Definitive guide
Best Portfolio Websites of 2022 | 58 Examples + Templates
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Build it yourself. On this page, you'll find clear instructions on how to do it – even if you don't have any experience. I'll recommend you a couple of tools that I trust and use myself. If you decide to purchase a tool I recommend, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Do you prefer to have a professional web designer do it for you? I got your back. Scroll down to check out my recommended web designer.
My name is Ralph de Groot. I'm the founder and author at My Codeless Website. Wake me up for a great web design. I love writing about website examples, too!
PS: This is my #1 site builder and this is my #1 hosting.
Best portfolio examples
- Illo
- Dennis Krawec
- By experience
- Created by Carla
- Web design by Lucia
- Phoyd
- Nine 9 Web Design
- Mary Rohl
- Jonathan Jackson
- Ana Cano
- Yuri Magoori
- Christina Vanessa
- Sophie Britt
- Lena Steinkuhler
- Charles Palacio
- Steve Wolf
- Wendy Ju
- Studio Bagaz
- Shiyuan Ye
- David Milan
- Thai Pham
- Reut Chen
- Michael Schmid
- Keith’s Portfolio
- Pchico
- Simon Daufresne
- Sophie DFK
- Languagre Dept
- Nahel Moussi
- Vault 49
- Michiel de Graaf
- More Air
- Mixd
- Made Together
- Jacky Winter
- Musab Hassan
- Yuta Abe
- Jonas Reymondin
- Alfsalib
- Hugo Prieto
- Andy Hardy
- Lotte Bijlsma
- Muramoto Meguru
- Glenn Catteeuw
- Julio Llorente
- NMBRS
- Richard Ekwonye Portfolio
- DEIDRE DRISCOLL
1. Illo
URL: https://illo.tv/
Oh yes. Looking for a modern portfolio website example? Illo definitely is one to watch! This design studio created a bold portfolio design by using powerful colors combined with big fonts. Love it!
- Awesome animations
- Very unique web design
- Lots of whitespace
2. Dennis Krawec
Haha oh yes. You definitely want to have a look at this one. Dennis Krawec was actively listening when you asked him to ‘go bold with your portfolio website’. The creativity is everywhere!
- Very unique web design
- Bold colors and shapes
- The website feels very much ‘alive’
3. By Experience
By Experience is an agency which created their own portfolio website. And they clearly know what they’re doing. They used an animated background with bold fonts and fun images. Very inspiring portfolio example!
- Nice animations
- Bold color scheme
- Incredible images
4. Created by Carla
URL: https://createdbycarla.co.uk/
Carla is a freelance marketing consultant with a nice portfolio website. As you click on the portfolio section of this website, you’ll find a powerful call to action which invites you to get in touch. I’m sure this website converts many visitors into customers!
- Clear call to actions
- High converting website
- Clean design
5. Web design by Lucia
URL: https://webdesignbylucia.com/
Lucia is a web designer based in Spain. Her website features a nice background video which makes you feel instantly connected to Lucia. Definitely a nice way to engage with your visitors!
- Clear call to actions
- Nice video background
- Clean design
6. Phoyd
URL: https://phoyd.nl/
Phoyd is a web designer based in the Netherlands. I love how he uses cool shapes throughout the website to create a funky vibe!
- Clear call to actions
- Funky shapes
- Clean design
7. Nine 9 Web Design
URL: https://nine9webdesign.co.uk/
Nine9 web design is a web design agency with a cool portfolio website! The scrolling animations as you explore the website are a great way to make the website come ‘alive’!
- Nice scrolling animations
- Great color scheme
- Clean design
8. Mary Rohl
URL: http://maryrohldesigns.com/
Mary Rohl is a visual designer. I love the color scheme which is consistent throughout the entire website. Very clean web design!
- Clear call to actions
- Great copywriting
- Nice typography
9. Jonathan Jackson
URL: https://johnathanjackson.com/
Jonathan Jackson is a UX/UI designer. The website features an inspiring background video and cool shapes throughout the entire website. Definitely check this one out!
- Nice shapes
- Awesome background video
- Clean website design
10. Ana Cano
URL: https://anacanodesign.com/
Ana Cano is a web designer with a nice portfolio example! I love how Ana blends the outfit she wears in the background image with the rest of her color scheme. Clever!
- Awesome color scheme
- Nice images
- Greet portfolio design!
11. Yuri Magoori
Yuri Magoori is an actor, musician, and multiple other things. His website features a simple and short layout and immensely powerful images, which combine to form an amazing portfolio. Very inspiring!
- Stunning images
- Clean and simple yet impactful
- Great balanced design
12. Christina Vanessa
URL: https://www.christinavanessa.com/
Christina Vanessa decided to do things a little bit differently with her portfolio website. She leverages a powerful background video combined with slick typography. Very classy!
- Nice background video
- Clean design
- Clear call to action
13. Sophie Britt
URL: https://www.sophiebritt.com/
Sophie Britt is a visual designer with a very unique portfolio website. She decided to keep things clean and use lots of whitespace. I love how she uses shiny colors to add playfulness to her portfolio!
- Amazing artwork
- Playful colors
- Lots of whitespace
14. Lena Steinkühler
URL: https://www.lenasteinkuehler.com/
Lena Steinkühler is an artist based in Hamburg. She definitely knows what she’s doing, and you’ll experience the same after visiting her website for a few seconds. The incredible background images showcase her portfolio projects – and yes – they look incredible!
- Amazing 3D art
- Cool typography
- Very unique design style
15. Carles Palacio
URL: http://carlespalacio.com/
Carles Palacio decided to approach his portfolio website a little bit differently. He chose for a minimal website design combined with a clean menu design. Very inspiring!
- Unique web design
- Clean menu
- Epic background image
16. Steve Wolf
URL: https://www.stevewolf.co/
Steve Wolf is a design and branding studio from Austin, Texas. I love the approach they took – big and bold images combined with a minimalistic design. Great portfolio website!
- Nice building blocks
- Powerful images
- Lots of whitespace
17. Wendy Ju
URL: https://www.wenxinwendyju.com/
Wendy Ju definitely created a modern portfolio example to showcase her projects. I love the scrolling effects combined with incredible images. Definitely make sure to check this one out!
- Unique web design style
- Very clean design
- Nice layout dividers
18. Studio Bagaz
URL: https://www.studiobgz.com/
Studio Bagaz is an agency based in Israel. This is definitely an inspiring portfolio example. Actually, when you check this one out, have a look at the ‘contact’ page. It’s awesome!
- Love the color scheme
- Clear value proposition
- Great website set up
19. Shiyuan Ye
URL: https://www.shiyuandesign.com/
Shiyuan is a graphic designer who built an epic portfolio website. I love the big fonts and the moving objects. Definitely have a look at this inspiring portfolio!
- Nice portfolio images
- Clear introduction above the fold
- Nice colors
20. David Milan
URL: https://www.davidmilan.com/
David Millan is an art director and lettering artist. I love how he constructed his portfolio around this lettering arts. His homepage is filled with portfolio projects and does a great job at showcasing his creativity.
- Very powerful images
- Nice logo design
- Lots of portfolio examples
21. Thai Pham
URL: https://www.thaiphamphotography.com/
Thai Pham is a photographer based in Vietnam. Her website is so incredibly clean, there’s no fluff to be found. If you desire to build a minimal yet powerful portfolio website, this is a great example to study!
- Powerful bakcground image
- Clean menu design
- Unique website setup
22. Reut Chen
URL: https://www.reutchen.com/
Reut Chen is a textile designer based in Israel. What I love about this portfolio website is quite simple, yet so powerful. The headline. It instantly tells you wat Reut does, and how it could help you. Simple but smart!
- Great portfolio examples
- Clear value proposition
- Nice shapes
23. Michael Schmid
URL: http://workdiary.de/
Michael Schmid is a developer based in Germany who created one of the most minimal portfolio websites I’ve ever seen. It contains almost no text, yet it looks awesome. Have a look at the animations on this website!
- Cool animations
- Clean design
- Fun domain name
24. Keith’s Portfolio
URL: https://www.keithalva.com/
I love how straight to the point Keith’s Portfolio is by describing who he is and what he does at the beginning. The website is super clean, and the photographs below will leave you in awe. Great work!
- Amazing photographs, illustrations, and visual designs
- Nice animations
- Cool color scheme
25. Pchico
URL: https://pchico.es/
Pchico is a designer based in Spain. The website uses a slick typography and has a minimalistic design. I’m a big fan of the design of the cursor as you hover over the website.
- Clean design
- Nice portfolio projects
- Lots of whitespace
26. Simon Daufresne
URL: https://simondaufresne.com/
Simon Daufresne is a designer based in Paris. This portfolio example is about as minimalistic as possible. Very inspiring!
- Incredible scrolling objects
- Nice animations
- Great website set up
27. Sophie DFK
URL: https://www.sophie-dkf.com/
Sophie is a freelance graphic designer from France. I love the scrolling animations as you scroll down this website. Definitely make sure to have a look at this portfolio example!
- Minimalistic web design
- Nice scrolling objects
- Clean design
28. Language Dept
URL: https://www.languagedept.com/
Language Dept is a portfolio website you should definitely check out. The effects when you scroll down the website – hell yes – are simply amazing! Super inspiring web design!
- Nice images
- Unique design
- Great value proposition
29. Nahel Moussi
Nahel Moussi built an amazing portfolio website. The scrolling animations as you explore this portfolio are super inspiring. I love the visual effects as you tap on one of the portfolio projects. Love it!
- Bold design
- Great scrolling animations
- Cool portfolio reel
30. Vault 49
Vault 49 uses a dark color scheme which makes this portfolio example feel high-end and luxurious. The scrolling animations as you explore the website are awesome!
- Slick menu design
- Bold design
- Nice scrolling animations
31. Michiel de Graaf
URL: https://www.michieldegraaf.com/
Michiel de Graaf is a designer based in the Netherlands. I love the way he showcases his portfolio projects in a minimalistic and funky way. Very inspiring portfolio example!
- Fun copywriting
- Nice portfolio examples
- Clean design
32. More Air
URL: http://moreair.co/
More Air is an agency that designs digital products. I love the typography and the amount of whitespace which was used in this portfolio. Well done!
- Nice images
- Lots of whitespace
- Great value proposition
33. Mixd
Mixd is a web design agency based in the United Kingdom. And let’s face it, this color scheme rocks! Definitely have a look at this portfolio if you want to create a professional website.
- Nice images
- Unique design
- Great value proposition
34. Made Together
URL: https://www.madetogether.com.au/
Made Together is an agency based in Australia. I like how this portfolio example uses small animations to make the website come ‘alive’. Well designed!
- Clean design
- Lots of whitespace
- Cool animations
35. Jacky Winter
Jacky Winter is an agency based in Collingwood, Australia. This is definitely one of the more unique portfolio websites which will bring you lots of inspiration. Love it!
- Epic way to show your creativity
- Cool animations
- Very unique web design
36. Musab Hassan
An amazing display of an aesthetic picture at the start is very nice. The colorful pointer is amazing to give you a lovely experience of driving over the whole website to discover features.
- Innovative interface. Quite lovely!
- Smooth scrolling pointer
- Lively choice of colors
37. Yuta Abe
The way this website drives us to the starting page is captivating. Added with that, the layouts designed to start having black backgrounds are no exception!
- Watery click at pictures
- Adorable background
- Simple and decent interface
38. Jonas Reymondin
URL: https://jonasreymondin.com/
What an amazing eye-catcher! Bold font with a neon and greyish color background is stunning! Moreover, the headline of the profile running at the left corner of the web is another way of catching attention!
- Lovely choice of colors in layouts
- Simple and sophisticated writeup
- Simple interface with a smooth and plain scrolling
39. Alfsalib
URL: https://www.alfsalib.com/
Simplicity grabs more attention than being crowded. This web is designed in the same way just displaying a few word writeup with a light greyish background, quite sophisticated!
- User-friendly interface
- Lovely layouts with amazing pictures
- Unique and wonderful slide down view of a website
40. Hugo Prieto
Landing on the page you will get a cute smiling face of a child who is just lost in watching the world go by. Driving down you will see different layouts with different pictures each one with live changing backgrounds.
- Adorable combination of colors in the background
- The scrolling pointer is smooth
- User-friendly and captivating interface
41. Andy Hardy
The picture of mountains gives bold and courageous vibes. scrolling down gives the nice unwrapping of the layouts of aesthetic pictures. With that, the black background highlights the photography.
- Aesthetic photography
- Unique captivating web design
- Innovative interface
42. Lotte Bijlsma
URL: https://lottebijlsma.com/
This web is sophistically designed with a white background and light-colored layouts. Highly appealing! Each layout has a different story to tell with a decent writeup.
- Sophisticated web design
- Nice choice of colors
- Very user-friendly interface
43. Muramoto Meguru
The live display of white and black flowers is no exception. The black background is another catcher adding to more appeal for this website.
- Unique animations
- Quite an innovative web design
- Interesting interface
44. Glenn Catteeuw
URL: https://glenncatteeuw.com/
The live display of white and black flowers is no exception. The black background is another catcher adding to more appeal for this website.
- Unique animations
- Quite an innovative web design
- Interesting interface
45. Julio Llorente
URL: https://juliollorente.com/
Simple but powerful! This website nailed it by keeping a clean web design. On its one-pager homepage, displayed is a creative text with an overlaid heart-stopping video. Clicking on it redirects you to a portfolio page that features their commercials, films, and music videos. And let me tell you, the classic black background and white text really work well with this type of web design.
What we love about this web design
- Very unique web design
- Nice background video behind the logo
- Clean design
46. NMBRS
URL: https://www.nmbrs.studio/
“Cool” is an understatement to describe this website. NMBRS surely knows how to captivate visitors because their animation never disappoints. For those interested, they work for internationally renowned companies, startups, and artists on creating a visual narrative enjoyed by the masses. Well done!
What we love about this web design
- Very unique web design
- Unique approach to portfolio website
- Responsive site
47. Richard Ekwonye Portfolio
URL: https://www.richardekwonye.com/
Richard Ekwonye nailed the gray-black combination website. I love how simple the design is with a unique “drag me” cursor for the photos. Also, there’s only one font for every page. Neat and original!
What we love about this web design
- Neat and balanced design
- Stunning images
- Unique cursor
48. DEIDRE DRISCOLL
URL: https://deidredriscoll.com/
The placement of images on this website is such an innovative idea. As the visitor, who wouldn’t scroll down to see what’s up? Overall, the website is a perfect embodiment of passion for art and design.
What we love about this web design
- Unique animation
- Clean web design
- Responsive site
These are my favourites.
Copywriter Portolio Template
- Compelling design which will turn visitors into customers
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
DJ Portfolio Template
- This design is made for a DJ portfolio originally, but works great for other portfolios
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
Makeup Portfolio Template
- Lots of space for images with a great focus on getting new customers
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
Fashion Portolio Template
- Great styling and awesome color scheme
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
Design Portfolio Template
- Playful design with many possibilities to customize
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
Author Portfolio Template
- I love how this template features one main product with an enticing call to actio button
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
Graphic Illustrator Portolio Template
- Smooth design with a focus on converting visitors to clients
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
Actor / Model Portfolio Template
- Clean design with powerful call to actions
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
Webdesign Freelancer Portfolio Template
- Powerful and elegant template which is perfect for showcasing online projects
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
BONUS – Here is my favorite template
URL: https://mycodelesswebsite.com/try-theme/actor-cv
Why this is such a great template
- Clean design, great to turn visitors into customers
- WordPress compatible, easy to customize
- Free download if you’re a Divi member
Get started in 2 steps
1 ► Download your theme, click on the button above
2 ► Get a free domain with a one click Wordpress installation
BONUS: Elegant Themes
URL: https://elegantthemes.com/
Although this one officially shouldn't be in this list - I couldn't keep this one from you. Elegant themes has amazing website themes and leads by example. Their own homepage looks stunning.
What you can learn from this great website
- Playful design
- Clear call to actions
- Great user experience
More website examples
Modern Examples
Startup Examples
Divi Examples
here are your next steps.
1
Find a web designer, or do it yourself.
The team at My Codeless Website offers high-quality websites for fair prices. We partnered up with a professional web design agency to deliver jaw-dropping websites that are not just good-looking, but conversion-focused.
❤ Proven track record of over 300 websites built
❤ Organized, easy-to-follow process from start to finish
❤ Experts guide you through the architecture of your website
2
Website hosting that I recommend.
❤ Great for hosting a single website
❤ Cheap
❤ Great support
❤ Great for hosting multiple websites
❤ Free migrations
3
Selecting the right page builder.
Analyze the best examples on this page and select a page builder that is powerful and isn't buggy.
Here is the one I recommend.
Get a professional logo.
I recommend you to hire a professional designer to create a logo. Prices starting at $5!
4
Grab my install guide.
Analyze the best examples on this page and select a page builder that is powerful and isn't buggy.
Here is the one I recommend.
5
Best Practices (BONUS).
Claim the right domain before it's gone
Spend your money wisely.
We recommend Divi, it's great for beginners and allows you to customize everything.
About the author
Ralph de Groot loves great web design. In fact, you can wake him up at night if you found an inspiring website. Besides writing at My Codeless Website he also loves to read and to travel.
Checklist: 5 ways to make your portfolio website beautiful and highly converting
1. Don’t break the 5-second rule
The moment a visitor lands on your website you only have 5 seconds to make a good impression.
That’s 5 short seconds to convince your visitor to stay on your website – and don’t hit the ‘back’ button.
Make sure the text on your website is appealing and gets your visitor excited. Don’t waste the first 5 seconds of somebody’s visit with unnecessary fluff.
2. Don’t confuse your visitor with too many call to actions
Great call to actions draw the attention of your visitors.
That said, you don’t want your call to action buttons fighting for the attention of your visitor. Pick the most important call to action for that page, and go with it.
In case you want to show multiple call to actions anyway, make sure to give them a different design, with your primary call to action being the most notable one.
3. Design mobile first
Last year over 52% of all the website traffic worldwide came from mobile devices.
More than half of the website visits are on a mobile device.
This percentage will only increase in the coming years, therefore the mobile design of your website is crucial for the success of your portfolio website.
When designing your website, think about mobile design before you build your desktop website.
4. Watch people using your website without telling them what to do
Once your website is ready it’s time to launch. Well, almost.
Invite some friends or colleagues and put them in front of a computer. Ask them to pretend to be a potential customer and have them visit your website.
Now sit next to them, and don’t say anything (this will be harder than you think).
Do this with at least 5 people and learn from their behavior:
- Did they follow the steps you expected them to?
- Did your website load fast enough?
- Was everything clear to them?
5. Collect real testimonials from real members
By now you probably realized social proof is extremely important when it comes to building a great website. Take it to the next level, and add testimonials from your members.
Don’t write them yourself, don’t ask your friends to write them. Everybody will feel something is off.
Want to go for the perfect score? Include video testimonials. Trust me, this will turn your website into a conversion machine.
Growth hacking: 3 powerful strategies to promote your portfolio website
1. Go viral with a viral give-away
Imagine.
You send your website to 5 friends. Who each send it to 5 friends.
Now, these friends also send it to 5 friends. Oeh la la! Continue this loop for a while, and your website is actually going viral.
Viral Loops is a referral marketing tool that helps you to explode your website with new visitors.
We’ve used Viral Loops to create virality with multiple websites. It allows you to build a sustainable referral scheme that helps you to grow your website rapidly.
2. Use local SEO
SEO is a great way to attract local clients. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and helps you to get free website traffic through search engines.
Check out these articles about local SEO if you want to learn more about this:
3. Do a press release
Yikes! A press release? That’s not for your website, right?
Well. It is actually. Journalists LOVE small businesses and the entrepreneurs behind them. It makes sense – if you’re at a birthday party, friends are probably always asking how your business is doing.
Everybody loves entrepreneurs.
Write a press release about a milestone your company achieved. It doesn’t really matter what it is your company did, just make it juicy and interesting.
Create a list of journalists and reach out to them. The key in this process is the follow-up. If you’re just sending them just one email you’re probably not going to have a lot of success. Remind them at least once within a period of 7 days.
Being featured by local news outlets actually is good for your SEO. The more websites mention you on their website, the higher you’ll rank in the search engine.
FAQ
What makes a good portfolio website?
A great portfolio website should have a clean design, be easy to navigate and include a lot of social proof. Have a look at this page for great example websites.
How to create a portfolio website?
1. Analyze the best portfolio websites on this page
2. Make notes of what you like – and what you don’t like
3. Design your own site with this drag & drop website builder (includes free themes)
4. Publish your website with a cheap hosting plan (includes free domain + SSL)
How much does a portfolio website cost?
A portfolio website will cost you anywhere between $1200 and $5000. Of course, it’s cheaper to do it yourself. Have a look at the tools I recommend in this article to get started for under $100.