where do I start?

[Kraftsims]

I have to admit that starting a website is a daunting task for me. I've tried to figure out the goal of the website and have decided that for the short term, I want just pictures, a strong display of pictures. Not looking to sell any online.

From what I've read on here, the primary and best goal is relationship and salesmanship. I'm not opposed to online selling of photos, but since I'm not into wedding photography and don't plan to be for the long term, I don't know that the online selling is that big a deal for me. At least not for the short term

Having said that, I've been reading around the threads in this section. I truly don't know where to start.

I was going to use iWeb simply because I have it and would be a cost effective manner to display pics. But I can't say I like the look and feel of it. Just a bit too mechanical and squared off for me.

What draws me in on a photographic website is when there is a minimalist approach, few menus, mostly just bold pictures displaying with a simple menu of galleries, about me, contact info. I like the pictures to fill the screen. Not a fan of small thumbnails scattered across a page that requires selection.

Has to be compatible with mobile devices, so I would want to avoid a flash driven site.

I don't want to blog, at least not yet, maybe never. Just not sure I have the time.

What do I want? A simple website that has bold display of pictures, an about me, Seniors, Outdoors, Architecture, and that would be about it for now.

I just don't know where to start. Wordpress seems wordy, bloggish in style unless I missed something. Yet seems most recommend wordpress as a solid way to go. Can wordpress be utilized to be heavy on photos and less bloggy looking? I've tried to search through wordpress and look for photography websites, but they all look about like an iWeb template squared off look.

I did a google on top photography websites. The ones I liked were not able to be viewed on my iphone. I did find one that has the overall feel and style I would desire and it worked on my iphone: Las Vegas Wedding Photographer - John Morris Photography

I've looked around on that website and can't figure out what they used. I want a simple, elegant, rich look with a slow changing pattern of pictures. If iWeb would rotate through on the pics, I'd use it in a heartbeat. I don't want fixed stagnate pictures.

I feel I'm rambling a bit here, apologize.

Any advice on a photorich website? I have to admit I'm a bit lost, even after reading these threads, on how to get started.

[scottbuckel]

For me it seems that something like Smugmug, Zenfolio, or other sharing sites may do the job for you. They are customizable and simple, with only a bit of work on your side. They all seem to promote the ability to sell on line, but you do not need to if you do not want to.

Scott

[J Eddington]

That looks like a template from Flash Palette.
If you don't know where to start and want it to be easy consider a template, then modify it to match your branding.

[Snarfy]

That website is a custom site that mostly utilizes JavaScript. It's actually quite clever and simple.

Work from a template. Consider SquareSpace or WordPress; they have great templates, easy interfaces, easily integrate with social media, and are expandable to any of the market demands you may have for them.

[ntmeangreen2003]

I just recently went through this same situation, as in last week. I used several different online galliers to showcase some of my work for a few years, but then found myself wanting my own little piece of the web, that was completely customizeable and was easy to direct people to. I am fortunate as my girlfriend is a web designer and I was really surprised at how affordable buying a domain and hosting for a year is. I obviously save money on the designing as my girlfriend takes care of that part. My process was determining what I wanted to do with my pictures, who I wanted to see them, and what sort of "business" I would like to eventually build. My number one goal was a simple online showcase, after that all the other things were wants I would like to have, such as an email strictly for photography and not have to use a free service, not that there is anything wrong with that, just not what I wanted. Overall it was a daunting task for me as well, but figuring out exactly what I need, then what I wanted, and considering what I had used in the past, it's just a matter of doing a little research and finding what meets your needs.

[Kraftsims]

Thanks for the replies. Can anyone direct me to a wordpress site that doesn't look bloggish and template driven?

Seems wordpress is a common choice, just so template driven to me. I would really like to just have my own domain and do something simple and elegant as noted above, but cash runs short right now.

[csa]

Gotta say I love FlashPalette. Pay a small fee once, and you own the template. Easy to update and navigate, and despite what people have said about flash, it opens on iphones.

[w9ctm]

I have been using SmugMug for years. Now, I find I am wanting more than I get from Portfoliositez. I am now looking at Wordpress using a template from Photocrati. Fair priced templates that you buy once. They have a clean and straightforward eCommerce system built in. Wordpress is supported by most hosts out there.
I am finding that even I can figure out Wordpress. You may want to consider it.

Thats my .02

[ttruelove]

I agree that settling on a website design can be a very large task. Being a web designer, I see tons and tons of websites for inspiration. Every time I settle on a new design, I always see something else I want to try. This might be why I've redesigned our main site 5 times in the last year (bad idea btw). I do have a few recommendations for you depending on the direction you want to go:

Flash
Flash is great. I've been working with Flash since 1999 and am always interested in seeing all the creative ways it can be used. The down side to it is that mobile devices have a hard time displaying it properly and even modern browsers (depending on operating system) can neglect the standard Flash plugin entirely. My wife uses a new Windows 7 pc and a new iMac and Firefox on both will not display Flash in the browser. This can be common and usually fixable. Most of the time, a potential client isn't going to reinstall the plugin just to view your site correctly.

Also, many Flash websites utilize music. This does indeed help ambiance and mood of the photo gallery, but is usually an unwelcome experience for the user. According to our analytics (yours may be different), the majority of our clients view our website between 6am and 4pm CST. This means most of our visitors are viewing from work. If we had a music track playing when they entered our site, there's a very good chance the volume is not set correctly and we just busted a potential client viewing websites at work.

Personally, I feel that Flash is to be used as a website enhancer rather than a full construct.

HTML/Java/JQuery
HTMl is the building blocks of standards-compliant websites. All web browsers read HTML and all browsers read Java script (unless the user turns Java off, rarely). Using Java for a website gallery is the best option to make sure all your visitors see your work aside from using a strict HTML gallery. Java allows fades, sliders, rollovers, etc, very similar to Flash. Most Wordpress themes use Java, so there's no big jump there.

I find Wordpress is great for portfolios and connecting with your visitors. Wordpress is written in PHP which renders exactly like HTML in the browser. This allows excellent use of server-side code to manage content, allow 3rd party plugins and use a variety of themes. The themes are customizable and you can't beat the content management aspect for the price; FREE.

I recently subscribed to a premium Wordpress Theme site called Premium WordPress Themes | Elegant Themes
The themes are excellently coded and most use JQuery (a Javascript library).

Custom Website
The third option would be to hire a web designer to design and build your website. This is probably the most expensive option and useful if you want a website no one else has. Exclusivity has its price.

I hope some of this helps and let me know if I can help you out with anything else.

[csa]

Thanks for the breakdown, Tim. Lots of cool info.

[J Eddington]

FYI. HEre is a link to a new Wordpress theme which is very nice
Pro Photo WordPress Theme*|*A Premium WordPress Theme For Photographers & Photo Bloggers
And you it is on sale for a limited number of people for $49 instead of 79 or $99 reg $129

[rkee]

I Also use a pro Photo theme and love them , the support is great and the looks you can is unlimited just by you .

[Arcusmedia]

Originally Posted by Kraftsims

Thanks for the replies. Can anyone direct me to a wordpress site that doesn't look bloggish and template driven?

Seems wordpress is a common choice, just so template driven to me. I would really like to just have my own domain and do something simple and elegant as noted above, but cash runs short right now.

Metropolitan Community Church Of Greater Dallas | No Steeple... Just Radical Faith!
Arcus Media

both websites I built in WordPress...

If you want send me a message and I can help you with a WordPress website!

WordPress is wonderful and the only thing I use!

[ttruelove]

Unfortunately, there's not really an easy solution to this problem. If you don't know HTML, then the automated solutions are going to be your best bet unless you hire a developer. Flash templates are relatively easy to customize, but aren't the best at presenting real information on-the-go or being SEO friendly (although there are ways to help this). The other option would be a Wordpress site (which has been mentioned). The good parts about using Wordpress would be keeping the site minimal and easily updating content. There are plenty of Java (jQuery) plugins that can spice up the galleries and present dynamic content. I was a little overwhelmed with Wordpress at first, but got over it and I love it.

I currently use a premium template on my personal site I got from Premium WordPress Themes | Elegant Themes. These themes are well designed and look great. There are free templates out there, but when you get a premium theme, you usually get the raw PSD (photoshop) file which makes customizing a lot easier.

Hope this helps.

[Kraftsims]

Thank you all so much for the great feedback. I've had some time to look around a bit and better figure out what I am desiring.

#1 - flash is out
#2 - I don't care for "photoblogs." I'm not into wordiness on the photosite
#3 - I was simple, elegant, classic. Basically a photo slowly changing with the obvious simple menu choices: "seniors" "engagement" "nature" "business" "about me" "contact" and that kind of thing.

The more the photo fills the page, the better. I don't care for the look where the page has a medium size photo to one side with a variety of thumb nails. I like more of the "slider" look under the main photo filling the page.

I thought maybe I was going to work on this website myself. My first degree was computer programming. Life circumstances just aren't allowing for time, focus, and energy to be directed into this effort. Therefore, I would like to find someone or a company that does a simple, direct, elegant look. Really simple and elegant. Shouldn't cost too much for a starter website that can slowly grow as my business does.

this website: Gavin Gough: Freelance Travel Photographer is nice. Not sure if it is flash or not, probably is, but am not sure how to tell.

I was thinking of pixelpost, looks simple and such. But to be honest, it looks like I'm going to have to make it work myself. I used to be up to such challenges, but I just don't have the heart, the time, and energy to do much of anything right now web-building related.

Anyone know of a webdeveloper that will create simple, and I mean simple, classic elegant webpages. I am not interested in blogging at all, so it would be very simple and just be a basic nice quality looking way to display my pics.

Thanks,
Robert