A polished screenshot tells you almost nothing about whether a developer can deliver on your project. Evaluating a portfolio properly means clicking through, not just scrolling past thumbnails.
Visit the live sites, not just the images
Screenshots hide broken links, slow load times, and poor mobile behavior. Open each example on your phone and click around — navigation, forms, and any interactive elements should all work smoothly.
Look for relevance, not just quality
A gorgeous portfolio site doesn't guarantee they can build an e-commerce store if that's what you need. Look specifically for examples that match your project type — similar functionality, similar scale.
Ask what they actually did
On team projects, ask specifically what part they were responsible for — design, development, or both. It's common for portfolios to include work where the credited person handled only a slice of the total project.
Check for longevity
Ask if any portfolio examples are still actively maintained by them, or if the client relationship ended at launch. Long-standing client relationships are a strong signal of reliability.
Putting it together
A useful portfolio review takes ten minutes of actually clicking through live sites, not just skimming thumbnails. If you'd like to see recent, live examples of my own work, feel free to get in touch.