Developing a website from start to finish is a thing of the past. But with so many website builders available today, finding the perfect one for your needs can be just as daunting. Some platforms claim to do it all, but overwhelm you with all the bells and whistles. Forgoing a website also isn’t an option.
This leaves you with two main options when it comes to showcasing your work: you can go with an all-purpose website builder that serves people from all walks of life or you. Or you can opt for a design portfolio tool that is specifically designed and built to showcase your work.
This is exactly what Fabrik does. It has templates and features specifically designed to showcase your work, expertise and achievements. All without writing a single line of code.
Pros and cons of Fabrik
Fabrik is a website builder designed specifically for creatives. Take a look at their website and you’ll see that it’s not just for photographers, but also filmmakers, artists, illustrators, designers, agencies and studios, and even stylists and models.
It’s not an all-in-one portfolio builder like Cargo or Format, as you can only showcase your work, not sell it.
It’s also a subscription-based service and you access it through your browser, so all you need is an internet connection. This means you don’t have to worry about maintenance or updates.
Pros
- You can upload all your work from your mobile phone
- You don’t need a credit card to sign up for the trial period.
- You can use different layouts for each of your projects
- Easy to use
- You can create and launch your portfolio from your phone
- A wide range of media services from which to upload your work
Cons
- If you expect a drag-and-drop editor, you may be disappointed – but you can set a different layout for each project.
- Factory’s wording may confuse you
- You may find the 9 themes a bit limiting
- No chat support
Who is Fabrik for?
If you want to showcase your talents and skills in a compelling and accessible way and build an online presence, Fabrik is a solid portfolio website builder. This portfolio builder is popular with creatives because of its user-friendly customisation options and flexible design features.
Created by a team of designers, developers and filmmakers, Fabrik understands the needs of videographers, photographers, artists, agencies and models.
How easy is it to use Fabrik?
You literally start by choosing a theme, even before you create your account. After your first login, Fabrik lets you get started straight away, but you can also follow its 5-step onboarding.
A word of caution before we proceed: Fabrik’s wording may give you a headache. It makes a distinction between projects and portfolios. Think of portfolios as a collection of projects – like all your architecture photos, whereas a project could be your Tokyo Architecture 2024 photos.
After creating your new site, you start by creating a new project. It’s easy to add media and organise your projects into portfolios.
You can choose to add details, text, captions and descriptions, or just let the visuals speak for themselves.
The cool thing is that you can use a variety of media services such as Vimeo, Instagram, Dropbox and even Spotify to upload your work. You can also use different layouts for each of your projects. You are not tied to one template/layout for all your projects.
Everything is well organised and labelled. It’s easy to customise your theme styles, layouts and settings. Your website can be launched on a desktop, but just as easily on a mobile phone.
Fabrik design and themes
You might think that a collection of just 8 themes is limited, but you couldn’t be more wrong. The first thing to note is that all the themes are crisp and beautiful – designed to put your work in the spotlight.
Fabrik has developed a special theme system that allows you to customise the layout of each project so that you can present your work in the best possible way.
How do I manage my e-commerce store in Fabrik?
As mentioned above, Fabrik is specifically designed as a portfolio builder to showcase your work and doesn’t come with any e-commerce features. However, you can add a service such as Cartloom, Ecwid or Snipcart to your site.
Factory integrations
If you’re expecting what people call plugins, addons or integrations, you’re going to be disappointed. But fear not, Fabrik still has some very thoughtful integrations. It’s designed to fit seamlessly into your creative process.
Many creative professionals already use a range of online services, be it Vimeo, Soundcloud or Instagram. So you can add your projects one at a time, or simply connect your account. Once connected to your YouTube or whatever account, every time you upload something new, Fabrik automatically pulls it into your portfolio.
Other helpful features
Fabrik has all the features you would expect from a portfolio site. Because it’s built by creatives for creatives, you’ll also find nifty features that make your life easier and follow your workflow.
SEO
It’s so easy to add elements like meta titles and descriptions. It’s in the same place where you add details like a description of your project.
Blogging
The blogging tool looks and behaves exactly like the Projects feature. You can easily add media, SEO elements and schedule when your post will be published.
Password protection
If you want to share your work with your clients, you can password protect your project. It’s easy to set up password protection for your project and all you need to do is share the URL and password with your client. You can also switch your project from public to private (and vice versa).
Smart Focus
When you turn on Smart Focus in the Media preferences, Fabrik’s nifty AI detects faces and general areas of interest in your images. It saves you time by automatically cropping images to focus on the most interesting areas. You can still tweak if you need to.
Payment options
E-commerce and accepting payments isn’t the focus of Fabrik.
Fabrik customer support
You can search and browse Fabrik’s knowledge base. You can contact the Fabrik support team by email. If you’re subscribed to the Professional or Unlimited plans, you can take advantage of advanced support.
Fabrik pricing
There’s no free plan, but you can try Fabrik for free during the 14-day trial period. You will receive full customer support during the trial period.
The more advanced plans unlock more features so you can publish more projects, blog posts and portfolios.
Is Fabrik the right tool for you?
If you’re a creative professional, you want to show the world your work, your expertise and your passion. A website is your silent ambassador, introducing you to potential clients even when you’re not around. In other words, not having a website means you’re missing out on countless opportunities. And Fabrik makes it easy to showcase your work, skills or projects in a visually appealing and professional way.
Best of all, you never start with a blank page. Your portfolio is ready for you to add your content and you can be up and running in literally minutes. You can even upload all your work from your mobile phone.
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