How can I get a portfolio?

Question

Hi, I want to be a web designer, I know HTML, CSS and stuff, but how can I get a decent portfolio, I am relatively young but will the people care? How can I get that first deal and how much should I charge?

Answer 1

Build an electronic portfolio to showcase your work and accent your background. An EPortfolio is great because it shows your abilities in web design as well as your other strengths in a tech savvy way!

Answer 2

Look at some existing sites you feel are not very good and redesign them, then present them as case studies.

Getting your 'first deal' is more a matter of luck and right time right place rather than what you know and even then you can get crapped on from a great height by someone who does the job less well that you feel you could have.

I notice you say you know HTML CSS etc but no mention of actual design background? Good design comes from more that just technical skills. Most (good) designers have been to college for at least 4 years to learn their trade and work in tandem with a specialist programmer for the hard coding.


If I had a penny for every time I had to redesign a website that some monkey who called themselves a web designer because they had a copy of dreamweaver and knows what a jpeg is…


Keep in mind that if you go around offering your services for free or cheaply you are potentially ruining another local working companies trade, a company that you may even be able to gain employment with, that plus once you give something up for free people contiinue to expect such from you and their gratitude and good will seldom lasts long past your first invoice.

Oh and the old - if this is your first site you can do it for free and we can be a point of reference for you to get more work, never NEVER actualy works to your benefit.

Answer 3

My daughter built 50 sites for free, to build a portfolio and then used the portfolio to make sales calls on companies to get work - she did and built quite a reputation... she is very good at it.

She started charging $25. per hour and now charges $100 or more.

There are some young web designers that begin by charging a flat rate per page based on what the customers want on each page.

Answer 4

In the IT trade, if you are good no one cares about your age.

Build a couple sites for yourself to highlight your best abilities. Then find a small business near you that wants a website...maybe someone you know or your family knows. Do this site free or very cheap. Ask them to refer design business to you when you're finished.

If there's a local charity you know of that wants a website you can do that one free too.
Charity work will look good on your resume and will also get you referrals from the grateful charity members.

Hope that helps