Posted by Rick Gomez on October 25, 2007 at 11:34 AM
Hey everyone!
I need a website... It's long overdue. I don't really have much money to put into one, but I get a little embarrased when someone asks me what my website address is and I have to reply that I don't yet have one.
I don't know squat when it comes to putting one together, in fact I'm surprised I can even function on this site. I know there are a few free websites that you can build, but it's all a little overwhelming.
Who should I use?
If I hire a web designer, does anyone have any idea what that would cost?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance!
Posted by Keith Bauer on October 25, 2007 at 12:05 PM
Rick:
Take a look at smugmug.com. Pretty simple to create a site. You can also do a trial and see if it works for you at no cost. Annual costs depend on the type of account you get. I know of at least a few NPN members with sites there, mine included. http://keithbauer.smugmug.com Mine is not nearly as fancy as others, but you can at least get a sense of what's possible.
Keith
Posted by John De Bord on October 25, 2007 at 12:28 PM
Also check out zenfolio.com my site is hosted on there and I have been VERY Happy with them! http://jdebordphoto.com Many of us are also hosted on here. They compete with SmugMug, and I chose them because of cost and also because the site itself is MUCH faster than SmugMug. It is very easy, (drag and drop) trust me, I am in the same ship as you with no webdesign skill at all. Here is what I did:
I went through 1&1 for my domain (who by the way has .us domains for $2.99 ...6 days left, and $5.99 .com domains) and then I masked and forwarded my url to my zenfolio site. Works like a charm. I am on the cheap plan there at Zen...and if you want to save yourself a few bucks, and do deice to go with them, use my reference code, it will save ya $5 at sign up B3H-3PG-E1G They also have a 2 week free trial
Both previous suggestions are fine for free sites even Zenfolio is another to consider, but what happens with those is that you develope a stigma of Discount Store. The less you invest in your marketing the less you're going to get in return. ROI is the biggest factor in Marketing. i know because i do exactly that for a very Large Computer maker as my Day job. My photography business along with the other aspects of it are spared very little as well and the ROI (return on investment) has been marginal in the good side for me.
That is relative to my market too. Why am I not doing it full time then? Well there are more reasons than I can go into, but in all it depends on my product and the market share i can keep and grow in. Can I compete with John Fielder or Art Wolfe, Not yet...
Hi, I currently use Smugmug and have customized everything so that no one knows it is hosted on Smugmug (so it looks just like a professional site). I like Smugmug because I can set my own print prices, store password-protected galleries, store secret galleries only I can access, store public galleries others can access, + I can sell digital downloads (basically, I'm selling my own stock photography). I've been using Smugmug for my wedding photography business as well (four years now) and it is fantastic. You can see how I customzied my nature gallery here: http://www.naturestocklibrary.com -- it looks nothing like a regular Smugmug site. My wedding gallery is http://photos.christinacraft.com and it has the typical Smugmug default layout. You can basically customize to your heart's desire. I find that the $150 US a year I spend is well worth the money considering I have unlimited storage of all of my files. Right now I have about 900 GB of images on my nature site and about 1 terabyte of images on my wedding photography site. Imagine paying for that storage in your home? And I love that I have everything stored... can access it from places as far away as Costa Rica so that if a client asks for an image, I can get it easily and send it to them. I don't have to go through my discs, etc. Having backup storage is also nice in case anything ever happens to my storage at home.
Posted by Mitch Erwin on October 25, 2007 at 4:29 PM
Rick,
I'll second smugmug.com. Mine is still in the works, and they have awesome customer support. Three different levels with the middle and pro only allowing to do customization. Take a look at them, I think they are worth it! Only $ 60/yr for the middle package.
I use foliosnap.com...it's great and user friendly...if you have .gif capabilities (I don't, so I did the best I could) then you can download logos...it also allows you access to google analytics so you can track whose looking at your site. I love it! They also are helpful when you have questions. However, depending on how much you want to spend...it's not free...but you don't have to pay a web designer big bucks either...you can either use their domain or buy your own. They allow on their cheapest package a gallery of photos up to 90 images I think.
Cynthia Spence
www.geolightphoto.com
Posted by Greg Cope on October 26, 2007 at 2:15 PM
I think the answer to your question depends upon what you would like to get out of your website. If your sole purpose is to simply post images for people to view, you might want to go with an online photosharing site. Lots of suggestions for these already. My personal preference is smugmug, based upon its look, style, and user interface. If however, you want more from your website, such as the ability to post articles, custom design your pages, better search engine optimization, your own url, and lots more, then having a website custom designed may be the way to go.
Posted by dan elster on October 26, 2007 at 5:11 PM
www.impactfolios.com . Simply the best option out there, if you ask me. Easy to use and customize, sell your work, etc. It's not much harder than using NPN.
Posted by Carl Donohue on October 26, 2007 at 5:50 PM
Hey Rick
Like Greg said above, if you want something more than the standardized online plug 'n play type website, get someone to help you with it. If you just want something you can post your pictures, any of the smugmug type sites should be fine. If you're looking to make your site a major part of your marketing plan, hire someone to help you with it.
Posted by Matt Bonner on October 28, 2007 at 4:00 PM
For those Apple users out there, I-Web is also a real easy option to get a simple website up and running. It is very easy to work with. To see an example, see my site that I've recently updated.
Cheers,
Matt
www.mattbonnerphotography.com
Posted by Sharon Menke on October 31, 2007 at 12:10 PM
I personally used GoDaddy.com for my website, menkephoto.com. Their prices are cheap. I figured since I am the one being the "webmaster" this would be perfect for me as a start up and to learn as I go. The only problem that I have is the space size, but that can be upgraded. They have templates to get you started.
I have my site with www.bettephoto.com. I have had it 3 years and am pretty happy with it... I think it looks professional but would love some of your opinions. I am trying to seriously market it but have no clue where to start....
Discussion
13 repliesI need a website... It's long overdue. I don't really have much money to put into one, but I get a little embarrased when someone asks me what my website address is and I have to reply that I don't yet have one.
I don't know squat when it comes to putting one together, in fact I'm surprised I can even function on this site. I know there are a few free websites that you can build, but it's all a little overwhelming.
Who should I use?
If I hire a web designer, does anyone have any idea what that would cost?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance!
Take a look at smugmug.com. Pretty simple to create a site. You can also do a trial and see if it works for you at no cost. Annual costs depend on the type of account you get. I know of at least a few NPN members with sites there, mine included. http://keithbauer.smugmug.com Mine is not nearly as fancy as others, but you can at least get a sense of what's possible.
Keith
I went through 1&1 for my domain (who by the way has .us domains for $2.99 ...6 days left, and $5.99 .com domains) and then I masked and forwarded my url to my zenfolio site. Works like a charm. I am on the cheap plan there at Zen...and if you want to save yourself a few bucks, and do deice to go with them, use my reference code, it will save ya $5 at sign up B3H-3PG-E1G They also have a 2 week free trial
That is relative to my market too. Why am I not doing it full time then? Well there are more reasons than I can go into, but in all it depends on my product and the market share i can keep and grow in. Can I compete with John Fielder or Art Wolfe, Not yet...
you can see my photo site at:
http://photos.bcallis.com
I'll second smugmug.com. Mine is still in the works, and they have awesome customer support. Three different levels with the middle and pro only allowing to do customization. Take a look at them, I think they are worth it! Only $ 60/yr for the middle package.
Cynthia Spence
www.geolightphoto.com
Like Greg said above, if you want something more than the standardized online plug 'n play type website, get someone to help you with it. If you just want something you can post your pictures, any of the smugmug type sites should be fine. If you're looking to make your site a major part of your marketing plan, hire someone to help you with it.
For the latter, I highly recommend Jason Hahn. Take a look at www.gallerycraft.net.
Cheers
Carl
Cheers,
Matt
www.mattbonnerphotography.com
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Danna
www.digitalsbydanna.com