How to make a portfolio website for free, without code

Most people who search for this have a resume, a few projects and one free evening. That is enough to publish a decent portfolio without paying or writing code. The real choice is how much of the page you want to build by hand.

Four free routes

1. A template site builder, such as Google Sites, Wix or Carrd. You pick a template and fill each block yourself. Flexible, and slow, because every role and project gets typed in again.
2. A notes page published to the web, such as Notion. Quick to write. It looks like a document, and you have little say over how it shows up in search or when the link is shared.
3. GitHub Pages with a free template. Free hosting and full control if you are happy with Git and HTML. Most people who do not code stall at setup.
4. A resume-to-website tool, such as Dossier. You upload the PDF you already have, the sections fill from it, and you change the look instead of building it.

A simple rule: if your resume is up to date, start from it. Retyping it into a template is the slowest part of every other route.

Publish in one sitting: seven steps

1. Update your resume first, since the site will only be as current as the file. Run it through the free ATS scanner while you are there.
2. Export a text-based PDF from Word or Google Docs. A scanned or photographed resume will not read well.
3. Pick your two to four best pieces of work. For each, write one line on the problem, one on what you did and one on the result.
4. Write a headline with your role and who you do it for. The headline writer gives you six to choose from.
5. Build the page. In Dossier: upload the PDF, check the sections it filled, shuffle the look until it suits you, then publish.
6. Open the page on your phone. Most recruiters first open your link from an email or LinkedIn on a phone.
7. Put the link at the top of your resume, in your LinkedIn Featured section and in your email signature.

What free usually costs you

Free plans pay for themselves somewhere. Expect one or more of these: the builder's name in your link, a small badge in the footer, a cap on pages or edits, or no way to download your files. None of these stop a recruiter from reading your work. Pay only when you need a custom domain or want to take the site elsewhere.

On Dossier's free plan you get one published portfolio at a Dossier link, a small "Made with Dossier" badge in the footer and three design shuffles a day. Starter removes the badge and adds the ZIP download for a single $9 payment. The pricing page has the details.

Make sure people can find it

Put your name and role in the page title, such as "Asha Rao, data analyst", so a search for your name can find the page. Then check that search indexing is on. Dossier asks search engines to skip every new page until you switch indexing on for that portfolio, so nothing shows up in Google before you choose.