I began by researching a free portfolio site known as Portfolio Box. The site had a clean, professional design, which demonstrated that it was for stylish clients, with an emphasis on supporting creatives who have a range of images. As a dedicated portfolio site, clients would receive free portfolio space and a host of features. However these features were restricted to paid memberships, in the form of premium accounts. This included not being able to have a custom domain name in the free basic plan - which is critical for directing traffic to your portfolio and making your site truly independent. The price for a custom domain name was listed at $8.90 USD per month, and non-premium members would receive the free default domain name ending in 'portfoliobox.com'.
This site was not something that could promote my style of work, and I didn't like the amount of restrictions on non-premium members, so I moved away from dedicated portfolio sites to see what other options were available.
Next, I researched a website builder called SquareSpace. The site had a sleek, modern design that gave it an exclusive feel that was directed more towards young creators. As a site builder, it had a wide range of categories and templates to choose from when setting up your own site. Clients can use the 14-day free trial and have the option to switch out templates as often as they like for free. These clients would receive the free default domain name ending in 'squarespace.com.' The site builder itself uses minimalist menus which can make it seem confusing as to how to edit the site for the less tech-savvy clients, though they do give the option to network with other social media sites for better exposure and promotion.
This site was not something that I felt lent itself to promoting illustration work, and was too modern to be practical in constantly updating the site with new work. With this in mind, I moved on from website builders.
Then, I researched a blog site called WordPress. The site has a simple, formatted design that showed it was direct and easy to use - not putting an emphasis on any demographic. As a blogging site, it gave clients full control over the design and content of their site, as well as the freedom to use it without having to upgrade to one of the payment plans. There are three paid plans that offer a huge variety of features, that range from the 'Personal' plan at £2.50 GBP per month (includes custom domain name), 'Premium' at £7.08 per month (includes site monetisation), and the 'Business plan' at £20.83 per month (including removing WordPress site branding). The site offers networking with more than just social media sites, and gives the client independence in how they choose to promote themselves on the site.
This site was something that appealed to my interests and allowed me full control that I could design a site that perfectly suited my style of work, while giving me a simple way to update my portfolio. WordPress is the site I will use to promote myself as an illustrator, and I am going to create a site with it to act as my portfolio of work.
