Creating an online writing portfolio can be an intimidating task. You might be thinking you need web-design or coding expertise, or that you have to pay someone who does. Perhaps you feel you lack the body of work to create a dynamic and engaging portfolio. Luckily for you, neither is true. This article will guide you through creating your own personalized online portfolio, in just 5 easy steps. 

1. Plan Ahead 

First, you must do some research. There are so many types of portfolios, and the kinds you will need depend on the job you’re seeking. There are:

• Presentation Portfolio – Also known as a PDF Portfolio, is commonly used to submit a sampling of your work to an employer. 
• ePortfolio — A permanent home for your writing samples that can cater to multiple audiences and showcase your career over time.
• Paper Portfolio – This one is rare in today’s paperless society, but good to know about, in case it’s asked of you. 

If an ePortfolio fits your objectives, then this article is for you. Maintaining an online portfolio is the ideal format for freelancers, bloggers, and self-published authors and can be viewed by potential employers, buyers, and serves as a networking tool to connect with other writers.  Think about the intent for your portfolio and its audience. Is it to appeal to employers as a freelance writer? Is it to get into a University or writing program? Are you an author trying to sell your work? Clearly define your goals, your audience, and the strategies you intend on using.  

Next, do a bit of investigating into hosting websites, if you haven’t already. Luckily, there are lots of beautifully designed free hosting sites available that do all of the coding for you — no web developer degree needed. You may decide that a paid hosting site or personalized domain name will be useful, but for now, try out some free ones and play around. I recommend Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace. All are user-friendly for beginners with loads of tutorials available (either on their website, or YouTube) to help guide you through any of the tricky parts. And voila, you have a website! 

2. Know Your Audience  

Although I touched on this topic briefly before, now is the time to really put yourself into the role of your audience and what appeals to them. What “problem” do they have that you are the perfect candidate to solve? Think about the industry, or industries, you are aiming for. 

Many writers choose not to select a niche or commit themselves to a specific genre, and that is great! In that case, your website needs to be neatly organized, easy to navigate, and clearly differentiates your work. Look at examples of portfolios in your industry, or prospective industries. A simple search in the search engine of your choice will give you plenty to peruse. Looking at the work of others will show you what is effective, what tips and tricks you would like to borrow, and what you want to avoid. This is a great way to look at the standards of presentation and professionalism and ensure that you’re meeting those expectations. Once you know what you like, and do not like, and you have established how you want to present yourself, you need to start thinking about the writing samples that will best represent you. 

3. Select Your Best Work  

Now is the time to go through all of your writing samples and select your best artifacts (that’s industry lingo for the documents or media you will include in an ePortfolio). You may have some pieces that you already love, some that need tweaking, or you might be starting from scratch. Starting from scratch is no big deal. The samples in your portfolio need to be tailored to your target audience or niche – the golden rule of appealing to a prospective employer, admissions officer, or customer, is do not waste their time! You need to peak their interest quickly in order to land the job or make the sale. Even if you have 1,000 samples of perfect technical business writing, it does not make much sense to include them if you have decided to pursue your dream of writing children’s books. Show your audience what they need to see on the first page. Do not expect them to go digging for anything.  

If you are creating a portfolio as a novice freelance writer, you may be wondering what to do without any professional writing samples. Simply create your own. You can draft documents based on the type of business or brands you would like to work for and call it a “concept” or “sample.” This allows you to show potential employers that you are equipped to do exactly what they need, regardless of your previous experience. It is important that you are transparent about the work being a mockup. Although there is no set limit on the number of artifacts you will need, I recommend at least five samples to start. 

Finally, you must back up your work. Do not wait for a laptop meltdown to leave you high and dry. Find your method, be it the cloud, external hard drive, thumb nail drive, or the like and begin backing up immediately.  

4. Build a Simple, Attractive Website  

The rule of thumb for ePortfolios, and you may have picked up on this while doing your research, is to keep it simple. The focus is on your writing – graphics and photos need to be minimal and intentional. Font colors should be easily read by all audiences. Keep in mind how the website will look to those with vision issues, color blindness, using screen readers, or viewing it on a smartphone. Make sure that any images used are legally within your right to republish. If you need help with this, search for free Creative Commons images, or use websites that are dedicated to free, shareable, high-quality images like Unsplash.com or Pexels.com.

5. Fine-tune, Publish, and Upkeep  

So far, we have selected a hosting site, and crafted a simple yet beautiful website, using free images, with a minimum of five of our best writing samples that are tailored specifically to our target audience. Finished? Not quite. Now is the time to fine-tune. Because no matter how great your work is, broken links, misspelled words, bad grammar, or inconsistency between pages is going to look unprofessional. Go over every page of the site scrupulously. Check that links are working, the font type, color, and size are consistent and cohesive throughout, it is easy to navigate, make sure everything is lined up to a grid for structure and visual appeal, and make ample use of white space to break up the page and direct the viewer where to go. 

Proofread! Get the help of an outside source to catch spelling, grammar, punctuation, and clarity issues. Have friends and colleagues you trust go through your site first and give feedback on its ease of use, organization, and design before you post it for the world to see.  

Finally, once the site is published, it will need regular upkeep. Think of your ePortfolio as a living journal. As you grow and change as a writer, so should your portfolio. Change and update your samples. Tweak the design or images used to better reflect you and the current trends in your industry. When applying for a particular job, view and navigate your website as that employer and make sure that it will appeal to them and your best work is on the landing page. The greatest part of an ePortfolio is that the ball is in your court. You have the freedom to design, create, and present your art as you see it. Now go be great.