You have spent weeks on the work. The last thing you want is a broken link or a stray typo pulling attention away from it. This checklist is designed to be run in one sitting, ideally the day before you publish. It covers the things that quietly undermine a portfolio: confusing menus, soft images, missed contact details, and layouts that fall apart on a phone. Work through it with fresh eyes, or ask someone else to run it with you. Tick each point off, and you can publish with confidence. If you are short on time, start with navigation, contact details, and mobile display—those are the areas most likely to cost you an opportunity.

Navigation and First Impressions

These five points set the tone. A visitor should never have to guess where to click. Before you touch the design, test the basics on a desktop and a phone. Open your site in a private browsing window so you see what a first-time visitor sees, without cached files or logged-in shortcuts.

• 1. Landing page clarity. Can someone tell what you do within three seconds? Show your homepage to a friend and ask them to describe your work back to you. If they say "designer" but you are a motion designer, you need a clearer headline. Try a simple formula: [Your role] who helps [audience] achieve [outcome].
• 2. Menu labels. Use plain words: Work, About, Contact. Clever names like "Musings" or "Lab" can confuse first-time visitors unless your audience already knows them. If you must be creative, add a standard label in the footer.
• 3. Broken links. Click every link, including social icons and older project pages. Check for 404 errors and fix or remove anything that leads nowhere. Also test links inside PDFs and email signatures.
• 4. Logical flow. Does your portfolio guide someone from one project to the next? Add next and previous links, or a back-to-top button on long pages. Group work by type or year if you have more than ten projects.
• 5. Back button test. Open a project, then hit the browser back button. Does it return you to the right place, or dump you at the top of the homepage? If you use filters, check that back returns to the filtered view, not a reset list.

Image Quality and Presentation

Images carry most of the weight in a creative portfolio. These checks stop them working against you. A sharp image with a clear focal point beats a large image that takes ten seconds to load.

• 6. Resolution. Images should look sharp on a high-density screen without being enormous. Around 1600 to 2000 pixels on the long edge is usually enough for a full-width image. For thumbnails, 600 to 800 pixels is plenty.
• 7. Compression. Reduce file sizes without visible artefacts. A 5MB image slows the page; a 300KB version often looks identical. Use a compression tool and compare before and after. Export as WebP or JPEG for photos, PNG for graphics with text.
• 8. Consistent colour. Check images side by side. Mismatched whites and greys make even strong work look sloppy. If you can, view them on a calibrated screen. Fix the worst offenders first: hero images and project covers.
• 9. Alt text. Write short, descriptive alt text for every image. Example: "Ceramic bowl with blue glaze, side view." It helps screen readers and search engines. Avoid starting with "image of" or stuffing keywords.
• 10. Cropping. Avoid awkward crops that cut off heads or key details. Zoom out and check the thumbnail view, too. On mobile, a crop that works on desktop can cut the subject out entirely.

Words, Spelling and Grammar

Good copy is invisible. Bad copy is the only thing people remember. Read as if you are a busy client skimming on a phone—if the first line does not earn attention, rewrite it.

• 11. Project descriptions. Read each one aloud. If you stumble, rewrite it. Keep it short: what it was, your role, the result. For example: "Rebranded a local bakery, led visual identity, sales rose 18% in three months."
• 12. Spelling and punctuation. Run a spellcheck, then read manually. Use UK English consistently: colour, realise, centre. Check dashes and apostrophes. Watch for repeated words and missing full stops.
• 13. Dates and names. Check client names, project dates, and titles. A misspelled client name is a bad look and can cost you a referral. Confirm the preferred spelling of names and whether a project is under NDA.
• 14. Jargon. Replace internal language with plain words. "Leveraged synergies" means nothing to a potential collaborator. Say what you actually did: "Ran workshops with three teams to agree a single design system."
• 15. Call to action. Every project page should end with a clear next step: "See more work", "Get in touch", or "Download CV". Make the link visually obvious and repeat it at the top if the page is long.

Contact Details and Trust Signals

If someone wants to hire you, make it easy. These five points remove friction. Test every route as if you were a stranger with five minutes to spare.

• 16. Email address. Make it clickable. Use a professional address, not a nickname from school. Consider a custom domain if you have one. Add a subject line hint like "Project enquiry" to help you filter.
• 17. Contact form. Test it. Send yourself a message and check your spam folder. If it is broken, you will never know who tried to reach you. Ask a friend to submit the form from a different email provider.
• 18. Social links. Update them. Remove profiles you no longer use. A dead link to an abandoned account raises questions about your attention to detail. Link to the platform you actually check.
• 19. About page. Include a photo, a short bio, and your location or time zone. People want to know who they are hiring and when you are available. Add one sentence about how you like to work.
• 20. Privacy note. If you collect data through a form or analytics, a short privacy line is sensible. For legal specifics, seek professional advice. A simple "I use your details only to reply to your enquiry" builds trust.

Mobile Display and Performance

Most visitors will see your portfolio on a phone. Test on a real device, not just a resized browser. Borrow a friend's phone if you need to check a different screen size.

• 21. Responsive check. Resize your browser window from wide to narrow. Watch for text overflow, overlapping images, and horizontal scrolling. Check the smallest common width, around 320 pixels.
• 22. Tap targets. Buttons and links should be large enough to tap with a thumb. Test on an actual phone. If you mis-tap, so will everyone else. Leave at least 44 pixels of space around important links.
• 23. Load time. Use a free speed test. Aim for a page that feels instant. Large images and too many font styles are common culprits. Compress, cache, and remove unused scripts.
• 24. Font sizes. Body text should be at least 16 pixels on mobile. If you have to pinch to read, it is too small. Increase line height and contrast for comfortable reading.
• 25. Offline fallback. If your site goes down or a host fails, make sure your email still works and your domain does not redirect to an error page. Keep a backup of your portfolio files and a PDF version of your CV so you can send work quickly. Test your site on a slow connection or with images disabled; the content should still make sense.

Accessibility and Legal Basics

A portfolio that works for more people is a better portfolio. These checks take minutes and prevent embarrassing gaps.

• Colour contrast. Dark grey text on a light grey background may look subtle on your screen but disappear on a phone in daylight. Use a contrast checker and aim for readable body text.
• Keyboard navigation. Tab through your site. Can you reach every menu item, button, and form field? If focus disappears, fix it.
• Image-only text. Avoid putting important words inside images. Screen readers cannot read them, and search engines cannot index them. Use real text with a web font instead.
• Copyright and credits. Credit collaborators, photographers, and clients where agreed. Add a short copyright line in the footer. If you use stock images, check the licence.

The 24-Hour Rule and After You Publish

Before You Publish: Final Sweep

Before you publish, step away. Sleep on it. The next morning, run one final pass without editing anything else. You will spot things you missed when you were too close to the work.

• Read on a different device. What looks fine on your laptop may look cramped on a tablet. Check the first screen of every page.
• Ask one honest person. Give them a single task: "Find my contact details and tell me what I do." Watch where they hesitate.
• Set a publish time. Avoid launching late at night when you are tired. Publish in the morning, then check the live site once more.
• Keep a backup. Export your site or save the files. If something breaks after launch, you can restore quickly.

After You Publish: The First Week

Publishing is not the finish line. A few small habits in the first week keep your portfolio working for you.

• Test the live version. Cached previews can hide broken images. Open the published URL in a private window and click through the key pages.
• Check analytics. See which pages people visit and where they leave. If a project page has a high bounce rate, improve the first line or image.
• Send three messages. Tell a past client, a collaborator, and a friend. A simple "I have updated my portfolio" can lead to referrals.
• Schedule a review. Put a reminder in your calendar for three months. Replace weak work, update dates, and re-run this checklist.

Your portfolio does not need to be perfect. It needs to be clear, fast, and easy to act on. Run the checklist, fix what matters, and publish.

Photo: AymaneJed / Pixabay