Task 6: Design a web portfolio

Creating your own portfolio

Because web design skills are in demand, and specifically WordPress skills, New Media faculty sometimes use WordPress as a teaching tool.  We will show you how and why to use the class WordPress.com website and later to create your own free WordPress.org portfolio, which you can use until you graduate and to apply for a job. These steps are summarized in the menu at bottom.

Submitting your Task

When you’ve finished fleshing out your portfolio with your own real content,  follow these steps:
  1. Add a new post in the class dashboard (not your portfolio dashboard) with a title like “Task 6: Mary Gonzalez Portfolio.”
  2. Add the URL to your portfolio in this post (use the link button to make it active).
  3. Add a screenshot.
  4. Make sure to add the “Task 6” category to help your TA find the post. ⚠️ Be sure to click Publish when you’re done.
  5. Complete the Task 6 reflection survey form to get full participation credit for this task.

FAQ

What’s the grading rubric?
In this site, you:
Included link to a working portfolio 0–5
Included a screenshot of your home page 0–5
In your own portfolio, you:
Created Home, About Me, and Posts pages 0–15
Added at least three initial posts 0–5
Created a menu for and made categories for NMD courses 0–5
Added your categories to your menu navigation 0–5
You were especially creative or attentive to the design 0–10+
Your grade is the total of all points times 2, for a possible maximum of 100%. Each week that this task is late subtracts 10 points from this total grade.
I’m confused. Which posts do I make here versus at WordPress.com?Start by using the dashboard at WordPress.com to follow the instructions below. You’ll create an account and a number of posts. Then finish back in this dashboard, adding a single post for your Task 6 submission. In your Task 6 post, include a link to the new portfolio you made on WordPress.com.
How much money will this cost me?None. You can pay for a custom domain name like https://MaryGonzalez.com if you like, but you don’t need to; you can just use the default URL you get from WordPress.com, eg https://mary-gonzalez-cool-portfolio.wordpress.com.
How do I take a screenshot?To take a screenshot, click Shift-Command-4 on Mac or Shift-Windows-S on PC.
Can I see a model answer?As one example for reference, here’s a sample A assignment. Your submission may look quite different and still get a good grade if you follow the rubric. As more advanced models, here are four WordPress sites made by past New Media majors for an outside client (you do not need to make your portfolio as elaborate as these):

Steps to complete your portfolio

Go to WordPress.com and get a FREE account. DO NOT pay for any options, including a domain name–you don’t need one yet. Use your @maine.edu email account–this will allow you to access ALL NMD class WordPress sites eventually, as well as your portfolio. Choose a username that your classmates & prof will recognize. You can use the SAME password for all WordPress sites and/or update them all to match–makes logging in much easier.

Once you create a WordPress site, you should be able to login at WordPress.com using your email address. You can also get a direct login URL via email. (you just need to give it your @maine.edu email, then in the email sent to you, insert your wordpress password).

You can QuickStart your design with the free Cubic theme. (You must choose Cubic for this Task, but in the future you can switch to one of hundreds of different themes.)

You can set the theme via the WordPress dashboard via Appearance > Themes, and then activate it. 

Create three pages (which you will customize later) with these three titles:

  1. Home
  2. Posts
  3. About Me 

Do this via Dashboard–>Pages–>Add New.

Choose Blank Page then use Home for Add Title  then Publish via upper right blue button (click this twice if needed). Do the same for Posts and About Me

Next, go to Dashboard:  Settings–>Reading and  under “Your homepage displays” select Home. and “Default posts page” select Posts 

SAVE SETTINGS

Next, go to Dashboard: Posts–>Categories, and Add Category. All are top level Categories now, but can be changed later:

  1. NMD 100
  2. NMD 104
  3. NMD 105
  4. NMD 106

And also:

  1. Graphics
  2. Photos
  3. Videos
  4. Animation
  5. Webdesign

Create two posts in a similar way as you created Pages, using Dashboard: Posts–>Add New.  

Use these tiles:

  1. My first graphic
  2. My best photos

For 1, add category “NMD 104” and “Graphic”

For 2, add category”NMD 100″ and “Photos” 

You will use these to create menus and a website structure.

Note: the method for adding a menu can vary by theme. What follows is the most advanced option, though you may choose a different technique than what follows by looking in your Theme Settings.

Go to Dashboard: Appearance > Customize > Menu.  You will create two menus, but only use the first one now.

Then click the “Create a New Menu” button, call it “Main” select “Primary Navigation”, then click on “Next”

Next click on “Add items” and add ALL the categories related to NMD courses, like “NMD 100” “NMD 104”. 

Repeat these steps to create a second menu called “Portfolio” in which you add the genre categories like “Graphic” or “Animation”–you will use this later when you transition from a class-based website to a career-based website, with one click.

Also, add your “About Me” page to your menu