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05_platforms.Rmd
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# Platforms
A platform is the online tool that will host your digital portfolio and make it available to the public through the internet.
There are many platforms available to serve as a home for your digital portfolio, so which platform should you use? Let's take a look at some of the categories and options. (Please note that new tools become available quite frequently, so this list is not intended to be comprehensive and may need to be updated periodically.)
```{r, echo=FALSE, fig.alt="Black and white Noun Project Icon showing a woman standing, one arm supports the other as she holds her chin in a thinking pose; a thought bubble with a question is nearby", out.width="25%"}
knitr::include_graphics("./images/noun-curiosity-2909383.png")
```
## Platform Considerations
**Technical considerations:** What platforms are commonly used in your field? Do you have prior experience with a specific platform that you can leverage? The platform you chose can highlight your technical skills - or provide an opportunity to help you develop a skill you want to gain. For example, HTML, Shiny, Wordpress, or GitHub Pages can all be used in creating a digital portfolio.
**Style considerations:** Does your platform have themes that you can use to your advantage? For example, WordPress has some free templates that are specifically geared towards portfolios. There are existing project templates on GitHub that, if they fit your needs, you can fork and modify for your portfolio. If you plan to use images, does the platform represent images in an engaging way? If you're showcasing dynamic, interactive, and/or video visualizations can the platform handle those?
**Maintenance considerations:** How robust is the platform? How often will you be updating it? Is there an associated cost to hosting your portfolio that you need to be prepared for?
```{r, echo=FALSE, fig.alt="Black and white Noun Project Icon showing a woman points to a slide with html code brackets", out.width="25%"}
knitr::include_graphics("./images/noun-software-engineer-2909346.png")
```
## Platform Types
### Website Builders
Website Builders are online tools that help you build a website through an online graphical user interface. They typically allow for easy integration of pre-built styles (and changing between styles) and have some kind of content management system to help you keep track of pages and posts. They also usually include a free service tier and can make buying and using a custom domain (website URL) straight forward at minimal yearly cost.
Website builders are good for both novices and pros. Just because you can write HTML and CSS doesn't mean you have to (or want to!) do this for every project. For beginners, this option makes a professional-looking website quickly without a lot of hassle.
Be sure to explore the theme options for your builder of choice. Some themes are free, but others may have an associated fee. Often, you'll find themes that are specifically built for portfolios, but blog themes may also do the job well.
Some common Website Builders that may be appropriate for digital portfolios include:
* Wix
* Wordpress
* Weebly
| Pros: | Cons: |
|------------------------|--------------------|
| Graphical user interface, no coding is necessary | Customizing can be complicated |
| Content manager | |
| Pre-built styles, and easy to change styles | |
| Multiple pages are possible | |
| Looks professional quickly | |
### Build Your Own Website
If you want to demonstrate or develop your skills in web development, you should consider building your own website.
To make you own website, you'll need the following:
**Content**
You can handle content in a couple of ways:
* Hand-coded: edit HTML + CSS (and probably javascript) directly
* Static generator: edit HTML or Markdown directly and generate the website with tools like Jekyll or Sphinx
* Content manager: write content in a graphical user interface with the following options:
- pre-built: log-in and pick the software you want them to run for you such as ionos, dreamhost, etc.
- build-your-own: using AWS Lightsail, Digital Ocean Droplets. etc.
**Hosting Services**
Hosting services provide the physical equipment and maintenance to make your website visible on the internet. Options include:
* Static hosting server: examples include GitHub pages
* Dynamic hosting service: examples include AWS Lightsail, Digital Ocean Droplets
**Domain** (optional)
A domain is the base URL for your collection of webpages. And example of a domain is `ucdavis.edu`. You can purchase a custom domain to make your website more memorable, but that is not necessary. Many hosting service offer domain purchasing and registration as an add-on service.
| Pros: | Cons: |
|------------------------|--------------------|
| Control over every aspect of the site | You are often responsible for security and accessibility updates|
| Demonstrate your web skills effectively | |
```{r, echo=FALSE, fig.alt="Black and white Noun Project Icon showing a woman gesturing to a pie chart with one section pulled away from the others", out.width="25%"}
knitr::include_graphics("./images/noun-portfolio-2909344.png")
```
### Short on Time?
The options we will discuss in this section are a way to get started in a relatively short period of time, but eventually you probably will want to invest more time to develop a more creative and polished portfolio to best express and showcase your work in an engaging way.
**LinkedIn Profile**
Your LinkedIn Profile can serve as a portfolio of sorts, especially if you use the "Featured" section to link to projects you want to highlight. This is a good start, but doesn't have the same impact as a well thought out personal portfolio.
**IDEA:** Do both, and then add the link for your portfolio to the "Featured" section of your LinkedIn profile.
**GitHub Profile Repository**
Another fairly minimal option for producing a bare-bones profile is to create a GitHub repository with a README file that links to your other repositories with some text for context. This is another nice way to get started, but it might leave an underwhelming impression on potential employers. (And if the human resources or hiring manager aren't familiar with GitHub themselves - as can sometimes be the case - they might not know how to look for the skills you are trying to highlight.)
| Pros: | Cons: |
|------------------------|--------------------|
| Can be used in conjunction with a full portfolio | Less impact than a full portfolio |
| A good starting point to building out a full portfolio | Might reflect negatively on your skills if a full portfolio is called for |