PORFOLIO WEBSITES

• Artstation
  If you're a character designer or 3-D artist, you've likely already heard of Artstation. Apparently it's the place to be for online portfolios in this field. (…and rumor has it that studio decision-makers occasionally scout the site looking for prospective hires.) With three subscription tiers, including a free one, there's something for every level of interest here, and some plans include the ability to post 360º panos or 4K video. According to their terms of use, if you do plan to sell prints or digital products through their site, there's one aspect of the process they're not responsible for, so be sure to look into that. And they're also adamant they will not involve themselves in any licensing disputes between you & customers. If you're selling a high volume of products, a disagreement is bound to come up at some point, so have your own plan in place to deal with that beforehand.
  Posted 8.24.22
  https://www.artstation.com
  

  

  Artstation does allow artwork "created" by artificial intelligence on their platform and recommends corresponding users label the latter with "Created with AI" tags. (Note that such labeling is on the basis of the honor system, however.) And unfortunately, artists must manually assign their projects with "noai" tags to signify their intent to disallow use of their art for AI training. (But if you've read my "Shop Talk" article on AI, you know that no one can ensure such tags will really work.)  Posted 4.21.23

• Journo Portfolio
  When I first heard of Journo, I initially thought it was a portfolio-based site solely for writers. However, upon taking a closer look, I found out that this UK-based company markets itself to a wide range of creatives, including podcasters, architects, videographers, photographers, interior designers, animators, hair & makeup artists, editors, translators, and writers!
  As with many portfolio sites, Journo offers several tiers & payment options for creatives: Free, Plus, Pro, and Unlimited. And of course, each higher level comes with an increasing number of benefits. With the Free option, you can post 10 items and you receive a single homepage. (With the Plus tier, you can have 50 portfolio items and 5 different pages, etc.,.) And while the free option restricts your landing page url to something akin to "yourname.journoportfolio.com", with the Pro or Unlimited Plan, you can choose your own custom domain. (As I've mentioned before in another review, whenever a company secures a custom domain name for you, always be sure that you maintain ownership of it. This makes life much easier if & when you decide to transfer your portfolio to another portfolio website or hosting company.) In regards to the different plans, do keep in mind that if you choose the Free plan, your account can be deleted if you don't log in for 3 years.
  Writers will find it useful that you can actually type a piece within your account page, and you can also add links to your articles spread out across the web. (The Pro Plan lets you upload multimedia files to your page, as well.) Journo includes a variety of visibility options (public, password-protected, hidden from search engines), which is very convenient if you don't want your current employer to know you're in the market for a new position. Also, viewers can get updates on your portfolio through e-mail (Pro Plan) or by RSS feed. And there are a number of other features to consider as well, such as article backups of your links (Pro Plan) or e-commerce features (for products & services, conditioned on Stripe's Prohibited & Restricted Businesses list).
  Journo has the typical policies against spam, impersonation, and copyright infringement. But as with any site where creatives would post their portfolio, I would encourage individuals to read the terms of use involved before signing up, especiallly the license & permissions to use your work you agree to upon registration.
  Posted 11.14.24
  https://www.journoportfolio.com
• Clippings.me
  Clippings.me promotes itself as a portfolio site almost exclusively for writers, journalists, and bloggers. And their offerings are comparable to those of similar companies: no coding is required to use their services; users can add links to their online articles or upload (PDF) files directly from a computer; and they also tout their portfolio pages as being SEO & mobile device-friendly, which is always a plus. From what I can tell, they have two tiers, a free plan ("free for life" as advertised on their home page!) that allows you to display ten samples and a Premium plan (which costs $9.99 per month the last time I checked) with more bells & whistles. Their site also states that multimedia files (such as those from Youtube, Vimeo, or Soundcloud) can be embedded in your portfolio, but I'm not sure if that option is available on both plans.
  One of the main reasons for having a portfolio page is to make it easy for interested parties to contact you, and Clippings.me allows you to link your social media accounts or to provide your contact e-mail address to prospective clients. Another alternative is adding a contact form (which they state would be spam-protected) on your page. Be mindful of the fact, however, that not all of these options are available on the free plan. If at some point you should happen to run into difficulties or should you have other questions, they have a Facebook group where you can consult with others about a range of issues. And if social media groups really aren't your thing, don't worry. Clippings.me also has a help center on their site.
  This Singapore-based company has the standard prohibitions in their terms of use (no spam allowed, you can't impersonate another person, no fraudulent keywords or content), but be sure to take time to read both their terms of use & their privacy policy. From what I perused, they can serve you interest-based ads, etc., so if that's still in place, try to find a way to opt out of that if possible.
  Posted 11.14.24
  https://www.clippings.me
• Deviant Art
  Deviant Art has been around for some time already, and now that they've changed the default site background color away from that pale olive green, those with delicate color sensibilities may be more inclined to use the site 🙂 . There are a number of incredibly talented artists & cosplayers on this site, and contrary to some of the rumblings out there, Deviant Art makes it clear in their terms that they don't claim ownership rights in your works. In terms of appropriateness depending on your audience, however, be advised that the general portfolio view of a single image often displays site-wide viewing suggestions to one side. In some cases, that can include someone's rendering of a bikini-clad fan art or a drawing that, in the opinion of some, may come close to the Not-Safe-For-Work category. You have to determine whether your clients would be okay with that. On the plus side, there is a free option available to subscribers & Deviant Art also allows you to sell prints or art commissions on their site. And for those artists enamored with Web 3.0, they can also render your payments in Bitcoin (!!).
  Posted 8.24.22
  https://www.deviantart.com
  

  

  Some time ago, Deviant Art introduced "noai" and "noimageai" HTML meta tags that they expect AI crawlers to follow. These tags are added by default to artist's pages on the main section of the platform, but it's unclear whether malicious crawlers will completely disregard these instructions or not. Also note that a tech journalist reported late last year that Deviant Art unfortunately requires users to manually fill out a form to opt out of having their art used to train DreamUp, their own AI image generator. Last I heard, Deviant Art was facing a class-action lawsuit in this regard.  Posted 4.21.23

• Etsy
  I previously refrained from reviewing Etsy as an option for crafters because it's already a well-known, highly popular site. Also, it's primarily an e-commerce type marketplace for selling your goods, as opposed to being a "Portfolio Website" in the strictest sense. But many of the other sites I've featured here also have selling options, so I don't think you'll mind if I blur the lines between art & commerce a bit.
  Over the years, Etsy has become quite the fully-developed site for makers and designers. For some, the level of corporate polish can be a turn-off, for others it's a definite advantage. Etsy markets itself as "the global marketplace for unique and creative goods", and as such its offerings are available to not just artists or those selling their handmade crafts, but also to designers who outsource their creations and sellers of certain vintage items. In fact, one of their info pages states they have more than 7 million sellers & 120 million items for sale, so depending on what you actually intend to market there, that could mean you'd be competing against a huge number of similar makers within their site. Yet with almost 90 million stated buyers, it's hard to ignore the vast amount of potential reach they can offer.
  Being a more corporate entity than some of these other organization, the quantity of legal documents available can be almost overwhelming, & I'll admit I didn't get through every single one of them for this review. However, if you intend to sell on Etsy, I strongly recommend reading through all of the pertinent terms. Just a few things to be mindful of:  1) Under the European Union's regulations, sellers are classified as data controllers and that encompasses a whole slew of responsibilities. If something goes south in this regard, the terms of use state you'll indemnify/defend Etsy.  2) As a seller, you're required to follow local, state, national & international laws & permit processes, and you're ultimately responsible for ensuring the proper taxes are collected & remitted. (In some cases, Etsy does this automatically. Still, always verify.)  3) Note that they're adamantly opposed to any seller providing false information, and they also have an arbitration clause in their terms, as well as a separate Anti-Discrimination and Hate Speech Policy.  4) Two of their affiliates are Facebook® and Google®, so you may want to configure your privacy settings accordingly upon initial set-up. If you don't want others to be able to find your personal name on the site, Etsy recommends using an alias when signing up & also checking your "Findability" account settings. Also, Etsy's mobile app supposedly wants access to your Location data, so if you're not comfortable with that, don't allow that permission.  5) Finally, there are a number of potential fees involved in selling with Etsy. (I'm almost hesitant to state them, knowing they can change at any time…) Listing an item for sale costs $ .20 USD and that listing remains active for four months (which is likely set to auto-renew & auto-charge I assume, unless you change that). Etsy then charges you 6.5% (…and somewhere in the mix are fees for shipping & gift wrapping), and if you haven't opted out of their Offsite Ad program, you'd likely also pay 12%-15% of your revenues. Also, if you've signed up for Etsy payments, they also charge a percentage + a flat fee per transaction, depending on your country. And you should also consider any currency conversion fees on top of all this.
  If you haven't noticed by now, there's a lot to consider when you decide to sell on Etsy. For some creatives, this is the perfection option, but for others, it has become a bit too complicated. So if you're interested in signing up with Etsy, read through all their materials, and better yet, talk to sellers who have been active there for a while. Ask them about their likes & dislikes, their favs & their concerns. There really is wisdom in seeking abundance of counsel.
  Posted 12.05.22
  https://www.etsy.com
• iCraft
  For the past two weeks or so, I've been thinking about crafters and realizing that I haven't reviewed any sites dedicated exclusively to them. Sure, they can opt to use any of the other available portfolio sites out there, but let's take a moment to look at a craft-specific marketplace. Canadian-based iCraft promotes itself as being "strictly for handmade art, crafts and fashion creations". Consequently, there are no vintage or food products allowed in their marketplace (sorry, all you talented bakers out there…). In order to sign up, they require sellers to pay an upfront registration fee & also commit to a monthly subscription, which can be paid on a monthly or annual basis, with no stated commission on sales or "(re)listing fees". (So I'm assuming they'll require your credit card at the onset in order to process this. ) iCraft does review all of your submissions & their terms of use also state that they won't tolerate content that is libelous, obscene, offensive, etc., or that's an intellectual property violation. Apart from that, they appear to give sellers considerable latitude to run their business, as long as they follow through with their commitments. As such, they suggest sellers write up & post their own policies to outline their individual procedures on shipping and returns, for example.
  Since iCraft doesn't involve itself in the specifics of the actual transactions between buyers & sellers, perhaps iCraft would work best for crafters who have a good business sense and whose yearly profit margins would well exceed the upfront registration & monthly fees, as well as any taxes involved. If you're a casual crafter who intends to sell only a few low-cost items annually, then there's the likelihood you may end up losing money after paying the roughly $125-175 in marketplace fees. Another item to note: Their terms state that the posting of external links on your profile is prohibited. Whether or not that includes social media or your blog, you'd have to consult with them.
  Last I looked, iCraft was promising a (needed) revamped website design and the development of a mobile app. If this significantly changes what I've reviewed here, I'll do my best to provide an edit to this post.
  Posted 12.01.22
  https://icraftgifts.com
• Portfolio Box
  Swedish company Portfolio Box offers a wide selection of portfolio templates marketed internationally towards artists, musicians, photographers, & all types of creatives. Once your have all your images ready, preparing your site is quite simple & quick, and some of the provided design layouts look very elegant. (But then again, that partly depends on the quality of the uploaded photos of your art, doesn't it? More on that later…) Their offerings also include the ability to watermark your images for client galleries, an SSL for the domain you choose, and unlimited visitor bandwidth for your online portfolio (which boils down to 100GB per month, more than enough for most artists). A few notes: They used to have a free subscription option, and it still may be available, but it's not readily promoted on their current homepage. Also, per their terms of use, they reserve the right to take screen shots of artist content for commercial purposes.
  Posted 8.24.22
  https://www.portfoliobox.net
  

  

  Portfolio Box generously adds the "noai" meta tag to the portfolio sites that creatives build using their services. But again, since there is no codified international standard in this regard, malicious crawlers & artificial intelligence companies looking to feed their databases may simply ignore these tags.  Posted 4.21.23

• SmugMug
  SmugMug has been around for some time now, and it's a well-known site among photographers. They still offer a considerable amount of image storage, they still connect you with professional quality print labs, and they still provide a way for photographers to sell their prints to customers. The last two features, however, are now only available to those who subscribe to the mid or upper-level monthly payment tiers. Apparently, they no longer provide a free account option, as subscriptions now range between $13, $28, or $42 per month, depending on whether you want to use their services simply as a portfolio display site or you intend to maximize your profits by selling through Smugmug. (So if you're only looking for a place to display your photos, it's not too difficult to find a less expensive option elsewhere.)
  Of course their terms of use come with some of the standard clauses, and upon signing up, you agree not to impersonate others or upload defamatory or obscene images. You also agree to having the necessary photo & video releases for your uploaded media. And even though they tout their "uncompromising security" for your images, they still recommend that you make your own backups of your photos. (Keep in mind that, as far as I can tell, they use a 3rd party to host your images.) As with any image that you upload online, consider stripping exif ∕ geolocation data from your photos (for your privacy & that of your clients), especially from those in public albums. And finally, Smugmug's mobile app supposedly asks for location consent, as well as boasting of an auto-upload feature (…which you may or may not be able to disable - I've never used their app). If that's your cup of tea, then that's fine. Otherwise, you can try to block these features, through the app itself or through your smartphone's privacy or permissions settings.
  Posted 4.6.23
  https://www.smugmug.com
• 22 Slides
  The features provided by 22 Slides seem on par with those of others in the field (SSL certificate provided, the ability to select different layout templates, responsive designs that automatically resize to fit mobile phone screens, etc.,), with a few exceptions I've noticed: 1) They state their system has the ability to detect & preserve important areas of your uploaded photos so they shouldn't be maliciously cropped during any part of the process (I'm assuming they're using AI for this…). 2) They've introduced a new collage-type of overlapping image presentation that breaks from all of the standard grid layouts I've seen on other portfolio websites, which is really interesting if your art is suited to that type of display! If you do commit to 22Slides, be aware that they don't offer a corresponding e-mail with your account to use for communicating with clients. And right now they're introducing version 2 of their product & accordingly offering discounts to "early adopters". (…Just a thought: They seem to be very conscientious developers, as they even have a "Changelog" on their site publicly delineating what fixes & improvements they've made. However, you may want to ask them to be sure this v2 is a stable product free from major glitches.)
  Posted 8.29.22
  https://22slides.com
• Vimeo
  If you've ever worked with video before, you know that file size can quickly add up, especially with the advent of 4K & 8K resolution. In view of this, many experienced videographers turn to video hosting sites such as Vimeo to display their work instead of forking over extra cash to cover the additional bandwidth demands such files would require on their own personal websites. And even though most motion-savvy creatives are already familiar with this company's offerings, I'd be remiss if I didn't cover this option for those new to the game. Vimeo's video functionality is for the most part usually smooth & seamless (although uploads can sometimes take longer than expected). As usual, some of the best features (such as the ability to live stream events or apply for video jobs on their site) are restricted to paid subscriptions, but fortunately they do still offer a free account option. And one bonus for all types of accounts is that Vimeo is adamant that they won't place ads before, during or after your videos. (Three cheers for an ad-less viewing experience!)
  As I reviewed their terms of use, there are a few issues you might want to look out for: 1) If you sign up for an account using your work e-mail and your company also later signs up for Vimeo, they can take control of your account & delete your videos! So your best bet is to use your own personal e-mail when you open an account. 2) If you use Vimeo to edit your work, be advised they employ facial recognition algorithms during that process. If you're squeamish about that, then simply edit your videos beforehand. 3) They do have certain restrictions on what can be uploaded, and I just realized some of those pertain to subjects such as vaccine misinformation or so called fake news. Not really too detrimental if you're simply a visual artist, but much more restrictive if you're a news organization or an independent journalist or a politically-minded artist. 4) This is primarily a site for creators who either make their own videos or, as their terms state, "play a material part in creating" uploaded videos. So I wouldn't recommend trying to re-post someone else's work. (In other words, be an original.)
  Posted 10.06.22
  https://vimeo.com