the event that there’s a “massive Twitter purge of everyone who isn’t a Communist/Racist/Gay/Anti-Gay/Whatever” you don’t want to lose everything. Build a website. Point your Twitter to your website. Point your Twitter to your Facebook and your Facebook to your website and make it all as interconnected as possible.
Do this even if you hate social media. In fact, do it especially if you hate social media.
The benefits massively outweigh the negatives and the trend is only going to continue.
What Should You Put On Your Portfolio Site?
Let’s get away from the why and talk about the what.
Let’s assume you’re a young professional who is looking to rub noses with people in your industry and either get the best job you can or start up with the whole freelance/self-employed thing.
While there are some unique bits and pieces there, there are a lot of things that are the same regardless.
Most gurus and conventional business wisdom people will tell you to “stand out” and that leads to all kinds of wacky, counterproductive nonsense. Just switch on the TV and watch the adverts. They’ve been created by dorks in advertising agencies who don’t know what they’re doing and will never sell a single product.
I recently saw an advert for a car. It had some white women wandering around in pyjamas because they’re empowered and some guy rapping about pyjamas. At the end of the advert, some guy is apparently a loser because he thinks the preceding thirty seconds is absurd.
I must be a loser too, because all of the above is absurd. And it will never sell a car. Ever.
Why bring this up?
Because this is what people try to do with their personal sites or Curriculum Vitae.
Taking advice from the “experts” who want you to stand out and do crazy stuff will lead you nowhere. Just like the crazy adverts with singing dogs and stuff, potential employers will look at your site, say, “Wow that’s crazy!” and then promptly pick the best person for the job.
Forget the weird stuff… be the best person for the job.
How do you do that?
How To Structure A Portfolio Site
Here’s what I’d suggest to start with, using the guiding principle of “Keep It Simple.”
Have three main pages:
About Page | Contact Page | Services/CV
Then add on a blog.
Now, nobody should blog for blogging’s sake.
Your blog for a simple portfolio site is two-fold:
- Case studies of awesomeness (literally tag these as case studies)
- Random stuff that looks like you’re a random human being but is targeted towards specific fields or demonstrations of knowledge
The first one is the most important. This is where you say, “I did X, and it got Y results which led to the ultimate profit or result of Z.”
Hopefully, you’re learning constantly even if you’re out of work. Note that you don’t have to do everything for your career, but there should be a focus based on what you enjoy and how you see your life progressing.
It’s very difficult to build a portfolio site around say, your desire to get into golf when you’re working as an IT admin. That said, it can be done; build programs that give you live updates of golf scores, start a golf Instagram page or something.
The second category is more of the same; you’ve got passions, interests and hopefully you’re learning more stuff. Crack open a book on a new subject every week and write about it in terms of the other stuff you’re good at.
Bonus points if your hobbies and things align with potential job offers or clients… (And if you want to be sneaky you can backdate posts. Wouldn’t it be weird if your potential employer saw a handful of blog posts dating back a few months on their interests?)
Remember…
When you create a portfolio site, it is bigger than any one job you might get or any one project you might take on as a freelancer. It’s the hub of your online reputation. Even if you’re not interested in become a blogger or social media guru, it pays to tend to your garden every so often.
Read a few books, write a few tweets, and send a handful of emails out every day to people in your niche or area. Potentially, the work you do for a couple of hours a week could pay dividends for years to come.