Being a freelancer can really feel like being the prize on stage throughout the Showcase Showdown on an episode of “The Value is Proper.” However you don’t need to encourage low bids since there’s no penalty for going over. There’s so much to contemplate once you’re wading by way of WordPress portfolio themes and looking for the easiest way to show your expertise. However with the precise mindset and assets, you possibly can construct a portfolio that retains potential purchasers lining as much as work with you.

What to Hold in Thoughts When Constructing Your Portfolio

Your portfolio ought to exhibit your greatest work and provides potential purchasers a way of your expertise. However that doesn’t imply you need to embody each mission you’ve ever completed. Listed here are some issues to bear in mind whereas working in your portfolio.

What to Embrace

If you’re constructing your portfolio, embody solely the work you’re most pleased with and that pertains to the kind of work you need to do sooner or later. Even when you took some less-than-ideal purchasers previously that will help you pay the payments, you don’t should show these tasks. Displaying the kind of work you need to do once more will enable you to appeal to the sort of purchasers you’d prefer to work with and keep away from tasks that don’t excite you.

Being choosy in regards to the tasks you characteristic in your portfolio also can enable you to with SEO. Take into consideration the key phrases folks will use to seek for somebody who does your work. Use these phrases and phrases to clarify previous tasks, and your purchasers will be capable to discover you higher than they’d if the work you showcase is all over.

Attractive Descriptions and Excerpts

You already know that key phrases and phrases are necessary in relation to your portfolio. But it surely’s additionally important to make clear what you are able to do to your excellent purchasers. Use easy language that everybody can perceive. Despite the fact that you might use jargon when speaking store with somebody in your trade, your purchasers is probably not as acquainted with insider phrases. So it’s greatest to make use of phrases and phrases you recognize they’ll perceive.

Ensure you take the time to share how your work benefited your previous purchasers. Clarify why you accomplished the mission the best way you probably did, and make it clear why it was the best alternative for the consumer. Don’t be afraid to incorporate a testimonial or two when you have them.

Make It Visible

Relying on what sort of work you do as a freelancer, making your portfolio visible could also be a bit of cake. As a graphic designer or photographer, you possibly can simply embody a picture from the mission. However when you’re a author, think about together with some inventory photos to reinforce the general look of your portfolio. However watch out for screenshots! They don’t all the time look good, particularly on cellular. And don’t be afraid to incorporate the consumer’s brand too, particularly if it’s a widely known model.

Set up It

Group will assist potential purchasers search by way of the work you’ve completed, and it exhibits off your consideration to element. WordPress portfolio themes permit customers to divide tasks by tags and mission kind. This characteristic permits potential purchasers to see what you’ve completed with out having to wade by way of work that may not be related to their mission.

24 Finest WordPress Portfolio Themes for Freelancers

Now that you recognize what to place in your freelance portfolio, it’s time to choose from one of the best paid and free WordPress portfolio themes. Not all themes are equal, and a few are higher at displaying sure forms of work than others.

1. Astra. The Astra theme has greater than 180 ready-made templates, and the images portfolio choice is nice for showcasing visible work. Plus, you need to use this theme with plugins like WooCommerce to promote services.
2. Divi. Divi has a whole bunch of layouts, pre-designed web page templates in your portfolio, and a web page builder, so you possibly can customise touchdown and gross sales pages. Plus, Divi is designed with good SEO in thoughts.
3. Authority Professional. The Authority Professional portfolio theme makes use of the Genesis Framework and comes with tons of web page templates, and the homepage makes use of widgets so you possibly can set it up rapidly and simply.
4. Pile. The Pile WordPress theme provides you a homepage with a customizable full-screen slider. The picture galleries are nice for showcasing your work.
5. Peak. Peak has a number of layouts in your pages and weblog posts, plus nice menu choices for the highest of your website and sidebar widgets. The homepage shows your work in a responsive tile structure.
6. Avril. This free theme masses rapidly and lets you customise colours, header, featured photos, layouts, and templates. Avril is translation-ready when you work with purchasers worldwide and may help you create a multilingual website.
7. Fargo. Fargo could also be one of the best theme to showcase your art work when you’re a visible artist. It additionally works with WooCommerce that will help you promote your work and guide purchasers.
8. Nook. This minimalist WordPress portfolio theme comes with a number of layouts and the choice so as to add customized widgets. It additionally works with WooCommerce.
9. Elegant. The Elegant theme is a superb choice when you like drag-and-drop web page builders. It comes with a number of built-in templates and customized widgets.
10. Eclection. This theme comes with a filterable portfolio to make it straightforward in your potential purchasers to look your tasks. It has the flexibility to match your web site to your model.
11. GridMe. In the event you prefer to weblog, the GridMe theme is a good way to show your work. GridMe comes with many choices for posts and pages, header types, and featured publish widgets.
12. Large Dynamic. This theme lets you edit any premade layouts or construct your personal, plus you can also make adjustments in real-time with out having to refresh as you go.
13. Werkstatt. In the event you like a minimalist look, Werkstatt is a superb choice for utilizing premade portfolio types to point out what you are able to do. Plus, this portfolio is totally filterable.
14. Grafik. You’ll be able to create distinctive layouts for every portfolio mission utilizing the Grafik theme. Plus, it helps interactive infographics, and it’s search engine optimized.
15. Kalium. This WordPress portfolio theme provides you area to characteristic previous consumer logos in your portfolio, and you’ll even sync your Dribble account to import your tasks simply.
16. Uncode. This theme provides you a number of portfolio structure choices, plus the potential to create premade content material sections that you would be able to reuse on any web page of your website.
17. Grand Portfolio. This theme comes with premade layouts and a filterable portfolio with a grid structure. There’s additionally an infinite scroll characteristic for these with a extremely huge physique of labor.
18. Adios. Adios comes with 9 homepage layouts and your alternative of three portfolio layouts. This theme masses quick, and it’s search engine optimized.
19. Proton. Proton provides a smooth look with tons of options when you want a translation-ready theme. You’ll be able to customise your portfolio and the structure for particular person tasks.
20. Slush Professional. The SlushPro homepage options photos of your tasks in an old-school blog-style structure. You’ll be able to show your portfolio utilizing a number of columns and header and web page structure choices.
21. Shoreline. The Shoreline theme provides you a set sidebar on the left to continually show your info with a homepage made up fully of thumbnails of your work. It’s additionally search engine optimized.
22. Draft. This free theme seems pretty much as good as lots of the paid choices, plus it provides you two navigation menus – one in your website and one within the footer for social media.
23. Air. The Air theme is search engine optimized and masses rapidly. In order for you a theme that offers you tons of white area to make your work stand out, this theme is a superb choice.
24. Kadence. The Kadence theme is not simply straightforward to make use of, it masses quick and unlocks limitless customization choices for each space of your website. In order for you whole design management, Kadence is for you.

Able to Construct Your Portfolio?

It took you years to get to the extent you might be as a contract skilled. There’s no motive it’s a must to change into a webmaster too. We may help you guarantee your WordPress-based portfolio website is all the time up and working. Contact Nexcess and allow us to host your portfolio web site.

This weblog was initially printed in January 2014. It has since been up to date for accuracy and comprehensiveness.