Update 3/23/2023: Due to popular demand of this template, I just created a new platform called Showspace where you can create a free portfolio website with AI.
The hosting is covered for free (vs $300/yr for Webflow), the design is better (and continuously improving), and it has distribution features baked in so you can get more exposure for your work if you're actively job seeking or looking for clients.
Building your portfolio throughout your career will help you get work as a freelancer, full time employee, as well as gain leverage throughout an organization.
If you're a student, it's a no brainer -- you often have to do it in order to get a job. Similarly if you're a freelancer. If you're a full time employee though, it may not seem as advantageous. Think about if you're competing with someone for a job who has better credentials, but you've done hyper-relevant work to what the client or employer needs. If you have that listed on your portfolio, you can showcase that and beat the other person to the offer.
Building a great portfolio takes effort. You want to showcase each project you worked on. The longer you wait to capture your project details in the form of a case study, the more likely you are to forget details, the harder it will be to get testimonials. It will also just make the overall lift of building your portfolio greater when you actually do start.
The reason I wanted to give away this template (and now create the Showspace platform) is because for my whole career, I've been building recruiting and freelancing platforms. Having a great portfolio of project is central to these platforms. By making it easier for you to build your portfolio, that can help you grow your career both on your own, and as a part of these platforms.
Why is it free? What's the catch.
There's actually no catch here! Building this template for myself is a passion project. One of my missions in life is to help as many people freelance as possible. Letting you use my template here to help you get started takes little-to-no effort on my part, so I'm happy to help!
All I ask is that you keep my attribution text at the bottom of the website. Then others interested in freelancing can get a free site for themselves and know that they can follow me for tips.
How hard will this be to get setup?
If you've built a website before on your own on something like Squarespace or Wordpress, this Webflow template should be straightforward. So hopefully an hour or two in this instance. If you never have but are comfortable learning new technology, then I would budget 3-4 to be on the safe side. If you're not as comfortable with new technology, then 5+ hours.
If you want me to connect you with a web designer to do this for you, then you'd only need to spend about an hour to write an About bio and add a portfolio item to launch the first version.
How much will it cost to hire someone to set this up for me?
I can connect you with trusted freelancers of mine who can do it for $100 or less. They should be able to have it ready for your copy to add in under a week.
