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Starting a website!

Last post 15-08-2008, 9:32 PM by Alister Birmingham. 33 replies.
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  •  05-07-2008, 12:11 AM 833983

    Starting a website!

    Hi all

    Well firstly as ive seen some have problems constructing a website, as my best mate edd has mentioned in a post earlier.

    I dont really know anything about setting one up so what i would like to know is . Does anyone recommend or know of a good company where i can set it up by choosing pages etc... fonts or what ever you do to set one up and put my images into it.  now i dont know all questions to ask about this subject so all help needed o this from the experience ones! so if i am missing anything please let me know. But i spose cost i dont mind spending if i get a good final result.

    Many thanks in advance

    Please click on my gallery and comment on what you think to my images

    My DCM gallery
  •  05-07-2008, 2:04 AM 834012 in reply to 833983

    Re: Starting a website!

    I use a company called IFP3.com  See my website below (not the dcm one, the other one).

     


    What I see is what you get!

    My DCM Gallery

    Visit my photography website at DuckPrints Gallery
  •  05-07-2008, 10:27 AM 834154 in reply to 833983

    Re: Starting a website!

    Sounds like Clikpic would suit your needs, take a look at my site if you like, I'm happy with the results.  And it's relatively easy. 
  •  05-07-2008, 11:01 AM 834170 in reply to 834154

    Re: Starting a website!

    hey martin, thanks for the link to your site.
    I do like the look to your gallery the home page is the sort of thing i will be looking for etc... now ive noticed i can right click on the image and save it if i wanted to. But saying if i wanted to steal that image is there a way of doing that!? i know thay are low res which mine will be anyway,but i wonder if this would be a problem?  Also if you dont mind me asking but have you had many hits on your sight? and many salea? Also how muchdoes it roughly cost you?  is it a one off fee or monthly rate. and how does it work as to me being able to edit it and update the site or if i wanted to change the style if i never liked a certian page etc.. or is it once your done your stuck with it!?
    Thanks again mate for your help

    My DCM gallery
  •  05-07-2008, 11:16 AM 834182 in reply to 834170

    Re: Starting a website!

    I've mentioned them before...but mrsite is very good.

    http://www.mrsite.co.uk/

    you can post pics, galleries / have a paypal shop...change text and fonts. you have a choice of many template designs  and just click to place your pictures...or you can you use or own code / html depending on your needs and abilities.

    also upload MP3...the works.

    35 quid a year including a dot com  / net / .co.uk name...no pop ups or ads. up to 50 pages.

    my humble site is with mrsite...a doddle to update and alter.

    www.shelfpics.com

    it might give you an idea of the possibilities.

    good luck.


    shelfpics
  •  05-07-2008, 12:37 PM 834209 in reply to 834170

    Re: Starting a website!

    Most of your questions can be answered here, and you can also sign up for a 7 day trial http://www.clikpic.com/  I would resize you images to 500px across, 72dpi before signing up though to get the most from the trial. 

    In answer to your other points:

    It's easy to steal an image from any site.  If I caught you using it though I would take all legal options available.  The best that you can do is add a watermark across the image and make it low res as I have (72dpi/500px across).  If someone really wants to they could remove the watermark I guess, but I don't think anyone would seriuously go to that trouble with a low res image. 

    I've had quite a few thousand hits on my site but no sales.  The site itself won't generate sales. m Keywords won't generate sales.  YOU have to generate the sales.  You don't get passing foot traffic with a website, peopel have to be directed there so it's up to you to advertise it if you really want sales from it.

    It costs about £35 a year for 60 photos, I've just upped it to £45 for 120 photos.  This includes the paypal shopping cart.

    It's dead easy to update the site.  You log in, add images, change text etc.  Then when you are ready you "make live". 

    There are lots of templates available and you can change fonts and sizes to suit your needs.  It takes some trial and error but as I say, you can preview teh site and then make live later. 

     

    There are tonnes of options out there, Shelfy's is a good example of another.   As I say though, don't expect to build a site and have the sales roll in.  It doesn't work like that!


  •  06-07-2008, 6:20 PM 834792 in reply to 834209

    Re: Starting a website!

    Martin, if i am totally blunt i think you havnt picked any sales up because of the price your putting on your work.
    I know its up to you to direct people to your site and stuff, but i think when people visit yours and see the prices they may be a little put off.
    As for clikpic, they are what they are. Loads of people have them they dont stand out from the crowd a great deal. Thats why i tried to create my own, but its back to the drawing board with that one, keeping my layouts.
    anyway just my opinions

    edd

    My DCM gallery click me!!

    dont be afriad that your life is going to end, be afraid that it will never begin!

    www.eddfury.com - My landscape photography work!
  •  06-07-2008, 7:31 PM 834820 in reply to 834792

    Re: Starting a website!

    Photium is another site worth considering, but a bit dearer than Clickpic.  It has everything you will need to set a photo gallery and start selling images.  http://www.photium.com/

    I don't think Martin's prices are that bad.  I just think there are too many sites and photographers trying to do it.  This is one reason I have held back from going that route myself.  And that is also thanks to Peter J Jackson who emailed me with similar concerns. 





  •  06-07-2008, 8:23 PM 834872 in reply to 834820

    Re: Starting a website!

    I have a web site operated by Clikpic which does everything I need. The only thing that is missing is the facility for putting on sound tracks. I would love to be able to put background noise on the  Speakers' Corner gallery just to give it that added atmosphere.

    Although it allows you to sell from your site, I have no intention of going down that road.  The first hurdle you must overcome is getting people to look at your site before you have any chance of a sale!

    The market for photographic image sales must be totally saturated. If you are keen to sell you must examine the market to find an unexploited niche within it and that niche must fit your style and type of photography, or conversely you must change to fill the niche.

     


    FACES,STREET,PROTEST & CANDID
    A BLOG
    My Flickr
  •  06-07-2008, 9:18 PM 834897 in reply to 834792

    Re: Starting a website!

    eddo123:
    Martin, if i am totally blunt i think you havnt picked any sales up because of the price your putting on your work.
    I know its up to you to direct people to your site and stuff, but i think when people visit yours and see the prices they may be a little put off.
    As for clikpic, they are what they are. Loads of people have them they dont stand out from the crowd a great deal. Thats why i tried to create my own, but its back to the drawing board with that one, keeping my layouts.
    anyway just my opinions

    edd

    You can be as blunt as you like, although lets remember that I wasn't the one posting for advice here.  95% of my hits are from forum members and I wouldn't expect sales from those stats. 

    Clikpic does what it does, it allows you to design a site that can look good, be easy to manage, and take the work out of learning how to build your own.  I personally think that my time and effort is better spent elsewhere, such as marketing the site. 

     

     

     


  •  06-07-2008, 9:43 PM 834932 in reply to 834897

    Re: Starting a website!

    well you may be right there. I just personally feel its good to be different, If you want to have a website that someone else id going to have something very similar thats fine.

    But if 95% of your hits are from people on this site, I'd say your not using your time all that effectively marketing the site and doing other activities.

    I just think as great and as practical as these packages are, they dont offer enough individuality for me. Thats why i tried to build my own. I know that has its problems, and that i have found out the hard way, but it feel its a damn better effort than playing for a premade one. Though i wouldnt recommend doing it to anyone else after the trouble i have had.

    My DCM gallery click me!!

    dont be afriad that your life is going to end, be afraid that it will never begin!

    www.eddfury.com - My landscape photography work!
  •  06-07-2008, 10:16 PM 834979 in reply to 834820

    Re: Starting a website!

    the thing is keithT i dont think you are generally going to make sales of the internet from people looking at your site etc... But you will get sales if you do yourself buisness cards with your website on and if you start donig weddings and have your stuff displayed in local shops. then a website is really handy and people can choose what they want then. This is why i want to set one up because of this very reason. thanks for the recommendation i will have a look. cheers

    My DCM gallery
  •  06-07-2008, 10:25 PM 834992 in reply to 834979

    Re: Starting a website!

    The only time my site sells stuff is when I make a portrait gallery available with PayPal for a customer that has already paid for a session.
    Websites make a great way to show your portfolio provided you do it right.  Someone asks what you do, give them your card, they either book a session from what is on your site or they ask to see prints etc. Usually they book from what is on your site so appearance is everything.
    In this way my site has paid for itself a hundred times

    Al Birmingham Photography
  •  07-07-2008, 7:21 AM 835241 in reply to 834992

    Re: Starting a website!

    Alister Birmingham:
    The only time my site sells stuff is when I make a portrait gallery available with PayPal for a customer that has already paid for a session.
    Websites make a great way to show your portfolio provided you do it right.  Someone asks what you do, give them your card, they either book a session from what is on your site or they ask to see prints etc. Usually they book from what is on your site so appearance is everything.
    In this way my site has paid for itself a hundred times

    Congratulations Alister on a truly proactive approach to selling your services as a photographer and your "products". By identifying the possibilities available within the marketplace in your particular area and a well thought out plan, it is a shining example to anyone who wants to go down the professional road. Rather than dreaming and sitting on your backside waiting for people to buy prints of what you think are saleable, you have turned it on its head by saying I'll give you what you want. A really customer orientated undertaking.

    More power to your elbow and every success in your venture.


    FACES,STREET,PROTEST & CANDID
    A BLOG
    My Flickr
  •  07-07-2008, 8:25 AM 835258 in reply to 833983

    Re: Starting a website!

    dominic5749:
    But i spose cost i dont mind spending if i get a good final result.


    Depends how much you want to spend.....

    My new shopping gallery is now up and humming. There are only test pictures there at the moment (though you can buy them! I enabled selling to test that too) but I have about 1K pics sitting in the backend ready to be put live and will upload several more thousand this year. It also does away with PayPal - SSL direct to my credit card merchant account Smile [:)]

    But it cost a lot.

    It really depends what you want to do. For a portfolio/vanity site I'd choose Jalbum. For exposure to the wide world Flickr. And if you want to sell pics to other people then you have to think about
    1. How serious you are (that site is the result of two months' investigation and tweaking and several hundred pounds investment)
    2. How you are going to promote it (if people will come to you then anything will work - if you have to advertise it then maybe try Photobox Pro)
    3. How you will fulfill it (back to the do you let a lab manage it or do you want to handle it yourself).

    If you're reasonably techie and want to invest a reasonable sum then check out Photo Cart. With hosting you can probably be up and running for £200 and it has more features than you can shake a stick at. [FWIW my site is NOT Photo Cart - some last minute considerations meant I ended up spending 3X that much.......]
    Kidography. It's like photography. But more fun.
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