How to present website project examples honestly

Project examples help buyers understand what you can make. They are most useful when the reader can distinguish completed client work, experiments and illustrative concepts.

Label the type of work

For a commissioned project, explain your role and obtain permission for what you publish. For a concept, use a visible label such as “Illustrative design concept.” Put it beside the example, not only in a policy at the bottom of another page.

Explain the brief and the decisions

State the intended audience, the task and the relevant design choices. For an illustrative service-business concept, you could explain that the main service information appears before the enquiry link and that the menu stacks on mobile. This describes the design without inventing a customer's experience.

Use images responsibly

Use your own screenshots or assets you are allowed to publish. Remove private customer information, administrative interfaces and account details. If the live website has changed since your work, label the date or version rather than implying that its current appearance is entirely yours.

Separate observations from results

A screenshot can show a revised layout. It cannot prove higher revenue. If you publish a performance result, record the period, baseline, measurement and relevant changes. Do not present a percentage without the numbers that explain it or attribute every improvement to the redesign.

Let visitors inspect useful details

Show a readable desktop or mobile view and explain what was included. Avoid using a gallery of tiny thumbnails as the only evidence. Link to the relevant service scope so buyers can tell whether similar work fits the offer they are considering.

Before publication, ask: can a reader tell who commissioned this, what I contributed and whether the result is measured or illustrative? If any answer is unclear, revise the caption. A clear concept portfolio is useful for a new business; pretending it represents a list of past customers undermines the decision it is meant to support.

Practical guidance with illustrative examples. Read our editorial standards or send a correction.