Portfolio website for a freelance writer -- what to use?
May 4, 2015 7:25 PM Subscribe
As a freelance writer/editor, I want to set up a website for several years of clips and a short bio. I want something that is going to be around for a while, so I'm leaning toward Wordpress or Squarespace (can write off cost as a business expense) rather than a more specialized site. I found some previous questions about this but they were from 2006/2010. Good examples of individual freelancers' sites are welcome too.
I use a portfolio theme with WordPress for my writing portfolio / freelance site. I believe the theme was "Profession" and I got it on ThemeForest for $50.
I've had good feedback about my site and I'm not currently looking for work so I'll link it here as an individual example.
posted by jess at 8:09 PM on May 4, 2015
I've had good feedback about my site and I'm not currently looking for work so I'll link it here as an individual example.
posted by jess at 8:09 PM on May 4, 2015
Best answer: I know a couple of freelancers who use Contently to compile their clips. About.me is a site that gives you a free landing page too.
Personally, I bought a domain name and made a personal resume/portfolio website using Weebly, which is a drag-and-drop website builder. I wouldn't say Weebly is the very best service for this, but it was the cheapest I saw and relatively easy. You can build the website for free, which I did, and then when I was happy with it, I later just transferred my domain name and paid Weebly like $50 for the year or something to host the website I made at my domain name. Wix and Squarespace are more expensive than Weebly, but a similar concept of easy web design layout.
Wordpress works great for content management, i.e. updating a blog regularly with new posts, but I think it can get frustrating if you're trying to build a custom website from scratch and want static pages. You will have to use whatever templates they have, and adding custom features can require some trial and error and research because it often involves using code or temperamental plugins.
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:14 PM on May 4, 2015
Personally, I bought a domain name and made a personal resume/portfolio website using Weebly, which is a drag-and-drop website builder. I wouldn't say Weebly is the very best service for this, but it was the cheapest I saw and relatively easy. You can build the website for free, which I did, and then when I was happy with it, I later just transferred my domain name and paid Weebly like $50 for the year or something to host the website I made at my domain name. Wix and Squarespace are more expensive than Weebly, but a similar concept of easy web design layout.
Wordpress works great for content management, i.e. updating a blog regularly with new posts, but I think it can get frustrating if you're trying to build a custom website from scratch and want static pages. You will have to use whatever templates they have, and adding custom features can require some trial and error and research because it often involves using code or temperamental plugins.
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:14 PM on May 4, 2015
I used a free btemplates.com template and a custom URL, hosted by Blogger. It seems to have worked out fine. My site looks professional-ish and gets the job done, and the only thing I had to pay for was the URL. But I had experience making plenty of fast, cheap-ass websites on Blogger, and if you don't I'm not sure how well this would work for you.
Jess, on the Skills & Talent window of the Resume section of your site I got a bunch of unclickable graphics that said 90% and 70% and didn't seem to be loading or anything. I don't think that's what you wanted there. It seemed worth mentioning, in case you're having problems in different browsers or something. I'm using Firefox. (Other than that, your site does look charming!)
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:04 PM on May 4, 2015
Jess, on the Skills & Talent window of the Resume section of your site I got a bunch of unclickable graphics that said 90% and 70% and didn't seem to be loading or anything. I don't think that's what you wanted there. It seemed worth mentioning, in case you're having problems in different browsers or something. I'm using Firefox. (Other than that, your site does look charming!)
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:04 PM on May 4, 2015
^ (Ursula, I believe those percentages are her score of her proficiency at those skills, not an error with the website. I am not a fan of "grading" skills on resumes, but it does have a modern aesthetic that may work well in some industries.)
posted by AppleTurnover at 10:58 PM on May 4, 2015
posted by AppleTurnover at 10:58 PM on May 4, 2015
Sorry I think I accidentally flagged a comment on here while on my phone. Not sure how to cancel.
I wanted to chime in that I don't find Wordpress to be easy to use to create a page, even from a template. It doesn't seem at all intuitive to me. I'm still looking for something that works for my own (non-writing) portfolio site.... I've had a blog on blogger which I really liked... Easy to make drafts and update posts.
posted by Shadow Boxer at 11:51 PM on May 4, 2015
I wanted to chime in that I don't find Wordpress to be easy to use to create a page, even from a template. It doesn't seem at all intuitive to me. I'm still looking for something that works for my own (non-writing) portfolio site.... I've had a blog on blogger which I really liked... Easy to make drafts and update posts.
posted by Shadow Boxer at 11:51 PM on May 4, 2015
Thanks, AppleTurnover. I have backed off a lot of from copywriting work in the last year or two, and maybe proficiency scores are common on freelancer portfolio sites now. But I don't think it's safe to assume that all potential clients will know what they're looking at there. As I said, I thought I was looking at some sort of graphic interface that loaded to 90% and then froze.
I have used Wordpress and Blogger, and in my experience Blogger is much simpler to use and update but they are a nightmare if something goes wrong. You cannot contact a live person or get any sort of technical support EVER. If anything goes wrong, it's totally on you to spend the time digging through forum posts and trying stuff until you (hopefully) fix the problem. Wordpress is like your dull, joyless but dependable friend, while Blogger is like the fun and awesome friend who occasionally has these blackout episodes where she sets your wastebasket on fire.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 11:59 PM on May 4, 2015
I have used Wordpress and Blogger, and in my experience Blogger is much simpler to use and update but they are a nightmare if something goes wrong. You cannot contact a live person or get any sort of technical support EVER. If anything goes wrong, it's totally on you to spend the time digging through forum posts and trying stuff until you (hopefully) fix the problem. Wordpress is like your dull, joyless but dependable friend, while Blogger is like the fun and awesome friend who occasionally has these blackout episodes where she sets your wastebasket on fire.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 11:59 PM on May 4, 2015
I use wordpress.com for my freelance writing portfolio website, rather than using wordpress.org for a complicated self-hosted site. I use a free theme- penscratch- and pay a small fee for the domain name. This theme lets me choose what pages I want to be static and one-column so that it looks like a normal website and not a blog. I do have a small blog (not my front page) that is the only page where I have posts and a 2nd column for links to my social media accounts and other freelancing blogs I read. Overall it looks clean and I have received compliments on it. I do agree that a self hosted wordpress.org site would be too complicated for a portfolio though.
posted by Katie8709 at 11:08 AM on May 5, 2015
posted by Katie8709 at 11:08 AM on May 5, 2015
Best answer: I had a WordPress site but switched to Squarespace last year. I'm more adept than the average Joe at computers, but WP was difficult for me to deal with sometimes, and if I wanted to make a change, I'd have to bring in a web designer. For my Sqsp site, I used a designer to help me with some graphics, but overall, I like how I can change it up and make tweaks whenever I want. You still need some facility with computers, and it's more expensive than normal WP hosting. If you just want to show a portfolio, it may be overkill. Anyway, if you want a link to it, memail me.
posted by Leontine at 12:17 PM on May 5, 2015
posted by Leontine at 12:17 PM on May 5, 2015
WordPress developer here. If you don't want to pay for managed hosting and you don't want to mess around with updates, I wouldn't recommend WordPress. However, if you do want to spend a little money up front and/or ongoing for a better, more flexible website that will last you a long time, I'd highly recommend using the Genesis theme framework and their new awesome theme for authors, Author Pro.
In my opinion (grain of salt, as we build all of our clients' sites using WordPress/Genesis/custom child themes), this is an amazing setup. Like I said, though, you'll probably want to have a pro on board, at least at the beginning, to help you out.
posted by nosila at 2:08 PM on May 5, 2015
In my opinion (grain of salt, as we build all of our clients' sites using WordPress/Genesis/custom child themes), this is an amazing setup. Like I said, though, you'll probably want to have a pro on board, at least at the beginning, to help you out.
posted by nosila at 2:08 PM on May 5, 2015
Response by poster: To update: I ended up using WordPress (not self-hosted) and bought a domain name, and it's working out great. I bought a theme that works really well.
posted by trillian at 12:52 PM on May 20, 2015
posted by trillian at 12:52 PM on May 20, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Its very easy to use and has awesome support staff rather than just being on your own with a forum.
Unlike Wordpress you don't have te rely on plugins that often break or might have malware. Its a head age to keep a Wordpress website up and running with al the security patches and updates. Witch very often break things. At the end you want to spend your energy on creating content (writing) rather than maintaining and fixing &%$# website.
posted by Mac-Expert at 7:44 PM on May 4, 2015