ULTIMATE GUIDE TO USING WORDPRESS FOR A PORTFOLIO
WordPress is mostly suspicion of as only a blogging platform. But it’s means of so many more. Even WordPress’ support includes an finish territory on using WordPress as a calm government system. Because WordPress is such an easy-to-use platform, it creates clarity to cruise using it as a height to set up only about any kind of website, a portfolio website included.
Whether you’re a photographer, striking designer, Web engineer or any alternative kind of visible artist, WordPress creates an glorious starting point for building your online portfolio. And with the resources of plug-ins and processed themes available, you can customarily get a ideally respectable website up and regulating in a have a difference of hours.
This essay assumes which you have a purify designation of WordPress regulating on your website. For instructions on installing and configuring WordPress, greatfully deliberate the official documentation.
Here have been one some-more links which competence be utilitarian when conceptualizing your portfolio website.
- WordPress Developer’s Toolbox
A list of utilitarian WordPress developer pick up and resources. - Creating a Successful Online Portfolio
There have been a small usual mistakes designers have in their portfolios. Let’s examination these usual pitfalls initial to have certain you don’t tumble in to one of these traps. - 50 Beautiful And Creative Portfolio Designs
In this showcase, you’ll find a accumulation of beautiful, singular and rarely pleasing portfolio designs.
The initial thing you’ll wish to do is confirm either to have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of a pre-made thesis or design your own. If you’re a Web designer, chances have been you’ll wish to design a law theme. But if you’re any alternative kind of visible artist, copiousness of processed themes have been available, and with a small customization (changing the credentials image, trademark and color intrigue can go a prolonged way), one substantially exists which suits your needs and will save you time. Therefore let’s initial take a demeanour at a small openly accessible high-quality “portfolio” WordPress themes.
1. Free WordPress Portfolio Themes
Using a pre-made thesis is a good proceed to save time. While a small of the many appropriate themes have been not free, they’re still significantly reduction costly than employing a engineer to set up your website or spending hours of your own time when you could be you do billable work.
Sharpfolio: WordPress Portfolio Theme | Demo | Free
Viewport: WordPress Portfolio Theme | Demo | Free
is focused around a purify and simple, calm formed layout. The target is to grab the user’s courtesy and pull them true in to the content. On the singular post page the calm is laid out obviously in full, with post controls and a widget-enabled sidebar. Created by Paul Bennett generally for Smashing Magazine and the readers.
Irresistible | Demo | Download | Free
Irresistible is a visually-rich personal blog, with a small bit of a multimedia focus. Incorporating a small nifty video-options and widgets, Irresistible should encounter all of your personal blogging needs. Just supplement your calm to the mix.
Portfolio - WPESP Theme | Demo | Download | Free
The Theme is a starting point in the origination of portfolios, regulating Wordpress as CMS. In this short educational have been the discipline of the design, the Codex de Wordpress used, where have been explained the Custom Write Panel combined to edit the content, and the instrumentation to the Coda Slider Effect script, emanate by jQuery for Designers, and can be mutated depending on what the user needs.
2. Commercial Portfolio WordPress Themes
ProudFolio | Demo | Price: $70
ProudFolio is many really directed at determined designers, developers, artists and photographers who’d similar to a horizon thesis which incorporates both a great-looking portfolio and a feature-rich blog.
Design Photography Portfolio | Demo | Price: $25
Cassiopeia | Demo | Price: $80+
Sofa Designer Folio | Demo | Price: $30
Sofa Designer Folio thesis allows you to keep designer’s showcase distant from the blog. For which reason this thesis is regulating dual sort of templates: Portfolio and Blog.
Portfolio WordPress Theme | Demo | Price: $39
Geometric | Demo | Price: $70
Geometric takes a structured proceed to showcasing dual rsther than non-structured things: blogs & design portfolios.
Great Portfolio! WordPress Theme | Demo | Price: $12
Great Portfolio is a one page portfolio and a really purify template. It has 2 color options to name from namely, dim bule and dim brown. It additionally has a well-spoken scroller to each menu of the page. Contact Form is organic and ready to use.
Sketchbook Blog Portfolio WordPress Theme | Demo | Price: $30
Sketchbook was combined with the online veteran in mind and is geared towards an online showcase of blog and portfolio for the pleasing individual. This thesis comes with a integrate of law options, such as you can name if you would similar to an altogether light purify ethereal feel, or if you would similar to a some-more confidant dim considerable demeanour and feel.
Goldmine Portfolio Blog WordPress Theme | Demo | Price: $25
Ambiguous: WordPress Portfolio Theme | Demo | Price: $30
This thesis was grown to showcase your work. Ambiguous has a large featured portfolio equipment area well placed on the homepage showcasing the many appropriate of your work. Also on the homepage have been your many brand new blog posts. In the sidebar there is a law chatter feed feature, about widget displaying short info about yourself, and a site poke feature.
Foliotastic: A Premium WordPress Portfolio Theme | Demo | Price: $30
Foliotastic is a feature-packed portfolio/blog thesis which includes a full-featured, tabbed Admin Panel to shift options similar to colors (you can even come in your own law HEX value), difficulty settings, trademark settings and more.
Shuffle: Portfolio Blog | Demo | Price: $30
Fresh Folio | Demo | Price: $70+
eGallery | Demo | Price: $19.95 per year (membership)
GrungeMag | Demo | Price: $19.95 per year (membership)
Modularity | Demo | Price: $49 per 3 months membership
Cion | Demo | Price: $19.95 per year (membership)
Briefcast Portfolio Theme | Demo | Price: $25
3. Designing Your Portfolio
You’ll expected have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of dual main sorts of pages on your portfolio website: a home page or main portfolio page and particular plan pages. Your main page will expected embody of a array of thumbnails showcasing your work. Individual plan pages suggest some-more minute report about your work.
Designing Your Main Page
One thing all of the on top of themes have in usual is a concentration on images on the home page or main portfolio page. A unchanging WordPress blog customarily focuses on text. But a portfolio website needs to concentration on the images. Whether you wish your images to crop up in a grid format, in sequential order, as a slideshow or any alternative proceed is a personal choice. But have certain each picture is large sufficient for someone to have an thought of what they’re seeking at.
Along with the images for your portfolio, you competence wish to embody a small rudimentary information. One proceed to do this is to embody a “sticky post” (at slightest dual plug-ins do this: Simple Sticky Posts and WP-Sticky). Another proceed is to have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of (or design) a thesis with a “featured posts” duty which sets detached comparison posts from the rest of your content.
The proceed you hoop images on your website is an one some-more personal choice. A accumulation of plug-ins have been accessible out there to emanate assorted effects.
Plug-Ins to Handle Images
Images have been the fortitude of any portfolio website. Here have been a integrate of plug-ins for displaying and formatting your website’s images.
Thumbnail for Excerpts
This plug-in automatically displays a thumbnail of a post’s initial picture in the post mention (which appears on your home page or difficulty pages).
Slide Press
Integrates slideshows from SlideShowPro in to WordPress.
Carousel Gallery (jQuery) for WordPress
Creates a jQuery-powered gallery.
WordPress ThickBox plugin
A plug-in for formulating the Thickbox print style. It additionally includes instructions for switching to the W3C-valid Smoothbox, along with a small alternative utilitarian modifications.
PhotoQ WordPress Photoblog Plugin
This plug-in turns your blog in to a photoblog. Very accessible if you wish to have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of a thesis which isn’t quite matched to a portfolio but don’t have the expertise or time to customize it to your needs.
PhotoSmash Galleries
This plug-in allows you to conduct mixed galleries and even some-more than one art studio per post.
Image Drop Shadow
Creates an involuntary drop-shadow outcome for all of your images.
FlippingBook WordPress Gallery
This is one of the coolest plug-ins out there for environment up a portfolio. Instead of together with a ton of thumbnail images on your plan pages, because not set them up as a flip book, in which viewers can spin pages and wizz in to perspective details? This plug-in creates all which probable (and easy).
Featured Content Gallery
This plug-in creates an programmed rotating art studio of images from your posts or pages which you can hide anywhere on your theme.
NextGEN Gallery
Another art studio plug-in with an easy-to-use back-end.
WordPress Galleria
Creates print galleries automatically; all you have to do is upload a printed have a difference with the photos you wish for each gallery.
Flickr Gallery
This is a good plug-in if you’ve already put your work up on Flickr. It lets you simply emanate galleries for your blog formed on your Flickr photos, photosets and many renouned photos.
Designing Your Project Pages
Each of your projects should have the own page on condition which details. The sum you’ll wish to embody will change formed on what kind of portfolio you have. If you’re a Web designer, you’ll wish to suggest links to tangible websites, along with a short outline of each project’s range and presumably testimonials. If you’re a photographer, you’ll wish to embody report on the subjects, dates and locations of your photos. An artist will embody report about the media used, inspirations and presumably from where and how the pieces can be purchased, or who has purchased them if they’ve already been sold.
Displaying the interpretation for these sorts of posts can be a pain. You can only have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of a account format to report the plan as you would in a unchanging blog post. But if you’re seeking for something a bit different, there have been a integrate of ways to understanding with formatting posts similar to this. You can have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of a post template (check out the Post Templates plug-in) or a list (using the WP-Table plug-in). In any case, standardizing how report is presented for each plan will have your portfolio demeanour some-more professional.
No have a difference what kind of art or design work you’re showcasing, you competence wish to embody one some-more images or screenshots of each project. Some of the picture art studio plug-ins listed on top of have been undiluted for this sort of usage.
What Else Should Your Portfolio Include?
Obviously, your portfolio should have images of your many appropriate work. But what else should you include? An “About” page should be included, as should hit information. (What’s the point of arrangement off your work if impending clients can’t get in hold with you?)
If you’re feeling brave, you competence wish to set up a rating complement on your website. There have been plug-ins to do this (GD Star Rating seems to be the many popular). You can afterwards have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of the ratings to underline certain projects or only have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of them for your own knowledge.
Whether to leave comments open on your plan pages is an one some-more consideration. Again, it’s a personal choice. If you do confirm to let visitors comment, I would strongly suggest environment up a mediation process which requires all brand new comments to be approved. This prevents violent comments from looming on your website (a big regard if you’re posting projects you’ve finished for clients, who competence be annoyed if a disastrous criticism showed up in anxiety to their website or logo).
4. Other Considerations And Tips
Keep the design of your portfolio website simple. You wish your work to mount out, not the website’s design. A solid-colored or elementary picture credentials interconnected with frail images of your projects is the proceed to go.
If you’re conceptualizing your portfolio thesis from blemish or customizing a pre-made theme, here’s a pretence I schooled on my initial project. Upload your thesis or the simple horizon of the thesis to your website (or contrast area). Then go to your home page and each particular page you’ll be conceptualizing and duplicate the source code. Save each of these pages as an HTML file. Open them up in your HTML editor of preference and insert the CSS from your theme. From there, you can edit your CSS and images and see how they start the website’s tangible design. Of course, you won’t be means to edit your PHP files, which carry out the functionality of your website, but it’s a good by-pass when operative on the tangible design.
Pick and name the projects you upload to your website. No one says you have to embody each plan you’ve ever worked on. Pick the many appropriate ones, or the ones many deputy of your work, and dont think about the rest. Better to have 10 or twenty glorious examples than 100 which have been only so-so.
5. Portfolio Websites Built On WordPress
A lot of designers, photographers and artists already have have have have have have have have have have use of of of of of of of of of of WordPress to arrangement their work. Here have been only a few:
George Butler Design and Development
6. Further Resources
Here have been one some-more links which competence be utilitarian when conceptualizing your portfolio website.
- How to Use WordPress for a Portfolio Site: Part 1 and Part 2 from blogHelper
A finish educational on formulating a law WordPress portfolio theme. - Using WordPress as a Portfolio: Examples and Themes (15+)
A pick up of portfolio themes and websites. - Build a Dynamic Design Portfolio with WordPress
A really simple outline of environment up a portfolio website. - WordPress as a CMS - Content Management System
The basis of regulating WordPress as a calm government system. - Things to Consider When Using WordPress as a CMS
A some-more minute demeanour at regulating WordPress as a CMS. - So You Want to Create WordPress Themes, Huh?
A educational on formulating law WordPress themes. - WordPress Customization
A really minute demeanour at opposite ways to customize WordPress. - WordPress Developer’s Toolbox
A list of utilitarian WordPress developer pick up and resources. - Creating a Successful Online Portfolio
There have been a small usual mistakes designers have in their portfolios. Let’s examination these usual pitfalls initial to have certain you don’t tumble in to one of these traps. - 50 Beautiful And Creative Portfolio Designs
In this showcase, you’ll find a accumulation of beautiful, singular and rarely pleasing portfolio designs.
About the Author
Cameron Chapman is a veteran Web and striking engineer with over 6 years of experience. She additionally writes for a series of blogs, together with her own, Cameron Chapman On Writing.
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© Cameron Chapman for Smashing Magazine, 2009. |
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Ultimate Guide To Using WordPress For A Portfolio
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good info. amicable dlog
good info. nice dlog