Website Builder Sites

Guys,

Any of you currently using a website builder to display your portfolios? If so which one would you recommend and why?

Squarespace
Wix
Wordpress
Cargo
Adobe Portfolio

I don't want something too complex but still want a site that doesn't look 'off the shelf'.
 
It all depends on how you plan to market the site, to whom and for what purpose.

I’d recommend a self hosted CMS (of which there are loads to choose from). I’d certainly steer clear of anything that charges for their service or forces you to use their templates and configuration options.

Wordpress is free, there are thousands of themes to choose and thousands more plugins should you need extra functionality. You will not be beholden to a third party for anything and have complete freedom to configure the site in any way you choose.
 
I'd steer well clear of wix. if you want to go for s SaaS solution I'd say Squarespace is the market leader at the moment. But as fisicx has suggested a self hosted CMS such as wordpress would give you more flexibility.

**Note** Wordpress has two versions.. .com which is a pretty restrictive platform and .org which is much more open and flexible.
 
Do you get the same level of customisation with a wordpress theme as you would with a wix site?
Far far more. Once you discover the flexibility and power of Wordpress you will never want to use a site builder ever again.

Google ‘Wordpress portfolio theme’ to see the sort of things you can do.

One caveat: Wordpress isn’t a WYSIWYG platform. There is a bit of a learning curve to get your head round how it works but there are loads of tutorials, videos and other online help sites you can refer to. I’ve found most of my clients get the hang of it fairly quickly. One painter loved it so much they even built their own custom theme (with a bit of help).
 
Does anyone have any experience of using Semplice?
Yes, and while it's very clever it's unnecessary for most WP sites. Certainly not worth paying $99.

Also worth noting that almost all the showcase sites fail the Google page speed test.
 
I have a background as an artist and animator, aspiring to become a professional graphic designer, working at another job full time.
I want to focus on logo/icon design and typography and hand lettering, learning to do some decent photography/videography as well as these skills are really a nice (complimentary) addition.
Originally from the Netherlands and moved to Belgium a while ago, living together with my boyfriend (who is a freelancer) in a cozy apartment.
 
The best and good option is wordpress, whereas you can quickly create your creative and fast website and it won't be off the shelf.
 
Yes it will. That's the whole point of WordPress - it's an off the shelf product.

If you want something bespoke you need a developer to build a theme for you.
Yes Alright, Bespoke website is best thing for all size of business. instead of going with website builder.
 
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