How to turn your coursework into a digital portfolio

Laura Wilson -

You know better than anyone that further education is hard. From solo projects and team presentations to clashing deadlines and end-of-year showcases, there’s plenty to keep on top of.

But while you may be counting down the days until graduation, don’t let your hard work go to waste once you collect that diploma. Because now is exactly the time to transform your messy Figma files and filled notebooks into a sparkly, professional portfolio.

What is a professional portfolio?

Put simply, a professional portfolio is a visual representation of your work – whether that’s for real clients or college or university assignments. This can be presented as a website, a scanned-in sketchbook, or even a profile on a purpose-built site like Contra or Book An Artist. It’s commonly used in creative industries, particularly by designers, artists, copywriters, and advertisers due to the highly visual nature of this kind of work.

Why create a professional portfolio?

We won’t lie. Creating and maintaining a professional portfolio takes time and effort – but it comes with plenty of reward…

  • Hiring potential: A well-presented portfolio gives prospective employers and clients a taste of the work you can do. This goes a lot further in terms of hireability than just a CV that says how “conscientious” or “motivated” you are.
  • Highly digestible: No-one wants to read a 50-slide presentation where you explain how you turned one line of copy into a multichannel marketing campaign. They want to see it in action, ideally on a clean one-pager.
  • Easy to maintain: As you start building your career, the last thing you’ll want to do is dig out those old uni files again. A dedicated, digital portfolio is easy to edit and add to. 
  • Personalised to you: Your work should speak for itself, but what really makes it unique is you. Go bold with your colour scheme, write a creative personal bio, or decorate each page with playful hand-drawn illustrations – nothing is off limits.

How to create a professional portfolio

Now you’re sold on the “what” and “why”, let’s address the “how”. Here are 5 straightforward steps that will have your digital portfolio up and running in no time.

1. Compile your work

Whether it’s in a pile under your bed or in a neat folder on your desktop, gather your work together and decide which bits should be included in your portfolio. Remember, brevity is key – but not at the expense of valuable content. Try to find the right balance.

2. Choose your platform 

There’s no shortage of sites and platforms when it comes to launching your digital portfolio – and choosing a hands-on service provider can help take some of the grunt work off your plate.  At Fasthosts, we have a number of different options available depending on your needs…

  • WordPress Hosting: Beginner-friendly, with highly customisable templates and AI features to improve the functionality of your site.
  • Website Builder: Offers more freedom to build your site from scratch, completely how you envisioned it. It also comes with a free domain.
  • Ecommerce Website Builder: Ideal if you want to integrate selling features into your portfolio, providing a one-two punch for potential customers and clients.

3. Upload your content

With the right platform behind you, it’s time to upload the work that’s going to set you apart from the competition. Try a number of different formats to display this and integrate things like buttons and drop-down menus to make the content even more readable.

4. Play with design

This portfolio could be the very first impression that potential employers or clients get of you, so don’t be afraid to let your personality shine. Be intentional about your choice of templates, colours, fonts, and design elements – and remember to include a detailed “About” section to dive deeper into what makes you tick.

5. Tweak as needed

Your portfolio isn’t a “set and forget” type of project. Make sure you’re checking back regularly on stats, functionality, and security – and always keep it current by adding new pieces of work to show off your professional development.

Let Fasthosts take care of the rest

When you choose to host your website with Fasthosts, you’re not just getting an invisible bot to help you with the back-end. You get an expert human support team on hand 24/7 to assist with the day-to-day running of your site and scale your plan up or down as needed.

Don’t worry – our services don’t come with a hefty price tag. In fact, if you’re a Gloucestershire-based student, our WordPress Hosting plan doesn’t come with any price tag at all. Get our WordPress Launch package completely FREE for the first year, so you can get that portfolio up and running easily. As part of this, you'll get:

  • Free custom domain name
  • Free professional email address
  • Free fully-customisable website
  • 24/7 expert support
  • AI setup and content generation

Sounds pretty good, right? What are you waiting for then? Set yourself up for success and show your best work off to potential employers with your own custom portfolio website.

Speak to our friendly sales team today to discuss the best options for getting your portfolio live in time for your next step.