Building a Web Designer Portfolio to Get You a Job
A portfolio is a medium of providing insight on your works. It is where you keep all samples of your work. To land a job as a web designer, your previous works determine whether or not you deserve to get the job.
As a professional web designer, build up your portfolio to attract organizations to hire you for a particular job.
Before creating a portfolio of yours, there are certain things you have to acquire and I call it the “Pre-portfolio” stage. The pre-portfolio stage sets you up towards having a great portfolio that lands you a job as a web designer.
The Pre-Portfolio
Pre-portfolio is the things you have to get done before building a portfolio, this includes:
Skill Development
Start a Project
Work on Open Source Projects
Skill Development
Develop yourself as a web designer, take a course online, do the necessary homework, keep creating designs and ensure you save them in a drive which becomes relevant when building up your portfolio.
Start a Project
If you’ve developed your skill, then embark on a 30 day challenge, create designs either new or existing designs or create a design for an imaginary client. Starting any project helps you in honing your skills and also contributes to your portfolio.
Work on Open Source Projects
There are over 100+ open source projects available online, join them and contribute as a web designer, draw up wireframes, app flows for the project and also keep them so you can feature them all on your portfolio.
The Portfolio Stage
Building Your Portfolio
If you are confident with your skills and you are ready to apply for a job, then you should create a portfolio, this is what companies examine before accepting your application and inviting you for an interview.
Creating a portfolio involves you creating a website that features all the projects you’ve worked on, add customer reviews, add your personal information and provide a way in which clients can contact you.
Below are the steps to follow in creating that ideal portfolio to get you a job on the long run.
Create a Website
This is the first step towards building your portfolio. Hire the service of a web developer to create an attractive website designed by you, add your personal logo and shortly describe yourself and your niche as a web designer.
Feature Your Works and Testimonials
The reason for creating a portfolio is to showcase your work as a web designer. Feature your works and add live URLs to websites using your designs. Include the projects done by you, your contribution to the open source community (if any) and testimonials from clients you’ve worked for as a freelancer.
Create an About Page and a Contact Page
Create a page that describes you with additional information about your background and work experience. Also, include a contact page to ensure that clients can reach out to you.
Add a service page that includes all web design tools you work with and any other information about your skill.
Conclusion
Building a portfolio gives you credibility online, working on projects gives you a competitive edge against other web designers and lastly, display your work.
A good portfolio with rich content will get you a job invitation on the long run and it also gives you the chance of being employed for the role of a web designer in an organization.