In person it's pretty easy to simply show off websites on my laptop and iPhone or iPad while we're talking, so the potential client gets to see things nice and quickly. But what happens when I'm not there to reinforce the big picture, like when they visit our website?
Showing and telling are two different things. However, putting your work in context is paramount to getting not only the visual outcome across, but also your approach.
There are portfolio websites that literally place a screenshot of the website on the screen of an image of a device like a laptop, iPhone or iPad. Sometimes all three are shown side by side to drive home the concept of a responsive website for the uninformed.
The Web Development Group’s project section is made up of case studies, and displays the work across different device screens to show off the firm’s responsive design skills.
Other times there are websites for design companies that go into a richer explanation, offering up a full case study with client quotes and so on. These can also be great sales tools for when you're not there, or when you're working on selling to a new client remotely, via email.
For me the most successful portfolio sites mix these approaches. Ideally you would want to have some deep explanation of a project via a case study, and some pieces of your portfolio that can simply be skimmed or viewed quickly as screenshots, but with enough detail to satisfy the curious new prospect.
The portfolio section for nclud (nclud.com) is organised by year, and features a nifty focus technique when you mouse over the different image types of the project’s screenshots.
Words: Gene Crawford
Gene’s Crawfords mission is to work tirelessly to provide inspiration and insight for developers. Follow him on Twitter at @Genecrawford. This article appeared first in issue 262 of net magazine.
