What site to use as a portfolio?

[kat.hayes]

I'd like to start uploading digital art to be used as a portfolio to get freelance gigs. I want to keep it as simple as possible, and I do not want to spend a ton of time developing in Wordpress or anything like that. I'd like an easy to use site that I can send people links to pages, that can display my artwork, and brief details. I'm curious to hear what other use?

1. What site do you use for this purpose?

Thanks.

 

[Smeaton1724]

Have a look at Art Station. You can throw your art in public categories with everyone else or keep it private and link to it as a portfolio. You can also upgrade to a paid account further down the line with more customisation.

 

[2457244]

I'd say.. you better signup for some service where all your professionals hang around and where you can share your work and stories.

For graphic designers Dribbble.com could be such a service. They have a Pro membership + also something called Playbook (portfolio service) that you can embed and share all over the place.

Don't try too hard to create your own site while nobody can find you or when you're totally new online. It's nice to have your own name out there but Instagram and Dribbble can be helpful.

 

[iamgalactic]

Squarespace.

 

[dwig]

I'd like to start uploading digital art to be used as a portfolio to get freelance gigs. ...

Step #1 is to think through the site's purpose. Is it going to just be an online portfolio that you, I repeat "you", are going to promote though other channels, or is it its own advertising piece intended to be seen by others without effort on your part? Don't even think about any other issues until this is clearly worked out.

 

[Murgatroyd]

Step #1 is to think through the site's purpose. Is it going to just be an online portfolio that you, I repeat "you", are going to promote though other channels, or is it its own advertising piece intended to be seen by others without effort on your part? Don't even think about any other issues until this is clearly worked out.

Initially the choice would be both manners of promotion. Who can tell the future and what is most advantageous from the get-go? Saatchi, Etsy, Artsy, etc., and Squarespace all linked together with sales from Squarespace generated from one's own efforts.

I'm not keen to repercussions from this arrangement but if I had the resources I'd utilize both methods of promotion. No?

 

[dwig]

Initially the choice would be both manners of promotion. Who can tell the future and what is most advantageous from the get-go? Saatchi, Etsy, Artsy, etc., and Squarespace all linked together with sales from Squarespace generated from one's own efforts.

I'm not keen to repercussions from this arrangement but if I had the resources I'd utilize both methods of promotion. No?

There are a lot of options for a portfolio site, but some otherwise excellent choices aren't good if you rely on them doing their own selling/promotion. You should consider your promotional needs and the related options separately from the portfolio site itself.

You might find a good option that does both, but you may find that the best option is to use one site for the actual portfolio and then use other sites, including Twitter, Facebook, et. al., as means to promote your work and lead people to you portfolio site. Having the actual portfolio live on a site with your own domain, along with your professional email being on that same domain, adds an extra level to your credibility.

 

[Jimmyss]

I think responsive wordpress site is the best option to use as a portfolio site.

 

[WageCreative]

Behance, Dribbble, or a custom Wordpress installation usually does the job just fine. But I for one prefer to use my own solution with something like Github Pages and Jekyll.

I wrote a fairly informal article on this subject, you're welcome to check it out if you want to.

Article: Want a custom portfolio?