PORTAFOLIO DESIGN STUDY: DESIGN PATTERNS AND CURRENT PRACTICES

PORTAFOLIO DESIGN STUDY: DESIGN PATTERNS AND CURRENT PRACTICES

1. 1. LIGHT VS DARK DESIGN

   • -82% LIGHT DESIGN ON PORTAFOLIO WEBSITE -29% VIBRANT, STRIKING COLORS ON PORTAFOLIO WEBSITE

2. 2. HOW MANY COLUMNS?

   • 5%= 1 COLUMN 16%= 4 COLUMNS 27%= 2 COLUMNS 52% = 3 COLUMNS

3. 3. INTRODUCTORY BLOCK ON TOP?

   • -79% HAVE AN INTRODUCTORY BLOCK -21% DO NOT HAVE ONE

4. 4. LAYOUT ALIGNMENT

   • -11% LEFT-ALIGNED LAYOUT -89% CENTERED LAYOUT

5. 5. NAVIGATION ALIGNMENT

   • -80% LARGE HORIZONTAL -51% HORIZONTAL WITH RIGHT-ALIGNED ELEMENTS -16.4 % HORIZONTAL WITH LEFT-ALIGNED ELEMENTS -11% FULL-WIDHT HORIZONTAL WITH LARGE CLICLABLE ELEMENTS

6. 6. SEARCH BOX DESING

   • -11% HAVE A SEARCH -89% HAVE NO SEARCH BOX

7. 7. FLASH ELEMENTS

   • 3.7% PRTAFOLIOS WEBSITE USED FLASHHEAVILY

8. 8. WHERE TO PUT CONTACT INFORMATION

   • -12.7% PHONE NUMBER IN HEADER OF PAGE- 9.1% EMAIL IN THE HEADER -54.5% POSTAL ADDRESS IS NOT DISPLAYED -71% CONTACT LIK IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER

9. 9. ABOUT US PAGE

   • -89% INCLUDE A LINK IN THEIR MAIN NAVIGATION -59.1% NO SUB-PAGES -43.6% "ABOUT" IS THE MOST POPULAR WORDING

10. 10. CLIENT PAGES

    • -47.2% HAVE A CLIENT PAGE - POPULAR WORDING FOR THE LINK "OUR CLIENTS"

11. 11. SERVICES PAGES

    • -67.2% HAVE SERVICES PAGES

12. 12. PORTAFOLIO PAGE

    • -7.2% OF WEBSITES DON’T HAVE A PORTFOLIO AT ALL -12.7% HAVE ONLY LOGOS OR SCREENSHOTS -16.4% BRIEFLY DESCRIBE EACH PROJECT NEXT TO A LOGO -63.6% HAVE A VERY DETAILED PAGE

13. 13. WORKFLOW PAGE

    • -74.5% OF WEBSITES DO NOT HAVE A WORKFLOW -THE MOST POPULAR WORDINGS FOR THE LINK TO THIS PAGE ARE “HOW WE WORK”

14. 14. CONTACT PAGE

    • -9% OF WEBSITES DON’T HAVE A CONTACT PAGE -45.4% HAVE DRIVING DIRECTIONS -83.6% PROVIDE A PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE CONTACT PAGE -76.7% PROVIDE A POSTAL ADDRESS ON THE CONTACT PAGE -69% OF WEBSITES HAVE A CONTACT WEB FORM -14.5% OFFER A VCARD FOR DOWNLOADING

15. 15. SPECIALS AND EXTRAS

    • -ONE POPULAR APPROACH IS TO OFFER SOME KIND OF PROJECT OR PROPOSAL REQUEST FORM -PROJECT PLANNER -HELP CUSTOMERS ESTIMATE COSTS

16. 16. OTHER FINDINGS

    • -NONE OF THE PORTFOLIO WEBSITES HAVE AN FAQ PAGE -76.3% OF WEBSITES HAVE AT LEAST ONE BLOG -14.55% HAVE A NEWSLETTER OR MAILING -9% PROVIDE A DETAILED SITE MAP