Should Your Business Site Feature a Portfolio on the Landing Page?

Your landing page is often the first impression visitors have of your business. A well-designed site means the difference between a user who bounces away and one who converts into a lead. Should you include a portfolio on your landing page? Will it distract from the buyer’s journey?

The answer isn’t cut and dried. You might find a portfolio works well on one landing page and not another. In a Databox survey, researchers found a 26% average landing page conversion rate across industries. However, some sites saw rates as high as 70%. Your goals should start where your site currently is and gradually increase until you hit the range you desire.

Does Your Business Site Need a Portfolio?

What does a portfolio do for your business site? You’ve likely seen galleries on sites for home builders, interior designers and cosmetic surgeons. If you can show a clear before and after or how your product is unique, a portfolio inspires users.

Yes: You Offer Custom Options

Companies offering custom solutions can best showcase their abilities via photo galleries. If you build homes, create outdoor landscapes, create home decor or do any other type of custom work, then a portfolio on your landing page is a must.

Utilize your portfolio to show off your best work. Choose only photos highlighting what you do best. If you add detailing to cars, share a range of common requests such as pinstripes and more detailed work such as flames down the side of an old Chevy.



Grace Point Contracting offers custom options based on the needs of each client. Note the highlighted gallery image in the screenshot above and the details on how they added new siding, windows and doors.


Potential customers want to see the quality of work before contracting, so the images highlight their abilities, the process and the beautiful finished product.

Yes: You Sell Services

Not everyone is great at selling themselves. You might be the best vinyl vehicle wrap installer in your state, but if you don’t know how to convey the message to potential business to business (B2B) buyers, you may miss out on sales.

Your landing page can serve as a sales tool, so you don’t have to pitch yourself as hard. You can even pull it up and use it as a prop when talking to potential clients. Use the portfolio to showcase the work you’re most proud of.

Kentucky Dent Guy uses a portfolio on his landing page to highlight some of the more challenging dent repairs he’s capable of. The photos automatically rotate, so you can see how he fixes bumpers, door dings and hail damage.

Since each job is unique, this allows leads to see if his service might work for them. He also includes a way to phone and text him to get a fast quote.

Yes: Before and After Is Your Lifeblood

A portfolio is the perfect solution for any business that does improvements. For example, if you own an interior design company, landscaping firm, dental practice or anything that goes from start to finish with an improvement, you can showcase the before and after photos in your portfolio and make a powerful impression.

Select images with startling contrast. Think about the services and products making you the most profit and highlight them on your landing page portfolio.

Streitz Dental Arts shows their abilities by placing side-by-side photos of before and after smiles on their website. Some of the images are startling, which encourages clients with severe dental issues to contact them.

When to Avoid a Portfolio on Your Landing Page

You might wonder if there is ever a time you shouldn’t put a portfolio on your landing page. Of course, there are times when it will distract from the sales funnel and not add much value to your site. Here is when you should say no to a landing page gallery:

No: You Sell a Consistent Product

If you sell the same product that does the same thing for each customer, you may not need a portfolio. You might be better served highlighting the image in use or showing it from different angles.

Consider the details a customer needs to make an informed decision about buying from you. If they only need price, product details and a few images, avoid a bulky portfolio and keep the page streamlined.

No: Your Bounce Rate Is High

Do site visitors land on your page and immediately bounce away? You may have too much clutter on your landing pages. Remember to focus on a single goal for a single element on your site.

Who is your target audience? If you drive visitors from Facebook to collect a free guide and capture their emails, you shouldn’t distract from the purpose of the page. Add a simple form and let them know what they’re getting in exchange for their information.

Powerful Portfolios for Your Site

There is a time and place to add portfolios to your business website. Think about the purpose of each page and whether an image gallery adds to your goal and moves the user toward an action.

Add new features and test to see how users respond. Over time, your use of images should improve and you’ll know what drives your target audience. In the meantime, add photos when it makes sense and adds to the discussion. You can always take them down again and try something else.

Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.

How to Design the Perfect Portfolio Page to Best Represent Your Brand’s Quality

One of the best ways to attract new clients is showing them your top projects. Your website portfolio page is your chance to highlight your expertise in specific areas. You can use it to stand out from the competition and make a strong impression so they remember you when they are ready to hire someone.

According to Internet Live Stats, there are approximately 1.86 billion websites online. However, not all are active and some park on top of other domains. Still, you’re competing with a lot of noise to get your portfolio page noticed. People have many options on where to spend their time. Make your page interesting enough that they want to devote some of their day there.

What is the secret ingredient that makes one portfolio page stand out from another? You must grab attention, showcase the wide scope of your work and instill the idea your brand is high quality all with a few photos and text. Here are the steps to achieving the perfect online presence.

1. Choose Your Best Work

Selecting only the photos highlighting the top quality work you do might seem like a no-brainer. However, it’s easy to hone in on the project you completed and not realize the photos don’t truly do it justice. Your portfolio is about more than just great projects. It must encompass great pictures to highlight your abilities.

Make sure any photos you use clearly show the before and after of your work. Take the time to invest in photo editing and excellent equipment so your images aren’t filled with shadows and poor lighting. Select only the best images.

Ronald L. Receveur, DDS offers dental implants. They showcase their best work in their “Smile Gallery.” You can scroll through the different images to see the beautiful smiles they’ve created.

Something they add to their portfolio page that works particularly well is a link to patient testimonials. Click on any video to hear more about what their service did for the person and get a glimpse of what their smile looks like in real life.

2. Add Trust Factors

When people land on your page, they have no reason to trust you. Even if a friend or family member referred them, they’ve not done business with you before. You must show them you can be trusted. You can add several trust factors to your portfolio page to show you’re honest.

In addition to reviews and testimonials, make your contact information easy to find. People want to know they can get in touch if something goes wrong after their purchase. Add any organizations you belong to, such as professional trade associations or the Better Business Bureau.

3. Utilize Case Studies

There may be times when you have a particularly challenging task to complete. Highlighting how you were able to overcome difficulties shows clients you don’t stop until you find the right solution. Case studies give you an opportunity to share photos of the finished project, but also dig deeper into the story behind the job.

Illuminated Integration shares the details of a job they did for Otterbein Church. The task was to convert a gymnasium into a church sanctuary. They had to figure out how to create a welcoming atmosphere that suited the needs of a large, modern church. The company worked on lighting, acoustics, audio, video, curtains and atmospheric controls.

4. Tell Them Who You Are

In the midst of sharing stories about your projects, make sure you show potential clients who you are. While telling customer stories, tell your own story. What do you stand for? What is at the core of why you do the work you do?

At a minimum, include a short about section and a link to more details. Your portfolio page is an excellent location to share a video about your brand story.

5. Share the Details

Your portfolio is about more than just the finished product of your hard work. People want to know you understand the steps involved in getting from Point A to Point B. You must tell a story as you share examples of your work. What was particularly challenging about the job? How is it unique from other projects of a similar nature? Show off your expertise.

Walnut Ridge Landscape Design shares their three-dimensional plan for the space next to a photograph of the finished project. By showing site visitors their concept, they prove they can come up with a plan and bring it to life.

6. Include a Call to Action (CTA)

You might not naturally place a CTA button on your portfolio page, but the goal of the page is to seek new leads. When someone views your images, the ideal result will be they want to hire you.

Make your CTA easy to find. Ideally, you’ll include a link near the top of the page offering a free consultation or quote. Some people will click the button right away and others will spend time perusing your portfolio, so you may want to add a second button under your gallery or to the side.

Try different placements until you find the one your users respond best to. Conduct split testing, adjust the wording, try different colors and keep tweaking until you’re satisfied with your conversion rates.

Quality Over Quantity

Your photos are the face of your brand online. It’s better to have a few high-quality images taken by a professional photographer than a ton of pictures with fuzzy focus or dark shadows. Ideally, you’ll choose a wide range of projects so you can showcase your abilities, but don’t be afraid to limit yourself until you have the right ones to prove your worth as a business.

Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.