How to create a design portfolio website
When I was getting ready to build my first UX design portfolio, after completing the 7 courses of Google UX design professional certification.
I remember that I was completely lost.
How do I make a website? Should I learn how to code and build it myself or do I use Squarespace? What layout should I use? How do I structure my portfolio? The questions were endless.
This series of blog posts that I’ll be releasing over the next few weeks is an attempt to answer all the questions I had when I was building my first UX design portfolio. They’re primarily for folks new to the industry who might find a basic guide helpful.
I’ll be covering the following:
the tools I used
the layouts I explored
the process I came up with to structure my case studies
*Side note: Design bootcamps and online courses such as Coursera UX certificates won’t teach you how to set up a website. I had to Google everything and wasted SO MUCH time and energy jumping from one platform to another because I wasn’t fully aware of the functionalities and features each web service provided and got frustrated with the limitations I found later down the road.
My advice is to stick with the web hosting service you initially sign up with, so choose wisely! Know that whichever one you choose, it’s going to take a fair amount of Googling and watching YouTube videos to figure out how to make your website look the way you want it to.
Use Squarespace, Bluehost, or Webflow
I have been getting the same questions from new designers : “Do I need to know how to code in order to become a UX designer?
Should I build my own website from scratch?”
My answer is NO. Unless you’re trying to become a web designer or developer rather than a UX or Product designer, you can always learn how to code after you’ve landed your UX job.
I’m 98% confident you won’t be asked to code anything as a designer
(the 2% applies to start ups that don’t know the job description of a designer).
I was in your position too confused about what are the required skills a junior UX designer need to have!?
Specially when you find posts on indeed or LinkedIn of startups requiring UX designers to have knowledge
on HTML or CSS. Which is not the case for UX designers, developers and engineers are the experts in the field
of coding in order to bring the designs into a living, breathing product.
The number of web hosting services available nowadays can be overwhelming. After researching and trying out many different ones,
I’ve narrowed down the list to my top 3 recommendations:
1. Squarespace
Most UX and Product designers I know use Squarespace for their portfolios. Despite how limiting Squarespace can be at times, the built-in templates make everything super easy to set up, which means you can use more of your time improving the content of your case studies rather than customizing the look and feel of your portfolio.
Price:
$12 per month (includes free custom domain). Students get 50% off for their first full year.
Pros:
Squarespace offers a great collection of templates, saving you time from having to manually beautify your portfolio
The drag-and-drop approach of the tool makes it simple and easy to create a website since you know exactly what changes you’re making as you make them. I recommend Jasper and Avenue templates for portfolios.
Cons:
The monthly plan for Squarespace is $12 per month), which is more expensive than Bluehost’s $3 per month plan
You can only contact 24/7 Customer Service through email and live chat. I’m old school, so I like having the option to call someone to resolve any technical issues.
My word of advice here is, don’t be nitpicky on the details when it comes to the layout of your website.
Don’t be OCD like me and let the 10px padding difference. It’s not worth the time and stress. What makes a portfolio great is the content of the case studies, not necessarily how cool and interactive the website feels.
Don’t obsess over the details just focus on how clear and clean your case studies look so hiring managers can get a clear picture of your work and value.
2. Bluehost
I used to have two websites (one for my Photography work, one for my UX portfolio), but now I’ve combined the two into one website, which is this website you’re reading right now.
I’ve also migrated back to Squarespace for the second time 😅
TL;DR of my web hosting journey: Squarespace > Bluehost>WIX > Squaresapce. Yes, I made a full circle and now have to transfer all my content over to this website.
Price:
Basic Plan – $3.95 per month (I recommend this plan if you’re only setting up a design portfolio)
Plus Plan – $5.95 per month (Go with this plan if you’re thinking of setting up multiple websites other than your portfolio)
Below prices in Euros .
Pros:
If you’re planning on setting up multiple websites for blogging or business purposes, using Bluehost will save you about $100 per year.
The monthly fee is extremely affordable specially for Junior designers working on building their case studies.
You will be able to save time and energy making visual design decisions as well as choosing type face which
Can be time consuming specially for someone like me who is obsessed about GREAT typography
That is modern, clear and cool at the same time.
Cons:
You need to purchase a WordPress theme separately when you sign up with Bluehost, whereas with Squarespace, your subscription is inclusive of their entire library of templates you can use immediately.
You have to pay extra (~$15) to renew your domain every year in addition to your subscription vs. domain fees are included with your Squarespace subscription.
3. Webflow
Webflow has been gaining a lot of traction recently among designers and web developers who want to build something more than the average templatized website. It’s the only web hosting service that allows you to build complex animations and interactions.
Price:
$12 per month (includes free custom domain)
Pros:
You can widen your knowledge of how code and design work together as you build your own layouts, interactions, and animations using HTML and CSS. There’s a ton of how-to content that you can refer to:
Great YouTube tutorial on Webflow
Con:
Webflow has a very steep learning curve. Having to custom build everything may be time consuming and overwhelming especially for someone just starting out in UX design.
To get started with a new career in UX Design. Click here Coursera Google UX design professional certificate .
All the best !
