Building a website is simple enough with free website templates and intuitive website editors. But creating your own portfolio website and pitching your talents in the most efficient way possible is a different story. Picking out a prime piece of online real estate, adding the right design elements, writing the copy that will attract potential clients or headhunters - it can all be intimidating.
The best way to get started on creating your own website is to find inspiration from other people who have done it before and were exceptionally great at it. Here at Strikingly, we have empowered thousands of creatives, professionals, startups, and small businesses to start building their own brand with the right kind of website building tools, website templates, and app integrations. These websites prove that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to build an awesome website.
Personal website samples to inspire your website building project:
Corentin Monnier
Template: Bright
Image taken from Strikingly user website
This website took one of the most used personal website templates in Strikingly’s collection - Bright - and transformed it into a simple but engaging portfolio website that showcases the artist’s finest work. The website used both videos and images of the artist’s work to give users a diverse variety of visuals that represent his work.
Corentin Monnier’s website leads with a strong elevator pitch introducing himself, his passions, and the extent of his talent and skillset. Scrolling through the site you also get brief descriptions of highlighted work and a short CV of the artist to let us know of his work experience and the kind of training he went through.
Why Choose This Personal Website Template - Strikingly’s Bright template is great for creating a personal website due to a variety of reasons. First, it utilizes single scroll navigation. This makes it much easier for web visitors to view each web page and absorb relevant content.
Second, it makes displaying photos much easier to do. This is great especially if your personal website ideas are based on images. In our example, we highlighted Corentin Monnier’s comics websites. This indicates that the template used was versatile enough to cater to different types of personal website.
How Can You Use This Template - You can start by brainstorming personal website ideas and find ones that look stunning with single scroll navigation. Think about the way you want the next page to appear, the position of the photos, and text alignment. You can also add a gallery section so that web visitors have something to look out for in each scroll.
Elton D’Souza
Template: Sleek
Image taken from Strikingly user website
Elton D’Souza is a graphic artist and musician who specializes in animation and comics. His website aims to impress with its simple layout and high-quality images of his work. He grouped his projects into categories to help users zero in on the area of graphic design work that they might be interested in. Aside from a living documentation of his career projects, the website also serves as an online store for commissioned prints and digital copies of his work. The artist also connected his social media pages and all other pages on the web to make his website the central hub for his brand on the internet.
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Why Choose This Personal Website Template** - If you want to make a personal website that mixes a luxurious design with high functionality, choose Sleek among Strikingly templates. A personal website can also venture into a more formal side of the game. Most of the time, personal websites are quirky and high-creative. But they can also be more professional-looking.
The Sleek template lives up to its name. The minimalist design creates the ultimate sleek look for your personal website. This kind of personal website template is great for working professionals who want to make an online portfolio. For example, if you want to land your dream job, you can make yourself more employable by building a personal website. Try out sleek if you want to ace your job hunting game.
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How Can You Use This Template** - You can use this template as your very own online CV or portfolio. Whether you’re a new professional have been working for a long time, you need a template that represents your skills and qualifications. To use this template, make sure to add sections that highlight your achievements and work history. You can also feature testimonies from your past clients. If you want, you can even add a gallery of images so that future employers would know how you look like.
Zenofy Media
Template: Maker
Image taken from Strikingly user website
Zenofy Media welcomes you with a catchy headline that expresses the artist’s passion for creating beautiful design. When you scroll through, you’ll find a brief account of his personal story, his passions, and interests. The content is brief enough to keep a reader interested but meaty enough for him to understand the graphic designer’s thought process. After that, he presents a gallery of his work as well as an ecommerce section. With Strikingly, you can monetize your free website design templates by adding a Simple Store section to your site. You can grow your brand from a single product online store to a multi-category shop.
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Why Choose This Personal Website Template** - If you want to create a personal website that’s clean, crisp, and easy to manage, choose Maker. Most free personal websites templates don’t give enough thought about design and usability integration, but Strikingly templates are made differently. With Maker as your template, you can enjoy a web design that highlights simplicity without compromising on function.
If you take a look at the image above, you can see that Zanof Media preferred a still image as its background. You can get inspiration from their approach on their personal website. Out of the many personal website templates from Strikingly, Maker is one of the most visually pleasing and stimulating designs. If you want to achieve visual consistency on your personal site, opt for Maker as your template.
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How Can You Use This Template** - Your personal website can be as simple as you want. To use this particular template, you can keep its clean and white design as the background. You can also change the layout to make it look exciting and give it a pop of color. A minimalist template like this is great for content-heavy personal websites because you want users to focus on the words. From the editor panel, make sure to add a section for blogs so you can enjoy the clean interface. Blogs are great for driving traffic, so make sure to take the opportunity while you can.
Lovisa Bengtsson
Template: Daryl
Image taken from Strikingly user website
Lovisa Bengtsson is a digital illustrator based in Sweden. Out of her chosen personal website template, she chose to create a site that features a color scheme that reflects her brand and the illustrations she comes up with. Her portfolio features a lot of high-quality imagery as well as videos of her animation projects. Overall, this is a good example of how you can turn any free responsive website templates into a simple website that perfectly represents your personality.
Why Choose This Personal Website Template - To create free personal website that stands out, you need to think out of the box. You can break away from the conventions of a personal website design and try out something new. The Daryl template can help you do that in various ways.
For starters, a free personal website could choose Daryl due to its futuristic style. The initial typography is modern and certainly feels young and full of life. The rounded letters create a sophisticated feel to the design. On top of that, each element is well-placed to complement each piece. The Daryl template is also perfectly arranged for personal website makers who want something simple yet captivating.
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How Can You Use This Template** - A personal website also gives off certain personalities. This template is great if you’re looking for an energetic and young feel to your site. It also uses a simple visual design that’s friendly to the eyes. To use this template, leverage your creative assets and keep them filled with sufficient functions. This template can handle multiple visual edits so you can truly enjoy the experience. You can also change the fonts, change the images, and tweak the layout depending on what you want.
After looking at personal website examples, it’s time for you to make your personal website. To enjoy all these free Strikingly templates, go to Strikingly.com and sign up for an account. Once you’re done, go to your dashboard and hit “Create New Site”. From that page, you can select the templates listed in this blog or choose a different one if you like. At that point, all you have to do is add elements and edit your pages based on your needs.
A personal website is a great platform to showcase your talent and skills as a creative. It’s also a great way to establish your name online. If you have Strikingly to help you out, you can ensure that your journey towards making a personal website is a successful one.
