A breakdown of every platform you can use to host your freelance portfolio — free and paid options included, with a recommendation for each so you can pick the one that's right for you.
Where to Host Your Portfolio
There are a lot of options out there — free, affordable, and everything in between.
What makes sense for you might not make sense for someone else. Choosing the right portfolio host for you is what matters most, not what the best possible tool is in general.
The best portfolio for you is the one that you'll actually update and that feels easy to set up.
Here's what I actually recommend.
Free Options
⭐️ Notion — my top pick; easy to set up and you can have something live in under an hour. Grab my free Notion portfolio template in the next lesson!
⭐️ Canva — more visually polished than Notion, but more time-consuming to set up. One heads up: Canva doesn't have SSL certificates, which means links won't work in LinkedIn DMs — you'll need to run it through a URL shortener first. (Confused? DM me.)
Grab my free Notion and Canva portfolio templates in the next lesson!
Other free options worth knowing about: → Clippings.me — a no-frills portfolio platform built specifically for writers and journalists
→ Contra — a freelance marketplace with a built-in portfolio, great if you also want to find clients there
→ LinkedIn — publish your pieces as articles directly on your profile so clients can find them without leaving the platform
→ ClearVoice — a content platform with a portfolio feature that can also connect you with brands looking for freelancers
→ Journo — simple and clean, designed for journalists and writers who just want their clips in one place
→ ReadyMag — a more design-forward option if you want your portfolio to look really beautiful without paying for it
→ WordPress — flexible and familiar, great if you already know your way around it
→ Upwork — worth setting up if you're also planning to look for clients on the platform
→ Carrd — great for a simple, clean one-page portfolio site that takes almost no time to set up
→ Contently — a content platform with a sleek portfolio tool that's especially popular with content writers
→ Medium — a good option if you want your pieces to get found organically, since Medium has its own built-in audience
Paid Options
⭐️ The Writer's Residence — built specifically for freelance writers, affordable, and genuinely easy to set up
→ Notion + Super — if you love Notion, Super lets you turn your Notion portfolio into a real website with a custom domain and cleaner design; this is actually what I use for my own site
→ Google Sites — technically free to build, but you'll want to buy a custom domain; has strong SEO built in
→ Copyfolio — made specifically for copywriters, very clean and easy to customize
→ Authory — automatically pulls in your published bylines so your portfolio stays up to date without extra work
→ Journo — simple and affordable if you want something slightly more polished than the free version
→ Squarespace — beautiful templates and a full website builder if you want your portfolio to double as your main site
→ Showit — highly customizable and design-forward, on the pricier side but worth it if aesthetics matter to your clients
→ Format — popular with creatives, clean portfolio layouts with good customization options
→ Cofolios — newer platform built for UX and content folks, works well for any digital marketer