Whether you’re a freelance illustrator, developer, web designer, content marketer, or a writer, creating an impressive portfolio is a mandatory move. It is a critical part of your personal promotional campaign that can make all the difference in landing a desired employer (if done right).
When you create a portfolio, you get an incredible opportunity to showcase your best work to potential employers and customers. Web developers can code a website, designers can design a website branding, and illustrators can draw some fancy design elements.
Let’s take a look at some of the best tools in creating a winning portfolio for freelancers in this post. I’ve personally tested each of them, so hope my experience will be helpful!
This easy to use online portfolio tool is trusted by more than a million of users. Even though freelance bloggers and journalists were the initial target audience of the creators of Carbonmade now the platform is used and loved by many other professions.
What’s not to love? In addition to providing an opportunity to create a stunning portfolio, it allows designing About and Contacts page. As the result, the user gets their own little website within the platform. Check out examples of portfolios created with Carbonmade to get a better idea.
Verdict:
I thought that Carbonmade was a solid tool with an impressive design. The registration was pretty easy (just email, password, and name are required) and the overall experience was great. I recommend this tool for the design and popularity because it attracts employers with a large base of users.
Since this platform has been created in 2006, the number of portfolios have reached millions. Today, Behance is an international portfolio base used by numerous employers and customers. The home page features a simple and sophisticated search feature and begins the list of portfolios (see a screenshot below).
By scrolling down, the visitor finds an endless number of great projects done by freelancers. The presence on this platform is highly recommended because of the popularity of Behance.
Verdict:
I liked Behance. The site is well-designed and had everything needed to display the best skills regardless of the area one works in. It even has a job board, so you could search for jobs after creating a portfolio!
Want to showcase your work in style? It’s the main purpose of Dunked, another popular portfolio-building website. It is perfect for writers, designers, photographers, and graphic artists because it has a lot of nice features. For example, they can create a perfect portfolio by using drag and drop feature. A comfortable mobile viewing is provided as well. The users of Dunked consider it as a super easy way to showcase work and manage portfolios.
Verdict:
Highly recommended. Indeed, it is one of the simplest tools for portfolio building I’ve used. Everything is customizable and elegant, so your portfolio will look exactly like you want it.
Writers can greatly benefit from this tool. Assignment Helper employs experts in creative and academic writing that can help with work samples. Any level of difficulty can be handled easily because the staff at the company is specifically selected for various writing areas. For example, if you have a manuscript that you want to be proofread to be later displayed in your portfolio, you should definitely use Assignment Helper.
Verdict:
in my experience, the folks working at Assignment Helper were professional and friendly. I sent a one-page article on an astronomy-related topic to check if they could handle such work. To my surprise, the article was well-proofread. The editor that was assigned to this project even made a number of suggestions about changing the structure to meet the requirements of scientific articles. I was pleasantly surprised.
The largest social media network for professionals is also a great tool for creating a portfolio. By adding work samples on a profile, one can create a powerful portfolio because it is combined with other information related to job search, such as education, personal qualities, and interests.
Also, don’t forget that images and other files could be added to the portfolio as well, which makes it a legitimate tool for showcasing the work.
Verdict:
LinkedIn’s power to help you noticed should not be underestimated, so upload some work samples to your profile. You might not get as many interviews as with other tools but it certainly worth a try.
If you’re a writer, this tool is perfect for you. It is designed for all varieties of writing professions and allows creating a beautiful online portfolio. The users can include work samples, personal information, links to social media profiles, a list of competencies, previous work experience, and other essential elements. See an example portfolio created with Pressfolios here.
Verdict:
As a writer myself, I recommend this tool because it was specifically designed for me. I was able to upload all my work samples regardless of their type. Besides, the profile presentation is spectacular. With Pressfolios, I felt like a rockstar of the writing world.
Photographers, designers, artists, models, makeup artists, and architects – this one is for you! Each personal website created with PortfolioBox is unique and stylish, and ready to impress. No coding is required and the users are allowed to use a free domain and create any type of content.
Verdict:
My impressions are positive. PortfolioBox is indeed a great tool. In addition to creating a personal website, it also has an ecommerce function! So you can sell your work while searching for more!
Over to you!
An accurate reflection of the skill set and display of various works are critical when choosing a portfolio creation tool. All of the tools described in this article are wonderful for freelancers because they allow to do more without the need of hosting and high fees.
Enjoy the process of creating a winning portfolio with these tools and let us know your experiences!
