I am a total dunce when it comes to starting a website. I think some of my work is sales worthy but I really don’t know where to start. I do have a domain name and a site on Squarespace but that’s merely step one. I also have no clue what I should be paying for a site builder. Any help you folks can give will be much appreciated. >=))>
Doesn’t Squarespace have some good templates and designs you can use?? I did that with Wordpress for similar reasons.
Bill:
I am your neighbor as I live in Sugar Land. I wanted to meet you and I have been thinking of contacting you and offering to buy you a cup of coffee sometime. I developed a Squarespace website around five years ago. It was easy to do, but I admit it needs upgrading. The site URL is :https://www.willemdegrootphotography.com/
I am in town only for three more days, but I would be happy to meet you in Houston and show you a little about setting up the website and help you get started. Alternatively, we could do it over Zoom.
Hi Bill,
Thought I would chime in, although one should never take advice from someone who hasn’t been successful in said field… ha ha. Case in point, I built my first website from scratch in 1995. Went thru numerous transformations and finally settled a number of years ago on SmugMug. I’ve never sold a print onlline from my website.
Having said that, I do have all kinds of experience building and maintaining. The very first question is:
What are your intentions?
- do you want to sell your work, prints, or rights to your photographs?
- do want more exposure of your work?
- do you simply want to share your work?
Next, ask yourself, how much are you willing to pay? and how much work (knowledge) are you willing and able to build a website?
Depending on your answers and goals, there are many options.
Entry Level, cheapest: Flickr, 500pix, Google Photos, Instagram etc. etc.
Entry Level, but with many options, services; SmugMug, SquareSpace, Zenfolio. Many templates, turnkey
Custom, build your own… ha ha! Have fun.
Premier; custom sites and you pay for it $$$: I’m assuming there are many custom services that build, design and host professional photography websites. There are many, but the one many folks have used here on NPN and a list of who’s who in nature photography have been using Wide Range Galleries for many years. Jack Brauer and staff have been designing, building, hohsting and supporting custom sites and are very credible. And as they say, you get what you pay for. You want quality and support, then these are the guys. Check their site for the cost.
Anyway, I’ve been using SmugMug for many years now. I know others who are using Zenfolio or SquareSpace like Alexander above. While these are mostly turnkey, they will require some work on your part to customize the numerous templates that are out there to make your own site. For me, it was helpful to have some knowledge in coding websites, but I don’t think it’s a requirement.
If you’re really looking to sell and get exposure to clients, one of the most important things is getting the best SEO - Search Engine Optimization features and implementations - That means keywording and technical coding to get your site at the top of web searches. Paying someone like Wide Range could be worth the price. But to be sure, services like SmugMug , SquareSpace and Zenfolio have optimization help as well.
Well, hope this helps. Best of luck and be sure and let us know what you come up with!
1 Like
Hello Bill. I would second the idea of taking a look at Smugmug. They have a fairly intuitive interface to help you build the site, and options for setting pricing, connection to printing labs, etc. Those options vary with the membership level of course.
I currently have a site based on SmugMug, although I won’t promise you it is up to date. I haven’t maintained it for the past year because I’m rebuilding a site in WordPress. Using something like WordPress is a fairly big step as you will need to learn a bit about web development, although they have templates as well.
1 Like
Forbes Best Site Builders-2026
When I had my site, that I built from scratch using the now long gone MS Front Page and MS Expression Web software, it was lot of work. I did sell a few prints and also some images for use by the USFS and a local conservation organization. However, it became too costly for hosting and domain registration, and sales fell to zero, so I took it down a few years ago.
I am not trying to dissuade you from pursuing a site Bill, but to point out that such an endeavor is not trivial and requires planning and a learning curve. Note also that if you do plan to formally conduct sales, there will be state and federal tax implications, and possibly business license requirements, too.
I wish you well and good luck with your quest!
-P
1 Like