If you are an artist and want to promote your work online, you need a portfolio to share and showcase your talent. There's no discussion here.
But sometimes, it is not easy to create a digital portfolio that honors your job. You need to have knowledge of design, programming, and even SEO to make your portfolio attractive, intuitive, and easy to find for your potential clients.
A tough task, indeed.
This is why more and more tools are being developed to facilitate this process and to offer you the possibility of creating a portfolio in a simple way, without any technical knowledge.
One of the best-known and most widely used by professionals all over the world is Behance. The Adobe team knows this perfectly well, which is why they have developed a tool designed to convert your Behance profile into your own customizable online portfolio website with just a couple of clicks, among many other possibilities.
Do you want to discover each and every one of them? In this guide, we’re going to explain what Adobe Portfolio is and how you can use it to create your professional portfolio in just one day.
What is Adobe Portfolio?
As I was anticipating at the beginning of this article, Adobe Portfolio is a great online platform that allows professionals to design and showcase their portfolio websites with ease. It is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, which you probably already know about, and it’s made specifically for creatives.
So whether you're a photographer, designer, illustrator, or any other type of artist, Adobe Portfolio may be the solution you were looking for to start reaching more people and keep growing with your work.
One of the first things you'll love about Adobe Portfolio is that, of course, it seamlessly integrates with any other Adobe Creative Cloud application, allowing you to easily share your projects from programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Lightroom, for example.
Of course, to do so, you will be able to decide among hundreds of beautifully designed themes and templates that you can customize to match your style and brand.
You will have a great time exploring each and every one of them!
Another appreciated feature is the automatic responsive design, so when you are creating your portfolio, you will not have to develop an adapted version for each type of device. Adobe Portfolio does it for you so you don't have to waste time. Your portfolio website will automatically adjust and look great on various devices, from desktops to mobile phones.
Super useful.
Although these features are not exclusive of Adobe Portfolio, you can find them in many other solutions. For me, what makes the difference over other options is the ability to own your portfolio and host it on your own domain, so you don't depend on third parties or have to deal with watermarks that detract from the look and feel of your portfolio.
It looks professional and unique, as if you designed and programmed it yourself by hand.
Lastly, Adobe Portfolio allows you to optimize your site for search engines, making it easier for potential clients to find you. Something that will always come in handy to close new contracts and be able to continue living from what you enjoy the most: your talent.
But we will discuss all of this in more depth later. For now, let's take a closer look at how you can start using the tool as soon as possible.
1. Getting started with Adobe Portfolio
Enough discussion, let's start exploring the tool by just following these steps here:
- Access Adobe Portfolio: The first thing you will have to do to start using Adobe Portfolio is to enter the platform. To do so, just go to the Adobe Portfolio website here and log in using your Adobe ID. If you don't have an Adobe ID, you'll need to create one from scratch.
- Choose a Plan: Adobe Portfolio might be included in your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. If not, you can follow this link to choose a plan that suits your needs.
Once you're logged in, Adobe Portfolio will automatically sync with your Adobe Creative Cloud account. This means that you can easily import your projects from other Adobe applications if that’s what you want, such as Photoshop or Lightroom.
As explained at the beginning of this guide, Adobe Portfolio is also designed to be easily integrated with Behance, as it is one of the most used solutions by creative professionals around the world.
So if you have a Behance profile, linking it to your Adobe Portfolio account not only will it make the whole process of creating your portfolio easier (as the projects you have there will be automatically uploaded to your Adobe Portfolio), but it will also help you to increase your exposure, as visitors can explore your work across both platforms, enhancing your online presence.
Cool, right? Let’s create an awesome portfolio, then.
2. How to easily design your portfolio?
This is a no-code tool, so the first thing you’ll need to do after entering your Adobe account is to choose a pre-made theme for your portfolio website.
As said, you will be able to browse through the available themes to select the one that best aligns with your style and the type of work you do. You can also choose whether to design a full portfolio or just a welcome page, as you prefer.
Remember that you can customize the theme later or even change to a different theme, so don't worry if you're not set on a specific design just yet.
Once you have done this, you can start tailoring your new portfolio. Here’s what you need to do to achieve it:
• Upload your projects: Once you've selected a theme, it's time to start uploading your projects. You can do it one by one or easily create pages by importing content from Adobe Lightroom or Behance, as I explained before. To do it, just use the “Integrations” feature on your left:
- Organize the content: Use the drag-and-drop interface to organize your content within each project. Rearrange images and text to create visually appealing layouts of your choice.
- Add pages: Need more pages in your portfolio? Don’t worry; Adobe Portfolio allows you to create multiple pages for your website. This is particularly useful if you want to divide your work into different categories or themes. For example, you could have separate pages for photography, design, and illustration.
- Customise the layouts and design: Every theme in Adobe Portfolio comes with its own default layout. However, you can customize these layouts to suit your preferences. Adjust the placement of images, text, and other elements to create a unique and visually pleasing design.
Change the fonts and colours: Choose your favourite portfolio's typography and color scheme to match your personal brand or style. Adobe Portfolio provides many options to change fonts and colours, ensuring that your portfolio reflects your creative vision.
All the changes you add will automatically appear to your right, so the design is updated before your eyes in real time, which makes everything much easier to use and understand.
3. Every project counts
Each of your projects deserves its own space online. So when you're designing your portfolio with Adobe Portfolio, you'll be able to create a dedicated page per project. This page will display your work and any accompanying descriptions or details you desire to add.
The tool also allows you to smoothly upload high-quality images and media to show your art in the best possible light. One pro tip here: Ensure the media you upload is properly optimized for web display to ensure fast loading.
Of course, you can also accompany each project with a detailed description. This give you the opportunity to explain the concept, process, and inspiration behind the work. This will help visitors to better understand your creative approach and the story behind each of your pieces.
Once you’re happy with how each project looks, you can use the drag-and-drop feature again to arrange them in a logical and visually pleasing order. Consider the flow and narrative you want to convey as visitors explore and enjoy your portfolio.
In addition to project pages, you can create custom pages with unique content. These pages can include an "About Me" section, a resume, contact information, or even a blog.
If you have content hosted on external platforms, such as YouTube videos or articles on Medium, you can embed it directly into your portfolio pages.
Make sure your portfolio includes a clear and easily accessible space for visitors to contact you. Providing contact information is crucial, whether it's an email address, a contact form, or links to your social media profiles. So don't skip this step!
4. How do I upload flipbooks to my Adobe Portfolio?
An excellent and convenient way to exhibit your work online is to use a flipbook in your portfolio. This innovative format allows you to create interactive files with which you can add images, videos, links, audios and many other elements to offer the visitor a unique experience within your portfolio.
At Heyzine, you can convert any of your PDF projects to a wonderful flipbook for free with just one click.
This will not only allow you to smoothly create as many flipbooks as you need for your portfolio, but you will also be able to add extra features to your projects, such as the possibility of using forms in your files, protecting your private projects with a password if you wish, or collecting information about the visits your flipbooks receive, among many other functionalities.
If you are already a flipbook lover and want to upload yours to the portfolio you are creating with Adobe Portfolio, in this guide here we explain how you can do it in five easy steps.
Be sure to check it out if you're interested.
5. How to set a custom domain for your portfolio?
My favourite online tools are those that not only make your life so much easier, but also allow you to customise 100% the entire interface so that no one even notice you've used them to achieve your goals.
And that's exactly what you'll be able to do by using a custom url that will add a professional touch to your brand new portfolio website.
Just go to settings > domain name and start setting everything up. If you already have a domain, you can link it to your Adobe Portfolio here. If not, Adobe offers the option to purchase a domain directly through the platform:
Easy, right?
In fact, in this “settings” section, you can find many other extra features to professionalize the look & feel of your portfolio, such as the ability to edit the favicons, the web clip icon, the thumbnails that will appear when sharing your portfolio on networks, and many other functionalities that I invite you to explore.
The options are endless!
As you will see, you can also use this tab to optimize your portfolio for search engines within the platform by configuring the SEO settings. For example, you can add relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and titles to improve your website's visibility and reach potential clients through the SERP.
Of course, you can also control the visits your portfolio receives and which channel they come from by integrating it into your Google Analytics account from this same settings section.
Basically, you get it all in one place, so be sure to take a good look at it when you are setting up your portfolio.
6. How to publish your portfolio online?
Ok. That’s it.
It looks like the work is all done and you are finally ready to share your portfolio with the world. That’s huge!
But before publishing your portfolio, though, I advise you to preview it to see how it will appear to visitors. Make sure all the images, text, and media are displayed correctly.
If you notice any issues during the preview, you can easily make changes before publishing. Modify layouts, update content or rearrange projects until you're satisfied with the overall look and feel of your portfolio.
Take your time.
Once you're satisfied with your work, it's time to go live! Click the “Publish Site" button to make your website accessible to the world. You can share the URL with potential clients and anyone else who may be interested in your work.
I mean...who wouldn't be?
Now that you have your portfolio online make sure to regularly update it to showcase your latest work as you get involved in new challenges. Just use the same process you followed initially to add new projects to your portfolio.
I’m sure your creative journey will evolve over time, and so will your portfolio. So, every time you need to rearrange the order of your projects or remove outdated work, simply access the editing interface and make the necessary changes.
Occasionally, you may want to update project descriptions, images, or other new content. Make sure your portfolio accurately reflects your current skills and style.
7. Will my Adobe Portfolio be responsive?
As mentioned before, Adobe Portfolio themes are designed to be automatically responsive, meaning they adapt to different screen sizes. However, it's a good practice to preview your portfolio on various devices to ensure everything looks and functions as intended.
Use the mobile preview feature to see how your portfolio appears on smartphones and tablets. As always, you can adjust layouts, font sizes, and other elements if needed to create an optimal mobile viewing experience:
8. How do I promote my portfolio?
I have no doubt that your portfolio will look wonderful, but it will be of little use if no one visits it. That's why it's so important that you take advantage of the different ways that the platform offers you to promote it.
You can start by integrating your social media accounts with your portfolio to share your work with a broader audience. You can easily connect your Adobe Portfolio to platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
As I had also advised you before, If you have a Behance profile, it is a great idea to link it to your Adobe Portfolio in order to increase your exposure. Visitors can explore your work across both platforms, enhancing your online presence.
Of course, if you have any other communication channel that you use to talk to your audience and potential clients, don't hesitate to announce the launch of your new portfolio there.
Everyone deserves to enjoy such a marvel!
