• 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Lighting and Abstract Effects
• 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Amazing Lighting Effects – Part II

Colorful Light Effect in Photoshop

Create a Trendy Galactic Poster Design in Photoshop

Creating Colorful Disco Lines Effect

Create a Retro Cosmic Design in Photoshop

Aurora Borealis Wallpaper in Photoshop

Design a Colorful Northern Lights Landscape

How to Create a Sparkling Fantasy Photo Manipulation

Create a Divine Angel Montage in Photoshop

Design a Retro Futurism Space Scene

Extinction

Create Energy Lines Around a Dancer

Glowing Neon Effects

Stylish Light Effect in Photoshop

How to Make a Typographic, Retro, Space Face

Design an Awesome Geometric Shaped Typography

Very Easy Heroes Eclipse in Photoshop

Create a Glossy Volt Icon in Photoshop

Distant Desert City Scene with Energy Ray Blast

80’s Style Design Using Photoshop

Give a Car Photo Super Slick Lighting Effects

How to Create a Magic Mysterious Ball in Photoshop

Fantastic Disintegration Effect in Photoshop

Create a Dramatic Car Speeding Scene

Sexy Model with Glowing Bubbles Effect

Making of a Mythical Encounter

For more tutorials please see:

• 35 Photoshop Tutorials for Designing Your Own Posters
• 25+ Photoshop Tutorials for Poster Design
• 40 Excellent Photoshop Tutorials for Textures and Backgrounds
• 25 Photoshop Tutorials for Working with Textures

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

In this post we’ll look at a number of trends in pricing page design, along with several examples for each.

Emphasis on One Option:

Most of the pricing pages that we are looking at in this post include some sort of table or chart that shows the various options that are available for purchase. Obviously, this is helpful for buyers to be able to compare their options and determine which is the best choice for them. However, sometimes having too many possible choices can actually make things more difficult. Some pricing pages are using an emphasis on one option to help it stand out to visitors. In some cases it is listed as the most popular or best value, and in other cases it is simply emphasized in some way.

Aside from attempting to make the decision easier for visitors, emphasis also gives the designer the ability to control which of the options will get the most attention from visitors. In some cases it is used on the most expensive option, but in many cases it is not. Let’s look at some examples.

Crazy Egg

Crazy Egg emphasizes their basic plan (the lowest-priced option) by using a green background color compared the the gray background of the other plans, plus the column background is also a little bit larger.

Highrise

Highrise offers five different plans that users can choose from, but the Plus plan is marked as the most popular and is emphasized by a larger sized box, a slightly different background color, and a drop shadow that causes it to appear as if it is on top of the other options.

Media Temple

Media Temple uses a simple ribbon that says “best value” to its (dv) RAGE server.

TypePad

TypePad has four different plans to choose from, but the Pro plan is emphasized. In addition to just making this plan stand out visually, they also have a discount available for the Pro plan to give it further emphasis.

FormSpring

FormSpring uses color and size to help the Professional plan to stand out. Also, they have listed it as their most popular plan.

Pulse

Pulse uses a colored background and a green border to emphasize their standard plan.

Onehub

Onehub emphasizes their Team plan by using a subtle change in background color and button color. Additionally, it is starred and labeled as the most popular plan.

Volusion

Volusion uses a “most popular” sticker, change in background color, and a higher tab to allow the Gold package to stand out.

Multiple Colors for Various Options

Color can be used very effectively to make things stand out, and it can also be used to distinguish various items/options. Some pricing pages use different colors for each plan to help separate them visually and to give some added visual appeal to the page.

Wufoo

Wufoo offers five different plans to choose from, and on the pricing page each option features a different color.

Shopify

Shopify uses some subtle color changes on the various plans to help them stand out from one another. The Business plan is also emphasized by labeling it as the most popular.

LightCMS

The pricing page for LightCMS uses a different color for each of the six plans that they have to choose from.

Freckle

Freckle offers four different plans. Each one has a unique color on the pricing page.

Emphasis on Sign Up Link

Some pricing pages use a sign up link or button that stands out from the rest of the page in some way. Of course, this is done with the intent of capturing the attention of visitors and encouraging them to take action and sign up for something. Some companies use this method to encourage signups for a free plan or trial just get to people to try it out, while others use the emphasis to encourage signups for their paid plans. Here are some examples.

The Resumator

The Resumator uses a large sign up button below the name of each plan that is available.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks uses a green arrow and a large button that says “Get Started with a FREE Account!” the button is located at the bottom of the table that displays the prices and features.

Cobblestone

Cobblestone uses a large banner graphic that is displayed above the plans and pricing to encourage signups. The enticement is provided by offering the opportunity to lock in to low prices during the beta launch.

Free Account Options, or Free Trial

A number of companies have chosen to offer limited free accounts from their pricing page to encourage customers to give the service a try. This also makes it possible for customers who only have a need for very basic features and limited quantities to use without the need to pay. Here we will see some examples of pricing pages that promote free accounts.

MailChimp

MailChimp has a free plan in addition to their five paid plans.

Campaign Monitor

Campaign Monitor’s pricing page is different than most that are shown here, but they do offer a free plan on the page and they use buttons to encourage visitors to sign up for the free account.

Six Central

Six Central offers a choice of two plans, including a free one.

Polldaddy

Polldaddy offers three different types of accounts, including a free one.

Backboard

Backboard doesn’t offer a permanently free account, but two of their plans come with a 14-day free trial, and this is emphasized on the pricing page.

Feature Listing

Most of the pricing pages that you have seen throughout this post have some sort of feature listing. In some cases the pricing page may only list basic features, but these pages are examples of though that use extensive lists of features and details for the various options or plans.

Expression Engine

Expression Engine has a detailed table on its pricing page that shows the differences between each plan.

Invoice Machine

Invoice Machine has four different plans and a list of features for each.

Big Cartel

Big Cartel shows the difference between each plan through a table that compares the features of each.

WiredTree

WiredTree lists the details of its various web hosting plans on the pricing page.

Proof HQ

Proof HQ has eight different plans to choose from and they use a large table to list the features and details of each plan for comparison.

For more design inspiration please see:

• Showcase of Social Networking Websites
• 37 of the Best Web Designs from the Travel Industry
• 25 Magazine-Style Layouts for Your Design Inspiration
• 25 Outstanding Church Websites – Part III

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

Premium Photoshop Plugins:

Bokeh – $199

Snap Art 2 – $199

SiteGrinder 2 – $129 (Basic) or $349 (Professional)

Xtivity Web Authoring – $79

Colour Studio – $19.95

Mask Pro 4 – $159.95

PhotoFrame 4 – $259.95

Focal Point – $159.95

PhotoTune 2 – $159.95

PhotoTools 2 (Professional Edition) – $259.95

Portraiture – $199.95

Noiseware – $49.95 – $69.95

Real Grain – $99.95

Auto Eye 2.0 – $129

Free Photoshop Plugins:

Virtual Photographer

Xpose

B/W Conversion

Contrast Mask

Selective Saturation

AlphaWorks – Transparency Effects

Fotomatic – Traditional Photographic Effects

Local Contrast Enhancement

Moodlight

EZ Mask

The Worx – Complete Classic FX Collection

SwapShop – Color Exchange

SuperPNG

DeNoise – Noise Reduction

Soft Focus

Gradient Blur

Fritillary

AAA Blender

AAA Buzzer

AAA Blur Options

AAA Options

Eraser Genuine

Dreamy Photo

Mosaic

Smart Refinement Filter

3D Shadow

Fine Threshold

Greyscaler

xMeta

Melt

Artgrain

Clarity

Bleach Bypass

Color Replacer

Eraser Classic

Illustrator

Magic Enhancer

Mistifier

NightScope

Light

Face Control

For more Photoshop resources please see:

• 20 Tutorials for Working with Photoshop’s Tools
• 60 Photoshop Tutorials for Photo Touch-Ups
• Photoshop Tutorial Hall of Fame
• 45+ Sources and Sets of Photoshop Custom Shapes

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

• 40 Photoshop Illustration Tutorials
• 27 New and Fresh Illustrator Tutorials
• 30 Text Effect Tutorials for Adobe Illustrator

Create a Super Happy Octopus Character

Create a Cute Furry Vector Monster in Illustrator

Create Simple Cartoon Characters in Photoshop

How to Create an Original Pin-Up Girl in Photoshop

Drunken Monkey Photoshop Tutorial

Drawing Homer Simpson

How to Create a Website Mascot

Create a Blue Vector Character from Pencil Sketch to Coloring

Create a Cute Vector Monster from a Pencil Sketch

Create a Cute Panda Bear Face Icon

How to Create a Vector Illustration and Prepare it for Micro-Stock Sale

Illustrator Tutorial – Create a Gang of Vector Ninjas

How to Illustrate a Cute Emo Kid

The Making of Abe, the Are My Sites Up? Mascot

How to Create a Stinking Zombie Flesh-Eater in Illustrator

Create a Character Illustration Wallpaper

Vectorial Character Design with Illustrator

Character Illustration

How to Create Your Own Vector Cartoon Character

Create a Vector Art Twitter Bird Character Icon in Adobe Illustrator

Animate a Flying Bird

How to Create a Cute Hippo Character

How to Create a Cute and Adorable Twitter Icon in Photoshop

Create Your Own Monster

Iron Man Movie Wallpaper

How to Create a Killer Chainsaw Bunny Character

How to Create a Cute Bunny Vector Character

Cartoon Tutorial with a Wacom Tablet

How to Illustrate a LeBron James Cartoon Character

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

The examples in the post show a variety of different ways to show off your best work. Many are using JavaScript, jQuery sliders are especially popular right now. Others will make use of Flash, and some will use only CSS and HTML.

Electricurrent

Electricurrent’s portfolio includes a list of clients. Click on one of them and you will see some images from the project, along with a brief description and a link to the live site. The list of clients remains so you can quickly move through several clients without going back and forth.

Bright Creative

Bright Creative (the design studio of Dave Shea) has it’s portfolio broken down into 3 sections: design, events, and publications. The design section is shown by default when visiting the portfolio page, and links are provided for events and publications. Each section then displays items in a slider. The design section of the portfolio currently includes 13 projects. Each has some images of the work, a date, and some brief information.

Internet Dreams

Internet Dreams uses a large slider on their homepage that is just below the navigation menu and the full width of the layout. The slider displays featured work from the portfolio, and items in the slider are numbered and linked so visitors can view them in order or skip around.

Imaginaria Creative

Imaginaria Creative’s portfolio includes work from five different categories: print, brand identity, packaging, web, and advertising. You can filter the porffolio by clicking on one of the types of work. Click on an image an you will be taken to a page with a larger version of the image, and many include mutltiple images that can be seen using a slider.

Lee Steffen Photography

The navigation menu at Lee Steffen Photography includes entertainment, portraits, travel, and projects. Click on one of these choices and a horizontal row of thumbnails will allow you to choose the image that you want to see.

Deluge Studios

Deluge Studios uses a one-page portfolio site (the links in the navigation menu lead to specific locations on the page). Their work is shown in a slider with arrows at each side to move to the previous or next item. Below the images there is a link to the live site of each item, and to the right of the link are some checkboxes that indicate the type of work that was done for the client (web, print, interactive).

Missscha’s Photogallery

Missscha’s Photogallery uses Lightview to display select photographs. The page includes thumbnails of many photographs, and when you click on one of them it will use Lightview to show a larger version and provide links to the previous and next photo, or to play a slideshow.

Mark Dearman

Mark Dearman’s portfolio is shown on the homepage (it’s really a one-page site with a link to an external blog) with an image, title, description and link for the various projects. Each project has multiple images and the site uses jQuery to allow visitors to browse through the photos by clicking on the arrows on either side.

Two24 Studios

Two24 Studios is a one-page site. At the center of the screen you will see three selected items from the portfolio with a one paragraph description. You can click on an image to view a larger version. Two24 also uses a slider with a bit of a different approach than the other sliders featured in this post. Click “slide” and three new items from the portfolio will slide in, rather than using a slider for one item at a time.

Things That Are Brown

The portfolio on Things That Are Brown includes images and titles for eight different projects. By clicking on an item you will be led to a page with a large image and some information about the project. There is a description as well as a list of the services provided and a link to the live site.

Ploc Media

Ploc Media’s portfolio is separated into four categories: website design, corporate identity, print media, and e-marketing. From there you can select a particular project within the category that you are viewing. You can click on the previous or next links to see more work.

SpoonGraphics

Chris Spooner’s portfolio shows images from his work in a grid. Click on an image and you will see a larger version. The site is using Fancybox to display the images and links to previous and next items.

Moncarton

Most of Moncarton’s homepage is dedicated to a slider that showcases work from the porfolio. Aside from links there is not text on the homepage, giving priority and focus to the work.

Michael Kelley Photography

Michael Kelley Photography has a large area for showcases photographs. Towards the bottom of the screen is a blue bar that contains thumbnails of the photos. By clicking on a photo you will bring up a larger version above, or you can click on the arrows to move to the previous or next item.

Steve Mullen Creative

Like many other portfolios, Steve Mullen Creative uses a slider, but unlike most of the others his slides vertically rather than horizontally. Each item in the slider includes a description as well as links to enlarge and to visit the site.

Semplice Labs

The homepage of Semplice Labs includes thumbnails of various projects from the portfolio. Click on an item and it will open a page with a larger version of the image and links to the previous and next items.

Adam Amaral

Adam Amaral has his portfolio broken up into three sections: motion, illustration, and design. Each has it’s own page for work samples. These pages include thumbnails of projects, click on an image to see a larger version. The site is using Lightwindow to display the portfolio images with links to the previous and next items.

One Fine Day

One Fine Day, the portfolio of James Joyce, uses a horizontal layout to display the work. Some of the items include options to see more and/or to purchase.

Ryan McMaster

Ryan McMaster’s homepage includes four samples of recent work. Click on one of them and you’ll be taken to a page dedicated to showcasing that project. The page includes a larger verison of the image with a brief description.

New Concept

New Concept’s portfolio showcases a number of different projects. Each one includes two images, a brief description, the client’s name, date of work, and the types of work that was done by New Concept on the project. Click on an image and you will be taken to a page with larger versions of the images.

Lucas Hirata

Lucas Hirata’s homepage includes thumbnails of many different projects taking up the whole screen. Click on an image and you will be taken to a page with large images from the project and a small amount of information.

MDX Interactive

MDX Interactive’s portfolio includes information from three recent projects. There is an image for each, a description of the project, a listing of the services provided by MDX Interactive, and a link to the case study.

The Energy Cell

The Energy Cell’s portfolio uses a grid of thumbnails for various projects. Each one has a title and a one-sentence statement of what was done. Click on the image or the title and you will be taken to a page with more specifics on the project. This page includes multiple images that can be viewed via a slider.

Modal

Modal’s portfolio is divided in two categories: interactive and print. Tabbed navigation is used to select the type of work that you want to view. Within one of the types of work there are numbered links to view the different projects, and within each project a slider is used to display multiple images. Each project also has a description and a list of services provided by Modal.

Central Creative

Central Creative dedicates a large area of their homepage for a slider that showcases work from their portfolio. The slider has arrows to move to the previous or next item. Each item in the slider includes an image, title, brief description of the project, and a link to the full portfolio.

Sheep in Disguise

The portfolio of Sheep in Disguise is separated into two categories: websites and identities. A large image from featured project is shown, along with links to see images from other projects in the category.

Merix Studio

Merix Studio’s portfolio includes a page for each project. Each project includes multiple images, a description, and links to the previous and next project.

nYq Design Group

nYQ Design Group’s portfolio showcases a featured project at the top of the page with an image and a description. Lower on the information is information on many other projects with smaller images. You can click on one of the items below and it will be shown in the featured section with additional information.

Electric Pulp

Electric Pulp’s portfolio includes an image from each project with the list of services provided, a link to visit the site, and a link to read more about the project.

OH! Media

OH! Media’s portfolio includes information about a featured project, an images, description, and date of work. Above the featured project is a row of thumbnails from other projects. You can click on one of the thumbnails to see more about a project, or click on the arrows to see more projects to choose from.

Thomas Prior

Thomas Prior’s portfolio uses a different type of jQuery slider to display the work. Drag the “drag me” button to scroll through the selected projects in the portfolio. Clicking on the images will bring up a larger version of the image.

Artificial Studio

The portfolio of Artificial Studios displays a number of selected projects, including a screenshot, name of the client, date of work, the type of work done, and a link to the live site. Each item has 3 images that can be viewed, with links to change the image below the date of work.

Fabiano Meneghetti

The portfolio of Fabiano Meneghetti is a little bit different in that the images are hosted on Flickr, and if you click one of them you will be lead to the Flickr page to see the larger image.

Conclusion:

Feel free to share your thoughts on the subject in the comments. Which approaches do you like? How do you display the work on your own portfolio site?

Throughout this post you saw a lot of examples of sliders. If you’re looking to do something similar in your own work, you may be interested in our recent post 25 jQuery Image Gallery/Slider Tutorials and Plugins.

For more inspiration from portfolio sites, see our gallery Folio Focus.

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

80’s Style Text Effect in Pixelmator

Amazing Watercolor Effect in Pixelmator

Making a Realistic Drop of Water (video)

Sparkling Hot Girl in Pixelmator

How to Create an Apple TV Style Wallpaper (video)

How to Create a Sprinkle Wallpaper (video)

Comic Style Effect in Pixelmator

Digital Portrait Painting

Incredible Space Scene in Pixelmator

Mental Wave Explosion in Pixelmator

Aurora Borealis Effect in Pixelmator

Super Cool Frilly Bits in Pixelmator

Using the Marquee Tools in Pixelmator (video)

Creating Gradients in Pixelmator (video)

Dirty Poster Tutorial (video)

Enhancing Waterfall Scenes (video)

Straighten Objects (video)

Colorful Bokeh Effect in Pixelmator

How to Create a Logo in Pixelmator

Easy Space Scene in Pixelmator

Fiery Fireballs in Pixelmator 1.4

Light Painting in Pixelmator 1.2

Abstract Wallpaper in Pixelmator

Retro Light Effects in Pixelmator

Blueprint and Sketches

Creating a Graduated Neutral Density Filter in Pixelmator (video)

Removing Red Eyes Using Pixelmator (video)

Sharpening Pixelmator (video)

Creating Rounded Corners and Reflection (video)

Navigating the Pixelmator Interface (video)

Using the Drawing Tool in Pixelmator (video)

Applying Filters in Pixelmator (video)

Girl in Tempo

How to Create a Shining Orb (video)

How to Use the Quartz Composure (video)

Coloring a Black and White Photo in Pixelmator

Flower Text in Pixelmator

Lightning Effect

Smoke Effect in Pixelmator

Stylish Retro Poster in Pixelmator

Selective Desaturation (video)

Removing Backgrounds in Pixelmator (video)

Creating Text (video)

Milky Text in Pixelmator

Quickly Remove Unwanted Background

For more tutorials see:

• 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Lighting and Abstract Effects
• 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Amazing Lighting Effects – Part II
• 25 Photoshop Tutorials for Creating 3D Text Effects
• 50 Essential Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials
• 60 Photoshp Tutorials for Photo Touchups

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

• 30 Text Effect Tutorials for Adobe Illustrator
• 40 Tutorials for Working with Shapes in Illustrator
• 25 Tutorials for Using Illustrator and Photoshop Together for Outstanding Results

Create a Character Mascot with Adobe Illustrator CS4

How to Create a Vector Wacom Tablet in Illustrator

How to Make an Icy Cocktail

How to Turn a Client-Approved Snack Label into a 3D Looking Snack Pack

Create a Realistic Candy Bar in Illustrator

Illustrator Type technique Using Shapes

Create a Cute Furry Vector Monster in Illustrator

Turn Any Font into a Sketch Font

How to Create a Rainy Window Vector Background

Go Media’s Rapid-Fire Illustration Technique

How to Create a Golden Vector Compass in Illustrator

How to Design a Skate Deck with a Cool Skull Pattern

Texturise Your Layered Vectors

How to Draw a Cartoon Duck Character Illustration

How to Create a Quirkly Twitter Bird in Corel Draw

How to Create a Radial Mesh in Illustrator and Make a Vector CD

Creating Editable Letterpress Styled Text

Abracadabra, How to Create a Magic Hat Icon

Create a Stylized GPS Icon

Hit the Mark with a Realistic Vector Dartboard

Realistic Coffee Stain Design Using Illustrator and Photoshop (video)

How to Create a Vector Smiley Icon

Draw a Cute Purse Using Simple Shapes

Drawing People

Create a Cello Scroll from a Reference Photo

Illustrator Tutorial: Perfect Silhouette with Live Trace

16bits Vector Style Illustration

For more design tutorials please see:

• 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Lighting and Abstract Effects
• 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Amazing Lighting Effects – Part II
• 35 Photoshop Tutorials for Designing Your Own Posters
• 25+ Photoshop Tutorials for Poster Design

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

1. Inspiration for Portfolio Design:

Checking out examples of creative, effective portfolio sites from other designers can help to give you some ideas that you may be able to use in the design of your own portfolio. While many web design/CSS galleries include a lot of portfolio sites, there are some galleries that are focused exclusively on showcasing well-designed portfolios.

Folio Focus

Pixel Perfect Portfolios

Foliostars

Most Creative Portfolios

Blog posts that provide inspirational roundups of portfolios:

• 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites – DesignM.ag
• 50 Excellent Designer Portfolio Sites – DesignM.ag
• 30 More Portfolio Sites for Your Design Inspiration – DesignM.ag
• 50 Beautiful and Creative Portfolio Designs - Smashing Magazine
• Single Page Portfolio Sites – Web Designer Wall

2. Tutorials for Designing a Portfolio Site:

There are a number of excellent tutorials that can help you by walking through the design of an example portfolio site. Many f these tutorials cover the design and layout work in Photoshop. Others involve coding or development.

How to Build Your Own Single Page Portfolio Website

Awesome Tutorial Portfolio Design

Create a Clean Modern Website Design in Photoshop

Create a Dark and Sleek Web Layout Using Photoshop

Design a Beautiful Website from Scratch

Building a Sleek Portfolio Site from Scratch (Part 2)

Create a Nice Web Portfolio Design with a Watercolored Background in Photoshop

How to Create a Great Web Design CV and Resume

Creating a Filterable Portfolio with jQuery

Create a Webdesign Layout in Photoshop

Create a Grid Based Resume/CV Layout in InDesign

Design a Portfolio Site with a Textured Background

Creating a Flash Portfolio Website

Build a Flash Portfolio

Design Studio Layout

Create a Professional Portfolio Design in 17 Easy Steps

How to Create a Grunge Web Design Using Photoshop

Create an Image Rotator with Description (CSS/jQuery)

Fancy Thumbnail Hover Effect with jQuery

3. Sliders and Galleries to Use in Your Portfolio:

Sliders and image galleries are very common for use with portfolios. Adding one to your site can be very easy because there are many scripts available that you can implement very quickly into your own website.

Coda Slider

ThickBox

jQuery Multimedia Portfolio

For more see 25 jQuery Image Gallery/Slider Tutorials

Rather than listing all of the various sliders and galleries here, we recently published a post that featured 25 of them. Please refer to this post if you are looking for more options.

4. Helpful Articles on Portfolio Design:

The articles listed below will provide tips, advice and information that can be very useful while you are working on creating a portfolio that will attract clients. For any designer who is looking to get more out of their portfolio, the articles on this list are must-reads.

10 Steps to the Perfect Portfolio Website – Smashing Magazine

Creating the “Perfect” Portfolio – Webdesigner Depot

The One Page Graphic Design Portfolio Guide – You the Designer

Seven Ways to Build Trust on a Portfolio Site – You the Designer

10 Characteristics of Excellent Portfolio Sites – Webdesigner Depot

Ultimate Guide to Using WordPress for a Portfolio Site – Smashing Magazine

Creating a Successful Online Portfolio – Smashing Magazine

50 Excellent Image Galleries You Can Use Today – NETTUTS

Build a Killer Online Portfolio in 9 Easy Steps – Freelance Switch

Alternative Ideas for Designing a Web Portfolio – Fuel Your Creativity

18 jQuery Scripts and Tutorials to Improve Your Portfolio – Designer Daily

5. WordPress Portfolio Themes:

Many designers have chosen to use WordPress as a content management system to power their portfolio site. WordPress is a great option for a portfolio because it’s easy to work with and design for, it can power a blog as part of the portfolio site, there are tons of great plugins available for portfolio sites, and there are also a lot of themes that can be purchased that were created specifically with portfolios in mind.

Aperture

Photo Graphic

MagFolio

Fresh Folio

ProudFolio

Sharpfolio

YourFolio

Cassiopeia

Aquila

Professional

Sketchbook

Sleekslide

Briefcase

Modern Portfolio

BlueGlow

Bluelight

6. HTML Templates for Portfolios:

For those who do not want to use WordPress for their portfolio, there are also a number of HTML/CSS templates available.

One-Page Portfolio Template

Minimal HTML Portfolio Site

Minimo

Definition

Professional Services

Great Portfolio

For more design resources please see:

• 25 Scripts for Dropdown Navigation Menus
• 12 WordPress Plugins for Theme Development
• 12 of the Best Sources of Premium Vectors

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

Create an Amazing Ad in Photoshop

Create a Shoe Advertisement Poster Using Floral Elements

Create an Amazing Diamond Advertisement Poster in Photoshop

Design a Stunning Sneaker Advert

Create a Mobile Phone Styled Like the HTC Touch Diamond

Create Ice-Cold Image Effects

Design a Sleek Nature Themed Advert

High Contrast Black and White Ad

How to Create a Fantasy Atmosphere Style Car Ad

Design a Portable Gaming Device Poster

Create a Mobile Phone Ad Design

Red Bull Manny Mania Poster Design

Create a Stylish Club Poster

Photoshop Tutorial G900

Enhance Your Ad Designs with 3D Splashes

Fragmented Golden Phone

Radio Station Advertisement Design

For more Photoshop tutorials see:

• 15 Photoshop Tutorials for Creating Product Advertisements
• 30 Photo Manipulation Tutorials for Photoshop
• 35 Photoshop Tutorials for Creating Website Layouts
• 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Amazing Lighting Effects – Part Two
• 25 Photoshop Tutorials for Working with Textures

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

E-commerce web design and development presents some unique challenges that you won’t always face with other types of web design. For sites that exist primarily to sell products, it’s very easy to look at sales and have a measuring stick to use when evaluating the success of the website. However, there are any number of factors that can influence the success of an e-commerce site, and identifying areas of strength and weakness is not always so simple.

In this article we’ll look at nine specific factors that are generally present on well-designed e-commerce websites.

1. Ease of Navigation

When attempting to sell products to visitors, the first requirement for selling a product is that the shopper has to be able to find specifically what he or she is looking for. Effective navigation is important to any website, but it’s especially critical for e-commerce sites. Lost visitors will result in lost sales, so every effort should be made to have a site with clear, logical navigation.

E-commerce sites often face considerable challenges with navigation because of the number of products that are presented on the site. Large sites, such as those of department stores, have to be especially careful with navigation, because finding what you want will usually become increasingly difficult with more options. One factor to consider is how the average visitor will attempt to find a particular product. What makes sense to the designer or to the company owing the site may not be the same path that the average visitor would take to find a product. Sufficient user testing is extremely helpful for identifying potential navigational issues.

Examples:

The Pottery Barn uses a drop down navigation menu to help visitors find what they are looking for. The top level of the navigation menu contains links to the major product types that are available on their site, and hovering over a link will bring up the drop down menu that helps to narrow it down to find more specific products.

Nike’s online shop uses a vertical navigation menu. When you hover over an item, such as “Men”, you will then be presented with options for different product types, brands, collections, and sports, making it easier to narrow it down and find what you want quickly.

2. The Design Does Not Overpower the Products

The focus of an e-commerce site should be on the products that are available for purchase. A design that is extravagant for no legitimate reason will usually do more harm than good, as it will draw attention to the design of the site and away from the products. Yesterday we posted a showcase of e-commerce sites with a minimal design approach. There sites have chosen to keep the design simple so that the products don’t have to compete for the attention of visitors.

Examples:

Apple uses simplicity in the design of their products as well as anyone. Their online store takes the same approach with a clean, attractive design that does not provide any distractions for shoppers.

Rapha has a beautifully design website, but it still has a rather simple approach.

Shoe Guru is another very well-designed site that avoids anything excessive. The page shown below lists the men’s athletic shoes that are available. The page simply provides a product photo, name, and price, as well as a link to the product page for more details and purchase options.

3. Easy Checkout

User experience on e-commerce sites is critical to success. If the checkout process involves too many steps or is confusing, shoppers will wind up abandoning their cart with items left unpurchased. Ideally, the checkout should involve a minimal amount of steps and should be as easy as possible for shoppers.

Examples:

Add an item to your cart at White and Warren and you will immediately see the contents of your shopping cart. You will be presented with the options to continue shopping or to checkout. If you chose to checkout, you can login as an existing customer or create a new account.

At BCBGMAXAZRIA when you add an item to your bag, rather than being taken to a new page, your cart will appear on top of the page you are viewing. If you wish to checkout you can simply click the link to do so, or you can close the bag and continue shopping.

4. Branded

Many shoppers are influenced in their purchasing decisions by the brand, and so the need to establish a strong brand is import for both online and offline selling. In the cases of stores that sell online as well as in physical locations, the website is only a part of an overall branding strategy. In these cases the website should work well with other branding efforts of the company so that customers feel comfortable on the website.

Examples:

Oakley is a well-established brand that is recognized as a leader in their industry. Their website does an effective job of working with their existing brand. It is an attractive website that stands out from many of the others that are selling sunglasses online.

Crate and Barrel’s website is well-designed and fits well with the companies overall branding.

5. The Design Style Matches the Products

Like any other type of website, e-commerce sites can have countless different design styles. However, when designing an e-commerce site it’s important to consider the style of the products that will be available on the site. This is a little bit more relevant for smaller stores with a specific type of product and for websites of a particular brand or company that has established a certain identity.

If the design style does not match very well with the particular products that are for sale, there will be a disconnect that exists and visitors may have a hard time relating to products and determining if it is right for them.

Examples:

Innovative Baby sells clothing, furniture and other items for kids. The design and color scheme of their website does a good job of matching up with their products, but it still looks professional and appealing to the adults who are likely to be the ones doing the shopping.

ShopRush’s website has a trendy look that fits well with its salon products.

6. Showcases the Most Popular Products

Many e-commerce sites make an effort to showcase items that are likely to be of interest to visitors, obviously with the intention of helping visitors to find something that they will buy. A number of sites are using a large area on the homepage that they can use to promote current sales, new product lines, or whatever will generate interest. On theses sites, this area will often be updated frequently, or it may include some type of slideshow.

Examples:

In the image below you will see that Eddie Bauer uses a large portion of the homepage to promote an end-of-season sale. There is a very large image and links to sale items in several categories: men, women, bags and gear, and white sale.

When you click on “Girls” at TOOBYDOO, you will arrive at the page shown below. There are links on the left to specific types of products, but a large portion of the page is used for promoting popular items. A large image of a specific item is shown with a link to buy the product. There are several different products that are promoted in a rotation.

7. Promotes Related Products

One of the keys to a successful e-commerce store is the promotion of related products that the customer may also be interested in. Sometimes you will see related products listed and shown on item detail pages, and other times you will see suggestions being made after adding an item to your cart. Promoting the right products that buyers are likely to be interested in is key regardless of the approach that is used.

Examples:

When looking at the detail page of a comforter on The Company Store, visitors will be presented with related products such as cleaning and storage products. This is an excellent example because someone who is going to buy the comforter may easily be influenced to add on these other products to take care of their original purchase.

PacSun shows related products to the right of the screen on product detail pages, where they will easily be seen by all visitors that are looking at a specific product.

8. Effective, Accurate Product Photos

Selling online is different than selling in a physical store because the buyer cannot touch the product or see it in person before making a buying decision (unless they have seen it somewhere else). Providing quality photos that accurately portray the product can help to overcome this challenge and can make the buying decision easier on visitors.

Examples:

REI includes many different pictures of products, in this case a tent. The pictures show the product from several different angles and stages, as well as packed up. Potential buyers will be able to get a very good feel for the product based on these photos, and not buying it because of a fear of the unknown is much less likely than would be the case without as many good photos.

Armani Exchange includes product photos from all angles so that potential buyers will not have to assume how the back or sides of an item will look.

9. Effective Site-Wide Search

Although navigation is critical for making it easy on visitors to find what they want, there is still the need to allow them to search. Some visitors will still have trouble finding a specific product even with good navigation, and with larger e-commerce sites it may often be more feasible to simply do a search than to move through several layers of links. The type of search and the amount of options that should be offered to narrow the search should be based on the size of the site and the items that are available.

Example:

At Lee, after choosing the type of product you would like to look at, the left sidebar will include some advanced search options that will narrow down the products being displayed if you are having trouble with the items that are shown.

What’s Your Experience?

What items would you add to this list of characteristics of well-designed e-commerce sites? Your comments could be based on experience designing an e-commerce site, or from the perspective of a visitor/shopper.

Other Posts from E-Commerce Week:

• E-Commerce Week Giveaway! 6 Prizes for Online Shops – DesignM.ag
• E-Commerce Web Design Toolbox – DesignM.ag
• 40+ Magento Themes for E-Commerce Websites – DesignM.ag
• 15 Resources for Setting Up an E-Commerce Site with WordPress – DesignM.ag
• 30+ CRE Loaded Templates – DesignM.ag
• Design an E-Commerce Website in Photoshop – DesignM.ag
• “Add to Cart” Button Showcase
• 20 Inspirational, Clean E-Commerce Website Designs

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