Your Portfolio: How To Win Exceptional Clients As An App Developer

As a freelance mobile developer, you want to create a portfolio. It is a very important step in your career. After all, a portfolio proves that you are a capable worker suitable for new jobs and tasks. If you need some guidance, we are glad to offer a few tips about structure, cases, and presentation of your portfolio. 

What Is a Portfolio?

A portfolio can be technically defined as a collection of your past projects. However, it is much more than that.

• A portfolio does contain your past projects. So it shows what you have accomplished.
• When done right, a portfolio also shows your hard skills and expertise. In a good portfolio, projects are strategically chosen to show what you can do.
• A portfolio also showcases your soft skills like creativity and leadership (if you had a project where you took on a leadership role).
• A good portfolio contains explanations for your thought process when working with the projects. It shows the potential client how you approach issues and lets them imagine how you would work on their challenge.

Overall, when constructed right, your portfolio can provide a lot of very useful information to your potential clients. 

Do I Need a Portfolio?

Yes! A portfolio is the best proof of your abilities, skills, and expertise. It helps you find clients as a freelance developer. Moreover, it can assist you in networking and foster your reputation. It is a truly useful tool.

Structure Your Portfolio

The structure of a portfolio does not really change a lot depending on your profession. Usually, the following elements are required.

• Your name, occupation (in this case — freelance mobile app developer), and photo.
• A short bio. It should be very short, only enough to talk about your certifications, qualifications, work experience, and skills.
• Mission statement. What are your career goals, if any? This element is not a requirement. 
• Your projects. This is the main part. There are specific recommendations for creating that part below.
• Testimonials. If you have any feedback from your clients, make sure to include it.
• Contacts. Make sure that your future clients can contact you. There are exceptions: portfolios from various freelancing platforms. They might prohibit the inclusion of contact information.

Cases for Your Portfolio

When creating the project section of your portfolio, keep in mind the following.

• You cannot simply put code in your portfolios; you need to add explanations of your choices for every project. Not all clients can read code. Besides, explanations show how you approach an issue and demonstrate your problem-solving skills.

Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.

Harold Abelson, mathematician and computer scientist

• You need to tell a story. It is good to prove your expertise with examples, but it is better to explain what your app managed to achieve. Was there an increase in conversion, for instance? Make sure to include that information if you have it. 
• Visuals are very important. They can take up over 50% of your project section. In fact, some recommend using up to 75% visuals, including screenshots and videos, as well as gifs. As a mobile app developer, you need to prove that you can create high-quality user interfaces. Visuals are the best option at showcasing that. 
• Choose the best projects you have. It is very important to keep your portfolio up-to-date. Use the most recent and impressive projects.
• Choose the projects that show your abilities. A project is more relevant if it showcases your hard or soft skills. Consider including projects that demonstrate a variety of your abilities.

I do not Have Projects Yet!

Starting out as a mobile app developer is difficult, especially when you do not have real experience yet. However, you are likely to have some personal projects, maybe even ones you developed while studying to become a developer. Those can go into your portfolio until you get an actual project from a client.

Consider also contributing to open-source projects. You do not generally need to apply for a job to do that, and it is a good investment in your future. Yes, you will spend some time on that project, but it will bolster your portfolio for the time being. 

How to Present Your Portfolio

Making a portfolio is a creative task. There are a lot of possibilities and no real rules. However, we can offer a few recommendations on how to present your portfolio.

How to Format a Portfolio

• The layout should be logical. You can organize your information by project type or by skill showcased, for example. Logical layout is easier to follow.
• Navigation is crucial. You need to make sure that it is intuitive. 
• The titles and subtitles should have a clear hierarchy. 
• The design should be consistent and pleasant to the eye. In most cases, it is best to avoid distracting elements.
• Consider accessibility. Make your portfolio accessible to people with disabilities. For example, avoid flashing images and include alt text.

Where to Post a Portfolio

Portfolios can be created through different means. Some of the most common approaches are below.

• You can make an offline portfolio, for example, a PowerPoint file. The issue with that is that the potential client needs to have the software. Otherwise, some information may be lost. A PDF file, however, can be used by most clients. So you can use that format for an offline portfolio. Just make sure that it is easy to navigate.
• You can build a website portfolio. It is a very common choice because it is convenient and offers a lot of options for navigation. You can create separate pages for your projects and add pictures, video, and other media. A lot of websites also have portfolio templates, which make creating a portfolio easier. An example is WordPress.
• A code repository like GitHub could be suitable for some developer portfolios. It allows visitors to view the code itself, which is a major advantage. It is also an opportunity to show your ability to work in a team if you have collaborative projects. GitHub’s Readme files are very useful for providing context. And you can have a well filled-out profile on GitHub, with a bio and links to other resources.

In Conclusion

Your portfolio is a very important tool in your career as an app developer. You need to make sure that it has good structure and presentation. Recent, relevant cases are crucial for a good portfolio. However, this task is very creative, which gives you a lot of freedom in what you can do.