What does it take to become a professional web developer? Passion? Great skillsets? Or experience? What if we told you the answer is something more concrete? If you are starting out as a web developer, your first and foremost requirement is a stellar portfolio. Sure you might be highly skilled, be proficient in several coding languages, and even possess outstanding creativity. However, all this is of little use if you can’t land a client project. And to do that, you need an impressive portfolio.
But designing a portfolio can be a treacherous undertaking. A portfolio is not just about choosing a cool-looking layout, pasting all your past work on it, and forwarding it to prospects. For a web developer, a portfolio is essentially a representation of who they are as a professional. And hence, drafting a portfolio that creates a strong first impression on readers is essential if you want to land good gigs.
In this article, we will examine the art of designing a visually gripping and to-the-point web developer portfolio that will get you the jobs you love. But first, let’s shed some much-needed light on the key elements of a good portfolio.
What Should an Enriching Web Developer Portfolio Contain?
A web developer’s portfolio is fundamentally a resume, albeit with some enhancements. As such, there are certain key elements that a portfolio should contain. Let’s take a look at what these elements are.
1. Branding: Including personal branding in your portfolio (a logo, a tag line, etc.,) will not only make you come across as more professional but also help you stand out from the crowd.
2. Contact Details: You don’t need any explanation for this, do you?
3. Bio: Including 2-3 lines about yourself adds the human touch to your portfolio by letting you come across as more genuine & amiable.
4. Alma Mater – Educational & Professional: As we mentioned above, your portfolio is fundamentally a resume. Hence, you need to list your educational and professional qualifications in it. Adding awards and achievements is always a plus point.
Designing a Compelling Portfolio
Now that you know what elements are integral to your portfolio, it is time to look at some tips that will help you design one that is the perfect fit for you.
1. Keep the Layout Simple
A hallmark of any impressive portfolio is its traversability. No matter how visually stunning your portfolio is, if prospects can’t navigate through it or discern each of your works at first glance, chances are they will entirely skip over your portfolio.
Thus, when you design your portfolio, your priority should be to make your portfolio more accessible. And for that, you need to choose a layout that stresses simplicity than out-of-the-box thinking. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should entirely rule out innovation during the design process. Going unconventional is always good but try to keep a balance between ease of use and aesthetics.
2. Include Works That Define You Professionally
Deciding what works to add to your portfolio can be a more exacting task than you can imagine. Not only do you want to show your technical chops but also highlight your creative faculty in your portfolio.
To deal with this dilemma, you should only include those works that you think are the most polished and feel the most confident about. In short, add those words that define you as a professional web developer.
3. Add Testimonials For Added Emphasis
Testimonials not only tell your future clients about your capabilities as a web developer but also instill trust in them for your services and reliability as a professional. Also, when prospects read about the heartfelt words of your past clients, they are drawn towards the emotional appeal of those words, increasing your chances of getting gigs.
4. Include a Few Case Studies to Showcase Your Analytical Skills
When you are drafting your portfolio, adding only images of your work will make it monotonous. To make it more exciting and tell the clients about how passionate you are about your job, you can add case studies of your projects.
You don’t have to add one for each work sample. Nor do you have to create case studies that span a thousand words in length. Simply adding some background information about a project such as the demands of the client, the technical and creative challenges you faced, how you overcame them, and how the client was happy with the outcome will suffice.
5. Your Social Media Profiles are More Vital Than You Think
Nowadays, for web developers, or, for any IT professional, owning a few social media handles is not just an option but a necessity. At least an Instagram and a Facebook account is a must. And that’s because your social media handles not only help you market yourself better, they also act as an extension of your portfolio. Thus, when a client wants to investigate more about you, giving them your social media handles is a pro move.
However, you first need to make sure that your social media handles are in proper order. For professionals, their social media handles are not simply a space where they post random stuff but a proper representation of them. So, before you decide to hand out your social media handles to prospects, organize them.
6. A Killer Call-to-Action Makes All The Difference
CTAs or calls to action are that last push that your prospects need to hire you. When prospects go through your portfolio, more often than once, they might be mildly apprehensive about certain factors such as a missing job requirement or budget constraints.
In such situations, a well-crafted call to action will do the job of coaxing them. When they are ruminating over whether to give the job to you or not, a carefully drafted “go-ahead” will work tremendously in your favor. This also implies that you should refrain from adding any generic CTAs for they might not create the impact that you want.
Conclusion
Creating a web developer portfolio is by no means an easy task. From aesthetics to accessibility, there are several factors that you need to consider before finalizing one. Hence, adopting a design strategy and following these aforementioned tips (you can add more tips) can help you design a fantastic portfolio!
