No matter what kind of art you create, the internet has made it easier than ever for artists to showcase their work and make a living from doing what they love. An awesome online portfolio can make it far easier for you to get your work noticed by experts, whilst integrating with e-commerce allows you to easily sell your work online. But, with so many artists and creatives out there using the internet to showcase their work, the hard part is in making yours stand out from the crowd. We’ve put together a checklist of top tips to help you put together a portfolio of your work, so you can gain popularity as an artist.

Tip #1. Choose the Right Platform:

First and foremost, choosing the right platform on which to host your online portfolio is an important decision. If you’re planning to sell your work online, opting for an e-commerce platform that is modern and provides everything that you need to appear professional, sleek and experienced is absolutely necessary. You will need to choose a platform that specialises in portfolio building, allowing you to add super-high-quality images and videos whilst providing fast loading times and the best responsiveness to mobiles and other hand-held smart devices. Check out these online portfolios on format.com for an idea of what you should look for.

Tip #2. Get a Second Opinion:

It can be difficult to be subjective when looking at your own work, so it can be a good idea to get somebody else to look over your work with you when it comes to choosing the best pieces to add to your online portfolio. After all, you will want to showcase your best pieces, but don’t forget that your best work is subject to opinion. You might find that work you might not have thought about adding to your portfolio are pieces that somebody else would add first.

Tip #3. Take a Step Back:

One expert tip when it comes to setting up your online portfolio is to take the time to look at all your work to carefully choose the right pieces. Experts suggest choosing the pieces that you are the proudest of and those that represent the type of work that you hope to be producing more of in the future. At least five projects will help you to best represent the breadth and depth of your work and showcase your capabilities in the best light.

Tip #4. Use Eye-Catching Images and Video:

Once you’ve gone through your work and chosen the best pieces to show, it’s time to ensure that you are showcasing them in the best light. Spending some time creating eye-catching, high-quality images and videos of your work can make a massive difference to your final product. It’s a good idea to take images and videos of the process involved in getting to the final completed projects, too; showing the back-story behind your work can have a more powerful effect on viewers, rather than simply showing them the finished result.

Tip #5. Let Your Work Take Centre Stage:

Don’t forget that the actual website design itself will play a large part in how your portfolio is presented to the world. Simple, clean web design that shows off your work and allows it to play centre stage is a must to get the most out of your portfolio. A minimalistic website design will create the visual environment needed to make your work stand out more effectively. Aiming for simplicity in the visual design and interface of your website will allow your work to be pushed to the forefront, which is exactly where it should be. A simple navigation system is essential. Try and opt for an uncluttered theme without too many distractions so your work has room to breathe.

Tip #6. Tell Your Story:

Your website’s ‘about’ page can tell a powerful story when it comes to showcasing your work and your story. When crafting your about page, make it personal to you so that it tells a story, rather than just talking about your past work and jobs. As a creative, it’s likely that you have your own point of view on the world and your industry; letting this shine through can help your visitors build a stronger connection and relate to you better. Share your origin story, too – how did you come to realise that art is your passion? What made you find your talents and your preferences? Then, ground your experience using external details; mention notable publications, press or clients who could add more depth to your story and credibility as an artist.

Tip #7. Provide Interesting Content:

In addition to showcasing your work, it’s a good idea to add different elements to your portfolio that allow you to provide interesting content that shows off your abilities, knowledge, and standing in the creative community. A blog, for example, is the perfect way to relate further to your visitors and provide them with a range of content that they may find interesting. In addition, blogging will add more pages to your website, which can then be indexed in Google, making it easier for you to improve your search engine ranking and be found online. Interesting, informative blog posts are favoured by search engines since it is apparent that these provide the most value to readers.

Tip #8. Make Sharing Easy:

As an artist, the main thing that you want is for people to spread the word about your work and help you gain more popularity and credibility. Since it’s becoming more and more popular to share the things that you are excited about online, encouraging shares on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can go a long way to improving your reach and getting you out there as an artist. Make sharing easy with quick links that allow your interested visitors to quickly include your work on their Facebook or Twitter profiles.

Tip #9. Update Regularly:

Last but not least, it’s important to keep in mind that no good portfolio website will be static. It’s important to make sure that you are regularly updating your site, both with blog posts, works in progress, and completed projects. Updating regularly will ensure that your visitors are kept in the loop about your latest work and can follow you throughout the process as you create new works of art. Ensure that you keep the same careful focus on clean, fresh design and allow your most influential pieces of work to take centre stage. Updating your portfolio with works in progress is essential for keeping it fresh and encouraging a regular flow of updates and new content to the site. You might even want to consider setting up a mailing list so that you can keep any interested visitors up to date with the latest additions to your portfolio. Lastly, don’t forget to link your portfolio to your social media pages, so that you can keep your followers regularly updated there too.

As an artist, creating an online portfolio is becoming more and more essential for showcasing your best work to the world. If you found these tips helpful, let us know in the comments.