We’ve all been there: We have enough pictures to make a beautiful portfolio and we want to showcase it online. We google “photography website templates” with trembling hands knowing that we will have to brave through the onslaught of options. We selected some of our favorites, and well known options to help you on your quest:
WordPress: Difficulty Level: 3/5
WordPress can be a GREAT tool for your website as it allows some incredible SEO functionality, as well as virtually unlimited plugins. Now when we say wordpress, that doesn’t mean you’ll build a great website if you install WordPress on your site. There are companies that create templates that can customize wordpress into almost any type of site: Portfolio, blog, blog site, store, ETC. Below is a link to some of our favorite WordPress template sites. This will be a more difficult option as it’s not simple plug and play, but once it’s up and running, you’ll be glad you spent the extra time to reap the benefits.
One of the most recognized, respected, and most used wordpress template companies out there. From their site: “ProPhoto is the most well-respected photo blogging tool in the industry, whether it’s on a mobile device, an iPad, or your desk at home. With unrivaled customization options requiring no previous web skill and a top-notch support system, it’s easy to see why we’re the number one choice for both professional and amateur photographers.”
A blog, and a website all in one. No need to remember multiple logins and different websites to log in to. This does it all. “Intothedarkroom has decided to simplify your life with blogsite templates. We infused your normal WordPress blog with a jQuery enhanced homepage and a new navigation builder. In addition, we integrated our Blogshow component for building portfolios, adding galleries to your posts, and bulk upload images. You can now have all of your clients focused on one branded internet presence and consolidate your time. The best of both worlds has arrived.”
“Themeforest has a TON of different wordpress templates. There is truly a design for just about everyone. With all the different styles and designs, we recommend sorting the wordpress category by most popular to see what people are using. These templates have usually gone through quite a few updates and revisions to work out the bugs and optimize how quickly it runs.”
Homebrewed:
“This isn’t an actual company, but rather, a method. There are those who take templates, and tweak and switch out code to make it their own. This would be subrated at 5/5 difficulty. While difficult, you can get an incredible end result custom to what you want.”
This is for the professional, with a price point to match. Although Flosites comes in at one of the most expensive options out there, we can say without hesitation that this is a company where you get what you pay for. You can get a completely customized site, done by professional designer/developers, that will be tailored to fit your exact needs. You’ll work one on one with them to achieve what you need.
Template Sites: Difficulty Level: 3/5
Template sites are companies where you can purchase a premade template design and show your images. These are the most simple option as the hard design legwork has been done for you. All you’ll need to do is upload your logo and your photo, made a few slight changes, and you’ll be good to go!
Smugmug is a perfect solution to get your photos up fast, and have a portfolio ready to show in under an hour (no joke!) with tons of features, you can customize and create a beautiful site that your pictures can call home. Some features: SHARE: Publish to Facebook & Twitter, share photos via email, embed them on blogs, forums, & more. PROTECT: Unlimited photo and video backups, advanced privacy options, watermarking for piracy prevention. BUY & SELL: The best prints & gifts, your account pays for itself, promotions like coupons & packages.
From the site: “Get your own elegant website with the best viewing experience on the web. Upload unlimited photos and video clips, share them online, protect with passwords, create beautiful slide shows, order photo prints, and much more. Professionally present photos to your clients and run your entire online business under one roof. Included is a portfolio website, client proofing, your own shopping cart, integration with print labs, fulfilling your own orders, and much more.”
Our professional photography websites provide you with fully brandable designs, an easy to use backend, and the most advanced technology platform in the industry. Our platform uses the best Search Engine Optimization techniques, ingrates social networking capabilities, and performs on iPhones and numerous other modern devices. It just doesn’t get any better. Oh wait, it does…we keep your website on the cutting edge with free functionality, design, and performances updates. Come experience why our platform is second to none.
“Showit is an elegant drag-and-drop website builder giving you the freedom to be you! Take control of your website and promote your brand, and your clients, by creating a unique website for you – and them!”
Bludomain has a ton of different types of website templates in different formats. You can purchase domains that run specifically in flash, HTML5, or mobile. Each template has a few different options that are available as Add-ons. Note: You will either need to host through their company, or buy the rights to host somewhere else.
There are TONS of other websites, and we would love to hear you talk about them in the comments below so we can keep this list updated. What do you use? Why do you like it? What do you wish would be different? Sound off!
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