I’ve been making a lot of adjustments lately to my portfolio website and to my site structure. I know, I know – I keep writing about it. But I just haven’t been satisfied. Even now, I’m not sure if I like what I have, but its definitely better then the set-up I had before.
My current set-up uses BradyMower.com as my central site for my portfolio (both creative and work related), my blog (both personal and work related), and my site for attracting clients. The reason I put all of this into one site is two fold:
First: I was tired of managing two sites. It was too time-consuming, and was yet another place where I would need to write content. If I kept that up, I would be spending so much time managing my own sites that it would take away from billable work time. Having one site is more simple. And I like simplicity. I feel like it is also more enduring. When I eventually found my own startup I don’t want my work site to become old and static. Using BradyMower.com as both my work and personal site will allow me to branch off into anything and still keep a portfolio of all that I do. My work stuff can just become its own category in my portfolio.
Second: It fits. I’m only one person. I’m a freelancer, and while I occasionally ask people for help, for the most part I do all of my projects alone. Thus, having a separate site with an official business name and using “we” all the time just felt like I was faking it. I don’t want to pretend like I’m something I’m not. I’m one guy, I’m a freelancer, and I personally do all the work you see (with very few exceptions). I feel like using BradyMower.com as my business site best aligns with the fact that I am a freelancer. Sure, I could come up with a name for a business and separate site for it, and even be the only owner and employee of that business, but I just felt like that was faking things unnecessarily. Some people do that and its just fine, but it just isn’t what I want to do.
I’m still not done with this site. I have plans to make my portfolio image-based and really show the work that I do.
I also want to include several pages describing the different types of work that I do: one for WordPress, one for identity, and one for creative. The plan is to really help potential clients understand more about me while also improving the SEO of my site. Right now that will include just two more pages: one for WordPress and one for creative. Each page will be linked to from the mid-page row of my home page, will contain a description of what I do, and will link to my portfolio and to a contact form.
Those will be my first two steps. I’ll eventually link to my personal projects and apps. And I’m sure there will be more adjustments as time goes on.
The interesting thing is that all of this will probably change someday. I’ll likely run it like this for a while and then make additional adjustments. Its a bit frustrating to think that, but rather than worry about the changes that I will inevitably make in the future, I’ve decided to go with what I know I want and need TODAY, and then let the future worry about the future. I’ve got better things to do than to worry. 🙂
I have also been happy to see that other freelancers and designers have their site structured in a similar way. Sacha Grief is one example. Karem Suer is another.