The fastest way to get more clients as a freelancer is to establish your online presence. It can be done through various means — being active on social media or job hunting platforms are one of the easiest ways.
However, there is one thing that will definitely elevate you among other job seekers, and it is a meticulously crafted portfolio website. But it is easier said than done. Creating a portfolio does not mean mashing all of your past works in one place with a CV on top. At least, it is certainly not the way to get a sophisticated client interested in contacting you.
Making a portfolio may be hard, but building a website isn’t. With the help of website builders like Site.pro you can launch your first website in minutes without coding knowledge or experience in web design. The most difficult part in making a website is to think of its contents.
In this article you will learn three main truths that will help your portfolio stand out, while remaining professional.
Why You Need a Website for Your Portfolio
At first, you might ask if you really need a website for your portfolio. After all, designers, SMM managers, programmers and writers can showcase their work on their personal social media accounts. While it is partially true, posting a portfolio on social media websites instead of creating your own can lead to some problems in the future.
- Your website — your rules. Social media services have their own complicated policies and rules that are prone to change. Be honest, have you ever read terms of service for any social media you joined? Almost no one does. Even if you’re a law-abiding user, your account might accidentally get suspended or deleted for whatever reason with little chance to get it back. Additionally, customer support for big social media is notoriously uncooperative, mostly run by bots. All of your work and following can easily get lost forever. Most social media platforms don’t provide backups either.
- SEO is key. It is difficult to sufficiently optimize your social media account for it to show in the top ranking of search engines such as Google and Yahoo. It’s not impossible, but you need to already be a known personality. Or someone has to search exactly for your name. It is much simpler to get visible to Google with a website. Website builders like Site.pro already have tools for optimizing SEO in their base kits, while also providing tips for creating SEO-friendly URLs and more. Site.pro’s AI website generator feature even has a function to generate descriptions, meta-titles and keywords for you.
- A unique touch. Every social media account looks exactly the same, that’s the whole point. It’s hard to stand out. But with your own website, you can truly show your personality, make it eye-catching and unique. By customizing your website, you can make it look polished and professional. Employers are much more likely to trust a candidate with a custom website than one with only a plain CV.
- Safety & Backups. Your portfolio might be a PDF file on your computer, what if it gets lost somewhere? With a website, that’s unlikely to happen. You can always make a backup on a cloud, and while your website is online, it is always available to clients and employers.
Choose a Platform
An important first step of creating a website for whatever reason is to find a suitable platform. Fortunately, in 2025, you don’t have to be a proficient programmer or web designer to create a website. There are plenty of tools online that will help you with no prior skills whatsoever.
Site.pro
Site.pro is a user-friendly website builder both for beginners and advanced users. It has 200 templates for all kinds of websites and a possibility to create your own custom template. If you can’t come up with any idea — just ask Site.pro’s AI website generator. Input a prompt, and it will come up with a whole new website in a minute. After that you can tweak it however you please to suit your needs. Site.pro has a free plan with all the basic functionality available:
- Unlimited website creation;
- AI website generator;
- Custom domain;
- Free mailbox;
Its paid plans are ones of the cheapest on the market, starting with just $1,2 a year. Each plan also includes discounts on domain purchases up to 20% off.
Wix
Wix is an easy-to-use website builder known and loved by designers. It is reliable and simple. Wix provides its users with a wide range of templates for business, personal websites and landing. It is extremely customizable. Wix provides:
- SEO tools;
- Integration tools;
- Reliable security system;
- Advanced e-commerce features;
However, Wix is a bit inflexible. It doesn’t let you change a template once you publish your website and it doesn’t allow website import (you can’t transfer your Wix website on another platform). It is also impossible to install third party plugins or widgets on Wix, which can be a problem for some.
Google Sites
Google Sites is a free and reliable option for someone who wants to make a website quickly and not to make a fuss about it. Google Sites is a part of the large Google online ecosystem, which means it can be integrated with Google Forms and Google Drive. It offers:
- Free plan;
- Security by Google;
- Simplicity in everything;
Sadly, Google Sites doesn’t have much freedom of customization and its SEO optimization is lacking.
Yola
Yola is a website builder with a lot of flexibility. It has pre-made templates to choose from, but also supports HTML and CSS — so if you know a little coding, you can go wild with it. It has separate plans for personal websites and e-commerce. Yola also has:
- Free plan;
- AI features;
- Categories for templates;
Yola, however, doesn’t have tools for creating a blog page and the service isn’t very mobile-friendly, which can be detrimental.
WordPress
WordPress is not a website builder, but a CMS platform. It means that it offers a lot of flexibility in making a website for free. Unlike free plans of website builders, the functionality of WordPress is only limited by your own skills. It has a catch — you do need to have coding skills. Besides that, everything from WordPress hosting to maintenance and security has to be managed by a user. WordPress is a great solution, albeit a tricky one.
For beginners, it’s better to stick to website builders.
Secret #1 — Learn From Professionals
Now it’s time to learn the main secrets of a great portfolio.
Go to Behance, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram to find other professionals from your field of work. Usually everyone attaches their portfolio to their social media account anyway, so it won’t be too hard.
Save as many links as possible and go through each and every one of them. Analyze how others structure their websites, what sections they have, what their menus look like. Listen to your own thoughts and feelings on a subject.
Ask yourself:
- Is this website easy to navigate?
- Do I like this design? Why? Why not?
- If I were a client, would I want to contact them?
If you’re not feeling confident at first — try copying other websites. This way you’ll learn practical things about layout, image placement, structure and more. By gathering references you’ll get a better feel for how you want your own website to end up.
This step is tedious and can take some time, but it’s worth it. You’ll also learn common mistakes and get some expertise in user experience in general.
Secret #2 — Create a Story
Experts say that a good portfolio is a good story. And what makes a good story?
- Solid structure;
- Likeable characters;
- Believable storytelling;
So make one! Make your portfolio website a story about your professional life. Start with a proper introduction — tell about yourself, your education, what makes you passionate about your work. Then, show examples. Select your best works and arrange them, then add commentary so any visitor could understand what you have done.
Sharing your works might get you excited, but try to limit yourself and don’t put too many in your portfolio. Remember, if a story is too long, it can lose its readers’ attention.
Try to only showcase things you are the most proud of. But if you’re just starting out — don’t stress about it too much. If you only had a couple of projects — show them anyway to prove your skills and competence.
Your portfolio should let others see your professional journey, but keep it concise. And remember to make a proper ending by giving away your contact information. Make sure your email is active so clients could reach out to you.
One last thing, people usually judge a book by its cover. That’s why it’s so important to pay special attention to your website’s domain. Name your website properly, include your name and your profession in it if possible.
That’s the hard part, but actually purchasing a domain is fairly easy. Just go on Site.pro ‘Domains’ page, enter your domain name in the field, and the system will show you possible domain zones with all the pricing. All you have left to do is to complete the purchase.
Secret #3 — Don’t Underestimate the Mobile!
You might have built the most gorgeous website ever, but if it translates to mobile poorly, it’s pointless. It’s no secret that more and more people work from their smartphones, especially in creative fields. It might seem like not a big deal, but you’ll get surprised how many recruiters are browsing through applicants on their phone.
By making your website adaptive to mobile you showcase even more of your skills while also presenting yourself as a thoughtful and attentive person.
The more user-friendly in general your website is, the more people will like it without even noticing it. It also means that it will be easier for clients and employers to scan through your portfolio, assess your works and contact you.
Conclusion
With the right tools, a positive attitude and desire to learn, you can launch your portfolio website even if you’ve never done anything like this before. Gladly, website builders make it very easy. Anyone can build a website with minimal effort, but the result is worth it. By platforming your portfolio on its own separate website you’ll make it visible to everyone online. It will also act like your business card — just send a link to your portfolio to clients and employers.
Enhance your online presence by creating a portfolio website now, there’s no reason to wait.
Sandra Larson is a writer with the personal blog at ElizabethanAuthor and an academic coach for students. Her main sphere of professional interest is the connection between AI and modern study techniques. Sandra believes that digital tools are a way to a better future in the education system.
