Building your showcase
Your portfolio of past work — what to include, how to organize, and why it converts inquiries better than your bio.
The showcase is your portfolio page
Verified service providers get a showcase — a portfolio attached to the profile that lets buyers see your past work organized cleanly.
For service businesses, the showcase often does more work than the bio. A buyer who's considering booking spends 10 seconds on your bio and 2-3 minutes flipping through showcase items. What they see there decides whether they tap WhatsApp.
This guide is about making yours work for you.
What lives in the showcase
A showcase has multiple items, each one a small portfolio entry. Each item has:
- Photos (up to 10) — the visual core.
- A title — a few words describing what this is.
- A short description — context (what you did, for whom, when).
- Tags — optional keywords for buyers to filter.
Think of each showcase item as a single project / job / piece of work, presented as its own mini-page.
When to use the showcase vs videos vs reviews
You have three places to build your credibility:
| Surface | Best for |
|---|---|
| Videos | Showing your process, your personality, how you work |
| Showcase | Showing the polished result of past work — visual proof |
| Reviews | Social proof — other people saying you're good |
All three matter, but each tells a different story. A buyer who:
- Watches your videos sees who you are and how you work.
- Browses your showcase sees what you can produce.
- Reads your reviews sees what others got from you.
The most-converting profiles have all three filled in.
How to add a showcase item
Service Hub → Showcase tab → + Add item.
Step 1 — Add photos
Tap + Add photos. Pick up to 10 from your gallery, or take new ones with the camera.
Showcase photos should be:
- High quality — sharp, well-lit, in focus.
- The actual work — your past projects, not stock images.
- A mix of angles — wide shots showing the whole result, close-ups showing detail.
The first photo is the cover image — what appears in your showcase grid before buyers tap in.
Step 2 — Write a title
Up to 80 characters. Be specific.
Examples for different services:
| Service | Bad title | Better title |
|---|---|---|
| Salon | "Braids" | "Knotless braids — waist-length, mid-2025" |
| Mechanic | "Engine repair" | "Boxer 150 engine rebuild — Sept 2025" |
| Photographer | "Wedding" | "Sandra & David — Botanical Garden wedding" |
| Caterer | "Birthday catering" | "60-person traditional birthday — Bukoto" |
Specific titles signal you actually did the work and you remember it. Generic titles look stock.
Step 3 — Add a description
Up to 400 characters. Cover:
- What you did specifically.
- For whom (without disclosing private info).
- What made it interesting / challenging.
- The result.
Example:
"Mid-2025 — knotless braids for a wedding party of 6. Worked with long, fine hair that hadn't been styled in 2 years. Took two days at the salon. Client said her braids held perfectly through the ceremony and reception."
Don't write a sales pitch. Write a story.
Step 4 — Add tags (optional)
Tags are filterable in the showcase view. Add 2-4 relevant ones:
- For salon work:
braids,wedding,protective. - For mechanics:
boxer,engine,electrical. - For photography:
wedding,studio,outdoor.
Tags help buyers narrow your showcase to the kind of work they're considering. Useful when your showcase grows past 5-6 items.
Step 5 — Tap Publish
The item appears on your showcase tab immediately.
How buyers see your showcase
When a buyer lands on your profile, the showcase is one of the main tabs. Tapping it opens a grid view of all your items, with the cover photo of each.
Tapping an item opens its detail page:
- Photos in a swipeable gallery.
- Title and description.
- Date posted.
- Tags.
- A "Contact me about something like this" button — which opens WhatsApp with a pre-filled "Hi, interested in something like [showcase item title]" message.
This last button is gold for conversion. A buyer who saw a specific item and is messaging about something LIKE IT is a much warmer lead than a generic "Hi, I found you on KampalaSnap."
Building a strong showcase from zero
If you're brand new to verification and your showcase is empty:
Week 1 — get 3 items up
Pick three of your best past jobs (the most recent ones if you have them). Photograph each one with whatever shots you have. Add detailed descriptions.
Three items is the minimum to look credible. An empty showcase looks like you don't have past work.
Week 2-3 — add 2-3 more
As you complete new jobs, photograph the result and add to the showcase. Aim for 5-6 items by end of month 1.
Ongoing — add new items as you work
A weekly or bi-weekly rhythm of new showcase items keeps the profile feeling alive. Buyers checking back find new work — signals that you're busy and current.
You can also delete old items as you replace them with stronger ones. The showcase doesn't need to grow indefinitely; quality > size.
Showcase organization patterns
Different services benefit from different patterns:
Time-based (most common)
Each item is a recent job. Newest at top. Buyers see your "latest work."
Works for: salons, photographers, caterers, mechanics, cleaners.
Category-based
Group similar work together. "Wedding braids" / "Casual styles" / "Kids hair."
Works for: salons with multiple specialties, photographers with varied styles, mechanics who work on multiple bike models.
Process-based
Each item is a stage or type of service you offer. "Brake service" / "Engine tune-up" / "Diagnostic."
Works for: mechanics, repair services, technicians.
You don't have to pick one — many showcases mix patterns naturally.
When NOT to include something
Don't include:
- Work the buyer asked you to keep private. Some clients sign off on being shown; some don't. Default to assuming they don't want to be a public showcase example unless they said yes.
- Work that didn't turn out well. Showcase is your highlight reel. Mediocre items drag down the perception of the rest.
- Stock photos / images from the internet. Buyers spot fake showcase items, and the trust hit is bigger than the visual upside.
- Work that's heavily edited / filtered. Buyers want to see what they'd actually get. Filtered photos lead to "this isn't what was in your portfolio" disputes.
Common questions
How many showcase items should I have?
No hard rule, but useful benchmarks:
- 0-2 items: not credible. Buyers default to "this person is new."
- 3-5 items: solid baseline. Buyers see you've done real work.
- 6-12 items: strong. Buyers can find an example similar to what they want.
- 13+ items: gets unwieldy. Consider categorising or removing older items.
Can I add showcase items for work done before KampalaSnap?
Yes — past work is past work. The showcase doesn't track when the job happened on the platform; it tracks when the showcase item was posted.
Just be honest in the description: "From late 2024 — boda diagnostic work in Bukoto."
Can a buyer post in my showcase?
No. The showcase is provider-only. Buyers post in your review feed instead.
Should I include prices in showcase items?
Generally no. Prices in showcase items can date them quickly — a description from 2024 with 2024 prices looks awkward in 2025.
Keep prices on WhatsApp where you can update freely.
Can I make a showcase item private?
There's an unpublished toggle on each item — useful for drafts. Unpublished items don't appear on your profile. Toggle them published when ready.
Can buyers contact me about a specific showcase item?
Yes — each item has a "Contact me about something like this" button that opens WhatsApp with a pre-filled message naming the item. Very effective for converting browse traffic.
Can I edit a showcase item later?
Yes — open the item → Edit → make changes → Save. Works the same as editing a product or video.
What if a past client asks me to remove their photo from my showcase?
Remove it the same day. Open the item → Edit → remove the photo (or delete the whole item). Replying to their request quickly is the respectful thing to do.
What's next
- Directory placement + paid promotion — get your strong profile in front of more eyes.
- Subscription mechanics + vacation — the lifecycle of your verified subscription.