How to Build a Web Design Portfolio and Attract Customers

More important than displaying prices, guarantees, or web copy come ons, a beginning web design business needs a quality portfolio to attract customers. Building a web design portfolio can be a challenge when you have not done any work yet. How do you do it? You can build a web design portfolio through personal pages, and donated pages to friends, families, and organizations.

Web Design Portfolio - What You Need

A web design portfolio should have representations of many different types of web design you offer to customers. You do not want to include every design you ever did, but you should make it seem like there are more. A phrase such as, "These are a selection of..." should do the trick.

For each site in your web design portfolio, you need to include basic information about the site, the link URL, a screenshot of the front page, and a list or a few sentences about what type of design you used. A testimonial from the customer receiving that design can attract more customers as well.

Web Design Portfolio - What Designs to Use

In order to attract the most customers to your website design business, you must include a wide variety of website designs in your portfolio. Only show your best work, and be sure to include any used for popular websites.

Some possible design types that should be included in your web design portfolio include graphic splash pages, proper CSS and XHTML content site design, blog design, ecommerce web shop design, and more simple personal pages.

Web Design Portfolio - Where to Get the Sites to Include

If you are just starting your web design business, you will not have several completed professional designs done for customers to include in your portfolio. If you do have these types of projects, include them first.

To fill up your web design portfolio, add websites made for friends and family. Any supportive family will not mind you creating a website for them. As long as the domain name is in their name and not yours, you can put it on your business site. Do not include your own websites in the web design portfolio. This is too obvious and tells potential clients that you are not experienced.

Another great way to get websites to include in your web design portfolio is to donate website design to organizations such as churches, charities, and local teams and groups. Search for such websites and then, if their design is lacking, offer to redesign for free or a link at the bottom of the page.

Building a web design portfolio is vital to the success of any design business. To attract customers, highlight your best work, include many different types of design, and gather as many quality examples as you can.