November 14, 2014, by James Jupe

Ten top tips to build your web design portfolio

By IWeb Solutions

If you’re a computer science student you’ll know all about the importance of having a solid online portfolio to give yourself the best possible chance when trying to impress an employer. A web design and development specialist agency have put together ten insightful tips to help you along.

A web design and development online portfolio says a lot about you to an employer. They will use this to analyse your qualities and answer specific questions:

• Does the candidate have an eye for aesthetics?
• Are they more creatively or logically oriented?
• Do they have a solid collection of completed projects?

To help you create a brilliant portfolio that showcases your skills and capabilities, we have outlined some of the best practices:

1. It’s a mixture of personal and professional

An employer wants to know that you really have a passion for the subject, especially if you are starting in the industry. This means not only including examples of professional work but also ‘personal’ projects.

2. Be unique and original

It sounds obvious, but one thing you should stay away from is a free theme download or some free resources. It can be a nice basis to build on but try to think of your portfolio as an extension of your creative work.

Build your own portfolio site from scratch, then rip it apart and rebuild it again. Do this three of four times, and you’ve got a few different examples for your portfolio already. Remember, there is such a thing as ‘too original’.

3. It’s quality, not quantity

Your portfolio should be about your best work and showcase your range of skills, which is best exemplified by choosing quality work rather than stuffing it full of minor projects. Add work to showcase quality, not quantity.

4. A range of examples

Following on from the above, it’s also important that you provide evidence of your work in a range of formats. This could include high-resolution images and HTML examples, but should have more than this too; namely interactive and jQuery effects.

5. Look beyond the website

The internet is full of websites acting as portfolios for potential web designers and developers. This is still a great step to take for showcasing your work, but there are many galleries where designers can present their work and learn from others. You can even get employers who are seeking employees browsing these galleries for the best works.

6. Use social media

Many employers are now taking into account the social accounts of potential employees, so make sure you don’t ignore this area of your online presence.

They will look at your tweets, for example, and accounts you follow. So play nice, be insightful and make sure it gets across your creative qualities.

7. Keep your portfolio updated

Over time you will grow and improve on a personal and professional level. It’s important that your portfolio is a true representation of your current skill level, to showcase your ability that is guaranteed to have improved over time.

8. Collaborative work

A prospective employer is not merely looking for people who can work on their own. They want to hire people with the aptitude to work with others on collaborative projects.

9. Prioritise your goals

You need to think about the organisation you will be applying to and their target candidates. Some web design and development companies will prioritise highly creative professionals, while others want to prioritise usability.

10. Testimonials

Simply exposing your best work might not be enough to stand out from the crowd, but like in business, a testimonial from a real client can work wonders on perspective employers.

Need more advice on how to get noticed by an employer? Book an appointment with a careers adviser to be given some helpful feedback. 

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