How to Style your ePortfolio
The first thing you want to do is to have an ePortfolio account. This can be done on many different sites, but for our purpose we will be using Wordpress. Wordpress is a perfect place for people to get their writing career started. It will give you the ease of use as well as the look of a professional site. When I was a freshman I started off with a boring, dull, “typical”, ePortfolio. I basically copied what my professor had made. By exploring and really understanding the website I was able to make something I was really proud of. From following this, you can too!
Obtaining a Wordpress
If you already have a Portfolio, please continue to Step 2.
1. To begin, you will need to create an account. Doing this is very easy and only take a couple of steps.
You’ll have to go to Wordpress’ website, and find the icon that says Register. From there you will insert all applicable blank boxes, and save profile information. An email will be sent to you confirming you are making this account, and to have you make a password. After your accounts made you will need to download Wordpress to your PC, MAC, etc. Once it is downloaded you are on your way to making an amazing ePortfolio.
2. Now that you have your Wordpress site up and active we can begin decorating it! After all adding in your own personality it what makes Wordpress so unique!
On your Dashboard you will be able to see, all of your posts, podcasts, media, links, etc. To get to editing you’ll need to do a quick small step. Click on Dashboard => Customize your site
3. Now we are going full speed with what we are all here for, how to style your ePortfolio. You should see all sorts of button on the left including but not limited to Change theme, Front page sections, Menu’s, Widgets and so on.
(The number of buttons on the left all depends on which theme you have)
Themes
Depending on which type of profile you are trying to present, business, personal, or Blog, can change which theme you pick.
For a more Blog type I suggest “Basic”, “Clean WP”, or even “Songwriter”.
If you’re looking for more of a professional space then “Storefront”, “Optimizer”, “Neve”, and “Zerif Lite”.
These are just my personal recommendations but, they might catch your eye. Then again, you can always choose which ever one you want. As I have said use your creativity, make Wordpress your personal, unique site.
For this purpose we will use “Nisarg”. This is not one that I had recommended but it is still a good choice if you just want to get creative. The only thing you have to do is hover your mouse over the Live Preview button on a theme that interest you. From there Wordpress will show you a preview of what your site could look like
Options
Really at this point it is about getting creative and making your portfolio a place to express yourself. You get to choose from an array of choices on the left. You can choose what Colors you want, your Header & background images, your accent color, and even adjust your homepage settings.
It is time for you to explore and get really creative, I suggest picking color themes which can be really nice on these type of sites. Then again, if you want to go crazy, go crazy. It’s your page and I am just here to lead you in the right direction.
The most important thing to do at the end of everything, and your ePortfolio expresses who you are PUBLISH! Do not forget to do this!
