In this video we discuss some of the biggest do‘s and don’ts when designing your portfolio website.
Video transcript
When someone is coming to your site, you have a few precious moments to engage them with your work.
TIP: TRY USING A COLLECTION PAGE FOR YOUR HOMEPAGE
Stay away from landing (Title) pages unless they are serving a specific purpose or provide a huge impact. Instead of a static image on a page, set the Homepage of your site to a Collection Page.
This way, when someone comes onto your site they are immediately met with an overview of your best images; and, better yet, because a Collection Page is a page of image links, visitors to your site are immediately engaged because the page is responsive to clicks.
TIP: USE FONTS AND COLOURS AS ACCENTS THAT SHOW YOUR PERSONALITY
If used well, fonts and colour can help to set the tone of your site; from formal, to friendly or even unconventional, but, if overused, they can distract from your images, which should be the key focus.
When thinking of fonts and colours, think accents. For example, instead of using an extreme font throughout your site, reserve this for your site logo and header texts.
Make the body text of your site something clear and easy to read- this way visitors will focus on the content instead of the font.
Colours can be tricky too. Because it is a portfolio site, colours should generally be neutral so that the work stands out. Use colours to accent different areas of your page, which will compliment the work. Co-ordinated headings, mailing lists and slideshows will tie the design of your site to the work.
Format also offers some colour-responsive themes, such as Coral and Spruce, which will automatically grab the colours from the edge of your photos and create colour-responsive frames around your images. These can be great for bright-poppy work, like fashion photography or food photography sites, or, can be employed as a subtle backdrop to black and white photography, with each frame picking up the subtle shifts in greyscale.
TIP: CURATE SMALLER GALLERIES OF YOUR BEST WORK
Above all, curation is key. The biggest mistake we see in sites are members trying to include every photograph they’ve ever taken. Instead, put your best foot forward with your best images, and if applicable, divide images into series for quick and easy consumption.
We recommend that gallery pages be approximately 20 images to show the breadth of work in the series, but short enough to keep viewers engaged. Tie all of your galleries of work together with a collection page for easy viewing and a great user experience.
Reach us at our live chat or via our email info@format.com if you have any more questions. We’re happy to help!