10 essential elements to include in a graphic design portfolio

Learn how to create an online graphic design portfolio that catches the eye of clients and companies.

If you work in graphic design, having an appealing portfolio website is crucial for advancing your professional career. Whether you’re a freelancer or employed by a company, a strong online platform that displays your skills can lead to new clients, or even your dream job.

If you’re just starting in the design world, your portfolio will be an important tool for compiling your work and showing everything you’re capable of.

What should a great graphic design portfolio include? To help you out, we’ve put together a practical guide with the 10 key elements you shouldn’t miss.

How comprehensive should a graphic design portfolio be?

When creating a graphic design portfolio, it’s important to focus on quality over quantity. Your portfolio doesn’t need to be too long or include every project you’ve ever done. Rather, choose only your best work. The recommended range is usually between 7 and 15 well-presented projects. That’s more than enough to show off your skills.

If you’re just starting out, you can include personal work, class assignments, or collaborations. If you already have experience, select only the most relevant projects for the type of job or client you’re aiming for.

Ideally, your portfolio should be hosted on your own website. That way, you won’t need to worry about condensing everything, and it’ll be easier to highlight specific work or services. Just share the link.

We’ll dive deeper into how to build your portfolio website at the end of this guide, but here’s a sneak peek: one.com’s Website Builder includes tools made for professionals like you. Take a look!

Show your talent with your portfolio website

What should a graphic designer’s portfolio include?

Let’s look at 10 key elements your online portfolio must have if you want to stand out and attract new opportunities. We will discuss each one in more detail:

An impressive homepage
Your best projects
Your specific services
Easy-to-access contact information
Your personal story and values
Your professional experience or CV
Client testimonials and references
Links to your social media
A booking system
Optional: an online shop to sell your work

This list isn’t exclusive to graphic designers. These elements can be easily included in portfolios for other creative professions such as illustration, photography, or interior design.

1. An impressive homepage

Your homepage is the first thing visitors will see when they land on your portfolio website, so it needs to make a strong first impression. Think of it as your cover page: it should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and make it immediately clear who you are and what you do.

We recommend including a striking image, standout design, or logo that reflects your personal brand identity. You should also add a short message summarising your value proposition and make sure your site’s most important sections, like your work, services, or contact, are easily accessible.

Avoid cluttering the page with too much information. Remember the mantra: “less is more.” Your goal is to spark interest and encourage visitors to keep exploring your portfolio.

2. Your best projects

No pienses tu portfolio como un archivo completo de todos los trabajos que alguna vez has realizado, sino como un muestrario de tus habilidades. Haz un trabajo de curaduría y selecciona aquellos proyectos que te enorgullezcan, ya sea por su calidad, originalidad, estilo o por el proceso creativo que implicaron.

También puedes aprovechar el portfolio para mostrar trabajos diversos que revelen tu versatilidad y capacidad para abordar proyectos en distintos estilos o formatos.

Para cada proyecto, incluye imágenes de buena calidad y una breve descripción: cuál era el objetivo, tu aporte, y cómo fue el proceso creativo. Si puedes mostrar el antes y el después, ¡mucho mejor!

3. Your specific services

Make sure to include a clear section for each service you offer. Simply stating that you do “graphic design” can sound too generic. It’s much more effective to be specific and show the full range of your skills. These can be aspects such as visual identity, editorial design, logos, packaging, banners, social media graphics, signage, web design, and more.

Ideally, each service should have its own dedicated space on your website, accompanied by real examples of completed projects. If you offer service bundles or starting prices, include those as well to help potential clients decide more easily.

4. Easy-to-access contact information

Beyond highlighting your talent, the ultimate goal of your portfolio is to land new clients or secure your dream job.

Include a simple contact form, a professional email address, and—if you think it’s necessary—your phone number. You can also mention your location if you work from an office or studio.

It’s a good idea to add a button or link in your main navigation menu that leads to your contact page. The easier it is to contact you, the more chances you’ll have to grow your career.

Get an email address with your own domain

5. Your personal story and values

In addition to showcasing your professional experience, your portfolio is a great way to connect with potential clients on a personal level. Add a dedicated page that tells your story to help visitors get to know the person behind the portfolio. You can use storytelling techniques to make this section more engaging.

Take the opportunity to talk about your values, inspirations, passions, motivations, and your creative process. This will not only demonstrate what you do but also explain why you do it, which can significantly influence someone’s decision to work with you.

6. Your professional experience or CV

This is the most ‘formal’ section of your online portfolio. In addition to showcasing your projects, it’s a good idea to include a section dedicated exclusively to your career history, similar to a traditional resume.

In this section, you can include:

Information about your university education, courses, or relevant training.
Technical skills, such as the software and tools you’re proficient in.
A summary of previous roles and the companies or clients you’ve worked with.
A short paragraph with your professional profile.

7. Client testimonials and references

Testimonials from past clients, colleagues, or employers are a powerful form of social proof and help show, through external validation, that your work delivers real results. These references build trust and help set you apart from other professionals.

You don’t need long statements; just a short sentence summarising their positive experience working with you is enough. Be sure to include the person’s name, their role or connection to you, and if possible, a link to their LinkedIn profile.

8. Links to your social media accounts

If you use your social media professionally, connecting those accounts to your portfolio website is a great idea. Visitors can get to know you and your work through different platforms. It also allows potential clients or employers to follow your work, see your progress, and stay in touch with you over time.

That said, it only makes sense to include your social media if it aligns with your personal brand and professional identity. If you use it mainly for funny cat videos or breakfast photos, it’s best to leave it out—it could come across as unprofessional.

With our portfolio website builder, you’ll find specific options to link your social media accounts to your page. You can even display a live feed or image galleries.

9. An online booking system

Let’s be honest: people online want things to be quick and easy. Adding a feature allowing visitors to book meetings directly from your portfolio website significantly increases your chances of landing new projects.

This is especially useful if you offer freelance graphic design services. Having an online booking system makes communication much smoother. It eliminates back-and-forth emails and lets potential clients pick a time that suits them, in just a few clicks.

A booking system is practical and shows that you’re professional and well-organised from the first interaction.

10. Optional: an online shop to sell your work

If you also create products in addition to offering services, an integrated online shop can be a great way to generate extra income.

Through your portfolio site, you can sell digital products (like templates, graphic resources, ebooks, or illustrations) and physical ones (such as posters or merchandise). Having your ecommerce setup allows you to sell directly, with no intermediaries, and displays another side of your creative design talent.

How to create a graphic design portfolio

Nowadays, creating a portfolio website is much easier than you might think. At one.com, we offer our Website Builder, an intuitive and easy-to-use tool that lets you create an attractive and functional site in just a few steps, helping you attract new clients.

Step 1: Register your domain

To start building your own online portfolio, you must register your web domain. This is basically the address of your website, and the name people will use to find you on search engines. Plus, you can use your domain for your professional email address, which gives you a stronger, more credible image.

Which domain should you choose? It depends on your goals! If you want to strengthen your personal brand, we recommend using your name as the domain. If you prefer something more creative, you can go with a brand name or the name of your design studio.

Besides the name, you must pick the domain extension. You can choose the classic .com or something more original like .design or .digital. You may also localise it (for example, .co.uk if you’re in the United Kingdom, or .us in the United States), although that might limit your appeal if you want international clients.

Find available domains here

Step 2: Get a hosting service

The next essential step to bring your portfolio online is choosing a hosting plan. This is the virtual space on a server where your website and all its files will be stored.

For a personal portfolio, you don’t need advanced or expensive options. Basic shared hosting plans are more than enough to create your site.

Step 3: Design and publish your portfolio website

Finally, you’ll build the actual website. You can use an advanced content management system like WordPress or an intuitive site builder like Website Builder.

If you don’t have technical experience and want your portfolio ready quickly, we recommend Website Builder. When you enter the platform, you can start with a professionally designed template or use its integrated AI system, which generates a complete website for you in moments just by answering a few simple questions. Then you can, of course, customise it as much as you want.

Whichever web creation platform you choose, the key is to design a clean, well-organised portfolio page. We’ve created a complete web design guide, but here are the main points:

Choose a visual style that matches your designer identity: decide from the start if your portfolio will be minimalist, experimental, interactive, or another style that reflects your approach. For example, a clean, typographic style can highlight your attention to detail if you work with branding.
Use a colour palette that reinforces your personal brand: select colours that represent your style and personality as a designer. Keep colours consistent throughout the site and reserve bright tones to highlight buttons or calls to action like “View Project” or “Request Quote.” For more details, check out our article on colour palettes for websites.
Pay close attention to typography: ensure fonts are readable, modern, and reflect your style. Limit the number of fonts and create clear hierarchies between titles, subtitles, and body text.
Optimise the visual experience with quality images: let your work speak for itself. Show high-resolution images that are compressed enough to avoid slow loading. Create mock-ups of your projects to present them professionally and attractively.
Design with UX and UI in mind: your site should not only look good but also be easy to navigate. Think about the user experience on your website. Is it easy to find your projects? Can people easily reach out to you? A clean, smooth interface boosts navigation, shows professionalism, and increases your chances of success.
Make your portfolio responsive from the start: remember, many people will visit it on their phones. Ensure your design looks good and works well on screens of all sizes. Images should scale nicely, text must be legible, and buttons must be easy to tap. To learn more, see our guide on responsive websites.

Create your portfolio and take the next step in your career

A digital portfolio is no longer optional for graphic designers. It’s essentially your global cover letter and the most direct way to showcase your talent. A great portfolio can truly make the difference when landing new clients or projects.

If you’re ready to take that step, at one.com you’ll find everything you need to create your graphic design portfolio quickly and easily. Our plans include domain registration, web hosting, professional email addresses, and a Website Builder with AI that guides you step-by-step through building your site. Try it today!

Bring your portfolio to life in just a few steps