PRACTICAL GUIDE

Web developer portfolio checklist

A web developer portfolio should explain one useful project before it tries to impress with many cards.

Lead with a usable outcome

Write who the project is for and the task it supports. "A directory where students filter campus resources" says more than "React project". If the people and data are fictional, say so.

Show your part of the build

Name the components, decisions and tests you owned. Credit templates and tutorials. In a team project, explain the boundary between your work and the shared result.

Check the experience, not only the screenshot

Follow the main task with a keyboard. Check focus, labels, narrow-screen layout, broken links and empty or failure states. Record the browser, viewport and observed result. Do not turn a partial check into a full accessibility claim.

Make the demo status explicit

If a form is not connected to a backend, label it as a demo. If the live site has expired, include a dated screenshot, a short recording you are allowed to share and reproducible local setup. A saved artifact is not proof the site is running now.

Write a short case study

Use outcome, contribution, decisions, tests and limits as headings. A reviewer can scan the short summary and open deeper artifacts only when needed. Do not invent users, conversions or impact numbers.

Finish the handoff

Add setup steps, dependency versions, sample-data instructions, license/credits and known issues. Test the README on a fresh environment if possible. Record where the setup still needs help.

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