Just realized my old PDF portfolio was holding me back, not my work

Back in 2016 I had this huge PDF portfolio, like 40 pages with every single project I ever touched. I kept choosing it because I thought clients wanted to see everything, and I spent weeks updating it every time I finished something new. Last year I finally switched to a simple one-page website with just 6 projects, and I was scared I'd lose out on work. Turns out, the PDF was a mess to send and nobody ever scrolled past page 5 anyway. The website got me two interviews in the first month, and one client told me, "I actually looked at everything this time." Has anyone else made the jump from big PDFs to a lean online portfolio, and did it feel like you were leaving stuff behind at first?

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faith_smith13d ago

Different vibe for me honestly. I still keep a full PDF around for certain clients who ask for it, and the lean version never fully replaced it. Kind of depends on who you're sending it to, some folks really do want the deep dive, even if they take their time getting through it.