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ivanovitch

New Member
Hi, student here with soooooo many questions.

I'm wondering about building a portfolio. Given I'm only semi DW literate I think it unlikely anyone is going to commission me with a real project, so how do I go about building a portfolio of work.

Obviously every other web designer has faced this question so what was it you did?
 

sparky

New Member
You could just build some affiliate marketing sites, where you sign up to affiliate programmes and promote products. If you get good enough at it you'll probably forget about doing work for other people. ;)

Rgds
 

ivanovitch

New Member
You could just build some affiliate marketing sites, where you sign up to affiliate programmes and promote products. If you get good enough at it you'll probably forget about doing work for other people. ;)

Rgds

Forgive my lack of knowledge but how does an affiliate prorgame work?
 

sparky

New Member
You build a website on a topic you choose, you sign up to the affiliate network, hopefully they approve your site, then you can join the various affiliate programmes they run (i.e. their merchant advertisers, e.g. Vodafone, Apple Store etc), you stick the ads on your site. When someone clicks on the ads e.g. through to Vodafone store, then buys something (e.g. a phone), you get a commission. :)

Rgds
 

ivanovitch

New Member
You build a website on a topic you choose, you sign up to the affiliate network, hopefully they approve your site, then you can join the various affiliate programmes they run (i.e. their merchant advertisers, e.g. Vodafone, Apple Store etc), you stick the ads on your site. When someone clicks on the ads e.g. through to Vodafone store, then buys something (e.g. a phone), you get a commission. :)

Rgds

Will check it out. tnx!:)
 

Banta

New Member
Another way of approaching a portfolio design for your site is to create "dummy" business sites. It gives you good experience of developing the sites and shows some potential clients of the potential that you have. For example, you build a "dummy" estate agents. "Ivanovitch Housing" or something... create a site for an estate agent, use dummy content, e.g. 4 houses for sale, 4 for rent etc but build the full system. You may be approached by an estate agents then to create a site for them because they've seen what you can do.
If that happens as well, you've already built the basis for the site, and would then just need to incorporate the clients ideas in to the "rough draft" of the site you've already created. Of course they could want something completely different, but then again, they may want something like you've already created.

That's how a friend of mine started... and I use the estate agents example, because that's the dummy site he created and was then approached to create something similar for a client :)
 

MyLinkClub

New Member
One idea could be to register at elance.com or guru.com as a freelancer. If you have the time, go through some of the job postings and create mockups for the employers. Almost nobody does this. They just submit their portfolios and price. If you target the low budget jobs like this, you should pick up clients. You'll be working for peanuts, but you'll have work.
 

Forbairt

Teaching / Designing / Developing
There are lots of charities and so on with no budget ... but a requirement for a website ... there are clubs / societies as well ...

Having an actual goal to work towards is great.

Work on your own website that will be your portfolio site (if you can't create your own site how can someone expect you to create a site for them)

Approach friends / family about doing up sites or blogs or whatever for them ... use every contact you have. It started as a hobby for me and took time

It really is a lot of the time about who you know not what you know
 

meganoflynn

New Member
Also new..

Hey I am also just starting out in webdesign... Just wanted to say hello and good luck, I started to do free sites for friends etc and now have two up and running with a few more in the pipeline, stick with it and you will be getting paid in no time ;)
 
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