5 Things to Consider Before Starting to Design a Portfolio Web Site
1. How often would you like to update your site.
How often you update your site is a very important question, and if the answer is “often”, you should also ask yourself: “who is going to do the updating?”
The updating issue takes even greater importance if you are not web savvy, but in need of constant updates. The time of easy site maintenance is here, but setting up “easy updating” requires advanced planning because setting it up after the fact can stick you with a CRM that is not as friendly to you as it could be.
Even web savvy people should carefully plan ahead for what happens the day after “Launch Day”. With the arrival of Adobe Incontext Editing and platforms such as WordPress, updating and adding content can be very easy, if the infrastructure is set up ahead of time.
There is a reason why the updating issue appear here first, we believe it to be the starting point as well as the end point of every portfolio project. The decisions you make in this step will determine what platform you work on, what form your content would take, and who is going to actually build your site (keep in mind, and you may already know that, not all CRM systems are created equal and most designers know how to use just a few of them).
2. Who is your audience?
If you’re building a site that features your copy writing skills, the site should show those skills. In other words, the pieces on the site should clearly show the writing you do. It’s not that your site should not show design, but the design it shows should come 2nd to the writing.
By that same logic, if you are vowing for a direct mail designer life, your site should put your web design on the back burner. Off course if you would like to be all things to many people, you site should play host to as many kinds of pieces as you can.
3. What kind of work will you feature on this site and what form will that work take?
This item directly relates to the first item in this list.
Knowing what form will your work be displayed in is crucial to understanding how long it would take to build and maintain your site.
You should focus on choosing a format for your work that will both be easy to update and feature who you are. A good example for this is: a writer with a flash web site filled with long transitions and small texts. That is clearly not a good set up for a writer. By the same token if you feature your design work make sure to create galleris with large enough thumbnails so users can choose wisely what work they want to see.
The bottom line: people don’t want to wait to see how talented you are, because if they have to wait too long, they would choose not to wait at all and just leave.
4. What URL would you use?
Here the rule of thumb is: the shorter and catchier, the better!
Long and complicated URL’s are often difficult to spell and remember. You don’t want to find yourself spelling out your site’s URL over the phone, only to have to do it again since the person on the other line is, well, sort of slow. More, a memorable URL is half way to getting you in the door of a prospective job or client.
5. What sort of message are you trying to send?
Aside from displaying your work, your portfolio site, rather the way it looks and feels, sends a very distinct message about who you are.
It is essential that who you are, and the way your site presents you are one of the same. If you are all about clean design, your site should make that clear. If you are a conceptual guy, then your site should have a unique concept.
Summery:
There are many things to consider when you begin to design or redesign your portfolio site. Approaching this project with a clear mind and enough time to weigh and consider all the options will make the process shorter and the product better. While the old saying “the shoe-maker walks barefoot” is nice, it should not be that way when it comes to your site. A good site with a solid CRM can last you a very long time.
And one final thought, if you get lost in all the options, have a friend design it for you, and you do the same for them.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Template Monster, ashamis. ashamis said: Published and article about things to consider before designing your web site at: http://ow.ly/1rT56 [...]
Totally agree with the importance of easy updating authentic storytelling. We developed a portfolio website creation tool for people who can’t code but do have design idea’s and like a fast workflow, check http://www.viewbook.com/
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by ashamis: Published and article about things to consider before designing your web site at: http://ow.ly/1rT56...
Cant agree more with the last item…the message you are sending is very important. It needs to be consistent with you, your skill and your overall brand.
Great post!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Template Monster, ashamis. ashamis said: Published and article about things to consider before designing your web site at: http://ow.ly/1rT56 [...]
Cant agree more with the last item…the message you are sending is very important. It needs to be consistent with you, your skill and your overall brand.
Great post!
site bookmarked and stumbled upon, I’ll post my feedback on my blog as well
this article was exactly what i’m searching for! I found this page bookmarked from a friend. I’ll also share it. thanks!