Your site is a frame
A frame exists to hold its art. It should compliment your work, but never overshadow it. Think of your portfolio site as a frame for your work. Keep it clean and easy to navigate. Don’t let your site get in the way of letting me see what I really came for.

Make every project a link (AKA: Don’t use Flash)
Make sure I can link directly to a project. The best thing about using the web to promote yourself is the ease of how a link can be shared with people. If I want to show someone some cool piece you did, I should be able to copy the URL and send it. “Go to thiscoolsite.com and click on project number four” doesn’t cut it, yet this is exactly what I need to do with most Flash based portfolio.
This is mainly a problem with flash sites, but it can also happen with some php sites.

Make it simple
Potential employers aren’t coming to your site to see your fancy drop down menus or see a long flash splash page. You want to impress them? Show them your work. Whether you’re a web designer or not, your online portfolio is NOT the place to show off your new flash skills or that new javascript hack. Your portfolio exists to show off your projects, not to be a project in itself. You want to play around? Make a PERSONAL site and link to it in your PORTFOLIO.

Don’t be clever
Don’t make me learn a new system just to use your site. Use web navigation standards like putting your navigation on the left of the page to make me feel in control. Mystery meat (link) navigation is for entertainment sites, not your portfolio. Don’t make me think, just show me your work.

Make it easy for us to contact you
This is a no brainer, but some sites overlook it. Make your email address easy to find. Especially if you’re a freelancer or looking for a job. Think about adding a “hire me for freelance” button.

Make it easy to update
A simple design also makes it easy to manage and update on your end. Many people I talk to have a portfolio, but they say “I really need to update it.” They are ashamed to show it because it’s not current. You’re too busy making more cool stuff to worry about making thumbnails, adding new html, and changing that complicated navigation system to include your new project. Make it simple and you can update with ease.

SIMPLIFY!
It’s the bottom line. Your site only exists to show your work. Your portfolio is a frame used to feature your best work. That’s it. It’s not fun, it’s not fancy, it’s not clever. It is a tool to show off work. It’s your work that should be the fun part. Don’t over think it. Put your best work in a frame and hang it on a wall for everyone to see.

Why These Rules?
How did I settle on all these rules? I have been on both sides of an online portfolio, both learning how to create and manage my own (Creamyorange) and looking through others’ portfolios to find freelancers and employees for my current job at Digital Kitchen. Many of the sites I had visited were difficult to navigate or cluttered with too many distracting elements. I have also struggled on making my portfolio as simple as possible. It was during the creation of my site and while looking at others that these rules came about.

What Now?
When I was about to graduate, I couldn’t find an easy way to get my portfolio online, so I decided to learn how to do it myself. I was so surprised how difficult the learning curve is to get a simple site up. Domains, Hosting, PHP, FTP, CSS, DNS Servers, Databases: All these things make it difficult for a professional or a student to take time out of learning their craft and put up a site. After going through the frustration of creating and maintaining my own site, I decided to create a system that would make it easy to manage a creative online portfolio in the simplest way possible. It’s called Contrast and we want to make it easy for you to stop worrying about your online presence and just make more cool stuff. Check it out and sign up to receive updates about the release of Contrast.