The biggest problem with traditional portfolio websites is that they aren’t built to accommodate new content on a weekly basis. If they’re built using flash, it’s hard to find them with search engines or optimize them for SEO. And too often these sites focus on the work at the expense of the person who created it.

The easiest solution to all of these is to develop a blog-style portfolio site that continually engages new people because you’re always adding new content and then sharing/promoting that content via social media, guest posts on other blogs, SEO work, email lists, etc. When you decide to update your portfolio site on a regular basis (I recommend weekly) you make a big step toward treating yourself like a brand. Good brands don’t launch a static site and let it sit untouched for months, they’re constantly engaging their audience, encouraging that audience to help them reach new people.

The Mechanics

1. Purchase a domain name and hosting. I use Dreamhost. On the ease-of-use side, they have one-click WordPress installation which makes setting up your site super easy and their customer support has always been great for me. On the company-I-want-to-support side, they’re employee-owned, they’re carbon neutral and the copywriting in their monthly newsletter is awesome. If you use the code THANKYOUFERNANDO when you sign up you’ll save $20 on a one year hosting plan.

2. Set up your site. Once you’re signed up, login to your control panel and click on the WordPress installation button. Done.

3. Choose a theme. Login to your website administrative client (http://yourlifechangingurl/wp-admin) and click on the Appearance tab to the left. You can now Install Themes directly from the WordPress directory. There are more than a thousand to choose from.

4. Add content. This is where most people throw up their hands and say “Lord have mercy, I just don’t know what on earth I would want to write or draw or blog about every single week!” in a thick Southern drawl. Here is what I suggest:

5. Find your Tingles. Pay attention to the moments in life that leave you vibrating like a bell. For me, Tingles feel hot, wet and electric. They’re at the crossroads of laughing and crying under the deep blue skies of gratitude. It is far too easy to experience these moments and ignore them. Don’t. I get Tingles when I help people. So my Life-Changing Website, bigfuckinglogo.com, was built to help people. And every time I get a comment or email or tweet from someone I helped it feels like Seahorses are swimming through my torso.

The other objection that people have is that they don’t know how to format a WordPress theme to accommodate their portfolio. The solution to that one is easy as well, don’t. I don’t have my portfolio on BigFuckingLogo and yet this site has already helped me get a job. (It has also motivated me to work harder on my career, connect with people who have really enriched my life and made me a much better writer, thinker and businessperson.) Design a blog that compliments your portfolio. Let your portfolio speak for your work and your blog speak for your personality. For more about this check out Build a Life Changing Website Part 2. If you want, you can link to pieces in your portfolio all throughout your blog. Or you can get a lynda.com account and learn how to code for CSS and PHP (which I am currently doing and it isn’t that hard.)

It helps to have an understanding of SEO as you develop the theme for your blog. I partnered with Zach Olsen of bydatabedriven.com to write a post about that here. And if you want to be a badass blogger, I’d recommend Leo Babauta’s A-List Blogger Club. I’m a member, Leo is the founder of ZenHabits.org (150,000+ subscribers) and the author of “The Power of Less,” which is a bestselling book on Amazon. Being a member of the Club gets you access to tons of other bloggers who are very helpful and free admission into his 4 yearly Blogger Bootcamps. You can learn more about the program here.

If I have my way, a legion of you are going to build your own Life-Changing Website, and it will become a spaceship that takes you into outer space, past the reaches of gravity. You’ll build a career that really enriches your life, you’ll feel more connected, fulfilled and whole and in turn you’ll help others feel the same way. So get started! And then let me know if you need any help. You know I got you.

Faithfully,

Fernando

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