Thursday, August 2, 2007

Great Website Templates for Photographers

As a follow up to my post about the Golden Rules of Great Websites, I thought it would be valuable if I mentioned a few companies that are producing template based websites that make it super easy to create and maintain a great website. A great website is an investment in your business, and whether you choose to create a custom website, or something based on a template, a great website can make the best or worst first impression of your work. The following list are companies who have built their business around providing websites that are easy to update and manipulate, giving owners greater control over their presentation without requiring knowledge of web coding or programming.

17 comments:

  1. Anne! I didn't know about this site until I read that article about you that you linked to from your photo blog the other day. This is an AWESOME blog you're running here. I've added you to my RSS reader. You are so amazing. It's such a great gift to give back to the photo community by maintaining a site like this. :)

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  2. heart! thanks for being such a great resource. I am your new #1 fan!

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  3. Thanks for your inspiration! Here is a site that was just released made by Livebooks: http://wirkenphoto.com

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  4. Wow! You are amazing--and apparently a mindreader to boot! I am new in the business (fellow Hoosier, up by Purdue) and have just last week begun researching companies for web templates--this info is so valuable! Can't wait to dig my way through this whole blog!

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  5. Thanks so much for all of your info! I've bookmarked/Rss your site and will check back often!
    lm

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  6. Also www.getparade.com offers great, affordable, easy to update sites as well. I just signed up with them and I'm already finished designing my site! (Less than 6 hours total). Check it out!

    http://www.punambean.com

    -Punam

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  7. I wanted to go with bludomain.com but I put in a request waited 36 hours and then on the 14th put in another request/support ticket no response. None. It has been over a week and I can't even get a response. Scary. The site looks awesome but sheesh. I might have to go somewhere else

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  8. Bludomain has horrible customer service. I have been in the same situation, I have an old outdated website and was trying to get a new one but they haven't responded in over 2 weeks. I think they've already got a bad reputation for terrible customer service. That is not good.. I think there is another company called Portfoliositez or something like that, I heard they were great!

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  9. Well We waited it out it :) took two weeks to get a response. They upgraded the way they do business by taking the money upfront and having you click to agree to the terms and conditions upfront. So with my money in their hands things started to happen. Overall once I got the site pretty easy to use for someone who doesn't do websites. Check out our new bludomain site. http://www.elsevierphotography.com/. Thanks Anne for the information and inspiration.

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  10. All of the template sites you listed provide flash based websites.

    Flash may look neat, but the main point of a website is marketing. Is it not? Why on earth would I purchase a website that can't be properly indexed on search engines? My site will look really cool, but no one will ever find it.

    Websites coded entirely in Flash are less accessible than HTML. If a computer doesn't have Flash, visitors won't see your site unless they download the Flash plugin. You may not realize this, but some companies, especially larger ones, don't allow Flash to be loaded onto corporate computers. Also, search engines can't index Flash content. Finally, for people with disabilities, Flash is not capable of being altered for content accessibility.

    If you truly want to get the most out of your website I suggest finding a designer who follows Web Standards and Good Search Engine Optimization techniques.

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  11. As a photographer myself I wanted to offer a few features no other website template company had. Our Quick Pick color scheme allows a complete color coordinated change with onemouse click, 20 song shared music library and a very affordable lease or purchase plan.

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  12. A new option is the Hybrid Blogsite.

    For marketing, accessibility on all types of browsers including mobile devices, way better than Flash site search optimization plus the ability to easily update the website consider a Blogsite.

    One of the better choices is the Kertesz Professional Photography Blogsite which is based in WordPress

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  13. Bundle of thanks for Sharing these precious links!
    Business Plan Templates

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  14. Patty, if you look at the links and read what the pages offer....many of them have an HTML version of your site that the few people without Flash get to see. So you get a beautiful site for people with Flash and HTML basics for the others. Win-Win. I was looking for a non-flash or an optimize site myself to reach more people with mobil usage rising. Thanks for posting!

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  15. This is a great list of the better known photography website solutions. I agree with someone above - it is notable that these are all flash. I know flash has come a long way with html mirrors and other solutions to the SEO problem. But there are still issues there. That said, going to a private designer doesn't strike me as a great option either. What's really missing is just WordPress. Most photographers I know are either adding a WP blog or moving their sites entirely to WP. There are plenty of WP designs that now rival the beauty and sophistication of flash, but with out the issues.

    All that said, I know many photogs still use all the solutions above, and it is nice to see that list in place. Thanks!

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  16. Impressive list of resources! I would like you to take a look at the oQey Themes and analyze them. In my opinion they are good and can be added to your list of sources! Keep up the great work you do!

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  17. Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Taking the time and actual
    effort to create a superb article… but what can I say… I hesitate a lot and never manage to get anything done.
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