What a portfolio has to do
Answer three questions in under a minute: what do you do, is it good, how do I hire you. Every platform choice is judged on how well it lets a stranger get those answers.
Behance
Adobe's network. Large, searchable, and used by some agencies and recruiters to find talent. Project pages allow long case studies, which suit brand and UX work. Weakness: your work sits next to everyone's, and contact goes through Behance messaging. Use it for reach and as a searchable archive.
Dribbble
Short-form shots, strong for UI and illustration, with a hiring marketplace. Attracts other designers more than clients, but the hiring board is real for product design roles. Weakness: rewards trend-chasing and polish over substance.
Your own website
The only channel you control. It ranks in Google for the terms clients type, it carries your contact form, and it is where Behance and Dribbble visitors should end up. A WordPress portfolio site with case study pages, a short about page and a lead form is enough; the First for Support and Claire Dominics Buro sites show the pattern for service businesses.
The role of SEO
Clients search for "logo designer Islamabad" or "Shopify designer for skincare brand", not for your name. Case study pages titled for those searches, with the process described in words and not only images, are how a portfolio site gets found. Platforms cannot do this for you. Our SEO guide covers the basics.
Connecting the channels
- 01Publish the full case study on your site first.
- 02Post a version on Behance and shots on Dribbble that link back to the full study.
- 03Put the site URL and a one-line positioning in every profile bio.
- 04Send all contact to one form on your site, so leads are tracked in one place.
- 05Ask every finished client for a review you can quote on the site.
Common questions
- Do clients actually find designers on Behance?
- Some do, particularly agencies and in-house teams looking for specific styles. Most direct clients find designers through referrals and Google, which is why your own site matters more.
- How many projects should a portfolio show?
- Six to ten strong ones, each with a short description of the problem and the result. Fewer excellent pieces beat a long scroll of everything.
- Should I write case studies or just show images?
- Write them. A paragraph on the brief, your approach and the outcome is what turns a viewer into an enquiry, and it is what search engines index.
