Building a Portfolio Site - Structure

Picking the stack your portfolio uses is important as it allows you to show your competency with the frameworks you know. Pick something that you are comfortable with and that will provide a good-looking site in the end.

Previous Parts

• Building a Portfolio Site - Planning it out

Deciding Your Stack

Here are some tools that you might use

Which everyone you choose, make sure you are comfortable enough with it to be able to create an impressive site.

Designing your Site

When designing a website remember the key design elements of a portfolio website, such as color scheme, typography, and layout. Pick a color scheme that matches your style. If you don't have any ideas for what look you are going for you can use the tool Coolors to generate good-looking color palettes.

Typography is also important as it can give context to different sections of the site. It is pretty standard to use monospaced fonts if you want to show code. Using a Serif font can give your page a look of authority. If you want to use custom fonts, I recommend using Google Fonts, it has a ton of different styles to choose from and all the fonts are loaded using Google's CDN.

The layout is best done by putting everything into a grid using flexbox. Most UI frameworks will have a guide on how to align your content to a grid. If you want to break up your design I recommend looking up a component library for your framework and see what would fit within your design and better show off your content

Content

Creating high-quality content for your portfolio site is the most important thing when it comes to achieving your goals for the site. It is more important than what stack you use for the design framework. Here are some main factors that go into the creation of high-quality content.

Focus on showcasing your best work

Your portfolio website should highlight your most impressive work, so it's important to carefully curate the content you include. Choose your best projects and showcase them prominently on your website.

Provide context for your work

Don't assume that your website visitors will know what your projects are about or why they are important. Provide context for each project by including a brief description, explaining your role in the project, and highlighting any noteworthy achievements.

Use high-quality images and multimedia

Your website's design should be visually appealing and engaging, so make sure to use high-quality images and multimedia to showcase your work. Consider including photos, videos, and animations to add interest and personality to your website.

Write clear and concise copy

Your website copy should be easy to read and understand. Use clear and concise language, and avoid using jargon or technical terms that might confuse your audience. [Include testimonials or endorsements] Social proof can be a powerful tool for building credibility and trust with potential clients or employers. Consider including testimonials or endorsements from previous clients or colleagues who can vouch for the quality of your work.

SEO

Research relevant keywords

Before creating content for your website, research relevant keywords related to your industry or field. Use keyword research tools to identify the most frequently searched terms and phrases, and incorporate them into your website's content, titles, and descriptions.

Create unique and descriptive page titles

Each page on your website should have a unique and descriptive title that accurately reflects its content. Use your targeted keywords in your page titles to help search engines understand the subject matter of your website.

Write meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are summaries of your website's content that appear on search engine results pages. Write compelling meta descriptions that accurately describe the content of your website and include your targeted keywords.

Optimize your images

Search engines can't read images, so it's important to optimize your images by adding descriptive alt tags and file names that include your targeted keywords.

Build backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They are an important factor in search engine rankings, so it's important to build high-quality backlinks from reputable websites in your industry or field.

Use social media to promote your website

Social media can be a powerful tool for promoting your website and building backlinks. Share your website's content on social media platforms and engage with other professionals in your field to build relationships and attract new visitors to your website.

Monitor your website's analytics

Use website analytics tools to monitor your website's performance and track important metrics like traffic, bounce rate, and conversion rate. Use this information to make data-driven decisions about your website's content and optimization strategy.