Top 7 Freelance Writer Personal Websites To Get Inspired
WFHR EditorLast updated: July 5, 2024
Looking for freelance writer personal websites? If you’re a writer in today’s modern age, having an online portfolio is absolutely essential for long-term success. But exactly what type of website do you need? With the wealth of options online, selecting the best portfolio provider can be overwhelming.
To make your job easier, it’s best to start by figuring out what kind of writer you are. For example, published authors looking to stay connected with fans need an enticing mobile-friendly site where they can share information about book releases and events.
On the other hand, freelancer writers looking to get hired need a good portfolio-style template with pages that show off their best clips. Easy-to-use contact forms are also important if you’re collecting leads.
Expert writers know that a good first impression matters – especially if you’re asking for premium fees, and that’s why having a professional portfolio website is integral! Before showing off your written work, take inspiration from these samples of freelance writers’ personal websites.
If you are looking to use Toptal as a platform to get started, it is best to know some success tips about their process before jumping in. I also included details about the best hosting sites so you can easily start your own portfolio if a sample catches your eye.
Get inspiration from these freelance writers’ personal websites
No matter what type of freelance writing you do, there are three main factors you should aim for when building an online portfolio: an uncluttered design, user-friendliness, and ease of reading.
Here are some freelance writer website samples that exceptionally captured these three elements.
1. Kevin Ridder
Platform: Journo Portfolio
Kevin Ridder, an Associate Editor of a quarterly periodical, chose Journo Portfolio to showcase his best works. The design is simple and straightforward while his articles are neatly displayed in categories.
There’s a section dedicated to featured articles, article series, and other works. A simple navigation bar on the header allows visitors to access more pages like his bio and contact information, among others.
About Journo Portfolio:
Journo Portfolio is an online portfolio builder made especially for writers. Here, you can create a sleek and modern online portfolio that showcases your best work. The website offers six distinct themes, and you can sort your work into any number of content blocks or pages.
One of the best things that make Journo Portfolio a great choice for freelance writer personal websites is the many ways you can share your materials.
You can upload any type of multimedia (e.g. videos, PDFs, images), or link directly to your clips. After linking, the platform automatically grabs the publication date, title, content, and date).
Pro tip: Journo Portfolio also comes with built-in analytics that allows you to keep track of your metrics. With comprehensive insights, you can see your visitor count, where they came from, and how long they stayed. If you really want to crunch numbers, you can also connect your dashboard with your private Google Analytics account.
Price: Journo Portfolio comes with a free version that allows you to host up to 10 articles. Paid versions are between $5 to $10 a month with article back-ups, unlimited pages, and the option to use your own domain.
2. Kristie Hayden
Platform: Clippings.me
Travel and lifestyle writer Kristie Hayden’s portfolio is the best example of how simple is the way to go when building your online writer’s portfolio.
Here, her articles are neatly organized according to categories (e.g. Travel, Life, Business Life, Love), with each article displaying a featured image, publication, and the lead. A simple icon located on the header and at the end of the page links to her contact form.
About Clippings.me:
Created especially for freelance journalists, Clippings.me offers a fast and convenient way to display your favorite article clips. Just like Journo Portfolio, Clippings.me allows you to upload PDFs, links, and embed multimedia files.
The platform also comes with a journalism directory where you can find journalists based on country and beats. This allows you to find sources for stories you cover or lead you to prospective clients.
Pro tip: Clippings.me’s simple and minimalist design is exactly what writers need to showcase their best work. If you lack technical prowess, this platform is one of the easiest freelance writer personal websites to use.
Price: Clippings.me is free if you only need to display 10 articles. If you need space for more, you need to dole out $9.99 per month. The paid version comes with a downloadable resume on the profile, unlimited clippings, SEO, contact forms, password protection, and integration with Google Analytics.
3. Jason Leopold
Platform: Muck Rack
If you’re a journalist, this is exactly the type of portfolio you need. Jason’s portfolio is chockful of information about what type of reporter he is, what he covers, and where his works appear.
His website includes separate sections for his biography, portfolio, articles, and awards. It also includes a live display of his recent tweets
About Muck Rack:
As opposed to other freelance writer personal websites, Muck Rack is also a media database that helps connect journalists with PR pros.
If you’re a freelance journalist with a large body of work, Muck Rack can automatically compile your articles, social media profiles, and outlets in one organized page. You can also customize your page further by listing your beats, showcasing featured pieces, and adding your biography.
Muck Rack is arguably the easiest way to build your portfolio without needing too much work! Ultimately, the platform’s goal is to be the one-stop-shop designed for highlighting your recent work and displaying your social media profiles. You can watch your profile grow whenever you publish new articles without having to do extra work.
Pro tip: If you’re wondering how big your reach is, Muck Racks allows you to see how many social shares your article has and if other journalists have shared your articles through its ‘Who Shared My Link’ tool.
This is a great way to check if you’re making waves! If you need help with your profile or if an article was incorrectly assigned under your name, Muck Rack’s team can help you troubleshoot.
Price: Muck Rack is completely free, though you may unlock additional features just by verifying your account. Here’s how to become a certified journalist in Muck Rack.
4. Katarina Kovacevic
Platform: Pressfolios.com
Freelance writers, especially press journalists, need a good portfolio that can efficiently display the breadth of their work. Katarina’s portfolio shows us exactly how in-demand she is.
Here, a thumbnail appears for every article she’s written, displaying the cover of the magazine she’s appeared in. Scroll further down to her ‘About’ section to read her short bio complete with a list of her skills and a link to her social media accounts.
About Pressfolios:
Pressfolios is a portfolio platform that allows press writers to back up their collection of articles. While it’s focused on attracting freelance journalists, Pressfolios is still an exceptional choice for bloggers, media professionals, and freelance content writers.
Need a complete suite of tools? Unlike WordPress and other platforms, Pressfolios offers writers robust features for managing their collection of stories, as well as their personal brand.
The platform also allows you to keep track of a large body of work. If you’re looking for a story you wrote two years ago from a pile of hundreds, the easy search filter can scour through your entire collection without having to break a sweat.
Pro tip: Press writers know that links can expire and stories can disappear. This is mainly due to publications closing or databases changing.
Each time you include a link in the Pressfolio repository, a full PDF version is automatically clipped and saved on the platform servers so you can download them whenever you want to.
Pricing: Pressfolios doesn’t offer a free account, but all subscriptions come with a two-week free trial. The platform comes with two plans: Lite ($9.99 a month) and Pro ($14.99 a month).
The former allows you to add 250 articles with backups, while the former offers unlimited articles, a custom domain name, as well as stats for your portfolio.
5. Geeta Kothari
Platform: Squarespace
Clean and clutter-free, Geeta Kothari’s portfolio deserves a spot in our list of top freelance writer websites. Made with Squarespace, Geeta’s online portfolio displays everything we need to know about her on the first page with a section for biography and her latest work.
The navigation bar includes links to her social media accounts and a contact page. Scroll further down to see a simple subscribe button.
About Squarespace:
When looking for the best freelance writer personal websites, Squarespace isn’t exactly the first option that comes to mind as it’s geared towards providing a more visual experience.
While it isn’t targeted to writers, Squarespace is a stellar option if you’re looking to jazz up your portfolio by incorporating photos and graphics into your work. While content matters, supplemental images do so as well, so why not consider hiring a designer from 99designs to liven up your portfolio?
Squarespace templates offer a minimalist, sophisticated vibe with a responsive design. These factors are important if you’re looking to attract prospective clients.
Pro tip: The platform’s exceptional client support guarantees that you’ll never be alone when troubleshooting. You’ll be able to reach them through live chat or email 24/7 from Monday to Friday.
Pricing: Unfortunately, Squarespace doesn’t come with a free account. Freelance writers need to pay around $12 a month to build their personal websites, and this comes with a free custom domain.
Business and commerce versions come complete with SEO features, unlimited storage, and advanced analytics for $18 to $40 a month.
6. Alice Driver
Platform: Format
When looking for freelance writers personal websites, you can’t go wrong with minimalism. Award-winning journalist Alice Driver’s website is barebones, but the simplicity makes us want to take her seriously.
Using the writer’s portfolio website Format, she offers a detailed yet concise biography on the main page so visitors can understand her work. There’s also an additional page of recent clips complete with thumbnail images making her published projects instantly accessible.
About Format:
By the look of their website, portfolio creator Format seems to focus more on more visual-oriented careers like photography and graphic design, but writers can also consider this platform a solid option.
The format allows anyone to create their own website within minutes using their intuitive design editor even without technical experience. The platform comes with thousands of design variations and robust tools for complete customization.
Pro tip: If you’re looking for more visitors, Format also allows you to capture new clients with a slew of SEO tools that guide you through the entire optimization process.
Pricing: Format only offers paid plans. You can start with the basic plan for only $7 a month if you don’t want the full suite of services. The Pro plan ($12 a month) allows you to upload 1,500 images with access to all professionally-designed templates.
You also get your own professional email from Google. The Pro Plus plan and Unlimited Plan comes with unlimited images, the capacity to upload videos, and access to ‘Format Experts’ that can help you build your own website.
7. Kristi Hines
Platform: WordPress
Freelance writers rely on their experience to convince clients that they’re worth a shot, and Kristi Hines’ portfolio website does just that. The simple layout complements the beautiful typography, and navigation here is incredibly easy.
Right off the bat, Kristi brandishes the organizations and publications she was featured in, as well as client recommendations. An entire page is also dedicated to outlining her freelance writing services.
About WordPress:
If you’re looking to sell your skills online, WordPress can help you out. What makes WordPress one of the best freelance writer personal websites is the robust themes it provides. The platform offers more than 1000 premium and free WordPress themes for freelancers.
With WordPress, you can choose a theme that effectively displays your featured content and portfolio section, while making it SEO and mobile-friendly. These robust and versatile features make WordPress one of the best freelance writer portfolio websites available. If you’re looking for the best free WordPress themes for freelancers, check out this guide. Once you’ve selected a theme for yourself, why not consider hiring a designer from 99designs to jazz it up with attractive images?
Pro tip: The new WordPress block editor is incredibly helpful in helping writers set up organized website pages with custom blocks. Blocks make your content more presentable and engaging to users.
Pricing: WordPress is completely free to get started, but those looking for more features can select paid services that start at $11 a month.
Personalizing your portfolio:
Keep in mind that although some platforms offer portfolio-building for free, you’ll need to shoulder other expenses, especially if you want a more professional-looking website.
Depending on what the website offers, you’ll also need a domain name, a web hosting plan, and if you really want to jazz up your portfolio, a premium theme. Why not consider having your own brand logo as well and seek the help of talented artists from 99designs?
Before you get started, it is also best you check on some of the people’s success stories like Liz Wilcox, and be ready to get inspired on her journey as a freelancer.
The story of Jennifer Harshman in the freelancing world is also one inspiring journey. You will be amazed at how she did it, especially if you are a parent that has kids with special needs.
For a business that needs writing, some would hire writing services that help them in keeping up. Some would hire copywriters to help them with their demands as well. You need to look for the best writer that will provide based on your needs and wants.
Before hiring a writer, you need to make sure that the person is well-versed in the project and is charging you fairly.