How to Create a Portfolio Website from Scratch in 2019

A Web Portfolio is a must for every artist looking to get hired or commissioned. And in this article I want to show you how to create a portfolio website from scratch.

Applying for a job as an artist in a studio?

Hoping to get hired online?

Want to get commissioned?

I got two advices for you:

• Create a Website Portfolio
• Build a Social Media Presence

In this article I want to focus on the first one!

Where to Host Your Artsy Web Portfolio?

I’m in LOVE with WordPress and Bluehost!

I use it for my portfolio and two blogs: this one for artists and annasok.com for people looking to start a blog and make money from it.

That’s why I will be talking about these tools in this article.

Note: if you don’t want to use WordPress and Bluehost (which I highly recommend). I suggest you try out Wix Website Builder or Weebly. Both were recommended to me by a few of my art colleagues.

I choose Bluehost and WordPress because:

• You can customize EVERYTHING on your site
• There is a huge library of free plugins available
• They are the most authoritative in website building
• There is a huge library of tutorials available
• 24/7 support that can help you with anything
• Super CHEAP to get started with for only $3.95/month.

Create a Portfolio Website.
Step #1. Mindset

Before you even begin doing anything, I want you to think about your “WHY?”

Why do you want to create a portfolio website?

• To showcase your work, get hired and make money with your art?
• To have your prints and merchandise showcased on there?
• To share your art process?
• To send people from social media to?
• To collect email subscribers?
• To start your own art blog? (if so, this article will be better for you)

Who’s attention are you trying to get?

• A studio you want to get hired at?
• Subscribers who want to commission you?
• A magazine/journal to request editorial content?
• Or do you freelance and need a place that showcases your work professionally for potential employers?

What’s your plan?

There is no reason for you to start a blog if you don’t have plans for it.

So do think about this for a minute.

• Do you plan to build a website and then email people you want to work for to go check it out?
• Or do you plan on writing out your commission rates for custom art in there?
• Maybe you want to showcase merch you sell on RedBubble, Etsy, Zazzle or similar platforms?
• Or do you want to write articles, tutorials, step-by-step process art (a.k.a. blog) and make money with ads or affiliate marketing on there?

Once you have your “Why” figured out – it’s time to get to the fun stuff: Setting Up Your Website Portfolio.

Step #2: Hosting + Domain Name

What’s a Hosting Platform?

It’s a service that allows your website to live and be visible on the internet.

Do you need one?

YUP!

You can host your portfolio on free host providers, but you get what you pay for, right?

With most of them you will get:

• Very little customization options (both design and structure).
• No free awesome plugins.
• Your web link will look like this: www.hostingprovider.com/blog/your name – now, that doesn’t say professional, does it?
• Your portfolio will have ads on it that you DON’T get paid for, the host does.
• You can’t monetize it with your own ads
• and many other little things that are not worth the trouble.

So yes, you DO need a host either way.

Note: As I mentioned earlier, you can also try Wix or Weebly as your hosting provider if you are not into WordPress.

So, here goes:

My Hosting Choice #1 is Bluehost as it integrates smoothly with WordPress.

I currently have their 3-year subscription and I can’t say enough good things about their performance and 24/7 customer support.

• Begin by going to Bluehost.

At the top under “Hosting” or “WordPress” select your HOSTING PLAN.

It’s a super exciting time because in just a few minutes you will be an owner of a new website!

Under these tabs you will be presented with many options to choose from, but to be honest the cheapest option is great!

You can always update later if you will need to.

The Next Step is DOMAIN NAME

• What’s a domain name and how do you choose one?

A domain name is your website’s name in a URL format.

For example, right now you are on my blog that’s called Your Art Path and it’s URL is yourartpath.com.

For a portfolio site, it’s suitable to have your actual name or a name you create art under as your URL.

• firstnamelastname.com

Or you can ad your main keyword to it as well, such as: art, illustration, digital art, painting, drawing, photography, editorial, sculpting etc.

• annasokillustration.com
• annasokart.com
• etc.

The real question is – Do You Need to PAY FOR IT?

And the answer is YES! Of course. You are “renting” a name.

The great thing is that it’s only a few bucks, and the fabulous news are that you get it FOR FREE with Bluehost subscription 🙂

So when you choose a package we talked about above, you will be prompted to enter a DOMAIN NAME. You can do so now or “Choose Later”. Up to you!

*Or if you already own one then you can insert it here as well.

All that’s left to do after is filling out your information. You can sign-in with Google or enter everything manually.

And when you are all done, make sure that before you start building your website you create a secure password.

• Then you will be prompted to Choose a Theme. Don’t worry we will be changing it later 🙂

Congratulations! You took the first step in Creating a Portfolio Website!!

If you created a website using a different hosting plan on Bluehost, you can get help from them in installing WordPress by contacting support or doing it yourself by following this guide.

If you used WordPress Hosting just like I did, your cPanel will look like this:

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This just means that your website portfolio isn’t visible to people yet. It’s a good thing because it’s not ready to be seen at this point.

Make sure to turn it OFF when you finish building your website.

Don’t worry, everything is going according to the plan! This will soon be a unique professional-looking website.

Now, click on “Log In to WordPress” in the upper right corner and you should be taken straight to behind the scenes of your site. 

Step #3. Theme + Design

Now you get to choose a theme for your portfolio and actually start designing it 🙂

There are three ways in which you can go about this:

Way #1. Free Theme

WordPress is amazing in many things, one of them is the variety of free themes it offers.

But how do you find the right one for you?

First, begin by going to your WordPress Dashboard, and then to Appearance -> Themes. From here you will be able to look at your current theme, update it or change it to a new one.

Let’s search for some awesome free themes now by clicking on “Add New”. In the new link that opens, you will be able to browse through a collection of free featured, popular, lates, favourite; and premium themes.

• We will try to find one now using the feature filter.

In here you can select the things you want in your theme and click on “Apply Filters”. 

With all of the filters I applied there are no themes found. So I need to take out a couple of filters and see if that works.

• Or you can also search for a theme by entering keywords in the “Search Bar”

• When you find a theme you like, click on “Details & Preview” to take a look at it, and then “Install” to apply it to your website!

My favourite FREE theme that I use on both of my blogs is Ocean WP. It has a lot of customization options available, works great with Elementor (which we will talk about in a sec) and doesn’t slow down my website.

Way #2: Premium Theme

If you like reading articles about how to design a unique portfolio and what themes to choose, you probably read about many premium (paid for) themes that others recommend.

I don’t think there is anything wrong about buying a theme, because that already gives you more design options than in free themes. However, what if you then want an additional feature that the theme doesn’t have?

Or you want to redesign your website completely?

Or what if the theme stops being updated and you are just left with a broken code that doesn’t work with WordPress Updates?

Because, to be honest, a year from now you will probably get fed up with the look of your website that seems so “perfect” now.

Or you will simply find ways to improve it. Either way, you WILL resign your website a few times!

That’s why I can’t recommend any Premium Themes as I never had a need for them.

But I CAN recommend another awesome tool that will substitute ANY premium theme!

Way #3: Page Builder

Instead of buying a new Premium Theme each time you want to redesign your website portfolio, you can get this one WordPress plugin and unlock all of the design possibilities!

Elementor Pro – The Best WordPress Page Builder

Now let’s get to the fun stuff – my secret weapon: Elementor Pro.

This tool was a game changer for the design of my 2 blogs and a portfolio!

There are two versions:

• Elementor: a free version that can be found under “Plugins” in WordPress Dashboard
• Elementor Pro: a premium version that can only be purchased here.

Do you need this plugin? YES!
Can you live without it? Probably.

There are thousands of websites created all around the world every month. How do you make yours stand out?

You can design your website from scratch and make it fit your branding, style and personality with Elementor Pro! The free version doesn’t include many stunning features. But give the free one a shot anyway. And I’m sure you will fall in love with it quickly.

It’s a drag and drop very simple page builder. They constantly make awesome updates to include new features and I simply can’t get enough of it. Here is what you can get done with Elementor Pro:

• Design every bit of your website from scratch
• Build email opt-in forms and pop-ups
• Make your landing page stand out
• Create stunning sales pages
• Stop worrying about and buying themes

They are a PRO at helping you design your site in a unique way.

Elementor Pro doesn’t only let you customize every bit of your portfolio website, it also includes pre-build templates for you to get started with!

I have to warn you though, there is some learning curve involved in the process. But I urge you to install the free version and give it a shot! Once you get it – the sky is the limit and your website will definitely stand out from the rest.

Here is what the pre-designed templates and blocks look like:

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Wondering What kind of Website you can build with this plugin?
Here are 30 examples:

• 10 Elementor Pro Websites (Example 1)
• 10 Elementor Pro Websites (Example 2)
• 10 Elementor Pro Websites (Example 3)

Step 4: Design + Launch

With all of the tools you need available for you, it’s time to start putting it together.

Here is what we accomplished so far:

• Figured out “Why” I need a portfolio website
• Registered for Hosting and Domain Name with Bluehost
• Installed a Free Theme
• Got and Played Around With Elementor Pro Plugin

Now, there are 4 more things you need to do.

#1. Write an “About Me” Page

“About Me” , “About Us” or simply “About” page is a really powerful tool on your website portfolio. On it, you share your story, the mission of your website, and let your potential employers get to know you better.

This page will help you build trust with your visitors, which will lead to better relationships, and ultimately, to jobs.

Start by going to your WordPress Dashboard -> Pages -> Add New

Here you will be able to write a title for your About Page, add text, images, videos and so on.

It would be a great idea to spend the first 5 minutes just pressing buttons and familiarizing yourself with WordPress layout and options!

It’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s really simple once you get the hang of it.

Images are the icing of your blog – they help support your brand, make it easy to read your content and share it.

Make sure you include only relevant images to the topic you are writing about.

Note: or you can click on “Edit with Elementor” and design a unique about me page from scratch!

On your about page, it’s good to have an image of yourself. This little thing helps build trust in you from your readers. Show them that you are a real person!

To add an image, press on the image icon, and then either “Upload” or choose existing files from “Media Library”.

And when you are ready hit “Publish” and your page or post will appear live on your website. Or click on “Preview” to see what your page will actually look like before you publish it.

#2. Add Your Top Work

For your portfolio pieces, make sure to include 10-15 of the absolute best work you ever produced!

Nobody needs to see that “meh” work you create a few years ago. Only the BEST stuff!

And keep in mind that whatever work you share on your portfolio, is the kind of work you will be getting hired for.

So if you want to get hired as a character designer for a studio, then maybe your landscape paintings aren’t the best fit.

The same goes if you want a gallery to feature your oil paintings, maybe skip that abstract digital art you created last weekend 😉

#3. Contact Me Page

Finally, the point of this portfolio website is for your visitors to take some action.

If you want them to buy from you, include relevant links.

But if you want someone to hire or commission you, then you MUST have a “Contact Me” page form.

Connect it to your email account and you will receive updates whenever someone tries to reach you!

There are a few fabulous options included in Elementor Pro, or you can build yours from scratch.

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Create a Portfolio Website Final Step
#4. Launch + Share

After completing all of the things above, make sure to also include links to your social media accounts where you post your work.

This is called cross-promoting and works great if someone stumbles on your website, likes your work and wants to follow you on a different platform.

After that’s also done, it’s time to switch “Coming Soon” to OFF and you website portfolio is LIVE! 🙂

The next step would be to promote it on your other social media accounts by linking or sharing a post update.

Then, it’s time to bring your strategy to life and start getting jobs.

I might’ve missed a few steps in this how to create a portfolio website article as I didn’t want to overwhelm you. So I only included the information needed to get you to results ASAP.

But if you feel like I missed something crucial or want to ask me a question, don’t hesitate to do so in the comments section below.

Good luck with this and have fun!

– Anna.