When you create a design portfolio you of course want it to be effective in order to interest the clients and employers. Though there is no certain rules which can guarantee you that your portfolio will be perfect and successful, there are some aspects which attract the most of clients’ attention. If you follow these requirements you are likely to satisfy the client and get the desired result as your design portfolio is one of the most important things which makes a first significant impression. And you need to do more than just making it attractive and informative and the following suggestions will show the plot.

1. Experience
It is important to include some significant dates in your portfolio in order not to make your client ask additional questions concerning your experience. Besides, some of the clients may express no wish to ask these questions and thus you will get nothing. So it is better for you to include the dates which may show your real experience - the date of completing projects, how contemporary your skills are, how often you create websites and how long you are actually involved in web design as a developer. These are not the question of the first importance but answering them may influence your client’s opinion greatly.
Of course, projects which were created long time ago may not appear to be a winning aspect as most of the clients are looking for up-to-date experts to create a website which will correspond contemporary trends. But if your works are modern and are created in compliance with up-to-date technologies your chances to find a lot of clients increase.

2. Live projects
When a potential clients looks at the websites you have created he is likely to check it online and to see whether it is live and functional. When the client opens your website and clicks around it he see at once how good it works and how smoothly it loads which usually appears to be one of the most important aspects which influence client’s decision. if the client will highly estimate your website there is a big chance he will start working with you. So it is better to provide a link to the live website you have created if you can, especially if you are sure of its quality and know that it can make a great impression and bring you benefits.
However, there are some cases when displaying a live examples of your work may be a controversial issue. Foe example, if you have designed a website which was your student work or created something to try your hand at development. Nevertheless, showing your real skills to the potential clients is always good and if you have something to show, show it!

3. Tools
Sometimes a clients have some certain toolbox which he wants to rely on during online cooperation. If the tools used for designing your website correspond those ones preferred by the client it may appear to be an additional benefit for you. Of course, if you have used some other tools it won’t mean that you will be put off the client’s list but using tools which your potential client knows increases your chances greatly. Unfortunately, this happens by occasion and you can not predict which particular tool your clients want to see but the more different tools you work with the more chances you have to satisfy your client’s requirements.
Sometimes it happens that a designer knows more tools than is used in his works so in this case it is advisable to create a list with descriptions of all the tools you can work with for your client to see your abilities at once. Don’t be afraid to mention all the techniques you are capable to implement - this will help you to increases your chances to get a good work.

4. Niche
Some designers got used to creating websites for some particular niche, e.g. shopping, education or sports websites, and it may also have certain benefits. If your clients are members of some niche you have created projects for it may be easier for them to interact with you and they are very likely to choose you among others. Of course, creating websites for only one niche may appear to be a drawback as well as your development experience may seem to limited or even scanty - it depends on the client’s preferences and views. you need to take into account that there is some common opinion according to which designers with diverse experience may be estimated higher than those who have been creating websites for only one particular niche. So if you have multiple works to show which concern different aspects and are related to various niches, even if they are not so advanced as your single-niche projects, let your clients see them.

5. Style
Some clients are looking for a designers with certain style of projects for their needs. It is explained by the fact that the client have in mind some specific style for a website he needs to establish. Sometimes these are some unique ideas and sometimes they just want to follow the look of some pages seen of the web, but nevertheless you may be asked to create something concrete. But interacting with web designers some clients can not effectively describe the very style they want and thus they will be looking for something similar in your portfolio to show it as an example of what they want their own website to be. In this case offering a variety of styles will be a benefit for you as the client will be able to choose something that more or less matches his needs.