Top platforms to create your digital portfolio for Designers

A lot of artists and photographers struggle with the technical side of creating their portfolio websites. Luckily, there are some handy portfolio builder tools that can make life easier for freelancers and photographers like you.

Using these platforms to create your online portfolio is super easy, and I promise you’ll have a great time doing it!

Job applicants who present carefully crafted personal digital portfolios have an advantage when applying for roles in today’s market. A recruiter at a prominent tech conglomerate sheds light on the matter.

They emphasize that a website portfolio encompasses everything you could potentially convey during an interview, encapsulated within your resume or CV, and is a reflection of your collective experiences.

But before we dive into the cool options, let’s talk about the important stuff your ideal portfolio builder should have:

Templates and Designs: Your portfolio builder should have a bunch of cool themes to choose from. These themes should make your work look amazing.
Drag and Drop: No need to mess around with code. Your portfolio builder should let you just drag and drop things where you want them.
Free Option: It’s even better if the portfolio builder offers a free plan with some good features.

Now that you know what to look for, let’s check out some of the best portfolio builders out there. Take a look and find the one that suits you best.

Journo Portfolio

Journo Portfolio is a design portfolio tool that combines simplicity and tools, like interactive showcasing and built-in blogging. Uploading new content is easy, whether you’re using a drag-and-drop method or importing new posts automatically. Its features will likely appeal to professionals in photography, visual art, journalism, copywriting, and more.

Journo’s free option lets you upload 10 images to your portfolio. Functionality expands with paid plans that, as of January 2023, start at $5 per month.

Behance

Behance is one of the most popular free design portfolio websites out there — and for good reason. Users can share their designs in detail via large photos, and they can also receive feedback on their work from other designers. Their built-in community of UI/UX designers, illustrators, and photographers gives you an opportunity to make connections and learn from some of the most talented creatives out there.

And it’s not just for digital design. Behance is a platform for many different kinds of creative jobs like fashion, photography, illustration, graphic design, marketing, and videos. If there’s a visual aspect to what you do, chances are you can create a Behance portfolio for it.

Behance is one of the only platforms where it is truly free to post a complete portfolio for as long as you like. To gain full functionality, you’ll need an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.

With all the talent on the site, it’s no wonder why companies and recruiters looking to hire designers frequently turn to Behance for talent. The website also offers a robust job listings board for careers for those looking as well as Talent, a LinkedIn-esque website that helps you connect with even more people.

Canva

Many individuals often associate Canva solely with designing posters and flyers, when it is way more than that. Whether you’re aiming to build a website or design a digital portfolio, Canva provides a comprehensive array of services that meet these needs. What’s even more impressive is the availability of customizable templates, simplifying the process – you can effortlessly tailor them to match your preferences.

This platform accommodates diverse creatives, including photographers, writers, and anyone seeking an outlet for their artistic expression. It offers a seamless method to curate your works: you can upload videos, showcase samples of your writing, and present all your offerings in one place. It also facilitates the integration of your social media accounts through hyperlinks, further enhancing your portfolio’s accessibility and reach.

Once you’ve designed your portfolio, Canva offers flexible publishing options. You can choose to release it under the Canvas domain, a fresh domain of your choice, or an existing domain. When opting for the Canvas domain, you have the additional choice of making your site discoverable on Google search or keeping it private.

But for people looking to create a website portfolio with it, all you need to do is get a sample link of your website and when a potential client expresses interest in reviewing your portfolio, you send it.

Dribbble

Dribbble offers creatives in the visual space such as designers, photographers, and illustrators an opportunity to share their work with a huge community of artists. What separates Dribbble from some of the other portfolio websites on this list is that it allows users to show off their projects in progress. That means it doesn’t have to be finished yet for you to put it in your portfolio.

And it’s simple: Make a free account and you can begin uploading small screenshots of your work in various stages of the design process.

Recruiters from brands and companies such as Google, Apple, Airbnb, and Lyft have all used Dribbble to find talented designers for new gigs and careers. The site also has a job board for designers actively searching for a new role.

WordPress

WordPress advertises itself as “the world’s most popular website builder,” and, indeed, its software powers some of the world’s most widely trafficked websites. Its strengths include search engine optimization (SEO). Most WordPress subscriptions come with marketing tools like Google Analytics. WordPress is flexible, making it a good choice for nearly any type of portfolio.

You can build a WordPress site for free, but it will have advertisements embedded on the page (unless you get the paid version). As of January 2023, paid plans cost between $4 and $45 per month. WordPress’s extensive functionality can be a bit overwhelming—if you’re new to website building, consider creating a WordPress blog to house your portfolio on the platform.

Wix

Wix is widely used for creating websites and is particularly well-suited for crafting portfolios. What sets it apart is its capability to guide you in selecting a template tailored to your preferences.

Whether you’re inclined towards a graphic design portfolio or a journalistic one, this platform caters to your profession of choice. However, this platform might pose some level of technical complexity for individuals lacking the time and patience required to construct their portfolio from scratch.

But if you are dedicated and not in a hurry, the process can be quite straightforward: all you need to do is navigate to the website section, choose your desired template for your website portfolio, and then proceed to modify and rearrange it to align with your vision.

Once the customization is complete, you have the option to publish your creation using a Wix domain or opt for a premium upgrade. This upgrade involves a nominal fee but grants you the ability to generate a personalized domain name for your website portfolio, enhancing its professional appeal.

Adobe Portfolio

Adobe is a well-established player in audio and video hosting, and its Adobe Portfolio tool shows that. It’s a website builder that specializes in helping creatives showcase their work. It also integrates with Adobe’s suite of software offerings, including Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Lightroom. Adobe Portfolio is free if you have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. As of January 2023, a photography-only plan is $9.99 per month, and a full Creative Cloud subscription is $54.99 per month.