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Do you still need a portfolio website if you have LinkedIn?
For some people LinkedIn is plenty. For others it hides exactly the thing that would get them hired.
Updated , about 5 minutes to read
The short answer
If your work is mostly a job history, LinkedIn may be enough. If your work is something people need to see, like designs, photos, cases or classes, or if your clients aren't on LinkedIn, a simple portfolio website does what LinkedIn can't. Most people benefit from both, linked to each other.
What LinkedIn does well
- Recruiters search it, so it helps you get found for jobs.
- Your work history and endorsements sit in a format everyone knows.
- It's free and takes little upkeep.
What it doesn't do
- Show your work properly. Photos, designs and projects get squeezed into small previews among other people's posts.
- Reach clients who aren't on it. A patient, a bride's family or a small shop owner is far more likely to tap a WhatsApp link than to open LinkedIn.
- Look like yours. Every profile looks the same. A portfolio lets your work set the tone.
- Stay on topic. On your own page there are no feeds, ads or "people also viewed" pulling visitors away.
Who needs which
- Applying for corporate jobs, little visual work: LinkedIn first. A portfolio is a bonus if you can show results.
- Designers, photographers, developers, marketers: both. The portfolio is where you're judged; LinkedIn is where you're found.
- Doctors, tutors, consultants, freelancers, small businesses: a website first. Your clients search Google and use WhatsApp.
- Students: both, kept simple. A portfolio with three college projects already sets you apart from most applicants.
Make them work together
Put your portfolio link in your LinkedIn headline or "Contact info", and a LinkedIn button on your portfolio. Keep the two consistent: same photo, same one-line description of what you do. When someone checks both, which they often do, they should feel they've met the same person twice.