Building your own website for the animation industry is a great way to showcase your work, attract clients, and build a personal brand. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at building my own portfolio website, and I think now is the perfect time. The following is a summary of the online research and learning I have done.
- Goals
Decide the primary goal of your website and your target audience. Before starting to design your own website, the first task is to determine the purpose of the website. Taking myself as an example, my original intention in setting up my own website is to showcase my animation skills and artistic style, accumulating my own fan base and attracting potential clients.
- Choose a Domain Name
Pick a domain name that is easy to remember, short, and related to your name or brand. In my mind, I might name my website by using one of my favorite original characters’ names. For example, it could be like “www.momoanimation.com”. But anyway, I think I need to take time to think about it!
- Website Building Platform
Through my online research, I have have summarized 4 commonly used
and popular website building platforms:
Wix, Squarespace, WordPress and Webflow
After some comparison, I made a chart that clearly shows and summarizes the advantages of these 4 different platforms. To be honest, I really like Squarespace‘s creative design template, as I am a person who likes to buy goods and decide preferences through their visual perception. For example, when I go to the bookstore and decide to buy a book, I will be attracted by the beautiful cover first…
However, the only issue is that Squarespace is paid plans only, and as a new website builder, I am not sure I can handle it. So I decided to start with the simple and free Wix platform, and after gaining some experience, I will move to Squarespace.
- Choose a Template or Design Your Own
As a new website builder, I prefer to start with using the templates offered by Wix first. I guess that I need to gain experience.
- Design the Structure
An attractive website not only needs to work on its visual effect, but also needs an easy-to-navigate structure with clear sections.
- Homepage: A clean and visually appealing introduction to who you are, with a call-to-action (CTA) like “View Portfolio” or “Contact Me”.
- Portfolio: Showcase your best animation or illustration work here. Organize by project type (2D, 3D, motion graphics) or by industry (advertising, film,gaming). Use video embeds (e.g., YouTube or Vimeo)to show high-quality animations. Make sure the videos are easy to load and view.
- Biography Page: Share your story, skills and experience. Add the background, educational details, and why you’re passionate about animation.
- Contact Page: email, social media links and a contact form.
- Keep it fresh
Regularly update your portfolio with new work and remove any outdated projects! I think one of the most enjoyable parts of building a personal website is that you can clearly see your progress and change in art style. Like a growth handbook, it will boost your confidence and pride, helping show your growth as an animator.
After doing detailed research and learning how to build the website, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. I will continue to update the next blog to show the process of building my own website.
Resource:
8 Expert Tips to Create a Unique Animation Portfolio” by CG Spectrum
https://www.cgspectrum.com/blog/tips-to-create-a-unique-animation-portfolio
How To Create A Successful Website For Animators
How To Create A Successful Website For Animators” by Business of Animation
How to Create a Portfolio Website | ANIMATION PORTFOLIO” by KD Sketch