Websites for Photographers

Editor's Note: This is a cross-post from my other blog at mdrisser.com

After reading an interesting post and the corresponding discussion on Colby Brown's page over on Google+, and having seen similar discussions elsewhere, I thought it might be a good idea to go a little more in-depth on the subject of Web Sites for Photographers. So if you are a photographer, please read on.

Do I Really Need a Web Site?

In order to really answer this question, we need to ask a few others.

Are you trying to make money off of your work or do you just want to share it with the world?

If you just want to share your work, a web-site may not necessarily be the best way to go. Keeping up a web-site (i.e. updating, etc.) can be a lot of work so it may be better for you to set-up an account somewhere like 500px, Flickr orPicasa.

If you are trying to make money off of your work, then a web site is definitely in order.

Should I Design My Own Web Site?

The answer to this one is: probably not. I say this because there is a lot more that goes in to a quality web site than most people think. And in my experience most of them end up looking like those really cheesy web-sites we are all familiar with from the 90's. You know the ones that look like MySpace? With all of the blinking and flashing and cute, cuddly little animated graphics?

If that's your thing, go for it. But if you go that route, don't expect people to take you or your work seriously.

But I Can Use WordPress...

You can, but DON'T! I really can't stress that enough. WordPress wasn't designed to showcase photography, it was designed for writing. Yes, I have a few pictures here, but I'm an Amateur Photographer, not a Professional. And I wasn't trying to showcase my work here, those are really just an experiment in photoblogging. Photoblogging is an entirely separate entity, and if that's what you want to do, then by all means use WordPress.

OK, But I Can Use a Web Design Site...

Again, you can, but I recommend against it. The biggest problem with these types of sites is that you run the danger of your site looking like a thousand other web sites.

If you really want to stand out from the crowd you need a web site that reflects your photographic style, a site that reflects who you are and the message you want to convey. In short, you need branding. And that is some thing that those "cookie cutter" sites can't help you with, for that you need a professional.

What About Flash?

Flash web sites are an interesting topic in their own right. There are some great Flash Designers/Developers out there, and a lot more not so great ones. If Flash is done by one of the great Flash Gurus, it can load very fast, be very responsive and even be SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly.

In the beginning Flash wasn't SEO friendly, and a lot of people still think that it isn't. However, a few years ago the fine folks at Adobe (the creators of Flash) teamed up with the two largest search engines, Google and Yahoo!, and set about correcting that problem.

So basically, if you want to use Flash, go for it, but find one of the great Flash Designers/Developers. (More on this in a bit)

Aren't Professionally Designed Web Sites Expensive?

Professionally designed web sites can be expensive, but they don't have to be. If you look at some of the big web design firms, most likely you'll find that their pricing is a bit steep, but then again their quality is top-notch.

There are also a lot of independent web designers out there, and many of them are much less expensive to hire. In fact you can use sites like DesignCrowd, iFreelance and Freelancer to find web designers to fit your budget.

As I mentioned in my comment on Colby Brown's post, you may be able to barter a trade and keep the price down. Perhaps you could take some photos for one of the web designer's other projects (with photo credits of course)? This has several other advantages to it as well. You may be able to pick up some new clients by doing this as well.

If you develop a good working relationship with your web designer, they might contract some other photo shoots to you later on or even put you in touch with some of their clients who are looking for a photographer.

OK, So How Do I Choose a Professional Web Designer?

I mentioned before using the freelance sites to help you find a web designer that fits your budget, the next step is choosing one. For that you need to see their portfolio, just as your potential clients want to see yours. Find 5 or 6 designers whose work you like, and get in contact with them. You need to ask them a few questions to see if they are going to be a good fit for you.

You need to find out how closely they will work with you in designing your site. How much input would they like from you? Remember, this is about your site, if the designer isn't willing to work closely with you, move on and find some one else to work with.

Ask for references. If they won't or can't give you any, you may want to consider finding some one else.

You also need to find out exactly what the deliverables are. How many pages? Will they up load it for you or just send you all of the files? Will they help you setup a web hosting account? Will they fix any problems you discover later? These are important questions you need to ask, and ones that I've seen people get burned on more than once because they failed to ask.

There's a lot of information here to digest. And I'm sure I've missed something along the line, but this should be enough to get you started. If you have any questions, ask in the comments and I'll respond as soon as I can.