Build a creator portfolio around your work

Choose a few projects and explain the useful part

For each project, write a short description of what someone can do or experience. “An interactive map of walking time from any point” explains more than “an innovative location platform.” Include a representative image, the original URL, your role and whether it is playable, watchable, readable or downloadable.

If a project was collaborative, credit collaborators and describe your contribution. If it is an experiment, say what exists today. Link a source repository or process notes when they help, but do not make visitors open a collapsed research panel to understand the main project. Source evidence supports the page; it does not replace a useful explanation.

Look at Bruno Simon’s playful portfolio or Maggie Appleton’s digital garden for different ways a body of work can have a recognizable home. Their approaches are references, not templates you need to copy. Your portfolio can be much simpler and still give visitors a good path.

Use stable creator and project pages

A stable creator URL connects your work, public links and current focus. A stable project URL lets someone share a particular thing without forcing the recipient to search the homepage. Each project page should still work when opened directly, without a previous visit or an already-open overlay.

Include enough visible text to orient a new visitor: what it is, who it is for, how to use it, meaningful limitations and where the original lives. For an interactive piece, state the controls and supported devices. For a film or music project, credit relevant contributors and provide a legitimate play or watch route. A broken embed needs a clear original-link fallback.

Choose tags that help someone make the next click

Tags can describe the format, subject and disclosed tools. A single project might be tagged Interactive, Maps and Urbanism. Add a model or tool label only when the creator has disclosed it or another reliable source supports it. A visual style does not establish which model made the work.

Use a small, consistent vocabulary. “Game,” “Games” and “Browser game” can create confusing near-duplicates if every label becomes a separate destination. Keep highly specific tags as filters until a topic page has enough useful explanation and related work to stand alone. Tags support navigation and context; they are not a ranking guarantee.

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Make shared links describe the right thing

Give each creator and project page a distinct title, concise description, canonical URL and Open Graph image. The project image should show that project; the creator image should represent the creator or their work. Avoid sending every share with the homepage’s title and a generic preview image.

Check the page source and the actual live URL. The Open Graph URL should match the page being shared. Make sure images are publicly accessible and that titles remain readable when truncated. Native mobile sharing can be helpful, but it needs a supported browser and a user action; keep a copy-link fallback. Treat a cancelled share sheet as a cancellation, not a successful share.

• Open Graph properties ↗
• Web Share API requirements ↗

Understand discovery and ownership

Use descriptive headings, crawlable internal links and original explanatory text. A sitemap lists the URLs you want search engines to discover; it does not have to include every generated page, and inclusion does not guarantee indexing. A directory may keep thin or overlapping imported pages out of its submitted cohort while improving them.

If your profile began as a sourced directory listing, distinguish source attribution from verified ownership. Signing into a website proves access to an account, not that you are the person described by a profile. Follow the claim process and provide the relevant public links. Keep your portfolio current by checking original URLs, project availability and the short description when work changes.