I built my first site from scratch in HTML and PHP. Never again!
These days, I use WordPress due to its flexibility and range of support. I used a bunch of different themes, but what really made it awesome was the use of the Page Builder Plugin by SiteOrigin.
It works alongside any existing theme you may use, but provides a huge range of flexible layout options (multiple rows, columns, etc which are fully configurable into sections), and then a range of widgets (carousels, galleries, forms etc) that can also be easily customised. It makes it easy to create custom layouts, which can then be styled by whatever theme you have installed.
It does cost a small fee for the premium version, but in my case it was well worth it. Definitely recommended.
My personal site is running out of Joomla at Lunar Pages using a RocketTheme template that I’ve heavily modified. I’m not all that happy with it, so when I get a little extra time, I’m planning to ditch the CMS and just hand code the whole thing like I’ve always done in the past. A CMS is great for medium- to larger-sized sites, but for a couple dozen pages, I’d rather just skip the hassle and limitations of a CMS and code it all myself.
I host mine on my own Digital Ocean droplet. I like having my own server so I can host other side projects, pages and scripts all in one place.
I wrote my portfolio site in React: https://orderandchaoscreative.com/
When building your online portfolio, I think, you shouldn’t stick to one option. The key thing to remember is not to put all your eggs in one basket ))) A great point to start is Behance, where you can build you portfolio quickly, and (what I like the most) get some really valuable feedback from the designers’ community.
However, having an online design portfolio on the basis of a community platform, such as Behance, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t create your own site, where you’ll be able to go beyond the standards and build a fully custom portfolio. After all, a nice-looking portfolio website with your custom domain name will definitely be your competitive advantage. I like Wordpress and I believe it’s one of the best options to build a powerful website. Although there are hundreds (or even thousands) of free themes, I wouldn’t recommend using any of them, since some may contain nasty code, others may offer very limited customization options. Check out the Wiz theme I’ve been using recently - I think it’s ideal for building portfolio (you can take advantage of ready templates, Visual Composer, and awesome grids).
On the other hand, Wordpress only sounds good if you’re technical enough and know how to configure a stand-alone website on a hosting platform of your choice, make it work with your custom domain name, install necessary plugins, etc. Perhaps, you should even have at least some basic HTML/CSS knowledge to use Wordpress properly. As an alternative to Wordpress, you could use a hassle-free online design portfolio builder, such as Format. One of my friends recommended it to me recently. I haven’t tried it yet but I’m thinking of using it to create a few quick showcase pages for icon design projects that could be easily shared with my clients.
