Photography Website Creation

[wellies101]

Many thanks to everyone whos posted ideas/experiences on photography website creation. My girlfriends has just bought Mr. Site to create a site for the volunteer group I run at work so thats also an option to consider.

[Ruth Daniel]

Has anyone any experience of "Synthasite" for free websites????
It all seems quite good to be free and was wondering if anyone has heard about them or used them at all???

http://www.synthasite.com/ppc.php?gc...QsJ3wodWhDt1Q&

[PMG]

Originally Posted by Ruth Daniel

Some wonderful images and ideas here for web-sites free or otherwise!
I only "point & click" but love taking photo's especially landscapes and have a few of my images in this blog; My photography Blog.

Some cracking landscapes on there Ruth - I tried to leave a comment but failed there so came back here. I'm smiling cos I have the one in the Trough at the same time of year from almost the same viewpoint!!

Pauline

[Ruth Daniel]

Originally Posted by PMG

Some cracking landscapes on there Ruth - I tried to leave a comment but failed there so came back here. I'm smiling cos I have the one in the Trough at the same time of year from almost the same viewpoint!!

Pauline

Thanks very much Pauline......you did leave a comment it's just that I have to moderate them first before they are published!.......it's there now!

[Kayleigh]

Stunning pics Ruth..

[Ruth Daniel]

Thanks very much Kayleigh.....the boat is a small green canoe in the foreground on the shore.
If you click on the image it enlarges just enough for you to spot it,lol!

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Ruth Daniel

Thanks very much Kayleigh.....the boat is a small green canoe in the foreground on the shore.
If you click on the image it enlarges just enough for you to spot it,lol!

Yes, I realised that so edited it out..
I was looking in the water..

[Ruth Daniel]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Yes, I realised that so edited it out..
I was looking in the water..

Sorry,I read your post in an e-mail so had'nt realised you'd edited!
Glad you found it anyway!

[acroshaw]

Hey guys, I used to be a web developer, and in fact did a site for a photographer, although it was one of my first so i dont think its around any more, but thought i would chip in. The ready made websites mean you will get it cheap, but to be honest they all look the same, if you want something creative and different, you're gonna have to do it yourself, or hire a web designer, which will cost you in the region of £400 quid plus hosting and domain name, which also wont be that cheap, as you're gonna need plenty of space...
The ready made options are great if youre just starting out and want to see if you can sell any pics, but you wont be showing up on googles front page, there just too much competetion, so where do you get your hits from? There are several options, but all cost money/time, there are companies out there that just do search engine optomisation, its soooo competetive.
If you go for ready made sites, make sure the final code is going to be css/xhtml , not a tables based layout, as this will be faster - nothing puts people off more than a slow loading site, if it doesnt load up in a few secs they're gone to the next one.
Also steer well clear of flash....google cant search on anything contained in a flash file (at least that was the case), flash looks great but it's no use in a commercial photography site.

Hope that helps, feel free to message me if you need any further tech advice, I will do my own site at some point in the future, but need to get batter first! some of your pics are amazing, love the forum

[JeffH]

Welcome to WAB acroshaw and thanks for that advice

May I just add that, in my opinion and based on my own selling experience over the last 3 months or so, if you're trying to sell your photos (whether via the web or any other outlet) what is even more important than having a website that is "creative and different" is having some photos that are "creative and different".

I'm afraid the harsh reality is that if all you've got to offer is a range of, say, standard style shots of common or garden birds (of the type found in every bird guide) then few people are going to be interested in buying them.

The buying public are looking for something different - so get out there and photograph it before you even begin to think about how to sell it

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

[Tobyh]

Some great advice and info on here, convinced me it was time to get myself into gear and organise mine.

I plumped for Zenfolio and can't fault it so far. I haven't done huge uploads but am more than happy with the outcome. Very easy to use and fast response to a tech issue I asked on their forums.

Link is in my sig, always happy for any constructive criticisms. Best viewed using the slideshow option for anyone that looks.

Thanks in advance.

*edit to add* - happy to share links with likeminded peeps

TobyH

[Keith Talbot]

hi all,

ive only just found this thread,im another vote for zenfilio,cant fault it in anyway.

Originally Posted by Tobyh

*edit to add* - happy to share links with likeminded peeps

TobyH

nice pics toby,i'll put a link to it on mine

[Vectisbirder]

I started a Zenfolio trial the week before last. Zenfolio is excellent but, unfortunately, as I am out of work, I can't afford the fee at the moment.

I would recommend 000webhosting.com. I am using their hosting at the moment, they provide templates and are very easy to use. You can also upload your own content, if you want to build your own designed site offline.

[Squirrelx]

Originally Posted by wellies101

Also, how does everyone do with sale of images, I'm not asking for exact details on profits made, and I know it depends on quality of images, but more things like who are the kind of clients who buy them, roughly how many do you sell, do you get repeat business, etc?

I was at a local (small!) Craft Fair recently and a chap called Cheng Yan was there selling his photos - either framed or mounted and he was doing a roaring trade. He has a web site and sells through there as well. I wouldn't like to say how much it cost him to originally set up his business but he seems to make enough now to travel the world photographing wildlife and landscapes. If you have a look at his site it might give you an idea of what to charge etc. It's Cheng Yan Gallery

Hope this is helpful.