SALT LAKE CITY — Over the years, applying for jobs has become mainly web-based. Applicants are typically expected to submit a resume and cover letter online, and including web-based portfolios has become much common.

If you don’t have an online portfolio or don’t know how to make one, several companies make it fairly easy. Here are some different platforms that help you create an online portfolio or personal website and what they offer:

SquareSpace

You’ve probably heard advertisements for SquareSpace on your favorite podcast or while watching a video on YouTube. The “build-your-own website” company offers stylish templates for personal content at a monthly price.

Some website platforms have a free option with limited tools and content, but not SquareSpace. The company only offers paid programs for personal and business use; however, they do offer free trials.

The personal plan is $12 a month for a year (or $16 for a month-to-month plan). It includes unlimited storage, responsive designs for mobile platforms like phones and tablets, 24/7 customer support and a custom website domain, according to the company website.

For students building their online portfolio, SquareSpace offers a 50 percent discount when you sign up with your academic email address. More information can be found here.

You can view examples of portfolios made with SquareSpace here.

Weebly

Weebly is actually a subsidiary of SquareSpace and offers four different plans.

The free plan offers basic personal website use with a catch: Weebly advertisements will be placed on your website. Storage with the free plan is also limited to 500 megabytes, which should be enough if you're planning on simply showcasing a few pieces of work. According to Weebly pricing, your domain name with the free plan is also attached to Weebly.com (i.e. myportfolio.weebly.com).

The starter plan for a personal website costs $8 a month, according to the company website. Storage is unlimited with the starter plan and includes a custom domain without the attachment to Weebly.com. The plan also includes advanced site stats, which can tell you how many people visit your site, which pages are the most popular and how people find your website, according to Weebly.

Here are some examples of online portfolios made with Weebly.

Wix

Similar to SquareSpace, Wix does not have a free option for building a personal portfolio website. Its personal use plan is $11 per month and allows users to upload up to 30 minutes of video and offers 3 gigabytes of storage, according to its website. It also allows you to connect an existing domain so your website is personalized.

Wix also offers $14 and $29 a month plans with more luxurious website features such as more video time, email campaigns and the removal of advertisements. More information can be found on its website.

You can see some portfolios created with Wix here.

Adobe Portfolio

What sets Adobe Portfolio from the other platforms is that it is specifically designed just for online portfolios. Pricing is a little unorthodox as well.

Adobe Portfolio is free with an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, according to the company website. If you already have a subscription and use several Adobe applications, you will be getting more bang for your buck by using Adobe Portfolio.

The basic photography subscription is $9.99 a month and includes Adobe applications Lightroom and Photoshop. For just a single application and use of Portfolio, it’s $20.99 a month. For all the Adobe apps and Portfolio access, it’s $52.99 a month. There is a student option, as well, for $19.99 a month that includes the use of all apps and Portfolio. More pricing info can be found on the Adobe website.

Something cool about Adobe Portfolio is that you are getting one singular plan that includes everything you would want for your online portfolio. The Portfolio website says features of the program include no advertisements, live editing, personal customization, and more.

Here are some examples of portfolios made with Adobe.

Carbonmade

Carbonmade is another platform that specializes in building your online portfolio, according to its website.

The platform concentrates on showcasing your projects instead of random pieces of work. For example, the cheapest plan on Carbonmade is $6 a month and will show up to 10 projects, according to the website. That plan also offers template personalization, standard definition video and audio uploads.

If you’d like to showcase more projects, you can upgrade to the $12 a month plan which allows 50 projects or the $18 a month plan with unlimited project space.

You can see an example of a Carbonmade online portfolio here.

No matter what platform you use for your portfolio, make sure to include a few key things to make yourself stick out to employers.

First, make sure it’s clear on your online portfolio what you do exactly and who you are. Creative Bloq says that employers like to be briefed on what they are looking at, so make sure to summarize the importance of a project or document. Don’t forget to include your contact information as well, so that interested employers can get ahold of you for questions.

What platform do you use for your online portfolio or personal website? Let us know below in the comments.

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