Best DIY Website Platforms for PHOTOGRAPHERS!

[@robinwilkes3380]

I was so stoked to see this, I am in the phase of choosing my platform!! Thank you Sara!! It’s 100% what I need!!

[@josefmadrid]

What did you pick ?

[@danieljackson654]

How wonderful is this. Bravo. I have a question about the list at 6:27. What about PhotoShelter? I've used them for awhile but now have some access problems. What is the reason they did not make this cut? Just asking.

[@forestchaput]

Thank you for watching! I'm sure that PhotoShelter is a good platform but those were just 12 of Sarah's favorite's!

[@danieljackson654]

@@forestchaput Thank you. I think it's overlook is significant given other similar google searches I've completed.

[@hmsblauser]

OHHHH my god, wow. Sara, thank you SO much for this video. I'm coming up on ONE WHOLE YEAR of working on a squarespace website for my photography gig, but have never felt confident enough in the presentation, design and layout to make it live. I literally hit a wall, and there wasn't a single thing I could've added to my site to make it any better. I felt like giving up on marketing my photography business entirely. Then I found this video, and... you've lit a fire under me again! I feel confident that theres a platform out there for me to successfully create my own website on, and the information you presented was laid out in such a digestible way. I'm going to get designing now, and I'm genuinely excited for the first time in so long. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤

[@forestchaput]

You are welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[@waynelyncatphotography]

I want to sincerely thank you for this video. As someone new to photography and not very tech-savvy, I've been searching for this kind of information. Your video made everything clear and finally provided me with options. Thank you once again for covering photography websites!

[@forestchaput]

You're welcome! Glad it helped.

[@evasossnitza]

This was the best video about different website builders for photographers I have seen so far! And I have seen quite a lot because I am now in the process of choosing a builder. Where most videos cover only the well known plattforms, here are builder sites which are more useful for photographers. I also like the overview about the purposes a website for photographers can have. Other videos only cover the portfolio aspect but I want more of a building plattform than a "clean" portfolio. Thank you!

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@alegam22]

Great way to clearly present all the information from many diffrent sources! Thanks Sarah!

[@forestchaput]

You're so welcome!

[@michaelyolch79]

Very helpful! I'd highly recommend a teleprompter versus constantly looking down at notes etc.

[@forestchaput]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@asherdavidson4635]

It's one of the best videos I've seen yet on this topic. Thanks a lot, Sara!

[@forestchaput]

Yay! Glad you liked it!

[@KesselsFilmChannel]

Thank you so much for this video. This vid got me so excited to get started on my site!

[@forestchaput]

Yay! Glad to hear it.

[@belonging9200]

Could you do an updated version of this please. It's so amazing. I'm sure a lot has changed and evolved on that market. ❤

[@forestchaput]

Thank you for watching, will note!

[@jessewatkins1338]

Thank you so much for this!! I have a lot of interest in my wildlife/landscape photography. A proper website has been my stumbling block to get things going. This video was so helpful!

[@that_johnny_guy]

what are your thoughts on Hostinger? I see that some platforms mention video. With Hostinger, you get a free domain and can make 100 websites with their plans but nothing mentions anything for video features. I could be overthinking this one but I'm looking to start a business in wedding videography. Looking forward to your input

[@beatmixer0097]

Thank you for this, I didn’t know about Adobe’s option and am looking into it as I have the full suite. Already pay for squarespace for my website but looking to sell digital prints and ideally send client galleries after paid shoots. If I still have to use Pixieset (I use that to send client galleries after paid- prob could use that $ and stay with my squarespace website (assuming Squarespace offers that - not for sale but to share galleries), I wouldn’t have to pay for my squarespace website and just take advantage of the Adobe option. Hope that made sense.

[@forestchaput]

Hi there! Sarah here. Great question. Honestly, if you're already using Pixieset for gallery delivery and you want to sell prints, I would recommend moving your website over to Pixieset and also using their print sales option, too. They have a great platform that has continued to become more versatile for photographers. When I made this video, Pixieset was just starting to offer a full website option for users and it was pretty clunky, but it's super awesome now and is one of the ones I recommend highly. Squarespace doesn't have a great client gallery system and also does not have easy print fulfillment integration without an additional subscription. It will feel good to consolidate it all to one platform, but instead of Adobe (very limited) or Squarespace (no photography features), I'd go with Pixieset.

[@fnflocci]

Sarah, this video was incredibly helpful. You mentioned several sites I've never heard of before and gave excellent (and concise) details on them. This was great, and super appreciated. Thanks so much!

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hugorojas5108]

THANK YOU, you completely helped me out of my long term Wordpress hell! Best to you and yours! We'll be using your offer codes!

[@timwilk5404]

Just what I was looking for to get started with my photography venture. Thank you.

[@forestchaput]

Best of luck!

[@timwilk5404]

Sara, do you have any opinion on Shootproof? I'm torn between that and Zenfolio. They seem very similar. Shootproof has no commission though. I'm thinking I'm going to steer towards local sports photography, particularly youth. So I want client galleries that they can order prints from. I also want portfolio options for other genres I shoot and an area for testimonials. I would really appreciate your input again @@forestchaput

[@vbhunny13]

Hi, I am working on a website for a youth sports photography company. We are looking to be able to have customers pre-order their photos, before/day of the actual photo day and deliver galleries w/ print option to customers who didn't pre-order. Is there something like this out there? Thank you

[@spokesdog9958]

Invaluable content, thank you. My only comment is about my personal experience with Squarespace. A friend was building a new website for my primary business (not photography). Long story short he passed away during the process. I tried to reach out many times to C.S at squarespace and was unsuccessful getting any help. No phone support. Received a few emails back in response to. my emails but not one of those emails was remotely helpful. Email response was at a glacial pace.

[@joserizo8578]

What website do you recommend for making photography appointments in person such as general photographer and weddings etc with no high fees.

[@Eazyydoesit]

Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for this video exactly, beautifully done!

[@chefnagy]

Fantastic information Sarah. Im a denver boy, I'll have to swing by sometime. Great video. Great communication with the viewer.

[@brianb8698]

Thank you for the video. Lots of good information. What would you recommend for a commercial photographer that wants an attractive site, somewhat mid level complexity but isn't the cost of Photofolio? And is the pdf builder a deal breaker in this field? Thanks again.

[@forestchaput]

Great question! The PDF builder isn’t necessarily a deal breaker in the field until you get up to the big leagues working for huge companies. For most commercial clients (small-to-medium size companies) then they’re not going to be looking for that feature. If you’re trying to get a clean professional site with a lower price tag, look at Format, Webflow, and Squarespace. Customizations are possible but just a bit more complicated.

[@brianb8698]

@@forestchaput Thanks!

[@preven2296]

Thank you very much for this video. I am a photographer and want to begin developing my website so I can sell my photos and greeting card line. One problem, is when I went to subscribe it took me away and to a square space website. And it doesn’t show that I’ve subscribed to your KZbin channel. Anyway, I plan to contact you somehow because I’d like to ask some questions.

[@forestchaput]

You can email us at the email address in our channel information.

[@earlglass6328]

Very informative video. Thank you very much. Could you tell me why you did not include Pixieset in the list? Are they not legitimate enough?

[@the_lazer_show]

Hello there, great video, very useful, thank you. Did the video by Forest on 'selling photography' get uploaded? I haven't been able to upload it. Cheers.

[@DavidGCroft]

Fantastically clear and helpful, well done and thanks.

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@robrunz]

Great video and food for thought. Would you happen to know any platforms that would be great for including 360 photos and tours? I have no clue about web design 😳 thanks!

[@forestchaput]

Unfortunately, I don't know of any. I think most people host their 360 photos and tours on a dedicated 360 platform and embed them on their website.

[@itsbeeva]

That was so incredibly helpful omg!!

[@offthecouchproductions8999]

I am so happy you tried to lay out this information to help us FURRtographers... Thank Sara :D

[@forestchaput]

You are so welcome!

[@oman4229]

Thank you so much for this video!!!! I felt so lost in finding a good business website

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@roamwithdory]

this is a very helpful video. I am looking for a portfolio and client gallery with function for accepting booking (scheduling) for real estate photography. Been looking at pic-time but it does not have the scheduling feature.

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@qaes8209]

Hi Sarah, does these website protect the copyrights of the photos uploaded onto the platform?

[@Crimson_Myst]

Is there a reason you didn’t include Pixieset?

[@bswizz3]

I was thinking the same thing

[@keithspangler4814]

Sarah, thank you for helping me understanding this recent choice to make a site for my work. Facebook was my site, but I'm done with it for many reasons. Thank you for the guidance. I'm a subscriber!

[@forestchaput]

You are so welcome! Thank you for Subscribing!

[@ComadreMindy]

Awesome information!!! Thanks for this!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@forestchaput]

Any time!

[@illestlyricist3538]

Excellent video! Thank you for the great work

[@forestchaput]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@carolkarnib3753]

Great content and infos!! Really in details, thank you :)

[@jakewestin4176]

Great content and great video. Thanks for taking the time to put this together

[@forestchaput]

My pleasure!

[@MrFirstdance2000]

Perhaps I missed this but, did you mention which ones actually allowed for human beings to talk with you on the phone vs. email only? Thank you for this in-depth view of websites host!

[@forestchaput]

Good question! Most of them do not offer phone support. Many of them offer live chat or email support, but none of them give out a support phone number except for Adobe, which is just their general Adobe number (which usually involves significant wait times). Wix and EditorX offer callback support, so you can put in a request to have them call you back. In my experience though, most of the platforms respond within one day for email support, and one thing I really liked about Pixpa is they sent me a video tutorial from inside my own website account that walked me through the fix for the issue I found. Best of luck!

[@larrymendoza4652]

Learning Pixpa's language to navigate is harder for me to get my head wrapped around it than most I've tried. I'm not giving up though.

[@g_togTuber]

What about the sites for mainly sharing pics with people like friends, family, coworkers, that are not for selling and are even for downloading?

[@giandradecastro]

I suffer so much with fry voice ... I had to drop because it crashes my nervous system. So sorry because I needed the knowledge that seemd concise ans straight to the point

[@forestchaput]

Sorry to hear that!

[@2cleverxhalf]

Well done Sarah. Informative. Good communication. Lots of options given.

[@Hephasto]

So which platform did you go for in the end?

[@2cleverxhalf]

@@Hephasto None.

[@alexgonzalez-c3e]

Thank you so much, great information!

[@Javier.Elias.]

Great videeo! Thanks for sharing that Sarah :)

[@forestchaput]

Thanks for watching!

[@kimberlyb7]

Great info ! Tysm 👍🏼👍🏼👏🏼🫶🏼💕

[@ingridbond3432]

... that was REALLY helpful - thank you!

[@forestchaput]

Glad to hear it!

[@RebelPulse]

My main goal is to do a hybrid between photography and blogging I would like to do both. I say this because I am an amateur photographer who never got paid for it I would love to do both for a living. I know blogging takes a while to build followers so you can get paid. Photography would pay in the short run, blogging could pay in the long run feels like a win/win situation

[@forestchaput]

That's a great goal!

[@idalbasanchez537]

Sarah, thank you for your video👍👍

[@forestchaput]

You are so welcome!

[@GabrielaHernandez-nf8kv]

very good and Professional. This is the new Open School of the world? jajaj amazing...

[@joannajensenphotography8191]

I've had zenfolio for a few years now. They don't have any options for SEO. I rank nowhere even though I've been backlinking, blogging, etc.

[@forestchaput]

I'm sorry to hear that! Thank you for the input!

[@fintonmainz7845]

Any good sites for slideshows?

[@kenneth-pesaitis]

PS "stay hydrated" saved my life, Was eating wayyyy too salty food

[@luigibro2340]

what would you rrecommend a beginner like me to use

[@Sr_iRL]

This was very helpful, thank you for your time.

[@AugustGiannini]

Great video thank you a lot

[@EditEdith]

helpful, thank you!

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@randyleecastillo]

Excellent! So helpful!!

[@RobertHarvey101]

Thanks. There were a few I had never heard of.

[@forestchaput]

Glad to hear that!

[@rickyhaggerty]

Thank you so much for this detailed video

[@forestchaput]

You’re welcome!

[@PiLGRiMSofScarboroughEngland]

Thanks, im just new and I’ve learned something

[@abelfranco1508]

Excellent excellent video very informative 👍

[@forestchaput]

Thank you!

[@rickyhaggerty]

How do you feel about cloudspot?

[@forestchaput]

I’m not familiar with it, sorry!

[@trancer03]

You did not include WordPress? What about WordPress? I feel like my website has been terrible for like 3 years now 😢. And it's not getting any better. I got fooled into buying a wordpress theme thats focused around a carousel thats super heavy to load aka useless

[@forestchaput]

I'm sorry to hear that! Wordpress can be great, but it requires choosing a well supported theme and quite a bit of know-how. Maybe consider purchasing a different theme!

[@trancer03]

@@forestchaput I have this new theme for it. But it has 12 different options for the homepage alone. In what order do you recommend stuff to be on that first page for a family portrait photographer? And like what does it need on it. Title first etc

[@forestchaput]

That gets in to a whole conversation on sales, marketing, etc. which is all part of our Professional Intensive program: pi.rmsp.com Long story short, your website should answer and question or solve a problem for your customer. Once you know who that customer is, you can build the website around that person.

[@trancer03]

@@forestchaput I will have to block you for suggesting that..

[@leonardhayes69]

Thank you. Sara

[@forestchaput]

Sarah said: You're welcome!

[@nclarke110]

Thank you Sarah

[@JeremyWilliamson]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!!

[@forestchaput]

You’re welcome!

[@evang7740]

amazing video!

[@jeremyhyler6569]

PhotoBiz should be considered!

[@AnastasyaByvshikh]

Thank you Sara, very clear!!! P. S. You are beautiful

[@forestchaput]

Oh thank you!

[@BathAcademy]

Very good review.

[@howardchud9097]

I enjoyed your video.

[@forestchaput]

Thank you!

[@alanberry9643]

Veryhelpful, thanks!

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CarolineGirl81]

Curious why Photobiz isn’t in there

[@MadeByJoey]

Thank you for this!

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@orpaztron]

I am an Adobe suite subscriber and I hate every user interface they have ever created. I was planning to disconnect from their monthly package but I didn't know there was an option to set up a website through them. As an internet marketer I was thinking of a WordPress based site with a photography template that I could adjust. a programmer and storage would cost about $1000-800 so I looked into Squarespace and other offers until I saw your video. You saved me at least $100. Thanks!

[@andersphansson]

Great video and helpful. Next question which to choose :)

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful! Good luck on your decision!

[@billloveless6869]

Take a look at Fine Art America.

[@forestchaput]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@hugorojas1452]

THANK YOU!! : o )

[@forestchaput]

Thank you for watching!

[@cptbrncls7050]

jifs!

[@Valnuss]

Yeah she really pronounced it like that

[@spartan246]

Square Space is $23 a month...

[@forestchaput]

It pays for itself in no time!

[@BathAcademy]

Please use less scroll while demonstrating sites and think well what to say instead of awesome. If everything you comment is awesome, then value of your review is equal to the simple list.

[@cptbrncls7050]

Smugmug's customer service went to shit after they bought Flickr

[@RoyOlsen]

Not exactly DIY when you purchase a complete web site service. A little misleading.

[@forestchaput]

These aren't complete website services. They still require a lot of work from the user to build the website. They are simply platforms.

[@uberbadami]

What guarantee do you have that after you've built your site and moved all your images to a service like these, that they won't go out of business in a month and leave you hanging with no way to move your site to another host easily....

[@forestchaput]

Zero! But that's true on all platforms. The only thing you can do to prevent that is design the code yourself.

[@blitzkrieg_ahf]

This video uses too much words than what's actually needed.

[@VideovigilanteUSA]

thanks 🦬