25 Best Portfolio Websites of 2023

There has never been a better time than now to create an online portfolio website. With easy-to-use and affordable portfolio website builders, designing, building and managing your professional portfolio website is now fairly simple and uncomplicated. But what makes an online portfolio website stand out from the crowd? Is it just the visual elements or is there more to making a website unique, distinctive and impactful? What do the best portfolio websites in 2023 look like? Let us try to figure it out!

At its most fundamental, a website is a collection of web pages that serve a singular purpose. From business websites to online portfolios, e-commerce websites to personal websites and from blog websites to resume websites, all websites are made for a purpose. The best websites, however, manage to go beyond just being useful or purposeful. The best websites in 2023 make an impact and are able to stand out by providing a unique and meaningful user experience for people who visit the site.

In this article we take a look at what makes the greatest websites stand out in 2023. We will also take a moment to appreciate and learn from the top 25 best websites built on Pixpa and understand what makes these websites impactful and unique.

What makes a portfolio website stand out in 2023?

• Minimalism
• Attention to detail
• An impactful landing page
• Best user experience practices
• Feature-rich and aesthetic website design

Minimalism

Minimalism is a key feature of modern web design and for good reason. A less is more approach allows you to concentrate on the most important visual and functional elements of your website. Minimalist websites do not have to be bland or boring. In fact, it takes a great deal of creativity, imagination and good design sensibility to make minimalism work. 

When done right, minimalism can give your website a clarity of vision and purpose that is the key to creating a meaningful user experience. Apart from visual aesthetics, minimalist websites are also easier to navigate and faster loading. Therefore, avoiding fuss and clutter can not only do wonders for the aesthetics of your website but also add to its functionality. Here are 10 expert tips on aesthetic pictures, using the right techniques and examples.

Our article on the 30 best minimalist websites takes a deeper look at why minimalism is the secret behind most best websites!

Attention to detail

It's the little things that matter. Attention to detail is an important component of all design, especially web design. Small touches can play a big role in enhancing user experience. Even something as little as choosing the right font size and consistency in terms of layout and design can play a big role in improving the UX of your website and improving bounce rates. 

Conversely, a lack of consistency, neglecting to include seemingly inconsequential but important pages like an About Us page or a Contact Us page can have a negative impact on your website’s user experience and cause your bounce rates to go up. A detail-oriented design philosophy can go a long way in helping you build the best website that can both retain user attention and help your website stand out from the crowd.

Take a look at our article on the principles of design to understand how the little things come together to create focused, deliberate and impactful visual experiences. If you are looking for inspiration and ideas to start building a website from scratch, here is a step-by-step guide on how to design a website and make it perfect!

An impactful landing page 

What all the best websites have in common is a stunning landing page. The landing page or the homepage of your website is the first page that any site visitor will see when they first land on your site. This is your chance to make an impact and make sure that you create lasting impressions. 

First impressions can often be the make or break factor when it comes to websites. Keep in mind that a portion of people who land on your website will simply close the page and move on. This is called bouncing and if you want to reduce the bounce rates on your website then you need to make sure your landing page can grab a person’s attention and hook them from the very start. 

A short, attention-grabbing landing page copy, your personal branding and an impactful hero image are excellent website design ideas to make sure your landing page creates the effect you are looking for.

Best user experience practices

User experience or UX is the way in which users interact with and therefore experience a website or platform. Think about going into a restaurant for dinner. While the main purpose of your visit is the food, your experience of going to the restaurant isn’t determined by the taste of the food alone. 

The ambience of the restaurant, the decor, the location, the cleanliness and hygiene affect your experience of the restaurant as does the service and the behaviour of the staff and other patrons. Similarly, when a user lands on your website, their experience will be governed by the overall design of your website and whether it has been designed in a way to maximize ease of use, efficiency, navigability, visual aesthetics and more. Good user experience practices also involve trying to make your website inclusive and accessible. 

Offering translations and multiple language versions of your website, using easy to read fonts and color palettes etc. are good user experience practices that all the best websites should use in 2023.

We have an article on the best UX designer portfolios if you want to take a look at how experts design user experience for websites and other digital platforms and the factors they take into consideration while doing so!

Feature rich + aesthetic website design

If you want to create the best website in 2023 then you need to marry together function with visuals. It is great to have a functional website and it is wonderful to have a visually stunning website but bringing these two things together is what makes a website truly stand out. 

When you are looking to create a website that is both feature-rich and attractive, it is important to understand that your website will be only as good as the tools you use to build it. If you need extensive features, functionality and utility alongside stunning designs and attractive templates, then you need to look for a tool that gives you exactly that.

Pixpa is an all-in-one, DIY website builder platform that can help you create stunning, professional and feature-rich websites effortlessly and without touching a single line of code. Pixpa comes with a wide range of pixel-perfect, mobile-friendly and responsive templates that can be fully customized to your liking using the intuitive visual editor and a drag and drop page builder. You can also use custom CSS and HTML code to personalize your website and add extra features using a plethora of third party integrations. 

Pixpa offers a complete solution to website building including full-featured e-commerce tools and online store builder, multiple gallery options, portfolio building tools, a comprehensive client proofing platform, blogging tools, SEO and marketing tools and more.

Pixpa can help you build a website that not only stands out but also allows you to share, sell and promote your work, and manage your entire web presence, all from one single platform. And if you are still not fully convinced, here are 25 top reasons why you should try Pixpa as your website builder of choice in 2023!

Here are the top 25 best portfolio website examples created on Pixpa

Abigail Originals - Portrait Photographer

What makes Abigail’s online photography portfolio one of the best websites of 2023 for us, is the minimalist design philosophy. Like we said, minimalism can do wonders when it comes to creating stunning, modern websites and Abigail’s website is proof of that. The landing page is simple and monotone. The use of an impactful hero image helps the website create an immediate and lasting impression which is a testament to good website design.

JOIO - Life Coach

SJ Treharne at JOIO Life Coaching helps people find meaning, purpose and renewed confidence in their lives. Do check out her stunning personal business website. JOIO’s website is a good example of why the best websites tend to use grid patterns and layouts. Grids might seem old fashioned and restricting but they can be used to provide structure to your website and provide a clean, sleek and professional look.

Lester Ibanez - Travel Photographer

Lester Ibanez’s website takes a generic grid layout and turns it into a unique and vibrant visual experience. He uses muted tones with pops of bright colours in the images he uses on his landing page which helps bring the whole website alive while maintaining a minimalist approach. The website is concise and easy to navigate which is a plus for the overall user experience. Lester’s website is definitely one of the best websites of 2023 when it comes to the genre of photography.

Tze Soh - Sustainable & Innovative Residential Architecture

Tze Soh is an Australian architect and what we love about his business website is that it gets straight to the point. The architecture website is designed with a very clear vision which helps it look clean, organized, curated and professional. The landing page gives you all the information you need about the architecture firm, its values, and the kinds of projects that it specializes in. When it comes to clear, purposeful and minimalist design, this is one of the best websites for us in 2023.

Kathleen - Founder, The Fulfilled Freelancer

The Fulfilled Freelancer blog and website is an advice and resource website for freelance professionals. Founded by Kathleen Smith from Bellevue, Washington. Kathleen’s website uses a tried and tested grid pattern, colour blocking and a vibrant selection of images to create an approachable and upbeat landing page. This works really well for the overall tone and style of the blog website and also allows Kathleen to create a unique visual experience for her readers that matches her brand.

Emma Da Silva - Documentary Photographer

Emma Da Silva is a documentary photographer based in Paris. Black backgrounds are a particularly effective way of making photographs pop and this is very evident in the landing page of Emma’s website. The landing page uses a photo carousel on a black background which serves to catch the viewer’s eye while also showcasing her work. Emma’s website is definitely one of the best websites in the category of photography websites.

Besharked - Design Studio

Singapore based Besharked is a design studio which is the brainchild of Shafie Rased and Vincent Chia. The Besharked website is one of our favourite websites here because it shows us that it is possible to create a comprehensive and impactful single page website without compromising on ease of navigation. You can scroll through the entire Besharked website at once or you can use the menu buttons to jump to relevant sections. If you need an example of ingenuity and design creativity in website design, Besharked is one of the best websites to check out.

Kukui- Fashion Store

Portuguese fashion boutique Kukui uses its website as an e-commerce platform to share and sell clothing all across the country. The Kukui website focuses heavily on images which minimizes reading and create a website which is easy to parse and even easier to shop from. In e-commerce websites, visuals are important. Customers need to see the products they are buying. Therefore, focusing on the products and the clothing they are trying to sell is a good business strategy for Kukui. This is one of our favourite e-commerce websites on this best websites list.

Zoe Rayner Photography - Travel Photographer

Zoe Rayner’s photography website is another example of how using a visual, image-heavy approach and minimalist design can be the secret to creating the best travel photography websites. Zoe’s photography portfolio website creates an impact because it immediately allows the viewer’s eye to focus on the most important element– the photographs. Even though it is only two pages big, the website has been designed purposefully and intelligently which helps it stand out.

Simon Philip Alejandrino - Resume Website

Resume websites are a great way for students and professionals to bring themselves to the notice of recruiters and hiring managers. Simon’s website is well organized, easily navigable and clearly designed with a focus on a good user experience. The landing page is simple, elegant and effective. It tells you everything you immediately need to know about the owner of the website which is great. Smart, minimalist and utility-driven design are the main reasons why Simon’s resume website has found a place in our list of best websites of 2023.

Rou Marcellus - Fashion Photographer

Rou Marcellus is a fashion photographer and student based in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. Rou’s website finds its place on our list because of the vivid yet understated colour blocking effect he achieves on his landing page by using his portfolio gallery. The landing page makes an immediate impact and the strong composition and visuals that characterize Rou’s photography shine through in his website design as well.

TypeSix - Fashion - Concept to Campaign

Type Six is a creative agency that specializes in developing creative concepts for fashion shoots and then bringing them to life. TypeSix’s website is both a fashion portfolio website and a business website. What makes it stand out is the landing page which is minimalist yet dynamic. Hovering over the menu changes the background image of the landing page which gives it a sense of dynamism in an otherwise simple layout. 

Cindy Sung - Fashion, Portrait, Lifestyle Photography

Cindy Sung’s website is testament to the fact that monotone can work wonders when it comes to web design. Black and white does not have to be boring or mundane. Cindy has taken a simple black and white photograph as the background image for her landing page and it works wonderfully. It draws attention to the center of the page and a carousel of photos that showcases her work. As you scroll down, you get a subtle but effective transition to colors. Cindy’s website is one of our favourites in this list of best 2023 websites.

Antoine Rabeau Daudelin - Photographer, Artist

Like several other best websites on this list, Antoine Rabeau Daudelin’s website uses striking imagery to showcase his work as full-width banners. Easy navigability, thoughtful content copy and minimalist design aesthetics are some of the other reasons why we believe Antoine’s online portfolio deserves a spot among the best websites of 2023.

Debra Faustini - Artist and Illustrator

We have taken a look at several monochrome landing pages in this best website of 2023 list. Debra J Faustini’s website is different. Debra is an American artist based in Sequim, Washington. Her website uses a vibrant, colourful grid of gouache paintings as the main image which makes an immediate impact on viewers. Scrolling down we have a short bio note and a contact form. Other pages on the website serve to expand on what is already present on the landing page. This makes Debra’s website intelligently designed to make the maximum impact in a great way.

Escapist Motif- Functional Art

Escapist Motif is a Singapore based online store that seeks to bring together functionality and creativity through their art. Their store sells ‘functional art’ consisting mainly of custom, hand-binded books and notebooks. The seamless integration of utility and design that Escapist Motif tries to embody in their art is also visible in their website. The website is designed in a minimalist fashion and even though it is primarily an e-commerce site, it tries to showcase the artistry and craftsmanship behind the products as well. This functional artistry is what makes Escapist Motif one of the best websites in the e-commerce category in our opinion.

Andrew Hendrix - Photography

Andrew Hendrix’s website is on our list of best websites for 2023 because of its adaptable and responsive design that works just as well on desktop as on mobile. The landing page is divided into four sections that can be easily scrolled through to reach the different parts of Andrew’s website. He also includes a more traditional menu in the header of his website for more information and further navigation. We love to see responsive, mobile-friendly sites and website owners who are mindful of this!

Mihailo Vucenic - Graphic Designer

Mihalio Vucenic’s website uses a dark background and vivid neon tones as highlights. This is highly effective in creating a strong impact on the viewer right as they load the landing page. Scrolling down you can read Mihailo’s story and what led him down the artistic career path that he has chosen. The brilliant combination of an impactful colour palette, minimalism and compelling content copy takes Mihailo Vucenic’s website to the next level when it comes to the best websites and top urls of 2023.

Tricia Reinking - Photographer, Food Stylist

Tricia Reinking is a food stylist and photographer based in Florida, United States. What we like about Tricia’s website is that it is very functional but does not sacrifice any design aesthetics. It is a portfolio website and therefore it centers Tricia’s food photography work. The landing page consists of a sleek and modern-looking photo gallery that encourages visitors to explore and gives a good introduction to her work immediately. Like all other best websites on this list, it is also a user-friendly and easily navigable website.

Straight Away Kate - Runner, Coach

Kate Pullen is a runner and fitness coach and her blog website is definitely one of the best websites in this category. The black background makes the landing web page images pop and the font style is easy to read, and upbeat and works well with the overall style and tone of the website. The blog uses photographs to avoid appearing too text-heavy which can be a problem often faced by blog websites. Overall we simply love the Straight Away Kate blog and website!

Tallow’s Retreat and Dove Studio - Luxury Retreat

Tallow’s Retreat and Dove Studio is a private property and luxury retreat in Byron Bay, Australia. The website is on our list of best websites and top homepages because it showcases how even a small holiday rental property can be promoted and advertised effectively through a professional website. The website uses warm tones and color palettes, focuses on visuals over text and contains detailed information as to the location, facilities and house rules for the rental. This business website is the perfect marriage of function and visuals.

Society of Dreamers - Store

The Society of Dreamers website uses a simple but effective grid pattern to create a structured, orderly, and effective eCommerce website. In our opinion, we consider it one of the best websites for 2023 in the category of online stores because of the creative design, smooth online shopping and checkout experience, and fast loading times. The Society of Dreamers website can be an excellent model for successful small business websites.

Celine Werhan - Communication Design Student

Celine Werhan’s student website is simple, uncomplicated and concise. The website does not make use of too much text, images or pages. However what makes it work is the minimalist design philosophy, polished and modern grid layout and a strong focus on the most important elements of the website, that is the landing page and Celine’s design portfolio. When it comes to the best student websites, Celine’s website is definitely one of our recommended websites that you must check out.

Chris Collado - Photographer

Chris Collado’s website is on our list of best photography websites of 2023. Chris’s landing page uses a column of images from his portfolio that also doubles up as a menu leading to different categories within his portfolio. This is an ingenious way of making the landing page multipurpose. Well organized grid layouts, intuitive navigation etc are some of the other factors that make Chris’s online portfolio stand out and earn his site a place in the best websites of 2023.

Jeremy Bianco - Portrait Artist

If we have learned anything by now it's that monochromatic color palettes are a winning feature for a lot of the best websites in 2023. Fine art portrait painter Jeremy Bianco’s website is no different. The monochromatic color theme sets the mood for the website’s landing and also matches his black and white portrait paintings that are displayed on the landing page itself. Apart from being a portfolio, Jeremy’s website also includes a store where he sells prints of his work. For creativity and versatile ingenuity, Jeremy's website definitely finds a place in our favorite, best websites of 2023.

Conclusion

These were our top picks for the popular websites of 2023! Clean minimalist design, a focus on good user experience and text-light websites are clearly some of the top web design trends that we are seeing here and we definitely can’t complain. If this has got you wondering about what the design trends in 2023 are going to look like then worry not because we have something just for you. Our article on the top upcoming web design trends is going to be right up your alley. You might also want to check out this detailed article on the best graphic design softwares to help you create your own stunning graphics for your website.

The best websites are created using the best website creation tools. So, if you were looking for the perfect website builder for your needs, look no further. You can sign up for Pixpa’s full-featured, 15 day free trial now. No credit card is required to sign up and no hidden charges. And if you are not satisfied with your experience, Pixpa also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee! So, don’t wait any longer. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Make Your Own Website?

It is incredibly easy to create your own website using Pixpa, an all-in-one, DIY website builder. Once you have signed up for a 15-day free trial, you can start building your very own professional website effortlessly and without touching a single line of code. It all starts with picking a template of your choice from Pixpa’s extensive range of mobile-friendly, professional, and responsive templates. From there you can customize your templates to match your needs and requirements and add any features and plugins you like. Pixpa makes website building easy, affordable, and accessible.

How much does it cost to build an entire website?

You can start building your very own website for free by signing up for a full-featured 15-day free trial with Pixpa. After you have test driven the platform and its features, you can opt to continue building and eventually publish your website for as little as $3/month by subscribing to Pixpa’s Light plan. You can also opt for Expert plan at $10/month or the Business plan at $16/month and get access to exclusive services including a free one-time website set-up service where you can get a Pixpa expert to set up your website for you, just the way you want! You can also check out this article for more detailed information on how much a website costs to build!

What website builder do photographers use?

Pixpa is favored by photographers all over the world because of its exclusive, photographer-friendly templates and features like e-commerce galleries and a full-featured client-proofing platform. Pixpa provides the perfect all-in-one platform for photographers to share, sell and deliver their work online and manage their photography business all in one place.

How do I sell my photos on my website?

Pixpa websites allow the perfect solution for users looking to sell their photographs through their website. You can sell your photos either through Pixpa’s e-commerce galleries which merge e-commerce features into your online portfolio itself or through a traditional online store. Pixpa also allows you to sell your photos as prints or digital downloads. You can choose to auto-fulfil print orders through WHCC or Fotomoto or self-fulfil through a custom lab of your choice.

What is the best DIY website builder?

Pixpa’s easy-to-use platform is the perfect DIY website builder which is suitable for beginners and advanced users alike. You can create a feature-rich professional website in minutes and without any advanced technical knowledge or coding skills. Pixpa’s intuitive visual editor and drag-and-drop page builder make website building a breeze. If you are a more technically skilled user looking for slightly more advanced tools, Pixpa also allows you to use custom CSS and HTML code for advanced customization.