How to Write a Headline for Your Portfolio Website
Improve your job application response rate with a strong portfolio headline.
Six to seven seconds is commonly cited as the amount of time a recruiter spends looking over a resume. When it comes to portfolio websites, the timing can be slightly less grim — up to a few minutes spent — but it’s just as easy for the recruiter or hiring manager to click out of your website and move on to the next candidate.
Their decision to stay for that first minute (and beyond) is based on whether or not they can easily understand who you are and what you offer. This is why it’s important to have a clear, concise headline for your portfolio website.
What is a headline?
At the top of the homepage of any website, you’ll find a headline. This is usually a one-sentence description of what the website or company is. In other words, you can think of the headline as the thesis statement for the rest of the information that follows.
Above: examples of website headlines: left, Substack (substack.com); right, Square (squareup.com)
Good headlines are helpful, as they articulate the website’s purpose clearly. Reading one will tell you what you can expect from the website and who it’s for; it helps you find your footing in this new space you’ve arrived in. Bad headlines, on the other hand, are frustrating. You might be left confused and disoriented, forced to spend more time digging for information. In a world where people only spend 10-20 seconds on a website, you probably also don’t have much time to spare.
In a similar way, the headline on your portfolio website can make or break your website user’s experience. To create one that sets a positive first impression — which can then lead to that first interview — you should keep in mind the points below.
How to write a strong headline
✅ Do: Follow a standard format.
❌ Don’t: Get too creative with it.
Unlike the rest of your portfolio, the headline isn’t the best opportunity to do something experimental that’s never been seen before.
In fact, deviating too much from what’s expected can confuse your user. This means that the recruiter or hiring manager won’t understand what you can offer or why you’re the right fit for the role. At worst, a bad headline can undermine your professional credibility.
As a standard format, include the following details:
Your name. Though it might already be included in your website URL or at the top of your homepage, writing it in your headline confirms what you want to be called. This is helpful if you have a different preferred name, like a nickname, or just as a courtesy so recruiters and hiring managers know how to address you. You can write this in an introductory way (i.e. “I’m Nicole,”) or in the third-person point of view (“Nicole is a…”).
What you do. This should be a succinct description of your profession, like “product designer,” “lead visual designer,” or “digital artist.” The description you choose should ideally match the job title(s) or type of work you’re looking for. If there’s a mismatch here — like if you’re seeking roles in product design, but you describe yourself as a graphic designer — then recruiters will likely click out of your website in search of someone who seems to be a better match. So if you’re stumped on how to describe what you do, look at the titles of jobs you’re interested in and use something similar.
Your location. Today’s job market is an amalgamation of remote, hybrid, and in-person roles. Not only does your location potentially impact what jobs you’re eligible for (as a recruiter might be looking for someone in a specific location, time zone, or country), but it also impacts salary ranges, as salaries are often calculated based on the cost of living in the closest metropolitan area. So if you’re based in the United States, include your city (or the closest metropolitan area) and state. Or, if you’re outside the US, include your city and country.
Putting it all together, your headline might start out as follows:
I’m Maya, a product designer in Seattle, WA.
Alexis is a graphic designer based in Los Angeles, CA.
Hello! I’m Elena, a digital artist in Melbourne, Australia.
✅ Do: Write in simple, plain language.
❌ Don’t: Include jargon, overly complex terms, or buzzwords.
While you should follow a standard format, there’s wiggle room for personalization.
If you have a unique professional background that can offer a competitive advantage, you might want to mention that. Or you might choose to mention the name of your current or former employer. Or, if you have a specific niche, you could include that.
Whichever route you choose, use language that’s as plain and straightforward as possible. As tempting as it may be to throw in some industry jargon, to indicate that you know what you’re talking about, try not to.
Avoid buzzwords as well. While terms like “design thinking,” “empathy,” and “storytelling” are central to our jobs as designers, recruiters and hiring managers have heard them thousands of times already. Spending your headline’s valuable real estate on these cliches will diminish the unique appeal of your website — and they might make your audience cringe.
To strike the right balance of casual and professional, aim for a tone that’s competent and objective. And if you aren’t sure what other details to include, err on the side of a simpler headline, following the first point above.
With those details, your headline might look like this:
I’m Maya, a product designer in Seattle, WA, with a background in Visual Design and Computer Science.
Alexis is a graphic designer based in Los Angeles, currently working at NovaPixel.
Hello! I’m Elena, a freelance digital artist in Melbourne, Australia, focused on medical illustration.
Above: a vague headline vs. a specific one
✅ Do: Iterate, revise, get feedback, and revise again.
❌ Don’t: Go with the first headline you write.
Despite the headline’s simplicity, it can be notoriously difficult to get right. You might feel like your new headline doesn’t accurately reflect what you’re looking for, or you might have a hard time trimming down what you do into a few tidy words.
If you’re struggling, try zooming out. Look at job descriptions you’re interested in and take note of the points that a recruiter or hiring manager might find important. Select which of these feels most relevant to you and explore different ways of incorporating them.
When you feel like you can’t push it any further, get feedback from someone else, like a friend or colleague, or through an informational interview.
Over time, you’ll find other ways to improve your headline. My own headline has evolved over the years, as I gained more experience and learned how to better articulate my work. Yours will also be a work-in-progress that changes shape as your various experiences do.
With these tips, your new headline will be more likely to resonate clearly with your audience, whether they’re recruiters, hiring managers, or just passersby. They’ll better understand who you are and what you’re looking for, which pushes you one step closer to connecting with the right opportunities. Good luck!
Additional resources
Crafting Your Elevator Pitch as a Product Designer
Q&A: Answering Your Portfolio Questions
Navigating the Portfolio Presentation, Part 1: How to Prepare
Navigating the Portfolio Presentation, Part 2: Recommended Format
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