Publishing checklist
Portfolio Website Launch Checklist: Content, Links, Mobile, SEO, and Trust
A polished layout cannot rescue a broken project link, unclear contribution, exposed secret, or missing contact method. Review the portfolio as a visitor would: quickly, on multiple devices, with no private context.
1. Verify content and factual accuracy
Read every page for names, dates, role titles, project ownership, and metrics. Compare factual details with the resume and profiles you plan to share. Ask whether a stranger can understand the target role and strongest evidence from the first screen.
- The hero states your name and professional focus clearly.
- Project descriptions identify your contribution and collaborators.
- Metrics have a source or have been removed.
- Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are consistent.
- Placeholder copy and sample content are gone.
2. Test every link and piece of evidence
Open links in a signed-out browser session. A repository or document that works only for your account is not public evidence. Check redirects, certificate warnings, missing pages, and demos that depend on expired free services.
- Live project links load successfully.
- Repositories intended to be public can be viewed while signed out.
- Email, LinkedIn, GitHub, and custom links point to the right destination.
- External links clearly describe where they lead.
- Private files and access-request pages are removed.
3. Review mobile layout and accessibility
Test at narrow and wide widths instead of checking only one phone. Navigate by keyboard, zoom the page, and confirm that important information is not available only through hover, animation, color, or decorative imagery.
- Text does not overlap or require horizontal scrolling.
- Buttons and links remain large enough to activate accurately.
- Headings follow a logical hierarchy with one clear H1.
- Meaningful images have descriptive alternative text.
- Focus indicators are visible and motion respects reduced-motion preferences.
4. Protect privacy and trust
A public portfolio is available to recruiters, clients, search engines, automated crawlers, and strangers. Share only what supports the professional purpose of the site.
- No API keys, passwords, private repository URLs, or customer data appear in code or screenshots.
- Personal phone numbers and home addresses are omitted unless intentionally public.
- Client and teammate names, testimonials, and images are used with permission.
- Contact forms explain what information they collect.
- Claims, credentials, and endorsements are accurate and attributable.
5. Check search and social presentation
Give each important page a concise title and description that match its visible heading and content. Use one canonical hostname, make public pages crawlable, and keep private dashboards or editing routes out of search results.
- The page title, H1, and introduction describe the same subject.
- The canonical URL uses the preferred HTTPS hostname.
- The sitemap contains important public pages only.
- Open Graph and social preview images load correctly.
- The portfolio has been tested with PageSpeed Insights and a social-card preview tool.
6. Create a realistic maintenance routine
Do not change dates merely to make a page appear fresh. Update the portfolio when the underlying work changes: a better project ships, a role changes, a link breaks, or a claim becomes outdated.
After launch, share the most relevant project link in applications and outreach. Review analytics as a usability signal, not as proof that every visitor understood the work.
Sources and further reading
This guide combines Portcraft product experience with the following primary references.