Which Free Portfolio Website is Good for You?
Whether you are a graphic designer, an illustrator, or any other type of creative professional, there is every reason to own an online portfolio. Your prospective clients should have something to browse through, at least to know a few things about you and what they expect from your skills. To your advantage, it does not take a web design guru to come up with a great portfolio site. There are several websites that can actually host your work and aid you in coming up with a stunning showcase. Below is a roundup of free portfolio websites from which you can select the most suitable.
Behance
This is a community-driven portfolio website whose main focus is building relationships and networking. Besides providing you with a place where you can host your portfolio, it is partly a social network in which you can connect and follow other creative individuals as well as employers. There is a good number of clients who post jobs on this site, which means that owning a Behance portfolio may actually secure you a few great Giggs. It is also integrated with the most popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, which makes self-promotion very easy.
Krop
This site is actually one of the few that have a creative database from which potential employers look for the talent that they are in search of. You can therefore make an online portfolio, which is then included among the thousands of creatives in what the company refers to as a database of creative talent. In other words, this is not just a website that offers free portfolio hosting but rather one which serves as a search tool for employers. However, their free version only allows you a maximum of 10 images and it actually comes with a custom design theme. With their affordable $9.99 pro version, however, you get a chance of uploading unlimited images besides using a custom domain name and different design themes.
Krop portfolios have arguably been termed as the most elegant and stylish of all in this list. The variety of templates on premium account holders presents an opportunity for people to select the most ideal appearance for their work.
Carbonmade
This is a website whose aim is to make your portfolio design as easy and simple as checking an email. Carbonmade has a record of over 500,000 portfolios at the moment, making it a target landing point for beginning creative professionals who are looking for a hassle-free solution to the problem of online portfolio hosting.
Over 8 million pieces of work have been posted on the site so far. It also has a reputation for its user-friendly interface and it does not need prior coding knowledge to establish a portfolio. Finished portfolios on this site appear clean and unobtrusive, which gives your work an opportunity of dominating the page.
DripBook
This set combines the merits of simplicity and an integrated job tool, making it the target of most upcoming creative professionals. There are three subscription levels on this site which are all optional, allowing you the choice between annual, quarterly, or monthly billing. The standard package which takes only $10 a month will treat you to a whooping 200 images. It is remarkably simple to use and it comes with a hand-holding tutorial meant to direct you all through the steps of building a powerful portfolio and promoting yourself if it is the first time you are venturing into this field.
Dripbook also has a section called the creative index, where most of its clients spend time looking for potential creative hands. Once your portfolio is fully developed, therefore, it is submitted to this index in order for it to appear as clients conduct their natural searches.
Glossom
Glossom is actually some sort of social media network which serves creative professionals. It is the only site that allows you to create collections, which are simply described as a synthesis of the portfolio. In the end, all your collections will be viewed in one look, which means that at a single glance, someone is able to view a collection of your works, which to works to your advantage because different employers demand different things from creative professionals.
Flickr
First things first; Flickr is popularly recognized as a photo-sharing site. Additionally, some photographers, as well as videographers, may use their Flickr profile page as their online portfolio. Your work may be grouped into various sets with each having its own unique title, which potentially exposes your work more and precisely faster when clients explore the site while at the same time making searches using some keywords.
DeviantART
If you have never heard of this free portfolio site, DeviantART is an indication that you have not explored the field of free portfolio websites extensively. This is an enormous art and design group, boasting the largest membership of over 24 million professionals. It is not explicitly a portfolio hosting site but just like Flickr, members use their profiles on this site as their online portfolios.
Shown’d
It has also been referred to as one of the most terrific free portfolio websites. With plenty of features, you will have the opportunity of embedding your showcase on external websites. Similarly, there is a watermarking tool awarded for your work and more notably, a multi-image loading tool with which you can load close to 20 images simultaneously. Despite all the unique and advanced features, Shown’d is relatively cheap to operate.
PortfolioBox
Any portfolio hosted on this PortfolioBox gives room for custom designs and won’t hold any ads. The only limitation is that it gives room for 50 images while other websites give room for as many as 2000 images. However, there is a wide variety of templates and you can actually mix-and-match ideas from various templates to make the most attractive portfolio.
In Summary
Having a portfolio online is very essential, especially when you are fresh in the market, looking to snag a few worthy projects. While most starters fear establishing an online portfolio because of the hosting cost, is good news that there are sites that offer the services for free. However, there are several of these sites even beyond those listed in this article. It is at your own discretion, therefore, to look into each of the sites and establish which of them will offer the best portfolio hosting service for you.
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