Stunning Digital Portfolio Examples (And How to Create Your Own)

A portfolio is a great way to share your work, experience, and qualifications with the world. It’s a valuable tool for people in the creative and technology fields. However, you might not know how or where to create your portfolio website.

The best place to start is to take design inspiration from exceptional digital portfolio examples. This way, you can identify all the elements you need (like an about section, testimonials, etc). Then, you can leverage a powerful website builder to launch your own portfolio.

In this post, we’ll look at the key characteristics of a good portfolio. Then, we’ll present the best portfolio examples and show you how to create your own. Let’s get started!

What Is a Portfolio Website (And Do You Need One)?

A portfolio site is a digital collection of your work samples, expertise, qualifications, and accolades. It can be used to demonstrate skills to employers or attract potential clients to grow your own business.

Portfolios can be used across lots of industries, but they work well for those in creative fields like writers, photographers, and graphic designers. More recently, they’re being leveraged by technical experts like software engineers, web developers, and UX specialists.

While you could rely on social media networks to showcase your work, a personal website gives you complete control over the design and content. It also functions as a good base for your brand since the best portfolios contain separate pages for clients to get in touch or learn more about your story.

Characteristics of Good Portfolio Websites

Here are some key characteristics that make good portfolio websites:

• Web design. As a creative, it’s important that your portfolio looks beautiful and professional. You also want to represent your unique personality by including custom colors, fonts, and other branding elements like logos.
• High-quality photographs. To capture your work at its finest, invest in professional photography or use photo-editing software to enhance your images. We also recommend mixing up shots to inject diversity into your collection.
• Background information. Most portfolio websites feature dedicated “about” pages/sections. This is an opportunity to briefly explain your skills, achievements, or design process. You could also share your values/inspiration or include a copy of your CV.
• Contact details. You should let people book consultations easily and inquire about your services. You might add a contact form to your portfolio site and/or display your email address, phone number, and social media links in the top menu or footer.
• Testimonials. To add credibility to your portfolio, you could list past clients or feature feedback from satisfied customers. You might also want to delve into a particularly successful case study or highlight acclaimed projects.
• Structure. If you have many samples you want to include, you’ll need a logical way to organize them. You could add a contents page to help people find what they’re looking for, or group projects into distinct categories.

These are all the elements you need to make a simple portfolio. However, you might also implement a unique user experience (UX) or incorporate animation effects if you have advanced design skills.

Stunning Digital Portfolio Examples to Inspire You

Before we show you how to set up a digital format for your portfolio, let’s look at some of the best examples out there.

Malika Favre is a Barcelona-based illustrator who presents a bold, full-screen collage of colorful thumbnails to capture audience’s attention:

She arranges her work samples into categories (women, travel, geometry) for easy navigation. This portfolio also provides a great example of good logo design since it’s striking, alluring, and memorable.

Buzzworthy Studio leverages advanced web techniques like animations and scroll effects to win over potential clients:

For each project, you’ll also find background details, services required, and impressive results.

Alex Beige is a Brooklyn-based web designer and developer who boasts a one-page digital portfolio that exudes charm and personality:

The interactive elements create a sense of constant movement. Alex focuses solely on his featured projects, which open in neat popups when clicked.

Cami Ferreol’s portfolio speaks volumes about her graphic design skills:

She engages visitors from the get-go with her unique animated typography style. Then, she proceeds to tell her story, share client feedback, and document her raw design process. The portfolio also features her minimalist yet effective logo design as a testament to her abilities.

Tara Pixley is a photographer and journalist who leverages visual storytelling through her work and website:

It’s less flashy than some digital portfolio examples, but that allows for strong font and color combinations while letting the work speak for itself. The fixed menu also makes it easy to reach other sections.

How to Create Your Own Portfolio Website (In 3 Steps)

Now that we’ve taken inspiration from the best digital portfolio examples, here’s how to create your own portfolio website.

1. Set Up a HeroBuilder Account

When it comes to designing your website, it’s easier (and often cheaper) to use a portfolio builder.

We always recommend a WordPress-specific builder since there are tons of customization options. For instance, you’ll find free plugins that automate your email marketing, generate custom photo galleries, and let you sell products and subscriptions.

HeroBuilder is an AI WordPress website builder by NameHero:

This means your website will be hosted on NameHero’s powerful and secure servers.

It’s super quick to set up a HeroBuilder account. Once you’ve registered for a free plan, you’ll be redirected to the sleek client area where you can create your first website.

Note that you can use HeroBuilder for free for up to four days. After that, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium account. This will give you full access to your WordPress site, and you’ll be able to add more plugins, connect to a custom domain name, and more.

2. Generate Your Online Design Portfolio

HeroBuilder leverages the power of AI to set up your online portfolio in minutes. But first, you need to share your vision with HeroBuilder.

So, enter a website name (you can change this later) and describe your portfolio site in as much detail as you can:

You’ll also need to select the right tone for your brand to ensure consistent messaging across all platforms.

Next, define the goals you hope to achieve with your online portfolio. You might want to schedule appointments, increase traffic, or win new clients:

At the next window, choose your site structure. Some of the best digital portfolio examples use one-page website designs that let the work take center stage.

You can still include your contact details, testimonials, etc. However, this information will be presented in different sections instead of separate pages.

Of course, you can create a multi-page portfolio if you prefer.

Now, HeroBuilder will present a tailored collection of website templates for you to choose from:

With the multi-page structure, you can also decide exactly which pages you want on your website, such as a blog, gallery, contact page, and more.

HeroBuilder will then generate your online portfolio, based on your input. This will land you in the WordPress admin panel where you can make all sorts of changes.

3. Customize your Online Portfolio

In the WordPress dashboard, you can upload a brand logo, add images to the Media Gallery, and configure plugins.

Your portfolio inherits the design from the template you chose. If you want to customize it, click on Edit your homepage which opens the layout in the Block editor:

Here, you can remove and re-order items. You’re also free to add new blocks by clicking on the + icon, or use AI tools to write content and generate images.

To customize existing blocks, highlight the relevant element to launch the WordPress toolbar or open the Block settings to the right of the editor:

This lets you replace images, and adjust the colors, typography, alignment, and size of items on the page.

You’ll need to do the same thing for each of your portfolio pages (which you can access by going to Pages in the dashboard). This way, you can curate a gallery of your own images and create contact forms for potential clients to complete.

Conclusion

An online portfolio is the perfect opportunity to showcase your best work, tell your story, and attract potential clients. However, since it can take time, skills, and money to design one from scratch, you’ll want to use a powerful website builder to get the job done.

To recap, here’s how to set up your own digital portfolio:

1. Register for a HeroBuilder account.
2. Generate your online design portfolio.
3. Customize the design.

Do you have any questions about what makes a good design portfolio? Let us know in the comments below!