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If you’ve been working as almost any kind of creative, you probably know that a piece of paper with fancy stamps do not always guarantees work. And you also know that having a beautiful and clear portfolio that represents you is essential. Recently we published an inspirational article regarding successful designer portfolios. But I’m not a designer and I can’t create that kind of website on my own, you’d probably say. What to do then? Pay someone a big amount of money for your website? I hold that the content stands over the packaging and it doesn’t make a big difference if your portfolio cost you thousands of dollars or couple of sandwiches. It’s much better to focus on your work and leave its presentation on safe hands. That’s why for this roundup we’ve prepared a list of 10 tools that will help you build a portfolio easily and professionally. What are the advantages of these services? When to use them and when maybe go for your own solution?
I hope these points will make your choice easier, and now on to the list.
WIX is the most popular website builder on the web. You can build a fantastic website in a matter of minutes. And whether you’re an artist, a small business owner or a touring musician, there’s a fully customizable Wix template for you. You can check out the showcase of portfolios built here.
Free:
Unlimited (€14.90/month)
Carbonmade is one of the oldest and most popular portfolio services out there. With over half a million portfolios it’s the top choice for all kind of creatives. You can check out the showcaseof portfolios built here.
Meh. (free)
Whoo! ($12/month)
Krop states themselves as the new industry standard for building professional creative portfolios and is searched by the best companies. It offers simple, carefree yet fully customizable portfolio building experience already chosen by creatives from various niches. You can check out the showcase of portfolios built here.
Basic (free)
Pro ($9.99/month)
Behance allows you to showcase your work from drafts and work-in-progress to beautiful completed projects. Gain exposure and track visitors and when you get lucky, many companies use Behance to find their next designer, photographer etc. You can check out the showcase of portfolios built here.
With deviantART Portfolio within a matter of minutes you can fully configure your very own Portfolio and start submitting your creative works for review by potential employers, art schools, or clients.
Basic (free)
Premium ($4.95/month)
Coroflot offers you a fast, easy way to get your creative projects online and in front of the right people. Coroflot has a great and beautiful user interface and it’s easy to build a good looking portfolio. Yet it’s more about community than building your individual portfolio since there aren’t any premium features and you can’t add your own domain. You can check out the showcaseof portfolios built here.
Viewbook is an online platform that helps you present your work perfectly. You can create great responsive websites, beautiful portfolios and galleries in a flash. It’s easily organizable and customizable. You can check out their showcase of portfolios.
Each plan offers a 30 day trial period. Gallery Basic ($4/month)
Portfolio Standard ($9/month or $90/year)
Website Pro ($19/month)
Cargo is a creative publishing platform where everything, from the ever-changing visual appearance of people’s personal websites to the user interface, is built around the work shared by its members. However in order to maintain the highest possible degree of quality, Cargo is by invite only. However, memberships are frequently awarded to unaffiliated talents who share a sample of their work. Check out their showcase of portolios!
Basic (free)
Upgraded ($9/month or $66/year)
Berta is a free, open source web app for building websites. Berta is a fast and simple way to build your custom website and not just a portfolio. It can be anything – from a small business or fashion label to a nursing school in India. Set up your site in few minutes, design and edit directly in a browser window.
berta hosting (€19.99/year)
berta pro (€49.99/year)
Subfolio provides an elegant, practical and customizable web interface to your file system. Super fast to set-up and use, you’ll be up and running in minutes. Flexible and feature-rich, you’ll soon be inventing new ways to use it.
Subfolio is in private beta so you’ll have to ask for an invitation.
I hope you found your favorite website builder. If not, here are some tips.
If you know very little about building websites. If you have very little or no experience with websites I suggest going with WIX. With more than 20 million websites created already, it’s proven itself as the best service for beginners. And not only. It has very powerful features in premium plans plus the premium support is a nice extra.
If you want to connect with other creatives. If you’re interested in finding other artists and connecting with them I suggest choosing Behance. It’s acknowledged itself as a platform for really talanted creatives from different fields. You’ll get noticed by competent fellow members and there’s a high chance of finding a job.
If you know what are you doing. If you are already experienced in web design field you might find Subfolio interesting. It is not a hosted service and installs on your own server giving you full control of the application. It’s also lightweight and developer-friendly so it may be the best choice for experienced users. Drawback, of course, is that it’s by invite only.
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chilling, living, dreaming. you can check out my blog, find me on flickr and follow me on twitter.
Friday, October 5th, 2012 08:25
Your title is a bit misleading. These are all 3rd party websites & platforms, with exception to the last one, not “Tools” I arrived here thinking it was about tools, plugins or similar. Should be titled “10 Websites to Build . . . “
Friday, October 5th, 2012 09:00
Well, technically they are tools. The same way Facebook is a tool to connect with people and Pinterest as a tool to share photos.
Monday, September 3rd, 2012 07:33
ready made temples are good to save time. but I want to know can it make problem when we change any major coding?
Tuesday, September 4th, 2012 19:57
If it’s already there, the only problem you might face is cross-browser compatibility, but even that would be rare if you really know how to tweak things.
Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 13:53
I would recommend any web designer to design a portfolio site from scratch. Does not make scene to do otherwise.
Monday, August 27th, 2012 19:21
For WordPress users, the Photocrati theme is great for getting a portfolio up and running easily. You included them in your “24 Free And Premium Portfolio And Photo Gallery WordPress Themes” article.
Monday, August 27th, 2012 00:30
I agree, if anybody choose a readymade template it will save a lot of time, money as well as efforts. But there will be so many other peoples who will use the same template there won’t be any uniqueness. As a web designer I would prefer to design from scratch.
Sunday, August 26th, 2012 09:27
Why Wix? There are far better options than wix, such as Webnode or Squarespace that allow you to do basically the same thing without ads for free as well.
Sunday, August 26th, 2012 09:20
Looks like im never going to have to design a portfolio for anyone ever again!
-Alex.
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Alex
Sunday, August 26th, 2012 09:20
Looks like im never going to have to design a portfolio for anyone ever again!
-Alex.
Jim
Monday, August 27th, 2012 19:21
For WordPress users, the Photocrati theme is great for getting a portfolio up and running easily. You included them in your “24 Free And Premium Portfolio And Photo Gallery WordPress Themes” article.
Ashok
Monday, August 27th, 2012 00:30
I agree, if anybody choose a readymade template it will save a lot of time, money as well as efforts. But there will be so many other peoples who will use the same template there won’t be any uniqueness. As a web designer I would prefer to design from scratch.
Johny P
Sunday, August 26th, 2012 09:27
Why Wix? There are far better options than wix, such as Webnode or Squarespace that allow you to do basically the same thing without ads for free as well.
Werner
Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 13:53
I would recommend any web designer to design a portfolio site from scratch. Does not make scene to do otherwise.
james
Monday, September 3rd, 2012 07:33
ready made temples are good to save time. but I want to know can it make problem when we change any major coding?
Rean John Uehara
Tuesday, September 4th, 2012 19:57
If it’s already there, the only problem you might face is cross-browser compatibility, but even that would be rare if you really know how to tweak things.
Blake Miller
Friday, October 5th, 2012 08:25
Your title is a bit misleading. These are all 3rd party websites & platforms, with exception to the last one, not “Tools” I arrived here thinking it was about tools, plugins or similar. Should be titled “10 Websites to Build . . . “
Rean John Uehara
Friday, October 5th, 2012 09:00
Well, technically they are tools. The same way Facebook is a tool to connect with people and Pinterest as a tool to share photos.
Nikhil Malhotra
Monday, September 3rd, 2012 14:26
Its a awesome list.Thanks for sharing:)