Quick Tips for Building a WordPress Portfolio

Presentation given by Brianna Marshall in Bloomington, Indiana. Part of the Indiana University ASIS&T student chapter professional development talk series.

Transcript

1. Quick Tips for Building a WordPress Portfolio Brianna Marshall | February 2014
2. Today I’ll discuss • Tips for creating your own WP portfolio • Examples of other LIS student portfolios • My experience with online portfolios
3. Why portfolios? • Looks professional • Helps you control your image • Googlability • Good incentive to do more! • Distinguish yourself from the masses (or at least try)
4. http://library.tumblr.com/post/17820441951/surplus-of-mlis-degrees-us-this-has-been-one- of
5. Back to googlability...
6. You never know when someone with your name will be involved in something newsworthy. You know, like having a baby kidnapped from them. They might even live in your home state. Assert what little control you have over your findability by creating a portfolio. (This is also why I’m a big fan of buying your domain name too. With time and attention it should keep you at the top.)
7. Picking a theme • Simpler is better • Go for responsive design • Make sure your theme has support • Really think about your content before you select your theme
8. Portfolio content • Your portfolio’s main purpose is to show off projects, presumably • Do you also want a blog? • Include links to PDF versions of your resume and/or CV
9. How to find a theme Just search and see what you like!
10. Nice free themes Workality - http://northeme.com/theme/workality-lite/ Mystile - http://www.woothemes.com/products/mystile/ Spun - https://wordpress.org/themes/spun Plus many more!
11. Nice themes for $$$ Theme Forest - http://themeforest.net/ Theme Trust - http://themetrust.com/ Plus many more!
12. More tips • Invest in a domain name - it’s worth it • Don’t pay full price for hosting! Make sure to google for coupon codes • It’s going to take a lot of fiddling and frustration before you get it right, so give yourself time...
13. Even more tips • All the more reason to start this weekend! • Check up on your site and keep it updated • Connect your site to LinkedIn, Twitter, and other online presences
15. WP portfolio examples Anna-Sophia Zingarelli-Sweet - http://annasophiazingarelli.com/ • Spun theme (free) with minimal customization Dana Bublitz - http://www.danabublitz.com/ • Modified Dandelion theme from ThemeForest Joanna June - http://joannajune.com/ Kate Thornhill - http://www.katethornhill.com/ Trevor Owens - http://www.trevorowens.org/
16. My previous web presences
17. 2010 - 2011
18. 2011 - 2012
19. 2012 - present
20. My portfolio http://www.briannamarshall.com/