14 online portfolio sins (are you guilty?)

by Leo Wiles
31 October 2014

There are a lot of beautiful online portfolios out there. Many of which are owned by your contemporaries and/or colleagues. But there are also a lot of really ugly, dysfunctional and hard-to-navigate ones, as well. And on that note, let me share what we believe are the top online portfolio sins to guard against:

1. Not being clear what your site’s about within seconds of arriving on your landing page
2. A bad design (Tip: If it looks homemade, out-dated or shoddy, you need a designer)
3. A confusing nav Is your navigation system illogical or overly complex? Simplify it
4. Unreadable clippings or badly scanned ones
5. Tiny fonts Using an 10 point font or one that is hard to read? Don’t. Just don’t
6. Having pale writing on a dark background – nobody needs the extra eye-strain
7. No ‘About’ section or a vague description of who you are and what you do
8. No easily detectable contact details on EVERY page
9. No search box so they have to trawl through each page
10. No downloadable pdfs Don’t use links / URLS without downloadable pdfs. When a link breaks, your work can be lost forever and it’s incredibly frustrating for the viewer
11. Not checking how your site loads through the major browsers such as Firefox, Safari or Chrome. Different browsers interpret HTML code differently and it’s important to check that it renders nicely on every single one
12. Not making links clear. Links should be identifiable by using a different colour or underlining and changing the colour again when a visitor has clicked on them
13. Playing audio. Silence is golden – only provide music or audio if the visitor can stop and start it on demand
14. Using the wrong images. You should select bold images that suit your theme and that don’t infringe copyright. Avoid screenshots and ensure that they’re set to web sizing of around 72dpi to stop slowing down your site.

Do you have a particular bugbear when it comes to online portfolios? Or perhaps you have some top tips on how to make the most of your online presence – we’d love to hear your thoughts below.

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Leo Wiles

Leo Wiles has worked as an editor, journalist and PR for over 20 years before recently retraining as a photographer. These days, she spends her time behind a lens, juggling her own clients alongside raising her three gorgeous kids.

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