A good developer portfolio can open doors — but a lot of them miss the basics.

After building my own (and turning it into a template), here are the 5 things I

think every dev portfolio needs:

1. A clear hero

The first thing visitors see should instantly say who you are and what you do.

Name, role, and a short tagline. Don't make people guess.

2. Real projects with links

Show your best work with a short description, the tech stack, and links to a live

demo and the code. Two or three strong projects beat ten weak ones.

3. Mobile-first design

Most people will open your portfolio on their phone. If it breaks on mobile, you

lose them. Build for small screens first.

4. Light & dark mode

It's a small touch, but it signals attention to detail — and developers love

dark mode.

5. An easy way to contact you

A clear email or a simple contact form. Don't make people hunt for it.

I tried to nail all of these in a portfolio template I built with React, Vite &

Tailwind. If you want to skip the setup, you can check it out here:

Live demo: devfolio-template-vercel-app.vercel.app

What would you add to this list? 👇

webdev #react #career #beginners