[ctoneal]

There's always people who don't have large screens (even on desktops) or who don't have their browsers expanded to the size you are looking for. The goal of a website, before any sort of graphic design, is to communicate information to as many people as possible. By making the website difficult to read (or completely impossible in many situations (IE, iOS, etc)), you're alienating people. If you're freelancing, that's definitely not something you want to be doing. You never know who's going to be coming at you with a work offer.

Cross-browser/cross-device compatibility is one of the most tedious things about web design, but if you're trying to drum up business, especially _for_ web design, you need to demonstrate your competence at it. Your portfolio is really the best place to do this. I'll be honest, if I was thinking of hiring a web developer, I'd be put off by your portfolio, because you're putting form before function.