5 Key Ideas for Creating a Photography Website

In the age of the internet and World Wide Web, it has become almost mandatory to have your own website. Commercial photographers and freelance photographers know the value of getting their work seen and recognized. If you are turning your photography hobby into a part-time or, even a full-time, business the first thing you need – after the cameras of course – is a fabulous website to showcase you and your work.

These days most people have the internet at home and do most of their research online to save them time. So you need to be out there among all those other photographers who have a photography website to attract attention. This also means you need to optimize your photography website so it is seen. Visibility is the key and, let’s face it; you are a photographer so it is all about image.

This video names a few photo editing sites if you want to manipulate your shots before uploading to your site – the voice over is like being at the races…

And just remember most people want to see your work before they hire you. If they do call you first, they will ask for the web address of your photographers website. And if you don’t have one, they will probably judge you as unprofessional. And, photography is all about perception – if you can not beat them, join them with your own photography website design. It is a fantastic way to promote your work – even sell your photos online.

Building a photography website is fun – plan it out before you start. Then take a look online for a company with free web building software when you sign up to their web services. It does not need to be expensive. And you will probably find yourself hooked. If it is all too much for you to do yourself then there are reputable websites where you can post a project to get the work done. But, be careful if taking this road. Make sure you do your research. Take a good look around before you take the plunge to hire someone to create a photography site that highlights you and your creativity. Here are five key ideas to help you build that photo website.

Build a Reputation as a Freelance Photographer

Be open, honest, and accountable. Make it easy to find your credentials on an about me page of you photographers website and present a portfolio of your very best work. This is something that will make or break your business. Remember, this is your big opportunity to hook in your visitors so you want your best work up on your website. Proofread all your text to eliminate spelling and grammar mistakes, and if you are going to use graphics make sure they are excellent. Try and use original graphics and photos. There are plenty of places online where you can commission a graphic for as low as $20.

Photography Websites should be Easy to Use

Keep it simple stupid (the KISS theory) – no, I am not trying to insult you. It is something I tell myself every single day, especially when working on creative projects. Make your photography website easy for your visitors to use. There is nothing worse than clicking the back button to go to another page. It needs to be easy to navigate. And try not to go down the well travelled road of white text on a black background that almost everyone uses.

Show your imagination and creativity and come up with a color combination. I usually try not to use more than three colors but I do use shades of the colors I pick. Keep your layout clean and uncluttered. And, when you setup your galleries group your photos together in similar size thumbnails to balance your page. Nothing looks worse than thumbnails disorganized all over a page. And for goodness sake optimize your photos for your visitors to download. How frustrating is it trying to download a big file.

Search online for free tools that will strip the pixels out for the web. Instead of uploading a 100 kb file it will bring it down to around 6 or 7 kb, and keep the photo the same physical size, and still looks good on the web. The added bonus to this is that it makes your photos useless to anyone who wants to steal them except for use on the web. Chances are you will stumble across them anyway. If you’d rather not build your own website, there are sites you can use that can do the job for you…

• Here’s one I think is good – Photostock Plus

• Here’s a list of supposedly the best 50 photography sites on line (handy links here)

Promote your Professional Photography Website

The whole point of creating a photography website is to be visible all over the world. So, promote your photography – get it out there once your photography website is up and running. Make sure you keyword optimize it for the search engines to find. But, there are a lot of other things you can do. Even write articles for one of the many article sites that will give you links back to your photographers website. Your photography website is a reflection of you and your services – always keep that in mind when designing a website for your business. Yes ‘ I know ‘ it all takes time but look at it as an investment in your future.