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Is a website really necessary as a freelance designer and animator?
It seems to me the old set up of using Vimeo to host videos and a Squarespace/cargo/whatever style website to share them isn't worth the maintenance effort and cost. All of my work over the past couple of years comes from real life relationships or being found through social media. My Vimeo views are very low yet I'm still hired and busy all year.
Is social media like Twitter or Instagram the new portfolio?
I suppose another angle would be that portfolio websites add to "legitimacy." Perhaps my website isn't originally how I'm found but maybe it is how I am authenticated as a "valid choice for hire?" I'm not even convinced of that either. But maybe having a portfolio website checks a box for a producer or client?
What does everyone else think?
This is an interesting topic and one I had'nt even considered until recently. I always swore by a website as my online portfolio. Working in London it was better to advise clients of my skills by directing them to my site and I think the element of a bespoke site helped to convince them of my skills and I got hired all the time.
Ive since moved out of London and am trying to convince clients and studios to allow me to work remotely, with some difficulty. My first thought was to redesign and update my site, www.movult.com but it seems from other talk online that to get work these days you have to be on multiple platforms.
I was late to the social media party and altho I post occasionally on Instagram, my followers hardly increase. My main concern is that clients (caught up in the social media maelstrom) confuse likes and followers with actual competence and talent.
I have to admit as well that i'd rather be learning a new plugin or animating some personal work than spending the hours some of my friends do curating their social media presence - does this put me at a disadvantage to others tho?
If we're looking at 10 potential freelancers that are pretty much equal, we usually will not reach out for a job if they don't have a portfolio site. We wanna see the full credits and get a feel for where you've worked, your personality, etc.
Websites are a little like demo reels on VHS back in the day, you gotta have one to up the credibility factor.
Of course, like others have said, if you have enough work already, you don't need one.
Direct clients can come from anywhere and can be anyone, so if you're aiming for that I would cover all scenarios, they might be put off by social only, best to have all options.
We work with some direct clients who are academics and tend to be older (one project leader recently is retiring), obviously not saying they dont understand and use social media but they've always come to us from a recommendation. I feel that a 60 year old professor recommending us to another is going to prefer to send a site, rather than a social feed....
If you're just working with creatives / within the creative sector I think social only can work. Most people hiring for studios will trawl feeds as it's very easy, but I think it's limiting if you want to grow a client base outside of agency work.
+1
Imagine having a decent business card and then when someone calls you you scream all of the jobs you've ever done at them at once, along with some opinions and a story about an amazing ramen you ate once on holiday thrown in for good measure. That's what social media feels like to me.
(I do know people that spend so long curating and maintaining their IG that it really works for them. Fair do's man. Personally I'm proud of my site.)
Although, I should probably move back to adobe sling
I'm using it for my site and I think its pretty solid. Like Drew said, its nice to have it included with CC so I'm not paying extra money and the options work well for what I need. Probably not as customizable as other options, but I haven't felt very limited by it and it's been pretty easy set up/maintain. It definitely helps if you already use Behance too since you can link your projects from there to your site super easily.
It's not absolutely necessary to have your own website, I've never had one. HOWEVER I was in the position earlier in the year looking to hire someone and we passed over so many good artists whose only digital footprint was a tumblr or twitter page with little to no contact info and vague references to where they stand as a working artist (meaning, are they a freelancer, student, just a hobby?) So, social media sties are fine for a portfolio so long as you have proper contact information and some kind of indication that you consider yourself a working artist of some kind.
How you present yourself is key. With a site, you get to fully control the presentation and spoon feed potential clients your best. Even if some clients only look at your reel, a vimeo video, or a GIF, a website quickly says a ton more about you than an instragram feed, even if the client doesn't actually browse through all of it (who ever does?). Everything else feels supplemental, professionally speaking.
I get contacted at least 10 times a month through my contact sheet on my site. The work isn’t always what I want to do, but it’s still surprising how many people have found me through that avenue. I have made better work connections from word of mouth but I guess I like having this as well as a place where my work can be discovered.
Exactly this! I'm fairly new to freelancing so I haven't found time to make a portfolio website yet. My Dribbble and Behance are extremely outdated so I always send my Instagram as a reference for my work. I have no idea if clients care about that but even from a personal point of view it feels extremely amateurish. Everyone's Instagram page looks exactly the same (except for the things you post of course). On a portfolio site you really can make it your own and immediately show the outside world who you are as a creative.
I had abandoned my website a long ago, relying only on my Behance and Dribbble profiles. To my surprise, some clients found me on LinkedIn. It’s my third year of the freelance, I have an outdated reel, but the new work is still coming.
Yet I think that having a website could help me to get a different kind of clients, maybe due to mentioned already legitimacy. Whenever I look at someone's website, I get the feeling that he’s professional, who put the effort to present himself and his work and treat it all seriously. Social media is awesome to keep up with one’s work once you discovered him. But when I find someone new, for some reasons I always look for his website.
By the way, is anyone here using the Adobe Portfolio as his main website? What's your opinion?
I totally agree. I have thought a lot about this, as more and more people seem to have conversations very similar to this on twitter every other week. While I have not had a job referral come directly from my website, like Reece I take pride in my portfolio and feel good that I have one. It does add a layer of legitimacy and it shows that you care about your brand and your work.
Social media content does a lot to show who you are and how you think/talk about your work. But I think having a portfolio/vimeo is a much stronger long term solution and always good to have in case someone wants to see more of your work after browsing your twitter or instagram.
Whether or not its worth it from a hiring point of view, I take pride in my site. That said, its worth it to me just to see all my big jobs organized in one place, It's like memories. Social media stuff is easier to digest and also easier to forget. If I were hiring someone and they didn't have a site, I wouldn't hire them, it feels riskier. Anyone can set up an Instagram in two seconds, not everyone has a portfolio site. It's also important to see where you've been, who you've worked with before, what your role was on certain things, etc. This all establishes credibility. My two cents.
Good thought Ben! I think it’s necessary depending on your business objectives as a freelancer. The landscape is constantly changing and a website is just another tool to keep you diversified. My workload was sustained purely by my network for a while also but life changes and I think it’s good to build other networks/clients using different platforms with new audiences who haven’t seen your work yet. In my experience big companies, creative directors, marketing directors etc. like to see that website. So overall I think having a website is still a good idea.
Initially, I think a great GIF is more effective than a great reel.
but personally, I like website more than social media. I can curate and present it just a little bit nicer, so that my reel pops up before some random test when I'm googled. Is it worth all the extra effort? Probably not? Maybe if you have a store or downloads page?