How To Build A Successful Freelancer Portfolio In 2024 (Step-By-Step)

Learning how to build a successful freelance portfolio is crucial for standing out from the competition and showcasing the skills and experience you offer.

It's something that successful freelancers of all types have accomplished, from new writers looking for their first gig on Fiverr to established veterans.

In this article, we've broken down everything you need to know about creating and maintaining a great freelancer portfolio to take your career to the next level.

What Is A Freelancer Portfolio?

A freelancer portfolio is a collection of a person's best work samples that is used as a professional tool to help display skills and industry experience.

Providing evidence of your employability and any niche areas of expertise, it includes references to previous projects and employers for new clients to assess.

When potential clients view your freelancer portfolio, they can read through your information to make an informed decision whether or not to hire you for their projects.

As a freelancer, it's highly recommended that you keep your freelancer portfolio up to date to reflect your best work and current level of experience.

Why You Need A Freelancer Portfolio

While a resume is an essential tool in any freelancer's arsenal, it only gives potential clients information about your work history and educational background.

A professional portfolio allows you to go into considerably more depth to articulate how these skills have been successfully applied in your career.

It's also an opportunity to show prospective clients visual examples of your work, which is particularly useful if you're working in a creative industry.

As such, many freelancing creative professionals create a freelance portfolio website to showcase projects and attract potential clients.

So, whether you're just starting and looking for the best freelance jobs for beginners or have lots of experience, a great portfolio is essential for success.

Top Freelancer Portfolio Examples

Before we dive into the details of setting up a stunning freelancer portfolio website, here are some examples of portfolio websites done right.

These top freelancer portfolio examples showcase how to use layout, graphics, and other website elements to portray your work in the best possible light.

1. Daniel Grindrod - Cinematographer

Cinematographer Daniel Grindrod uses an appropriately colorful and vibrant style throughout his web design that begins with a video clip on the home page.

The portfolio website includes many examples of his work with beautiful thumbnails for each video, as well as lots of high-quality stills demonstrating his visual style.

There's an explanation of the filmmaking kit he uses when working on projects and even an online shop selling templates for Adobe Premiere Pro projects.

2. Moritz Petersen - Web Developer

A great example of a freelance portfolio website that takes a minimalist approach comes from Moritz Petersen, a web developer with lots of industry experience.

This webflow expert has included a small selection of their best work, with each project featuring a detailed explanation of the process involved.

Clients who are interested in working with Moritz can quickly get in touch to find out more either through an online form or directly via email.

3. Aja Frost - SEO Consultant

SEO consultant Aja Frost instantly brings a personal touch to her portfolio website with a professional black-and-white portrait photograph on her home page.

This is complemented by a heading that captures her experience as Head of English SEO for HubSpot, one of the major companies in this field.

She includes lots of case studies and information on her approach to content strategy and provides additional value with free SEO tools and templates.

4. Ashley L. Diers - Illustrator

As you might expect from an illustrator, Ashley L Diers takes a strong aesthetic approach to her portfolio website to present her artistic skills.

The home page features many thumbnail images of her illustration work, each of which is easily enlarged for a better view with a single click.

Links to her social media pages and About page are clearly visible in the top banner, rounding off a simple yet effective online portfolio.

5. John Green - Author

The New York Times bestselling author John Green uses a profile picture along with links to his popular books on his home page to grab the reader's attention.

In addition to written content, there are embedded YouTube videos featuring the author explaining his latest work and the creation process.

A detailed bio, links to podcasts and other projects, and an FAQ section accompany a store and contact page in this comprehensive portfolio example.

How To Build A Freelancer Portfolio In 2024 (Step-By-Step)

Understanding how to build a freelancer portfolio involves several core considerations, from knowing your target audience to creating a strong online portfolio.

In this guide, we've covered everything you need to know to impress potential clients with freelance portfolios to attract the best possible prospective clients.

So, with our criteria established, here's everything you need to know about how to build a freelancer portfolio in 2024:

Step 1: Know Your Audience

When sharing your professional portfolio and brand with potential clients, it's crucial to understand their perspective and the skills and values they're looking for.

If your background is writing fitness blogs for moms, it makes sense to focus on finding work with clients looking for writers with experience in this area.

On the other hand, if you're a graphic designer, you want to grab clients' attention with a strong suite of portfolio samples that demonstrate your creativity.

Each potential client will likely be viewing hundreds of portfolios when filling a role, so before you fire off an email, you should check their products or services.

This will allow you to tailor your freelancer portfolio accordingly, placing your best work on the home page so it gets their attention the moment they click the link.

Likewise, you should view the freelancer portfolios of other freelancers in your area of interest to see what assets they use to attract potential clients.

Step 2: Curate Your Best Work Samples

It goes without saying that a strong freelancer portfolio website should be used to showcase the highest possible quality work you've completed.

This means avoiding filling out your website with fluff, whether you're hoping to get more Connects on Upwork or trying to pick up your first freelance client.

While it can be tempting to add everything you've done, particularly if you're new to freelancing, the curation process should be highly selective.

It should also filter out any past projects that are no longer relevant to your current freelance ambitions, as this could mislead potential clients.

To help you get started, here are some of the different types of work samples that other professional freelancers have used for their portfolio websites:

• Photographs of physical products developed
• Blog posts and other articles
• Detailed reports for past clients
• Marketing plan outlines
• Video content work on YouTube and other platforms
• Visual and text assets for social media campaigns
• Evidence of leadership abilities

Once you've selected the best-curated work samples to use, rank these in order of quality and place the top of the list front and center on your portfolio website.

If you're applying for a particular role and other work is more appropriate, don't be afraid to switch up your portfolio website's content accordingly.

As you continue working with clients and getting constructive feedback on your work, you can further fine-tune the collection of work samples you present.

Step 3: Add A Personal Touch

While a strong work history and visually driven samples are important when building a freelance portfolio website, they should be delivered with a personal touch.

A business-first approach certainly helps cement your image as a freelance professional, but potential clients will also be interested in your personality.

All the experience and qualifications in the world won't matter if they don't get a good impression regarding what you're like to work with on a daily basis.

By adding a personal touch to your freelancer portfolio, you'll present yourself as a well-rounded individual and what you feel passionate about.

Much of this human element can be included in your portfolio website's About Page, which should be written in a more conversational tone.

By keeping this more personal, it helps clients feel more connected to your services and, as a result, more willing to take the process further.

Ultimately, you want to avoid sharing a generic website and samples that feel too corporate and what drives you to succeed in your given domain of experience.

If you have any personal projects that demonstrate this passion and creativity, feel free to include these in your portfolio website along with work samples.

This is particularly relevant to creative professionals who often find that their work for clients limits their potential and want to showcase their ability when unrestrained.

Step 4: Include Testimonials From Past Clients

One of the most persuasive aspects of a strong freelancer portfolio is social proof, which was coined by psychologist Robert Cialdini in his book Influence.

Social proof is the concept that, when making decisions, people look to reviews and recommendations from people in authority to help make the right choice.

From a freelancing point of view, this means including powerful testimonials on your portfolio website from past clients who are enthusiastic about your work.

Client testimonials should be honest endorsements of your skills and the quality of the results you've delivered, as well as your ability to deliver on time.

It should articulate the problem they asked you to solve and the process you followed to complete the project to their desired specifications.

There are plenty of great resources exploring how to get testimonials, so take the time to research this before reaching out for client testimonials.

While many client testimonials are in written form, there's scope to be more inventive with how these are featured on your portfolio website.

Some alternatives to testimonials in quoted format include:

• Video testimonials
• Interview-based testimonials
• Success stories or before-after stories
• Customer testimonials
• Case studies
• Social media testimonials

With each additional testimonial you include adding to your perceived social proof, there's no limit on how many you can have in your portfolio website.

When you send out a request for a testimonial, ask them to cover the key points about your ability to meet deadlines, communicate clearly, and meet their briefs.

The more authority you can establish through testimonials, the better your chance to make money on Upwork and other freelance job listing websites.

Step 5: Set Up A Professional Website

Presenting your portfolio in a professional manner is another key element that enhances your credibility as a serious professional worth hiring.

While it may be tempting to knock up a quick website just to get your name out there, if it looks amateurish, prospective clients will be instantly put off.

Fortunately, there are many great resources available that you can use to create a stunning freelancer portfolio website without web development experience.

You can start by signing up for a blog website builder, which will give you access to plenty of aesthetically pleasing templates to use as a foundation.

Next, you can start to build out your portfolio website's individual pages, from the aforementioned About and Testimonials pages to your work samples.

These work samples should use high-quality images wherever possible, particularly if you're setting up a graphic design portfolio to attract new clients.

Your website should also be as user-friendly as possible, with neat and clean fonts and intuitive categorization to present your details with clarity.

If you're just starting a freelance career, you don't need to have the funds to hire a web designer, with many website builders using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

On the other hand, if you have a budget at your disposal, it pays to invest in professional help to ensure everything looks and acts as it should.

This doesn't have to break the bank, and there are many coding and design freelancers willing to work on your portfolio website for a competitive fee.

Step 6: Include Multiple Contact Options

While having a stunning, professional portfolio website is essential for showcasing your work, it'll count for nothing if clients can't contact you.

As such, your freelancer portfolio website should include multiple contact options throughout the design process so site visitors can easily reach you.

There are several ways you can do this, from adding a Contact page with a contact form to including links to your social media profiles.

By adding these elements, you can transform a basic presentation of your portfolio into a fully-fledged business website used to market to clients.

A contact form should include spaces for adding email addresses, a subject header, and the main body of text where clients can write their inquiries.

It should also be designed so that it doesn't display any personal or sensitive information such as phone numbers and emails.

Another popular way to drive prospective clients to your contact information and encourage them to get in touch is by including a call to action.

These can be added at the end of any articles or work samples on your portfolio website, directing them to the various ways they can get in touch.

Step 7: Make Your Portfolio Visually Appealing

It's a well-known fact that first impressions count, something which is as important when compiling a good portfolio as it is when attending an interview.

This means creating a landing page for your portfolio website that encapsulates what you're offering in an eye-catching and visually striking manner.

This aesthetic appeal should then be carried through the rest of the website, with consistent and iconic branding and color themes.

Choose a nice font for your text elements, and make sure written content is eligible and clear across all device types, from desktop computers to mobile phones.

If you have a logo design for your freelance services, integrate this throughout your content to build credibility for any visitors checking out your work.

As we've touched on previously, this doesn't have to cost a fortune to achieve, with lots of easy-to-use resources online, such as Canva, for designing logos.

By choosing one of the best freelancer website templates, you can quickly get down to the task of filling it out with work samples and visual assets.

Step 8: Explain Your Work Process

While a good portfolio showcases your work history and past projects, a great one explores in more detail the steps taken to achieve these results.

If you're an expert in using some of the best tools for freelancers, make sure you demonstrate this knowledge and experience in your explanations.

On the other hand, if you're a freelance designer, demonstrating your knowledge of a given program, such as Adobe Illustrator, can go a long way toward securing work.

By explaining your work progress in detail, clients who may be interested in hiring you will have a clearer understanding of how you'll approach their projects.

These explanations will also enhance your credibility in your area of expertise and validate the work samples as genuine and authentic.

To do this, you can consider breaking down each work sample in your portfolio in the following way:

• Begin with an explanation of what the main task or expected deliverable was from your client
• Describe in detail how you broke down the task into its core components
• Explain how you approached tackling the problem step-by-step
• Outline all the skills you drew upon to form your analysis
• Provide details of the technology and tools you utilized to meet the requirements of your client
• Add any other important information regarding the methods you used to complete the task
• Include links to any different projects that relate to the skills and experience displayed

When explaining your work process for the various projects on your portfolio website, aim to be concise and use bullet points whenever necessary.

If it relates to any client testimonials you've included, add a link to this page to enhance the overall social proof and validation of your skills.

Step 9: Use Marketing To Increase Awareness

Creating awareness of your online portfolio website requires marshaling as many resources as possible to help prospective clients find your work.

This matters whether you're looking for a side hustle to pay off debt faster or after a long-term commitment from clients providing a dedicated service.

Just as with sending out resumes, you should take a proactive approach to linking to your portfolio whenever you deal with clients looking for your services.

One way to do this is to share it regularly on your social media pages to highlight new project updates and professional details.

You can also use LinkedIn to contact businesses in your area of expertise, targeting each potential client with a unique and personalized message.

Additionally, your own website should use search engine optimization to ensure as high a ranking as possible when clients are looking to hire freelancers.

There are plenty of free tools you can use to refine your use of keywords and other professional details to increase your website's overall visibility.

If you're a freelance writer, it's much easier to optimize your site for search engines, since you'll be sharing lots of written content in your portfolio.

Freelancers with a budget to play with can also consider paying for ad campaigns to push their portfolio website to the relevant audience online.

Step 10: Keep Your Portfolio Up To Date

Whether you're looking for the best Fiverr gigs to make money or expanding your client base on Upwork, you need to ensure your portfolio is kept up to date.

The best freelance portfolios are constantly updated with the most recent work while also removing obsolete projects that don't accurately reflect their skills.

Most freelancers evolve over time as they become more proficient, and this evolution should be shown in the work samples provided on their site.

You should also regularly review your older work samples to see if they can be revamped with better presentation and more persuasive descriptions.

Likewise, any new client testimonials should be added as soon as possible, particularly if you're in the process of negotiating with a new client.

While it can be tempting to put aside updating your portfolio when you're busy working on new projects, it's better to not let it slide and maintain it at all times.

Summary

So, that's a wrap on this article exploring the techniques and considerations you need to know when creating a freelancer portfolio for your services.

A strong portfolio can make the difference between success and failure, helping you to showcase past projects and pick up high-paying potential clients.

By setting up a personal website where you can update your portfolio regularly, you can ensure more clients will be interested in your services and offer exciting projects.