Having a beautiful-looking place to show off your creative talents is one of the important things for every graphic designer. It not only helps you show off your work. It also helps you find new clients or get the dream job you always wanted. But in order to persuade your potential new boss or client, you want to have the best and safest place possible, so below I will present to you my list of 10 free portfolio websites to choose from.
But where do you start? What is the best place to create a free portfolio for graphic designers? In this post, I want to write down my top 10 places to create an awesome portfolio online.
WordPress
With around 40% of all websites out there being WordPress sites, it’s no wonder that I will place it on top of my list. And With WordPress, I don’t mean the free version. I mean that you will buy a domain and install WordPress on it.
I am using WordPress myself, and it’s a great way to create your own unique website. You can install plugins, use templates. Or use the elementor plugin to get even more control over your web design. You would have to learn some basic Web Design and CSS though, but I can, so can you.
Buying your own domain and using WordPress is certainly my number one way to go. And I suggest you use Bluehost to buy a domain. I am using it and I think it’s a great place to host and buy domains.
FREELANCER?
Coroflot
Coroflot Is basically a place to hire designers and creative people. You can create a free portfolio and have a chance to get hired. The portfolios are very basic, and it looks more like a social media platform for creatives. It’s easy to contact people, which helps you get hired more quickly.
If all you want is a quick and easy portfolio, then this is a really good choice.
Dribbble
Similar to Coroflot, yet unique, and more popular in my opinion, is Dribbble. It’s easy to create a free portfolio and you can get hired or find job opportunities there.
Social media websites are very common nowadays, but also here you can get likes for your posts, and people can follow you. Or you can create collections and collect the things that you like the most on Dribbble.
Even if you don’t want to use it as a portfolio, it still is great to find and collect some of the best inspirational works of the world.
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Carbonmade
With Carbonmade you can create beautiful free portfolio websites very easily. You can start a free trial and after that you have to pay, starting at 8,- USD per month. You do not need any web design skills to create an awesome responsive website that works on all devices, which makes it great for people who just want a good and robust portfolio, which takes out all the worry of designing a website yourself. You will get a Carbonmade domain or you can add your own.
Adobe portfolio
Adobe portfolio offers you to create a free portfolio, but only if you have a creative cloud subscription. They have a ton of templates to choose from, and you also have the option to customize the layout to create something unique.
I think, if you already have a subscription, this is a good place to start with your online portfolio. I assume they are still updating the website and adding more features in the future.
Tumblr
Personally I really like Tumblr, not just because it’s free. But also for its simplicity. In no time you can create a simple website and post your work.
Tumblr is a little older and they have been through some changes. Tumblr is like a blog, but mostly for visuals, you can post videos, images, and text. People can follow you, share your stuff, and like your stuff.
And if you want to you still can edit the HTML of your site or add CSS. So you can nearly totally customize your layout. I would suggest you choose a simple grid template, which is free to use. Or you invest in a paid template that comes in all forms and sizes. Next to that, you can also add your own domain name.
Crevado
Crevado is a free portfolio website to create unique portfolios to show off your work. It’s free and easy to make a website. You can also upgrade to pro and use your own custom domain.
I think this is a great place to start, if you don’t yet want to invest in a complicated WordPress site, then Crevado is probably a good choice to start.
Behance
Behance basically belongs to Adobe now. But it’s in my opinion one of the more advanced free Portfolios for graphic designers out there. You can create long posts and include images and text and add links as well.
It also has social media features, like following and liking fellow creatives. People can also message you if they are interested in working with you.
DeviantArt
Deviantart is already longer out there, and had some major layout design changes. Although I am not a huge fan of its new design, It is still a great place to show your art and designs.
You can edit your profile layout and decide what to show. Add your contact info or people can chat or mail you. It’s a very social platform. And you can create collections to collect your favorite art as well.
We all know about Instagram. And It probably would not be your first choice to use as a free portfolio. But in my opinion, every designer needs to be on Instagram. It’s a great place to show your stuff, meet new people and potential clients as well. Put your contact info in your bio and link to your main portfolio with more detailed info about you.
Conclusion
There are a lot of ways to show off your work and talents. It’s all a matter of choice and what kind of features more suit you. It also doesn’t hurt to create multiple free portfolios but in the future, it might be a pain in the butt to manage and update them. And although I think Instagram is a must, it’s wise to also have a main portfolio with a more in-depth story about you and your work.
Ron Hoekstra is the founder of The Hiive Newsletter. He is a graphic designer, self-taught entrepreneur, writer, and Illustrator. He will give you professional insights and tips in the world of A.I., This includes new tools, business, automation and much more.
