Having a portfolio becomes a must when you are a photographer, model, architect, graphic designer, artist or any other person involved in creativity. Modern market offers plenty of solutions for creating an effective gallery, and the only problem so far is which portfolio builder to choose. If you are looking for a quality platform to get started, you can ask your colleagues or friends to recommend a proper portfolio builder. Before that, however, I recommend exploring two full-featured systems that work great for this purpose.
The platforms I’m talking about are Wix and Adobe Portfolio. These are two completely different systems serving the same goal. They make it possible for an artist of any sort to create a professionally looking portfolio and showcase their creative services.
Besides a similar goal – the creation of impressive portfolios, the platforms under review have a couple of general similarities. They both offer a simple site-building experience to non-coders, providing users with appealing, professionally designed themes.
Wix and Adobe Portfolio can integrate with other apps, although these apps’ diversity and goals are different. Users can quickly get access to all the needed options of the platforms by subscribing. They can connect a custom domain to their portfolio website, too. However, all this works differently with the two platforms.
At the same time, the systems differ a lot. It is all about their nature, integrated functionality, pricing approach and level of proficiency required. In my review, I’ll compare these instruments, which may ideally perform your tasks. So, is Wix or Adobe Portfolio better for your project? Read this comprehensive comparison of the two platforms to know the answer.
Overview of Adobe Portfolio and Wix
Before you can decide on the best website builder for your portfolio, it is important to understand the major features of both systems and distinctions between them. Let’s make a brief overview of these platforms below.
Adobe Portfolio
Adobe Portfolio is an application within the Creative Cloud Suite, an all-in-one product from Adobe for site building and web design. The app can help a user to create various types of portfolios. This can be a one-page gallery, a multiple-page website, or a welcome page. Yet, using this builder, they cannot build anything except for portfolios.
The application also integrates with other apps. However, we speak about Adobe apps only. There’s a truly small list of third-party applications that can be connected to your Adobe Portfolio website. For instance, you can use a custom domain from Namecheap. Connecting one from another host will involve quite a complex procedure with the necessity to change your DNS settings and other manipulations.
Wix
Wix (my review) is one the most advanced site builders existing in the industry today. It serves to create websites of all types and offers a full package of services and features to ensure their complete functional equipment. It provides quick site-building for users who know little or nothing about coding and web design.
Wix supports integrations with numerous add-ons, including SEO tools, eCommerce apps, marketing instruments, etc. Each of its plans goes with free hosting and free security certificates. Wix allows a user to connect a custom domain to their website. They can use a free Wix-branded domain, too.
While Adobe Portfolio is a completely niche system used for portfolio creation only, Wix is the all-in-one DIY website builder that allows setting up a portfolio as one of project types. The systems serve the same goal yet have different features and tools in stock and they also target diverse user categories.
Ease of Use
Both Adobe Portfolio and Wix offer simple procedures for creating a portfolio (best portfolio samples). Choose any, and you’ll be ready with your online gallery in no time. You do not need to be a pro coder to build a simple but effective portfolio based on Wix or Adobe without an expert’s help.
Adobe Portfolio: Specialized Portfolio Software
Adobe Creative Cloud Suite is also easy to sign up with. However, the platform will be simple only for users with certain skills and enough experience with Adobe programs.
Adobe Portfolio focuses on providing creatives, particularly those in photography, graphic design, and other visual arts, a streamlined way to showcase their work. The platform offers a range of customizable templates that emphasize visual content, enabling artists to create clean, professional-looking portfolios with minimal fuss.
Although its portfolio-building process is straightforward, you need to know at least the basics of web design to launch your online project via the software and make it fully workable.
For instance, any website created on the Adobe Portfolio platform goes with a built-in myportfolio.com domain. Connecting your existing domain or purchasing a new one involves manual changes to your website’s settings, and the procedure may seem daunting to a total beginner. Moreover, to feel the full power of the platform, a user should make friends with other Adobe instruments like Lightroom, Illustrator, Photoshop etc.
Wix: All-in-One Website Builder
Wix has distinguished itself as the all-in-one website builder, meaning that it can be used to launch several types of projects, including portfolios. The system offers a greater level of customization and functionality compared to Adobe Portfolio. It is also simpler as compared to its online rival.
It generally takes just a couple of hours at best to build a portfolio with Wix. A standard procedure includes a few simple steps. You should get started by signing up for a personal account, getting a suitable plan and picking an editor that will work best for you (either custom Wix Editor or Wix ADI). If your choice is Wix Editor, you pick a template and customize it. If you prefer Wix ADI, the editor will create a beautiful portfolio for you. You’ll only need to answer a number of questions from the system.
To complete the project, you will have to add extra apps (if you need ones) and then go live with your website. This is how your online portfolio will be ready to showcase your works and services.
What’s important, Wix regularly updates its platform with new tools and applications, ensuring users have access to cutting-edge web design innovations and advanced features.
That being said, Wix proves to be a somewhat simpler solution for beginners, offering a unified web design approach. Adobe Portfolio requires more time for exploration and application, although, no deep coding skills are needed here as well.
Read also: The Easiest and Fastest Way to Create a WebsiteDesign and Templates
When it comes to portfolio creation, design frequently becomes a priority. Fortunately, both systems excel at design creation, making it possible to launch and run visually-appealing portfolios to drive user attention. Let’s see what each system is ready to offer in detail.
Adobe Portfolio: Excellent Portfolio Design Features
Adobe Portfolio is tailored specifically for creatives who need to showcase portfolios online. The platform is streamlined and minimalist, designed to let photographs, illustrations, and other visual work shine.
When used together with Illustrator, Photoshop and other Creative Cloud Suite applications for creatives, Adobe Portfolio can be a powerful means. When you know how to use the whole package, you can create beautiful, one-of-a-kind designs. The most useful options of Adobe Portfolio include the following:
- 10+ themes for portfolios.
- 6 welcome-page themes.
- A straightforward customization process.
- All themes are mobile-responsive.
- Custom code access.
- Integration with Adobe Fonts.
- Easy access to Photo Grids, Illustrator, Lightroom Photos, and other vital applications for editing photo and video materials.
- Behance integration.
The latter option may be crucial for a creative of any sort. Behance is an Adobe-powered social media network uniting artists, photographers, designers, and professionals engaged in the creative industry. Here, they can showcase their works and share experiences.
Although, Adobe Portfolio cannot boast many templates, they are all highly curated to ensure that they meet the standards expected by professional artists and designers. Each template focuses on presenting visual content in a clean and accessible way, with ample space for images to stand out without unnecessary clutter or overly complex configurations.
All in all, the platform’s customization options are sufficient to personalize the selected themes, when you need to highlight your brand style and identity.
Wix: Versatile Design Editing Options
Wix excels at design solutions. Actually, this is one of those website builders that offer multiple quality themes along with high end customization options.
The reasons to choose Wix include the following design options:
- The Wix ADI Editor that creates a portfolio without any effort on your part.
- The Wix Editor that is based on drag-and-drop tech that requires no skills in web design.
- Innovative Editor X offering advanced CSS capabilities, flexible grids and custom breakpoints to guarantee proper website display on various mobile devices.
- Wix Velo – a full-stack development platform that makes it possible for developers to launch more complex and interactive web apps via the use of custom JavaScript, APIs and database collections.
- Wix Studio created for team collaboration and shared website management in real-time mode.
- Over 950 professional themes, 50+ of which are designed for building portfolios.
- Full mobile responsiveness.
- Easily customizable templates, with the ability to choose button patterns, change fonts, apply new color schemes, etc.
- Wix Logo Maker.
- Users can observe all changes in real-time. Redo and Undo options are available.
- Custom code options supported (for users who know CSS or HTML and wish to add unique design features).
The platform’s drag-and-drop editor allows for deep customization, enabling users to adjust layouts, add or remove sections and embed a variety of multimedia elements and web apps.
What’s interesting, Wix provides the ability to start from a completely blank template, which is ideal for users who want complete control over their site design.
Moreover, Wix keeps its template collection fresh and modern by regularly introducing new designs and retiring older ones, ensuring users have access to cutting-edge web design trends.
In terms of design, both solutions are great in their own ways. Wix offers the simplest way to create an amazing portfolio. Adobe will arm you with the most powerful instruments to make your showcasing pages look unique.
Read also: What’s the Difference Between Wix and Wix Editor X?Features and Functionality
From a functional capability perspective, Wix and Adobe Portfolio are entirely different instruments. Wix will let you create any website, including a portfolio, with the ability to turn it into eCommerce or at least accept payments. Adobe Portfolio is a strong means to work with design. All its integrations are related to this domain in this or that way.
Wix simplifies your website’s connection to your targeted audience thanks to a variety of built-in features. They start with free hosting, a free SSL certificate, certain amounts of storage and bandwidth, 24/7 customer support, etc. But that’s not all. All Wix templates have built-in SEO, so you can expect your website to be perfectly ranked by major search engines.
Ready to dive deeper in exploring the functionality of both systems? I’ve personally tested Adobe Portfolio and Wix from the points of view of eCommerce, marketing, integrations and SEO. I’ll eagerly share the results with you now.
eCommerce
Portfolio creation frequently implies further monetization. This is no wonder as most creatives pursue two goals when launching this project type – showcasing their works/presenting their skills and making profit. Thus, eCommerce is a crucial factor when it comes to picking the right portfolio website builder.
Adobe Portfolio: Poor eCommerce Features
Adobe Portfolio is a poor choice for eCommerce equipment, marketing and reporting. Its only option for online sales is Adobe Stock. You can integrate this app with your portfolio and sell your works via it.
The platform will let you add plenty of social media widgets and buttons to showcase your galleries on Instagram, Facebook, etc. You can create a welcome website with contact information, but you won’t be able to sell your products or services directly through your Adobe Portfolio.
Users who need to sell their artwork or services must integrate third-party services or link to external eCommerce platforms such as Etsy, Shopify, or Square. This can be a workaround but isn’t as seamless or efficient as having an integrated eCommerce system within the website builder itself.
Wix: Nice eCommerce Potential
Wix comes with an integrated eCommerce engine, making it a smart choice for businesses and individuals looking to sell online. To be precise, the website builder realizes its eCommerce potential via Wix Stores widget integration.
Among the features that make Wix a nice platform to start selling your works, the following ones should be the first to mention (depending on the plan):
- over 100 payment gateways easily added to your website;
- payments in multiple currencies;
- 250+ products;
- from 100 to unlimited transactions per month;
- sales through social media channels;
- marketplace sales supported;
- customer accounts;
- dropshipping via Modalyst;
- subscriptions;
- the abandoned cart renewal option;
- Gift Cards, and more.
What’s important, almost all Wix plans accept payments – a vital option for many creatives. The platform actually supports a wide range of payment solutions, including credit cards, PayPal and other online payment gateways.
Users can choose from a variety of eCommerce-specific templates, which are designed to enhance online shopping experiences and are customizable to match specific branding needs. There is even a separate category of eCommerce design here, which is updated on a regular basis. Portfolio designs with integrated eCommerce functionality are available here as well.
So, in terms of eCommerce, Wix is a better solution due to the availability of the integrated eCommerce engine. Don’t count on launching hypermarkets with the system, though. The website builder allows starting and managing small-to-large web stores only. This is what often creatives need to start selling their works.
Integrations and Special Features
Ability to integrate a set of external extensions is important, when it tackles the choice of the web building tool. The more apps you will be able to add to your project, the better its performance will be. Both Adobe Portfolio and Wix allow for third-party integrations.
Adobe Portfolio: Integration with Adobe Creative Cloud Apps
Adobe Portfolio is all about design. You can subscribe to it as a part of the Creative Cloud Suite, and over twenty other applications will be accessible within your subscription. Of course, such must-have programs for web designers as Illustrator, Photoshop and Lightroom will be at your disposal. Other supported apps are as follows:
- InDesign;
- Premiere Pro;
- XD;
- Adobe Express;
- Adobe Acrobat Pro;
- Creative Cloud Libraries;
- After Effects;
- Adobe Scans;
- Fresco;
- Adobe Fill & Sign;
- Adobe Animate;
- Adobe Capture;
- Media Encoder;
- InCopy;
- Adobe Bridge, and others.
These integrations are particularly valuable for creative professionals who need a straightforward way to build a portfolio that reflects their work while remaining within the Adobe product environment.
Wix: App Market and Advantages It Offers
Wix supports over 500 apps for smooth integration with your site. All of them are available in the App Market as free and paid extensions. With their help, you can enhance your website’s functional capacities. Here are several examples of popular Wix add-ons that might be useful for a portfolio owner:
- Marketing: Privy, Forms for Mailchimp, Omnisend, Constant Contact, etc.;
- Analytics: Visitors Map, WEB-STAT, Blocky, Wix Counter, SimplyProfit, and more;
- Ads: Klinken, Google Ads & Shopping, Ads for LinkedIn, Google AdSense, and others;
- eCommerce: DeftShip, Lion Wheel Delivery, ProductBuddy, and more;
- Design: Wix Pro Gallery, Impressive Slideshow Gallery, Typewriter Animation, etc.;
- Intelligent Copy: Website Content, Bablic, ChatGPT-SEO & Product Content and many others;
- Social Media: WhatsApp Plugin, Instagram Followers Counter, TikTok Catalog Sync, etc.
Each app comes with a detailed description, user ratings and reviews, which help users make informed decisions about what will best suit their website. You can actually pick any widget and add to your portfolio if necessary. This is how Wix lets you extend your portfolio possibilities and you’ll be able to turn it into a successful eCommerce project.
Both platforms make it possible to extend your website functionality via app integration. Both of them offer enough tools and widgets to do that. Wix, however, offers more integrations, while Adobe portfolio allows working with apps available as a part of Adobe Creative Cloud Suite only.
Marketing & Tracking
To make your portfolio accessible by a wider user audience and to promote it online, you won’t go without connecting marketing and stats tracking tools.
Adobe Portfolio: Marketing Features
Adobe Portfolio sees its mission in showcasing creative work. The platform’s main purpose is to provide a clean, professional space for photographers, designers, and artists to display their portfolios. Thus, it does not inherently offer comprehensive marketing or tracking tools, having only basic SEO tools in stock.
While not a direct marketing tool, integrating seamlessly with Behance allows users to reach a broader audience within the creative community, which can indirectly serve as a marketing boost. Other options are currently unavailable.
Wix: Effective Portfolio Promotion
The platform is also great in terms of analytics. Its premium plans include the Visitor Analytics suite. It will let you receive customized reports with exhaustive information about your visitors’ activities on your Wix website.
Additionally, Wix has a number of integrated marketing and stats tracking tools available in the App Market and in the platform’s repository. Thus, you can integrate your website with extensions like Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Pixel and Google Tag Manager. Other integrations you can find and add here include TiXel, StoreMetrics, Get Donation and more.
SEO
If you plan to promote your portfolio online, setting up SEO parameters is a must. Adobe Portfolio and Wix differ a lot in terms of SEO, thus, it makes sense to outline their SEO-related features below.
Adobe Portfolio: Insufficient SEO Features
Adobe Portfolio is not good from the SEO perspective. It’s just that there are no built-in tools for search engine optimization here. All optimizations must be coded manually or implemented via third-party plugins, which can be a problem for users with no technical expertise.
Wix: SEO Wiz Tool for Quality Portfolio SEO
Wix has always been considered a SEO-friendly website builder. All the sites it powers, including your portfolio, will be well-optimized for the search engines via Wix SEO Wiz Tool integration. It provides detailed guidelines and steps to simplify the process of SEO optimization for your project.
With Wix, you can automatically generate XML sitemap for your portfolio, edit website content and structure to improve SEO rating, update meta titles, descriptions and keywords. Additionally, the SEO Wiz tool assists with indexing your site on Google, ensuring it can be easily found by potential visitors. It also provides regular updates and tips, helping users track their progress and make informed adjustments to enhance their site’s search engine ranking. This makes the process of SEO optimization accessible to everyone.
To sum it up, Wix overcomes Adobe Portfolio in terms of SEO. The website builder has a built-in SEO Wiz tool, while Adobe Portfolio does not provide any SEO assistance at all.
Pricing and Costs
Pricing aspect is another one to consider when choosing a web design platform to set up a portfolio. In this respect, Adobe Portfolio and Wix offer two quite different approaches and price formation processes.
Adobe Portfolio: Fixed Pricing
Adobe Portfolio also requires a subscription. However, you need to subscribe to the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, and Portfolio will be one of the available applications within it. The platform allows users to subscribe for various applications:
- All apps are included for $59.99/mo (20+ applications, including Portfolio);
- A separate app (the price depends on the app): Premiere Pro, Photoshop, or Illustrator for $22.99/mo per item, Adobe Express for $9.99/mo, Adobe Stock for $29.99/mo, etc.
- Photography 1 TB with Lightroom apps and Photoshop for $19.99/mo, and other options.
The pricing system is quite flexible. A creative who searches for a comprehensive web design solution will easily find a suitable plan for themselves. The All Adobe Apps plan will let them showcase their works through major social media channels and sell them via Adobe Stock.
Wix: Plans for Every Need
Wix offers several plans designed to cover every user’s needs. When you choose a Wix plan, you can access all its basic services, including hosting, a domain, page editors, integrations, etc. Any Wix plan is enough to create a fully workable website and publish it online. The actual pricing system of Wix incorporates these plans:
Besides these pricing packages, users can opt for the Enterprise plan. It will let you manage the set of necessary tools, and the price will be customizable. All the Wix plans go with a custom domain and the ability to remove Wix ads. You can expect to get 24/7 technical support as well.
Support and Community
When considering support and community resources for Adobe Portfolio and Wix, each platform offers distinct advantages that cater, however, to different user needs and comply with the nature of both systems.
Adobe Portfolio: Versatile Support Solutions
As part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, Adobe Portfolio offers only those support options available within the software ecosystem. While Adobe Portfolio itself does not have a dedicated community forum of its own, users can access a wide range of Adobe forums online. The platform also offers comprehensive support through tutorials and detailed help documents. Direct support via chat or phone is also available for tech issues here, especially helpful for users with a Creative Cloud subscription.
Wix: Integrated Support System
Wix customer support is on quite a high level. The system users benefit from a vast range of support options, including a detailed help center with articles and tutorials, dedicated forums, and priority support for premium accounts. Wix also offers 24/7 customer support through phone or live chat, ensuring that users can receive help whenever needed.
What’s more, Wix offers extensive educational resources through Wix Education, which includes webinars, video tutorials and even on-site training sessions that help users understand how to maximize the use of their Wix website.
Summing it all up, Adobe Portfolio’s support network is ideal for those who are already familiar with baseline web design principles and may be looking for advanced support solutions. Wix’s community, however, is more multifaceted and dynamic, granting access to numerous resources available in stock.
Making Your Decision
Although, Adobe Portfolio and Wix offer different sets of features, user experiences and customization levels, each of them can be selected for portfolio creation. It’s just the matter of your preferences, project needs, skills and budget. Let’s enlist the reasons that may affect your decision now.
Considerations for Choosing Adobe Portfolio
Adobe Portfolio is quite a nice choice for specific scenarios:
- Simple Portfolio Creation: Best for artists, photographers, designers and creatives willing to showcase their work;
- Adobe Creative Cloud Integration: Ideal if you already use Adobe products and want a seamless workflow from your creative software to your website;
- Minimalist Design Options: Offers aesthetically pleasing layouts that emphasize content, perfect for portfolios that need to make visual work stand out;
- Affordability: Free use with any Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, making it a cost-effective option for those who are already Creative Cloud users.
Considerations for Choosing Wix
Wix offers a broader set of tools and features that make it suitable for a more extensive range of purposes, including portfolio creation:
- eCommerce Functionality: Provides built-in tools to make it possible to monetize your portfolio and to start selling your products;
- Extensive Customization: Offers a highly flexible drag-and-drop interface that allows for extensive customization of website design;
- Robust App Market: Access to a wide array of apps and services through the Wix App Market, enhancing functionality with third-party services;
- Brand Popularization: Due to the built-in tools like Logo Maker, Wix users can promote their brand in different ways.
Conclusion
From a web design perspective, Wix and Adobe Portfolio are excellent tools. However, they will be helpful in absolutely different situations.
Adobe Portfolio may be a nice option if you need to create a unique, professionally looking gallery of your works or a welcome page to engage new clientele. Pay attention that the app’s main drawbacks are that you cannot run full-power eCommerce with its help, and the application requires more skills in web design. The Adobe Portfolio app is an ideal choice for those who already use or plan to use other Adobe instruments like After Effects or Photoshop.
Wix is a more universal solution. With its help, you can build an effective portfolio, although the site builder’s design capacities are more limited than with the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. Wix offers beginner-friendly editors and loads of extra features for seamless eCommerce and business activities. The platform will let you showcase, advertise, and sell your products directly on your Wix website.