A portfolio is the most common way a developer gets chosen, and the easiest to dress up. Nice images can be ordered, and "a modern, responsive website" means nothing.
This post is about what in a project write-up actually carries information, including what you should ask of me.
What a case study has to contain
The problem, before the solution
A good write-up starts with what wasn't working. "Enquiries came by email and got lost", "the catalogue was sent as a PDF so the prices were out of date", "the survey report took half a day to put together by hand".
If there's no text about the problem, all that's left is a gallery. A gallery shows that someone can put together a look, not that they understand the business.
The number from before
This is the rarest and the most valuable. "Time from enquiry to order cut by 72%" only means something if you know what it was before.
A number without a starting point is marketing. A number with a starting point is a measurement.
What exactly was done
Design, build, content, ads, or only part of it? Agencies routinely show projects where they worked on one part.
How long it took
The timeline says something about how someone works. A missing timeline usually means it wasn't a good one.
Is it still running
The easiest check, and the one most often skipped. Open the site. Does it work? How does it load on a phone? Is it still in the form it was shown in?
If half the portfolio is dead or redone, the sites either weren't theirs or didn't last.
How to read the numbers
Numbers are useful and easy to bend. A few checks:
A percentage without a base. "Sales up 300%" from one order to four is true and useless.
The time frame. Growth in season on a tourism site is the season, not the site.
The cause. If a campaign started alongside the new site, part of the credit is the campaign's. An honest write-up says so.
Measurable versus unmeasurable. "A better brand impression" isn't measured. "Survey report processing from half a day to about ten seconds" is.
Signs the write-up is empty
- Only images. No text about what needed solving.
- The same text on every project, with the client's name swapped.
- No client name. Sometimes there's a reason for confidentiality, but if it's missing everywhere, that's a pattern.
- A list of technologies instead of results. A list of tools interests other developers, not the client.
- No link to a live site.
- A client quote with no name or company.
What to check yourself, in five minutes
- Open the site. Does it work, and does it look like the images?
- Run it through PageSpeed Insights, mobile score. If someone sells speed, their projects have to show it.
- Turn off JavaScript and refresh. If the content disappears, the site depends on running in the browser, which isn't good for a site that lives on search. Why is in React or Next.js.
- Search for the client on Google by the service they offer. Do they rank?
- Look at it on a phone.
These five checks separate a portfolio that's proof from a portfolio that's a shop window.
What to ask of me
The same. On my projects numbers appear only where they were measured: Start-Lista builds start lists in three minutes instead of three days, and GeoHelp produces a survey report in about ten seconds instead of half a day. For the websites there are no made-up percentages, just a live site you can open.
If a number doesn't hold up or it isn't clear where it comes from, ask. A write-up that can't take a question isn't worth publishing.
Frequently asked questions
How many projects is enough?
Three to five well-described ones are worth more than twenty galleries.
Is it bad if the projects aren't from my industry?
Not necessarily. What matters more is whether they solved a similar problem: bookings are bookings, whether it's a boat or a clinic.
Can I ask for a past client's contact?
You can, and it's a reasonable request. The answer says a lot on its own.
What if the developer has no portfolio?
Then ask for something else as proof: a test task, code, or a smaller first project.
Where to start
If you're comparing quotes, run these five checks on each developer's projects. The differences show quickly.