Portfolio Toolkit

A simple personal site you can stand behind

7 minutesLast verified July 2026Free

I

Why it matters

A personal site gives you one place that's entirely yours — no feed, no algorithm, just your name, your story, and your work, in the order you choose. A simple one-page site that's finished and current tells a far better story than an ambitious multi-page one that's half-built and stalled.

II

Set up your site

  1. 1Decide on one page's worth of content: your name, a short story about what you do, a few pieces of selected work, and a way to contact you.
  2. 2Choose a hosting option that fits your comfort level — a site builder for a fast, visual setup, static hosting (including GitHub Pages, since you already have a GitHub account) for more control, or a simple document-style page if you want the lightest possible option.
  3. 3Write and lay out the page before you worry about a custom domain — content first, address second.
  4. 4If you'd like your own domain name, register one that's simply your name or a close variant of it.
  5. 5Publish the one page, check it on a phone screen, and treat it as done rather than perpetually “in progress.”
III

Set it up right

  • Keep it to one page: name, a short story, a handful of selected work, and a way to reach you.
  • Link out to the fuller version of your work — your GitHub, your design portfolio — rather than trying to rebuild it all here.
  • Make sure the page reads clearly on a phone screen, since that's how many people will first open it.
  • A custom domain is a nice touch but genuinely optional — a clean page on a free host does the job.
  • Add a simple, working way to contact you — an email address is enough.

If a section of the site isn't finished, leave it out entirely rather than publishing it half-done — a shorter finished page beats a longer unfinished one.

IV

Best practices

  • Revisit the site each time your work changes meaningfully, and update or remove anything that's no longer representative.
  • Keep the design simple and readable — plain, consistent type and spacing outlast any trend.
  • Test every link on the page after each update; a broken link undercuts an otherwise strong page.
  • Keep your name and contact details worded identically to how they appear on your resume and other profiles.
V

Mistakes to avoid

  • An ambitious multi-page site that stays unfinished for months — a single finished page beats it every time.
  • Broken links or placeholder text left over from when the page was still being built.
  • Letting the content go stale for so long that it no longer reflects your current work — take it down or update it rather than leaving it outdated.
  • No clear way to actually contact you once someone has read the page.

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