Why I redesigned my portfolio on Webflow after leaving Squarespace

The portfolio — perhaps the MOST important document that hiring managers look at during the interview process. There is so much information out on best practices, examples, and tips for curating a world-class portfolio. My Bootcamp experience lacked enough focus on the portfolio — I didn’t know what constituted a good portfolio and how to distinguish myself among a sea of thousands of other Bootcamp grads. It was through this that I decided on Squarespace with the thinking that it was the quickest and easiest way to publish an MVP UX/Product design portfolio.

Through participating in portfolio review sessions with several senior-mid level designers, I immediately regretted my decision. While the platform for your portfolio does not matter — it influences what you are able to do and constrains how you can present your work. I felt like I was boxed in a Square (Square…space haha) and wasn't able to manipulate things or add things that I wanted. It simply looked like a cookie-cutter portfolio that didn’t convey my value to employers over other designers.

As I learned CSS and HTML over the past few months, the learning curve of Webflow became much easier. Webflow is so powerful in that it lets you export the code — so you can build a fully responsive website with loads of interactions. Effectively, you become a Front-End Dev without having to touch a single line of code — that is the beauty of the no-code movement.

Box model, CSS Grids, Flexbox are the building blocks of webflow and once you understand those concepts you can essentially build a fully responsive portfolio. I felt I finally had control over how I wanted my portfolio to look without working within the constraints of Squarespace.

There are so many possibilities with webflow that enables it to truly be a learning platform as well. Their tutorials are amazing, engaging, and ultimately extremely effective. I highly urge anyone on the fence to make the leap. Visuals matter, how you present your work matters, and as a job searching designer you absolutely need to impress from the start! Visuals is what really get you through the door and your design process is how you land the role!