When you’re looking to create a simplistic, yet sophisticated website, creating a portfolio design is the direction you want to go. You can easily create your own portfolio website by following a few simple steps. A portfolio website will allow you to promote yourself to potential employers or customers. Here’s a look at the steps it takes to create a successful one.
Make Use of WordPress and Avada
The first step in creating your own portfolio website is to make use of WordPress as your platform of choice. WordPress will provide you with the space necessary to create your portfolio, while also being the perfect solution for you to add to the portfolio as you complete projects. WordPress is intuitive and easy to use. Practically all of the hard work is done for you, such as organization of the content. This is done through an easy to use interface. In most instances, coding is not necessary, as features you will add to your portfolio allow for copy and pasted codes.
It should be noted that WordPress is used by millions of customers, which means that any problem you encounter will likely have a solution. Avada is a theme that can be used on WordPress that is extremely flexible and automatically creates a responsive design for your website. It comes with a myriad of additional features that make using WordPress and creating a portfolio website decidedly easy. It you don’t want to design your layout, Avada has a wide range of preset portfolio layouts to choose from, which is a great starting point for your website.
Everything You Need to Create Portfolio Website
First, you’re going to want a credit/debit card or Paypal address in order to purchase the domain, hosting and Avada theme. Next, it’s time to purchase a web hosting account with domain. Once you purchase the Avada theme, it’s time to get together all of the high quality pictures of your work that you’re going to use in the creation of your portfolio. You’ll want to intersperse some text throughout the website as well. When creating a portfolio, the step that takes the longest is actually uploading all of the photos you’re going to use.
Obtaining Domain and Hosting
The first step in creating the website is to purchase a hosting service and domain, which is a web address. There are many hosting services to choose from. Once your account has been set up with the host of your choice, go through the process of registering your web domain, which has to be an address that isn’t already in use.
WordPress Installation and Basics
Installing WordPress is relatively easy. The hosting service you’re using will typically have a quick install option for WordPress. The process is simple and should only require you to input some data. If you’ve just recently registered your domain, you may have to wait a day or two before the WordPress installation is completed, as it takes time for the domain registration to be confirmed. After your WordPress has been fully setup, you can access the website by entering your domain address with /wp-admin entered at the end of the address. Log in and you can see your website.
Avada Installation and Utilization
Now it’s time to purchase, download and install the Avada theme. You can start this process by going to the WordPress theme store, wpthemes.org, and searching for the Avada theme. Click the download link and a zip file will come up. In the meantime, make sure to log in to your WordPress site. Select the Appearance option and click Themes. Then select the Add New Theme option. From here, you can click Upload and select the Zip file that’s now on your computer. Once this is done, click Install Now and your theme will be live. In order for the theme to work correctly, a few additional plugins need to be installed. Just click Begin Installing Plugins to do so.
Layout Possibilities and Customization
Once everything has been fully installed, you can begin designing your layout and customizing your portfolio website. The Avada demo site will allow you to choose from a huge selection of available layouts. Select the one you think best fits your site. You can then import demo content from Avada by selecting Theme Options under Appearance on WordPress. When the layout has been implemented, you can begin customization of this layout. While there are a myriad of Avada features available, you may want to focus on a minimalist design.
On your dashboard, click Settings and Reading. From here, you will be able to select the style of your home page. You’ll want to do the same with the Menu section under Appearance. There are many options available, so just explore to find one that best suits your needs. When it comes to your pages, consider settling on a Home Page, Home Portfolio Style 1, About Us, Meet the Owner/Team and FAQ. Your layout should now be completed.
Building Portfolio and Plugin Installation
When your layout is finalized, it’s time to build your portfolio by uploading samples of your work as a replacement of the demo content. Avada’s documentation will provide you with the information necessary to implement each portfolio item. You will know you’re finished when you see the option Publish. Clicking this will replace the demo content with what you’ve uploaded. Now that you’re aware of how to edit your website, you can focus on swapping the remainder of the demo content with your own. WordPress also has a large amount of interesting plugins that you may find useful. These can be installed the same way as Avada. Google Analytics and Better Security are two plugins that are practically essential. Now that you’ve followed all of these steps, your portfolio website should be up and running!