Web design resources & articles for photographers.
Let’s build amazing photo websites!
I'm back on the PhotoBizX podcast with a really long and detailed conversation (with host Andrew Hellmich) about user experience in photography websites. Andrew and I cover (almost) everything you need to know for building a great photography website.
Read articleCollection of recommended WordPress plugins (that I'm often using when building photography websites). Almost all plugins below have excellent reviews & a rating of at least 4 out of 5 stars, and have been thoroughly revised and tested.
Read articleWordPress themes have come a long way in recent years. Premium WP themes are now incredibly flexible and powerful, they're mobile-friendly and SEO-friendly, and they often include a slew of powerful plugins that extend their functionality even further. Here are my recommendations.
Read articleHow do you decide what platform to build your photography website on? WordPress has become very popular, but photographer-specific tools have their own strong features. This article will help you decide which best fits your needs.
Read articleSEO procrastination is too common among photographers, often times actually damaging their business. There's a time for SEO work, of course, but other website changes should be taken care of first. Make sure your website completely nails these issues before worrying about traffic and SEO.
Read articleI was recently invited for a live Facebook event (hosted by Julie Christie from Togs in Business) where I shared some insights into what photographers like you should be thinking about when it comes to photography website user experience.
Read articleWordPress' popularity leads to complexity as well. Combining this with poor hosting services, improper management, security attacks and negligence, and you get a slew of possible errors. The solution is prevention: properly manage your WordPress site to avoid security and functionality problems down the line.
Read articleIt's important to dedicate some time to do research and to strategize before building a new photo website. Follow these guidelines to gain more clarity.
Read articleHow you structure your galleries will help users navigate your site more easily. For a small portfolio site, just a few galleries and you're done. But with a large image archive, creating (nested) collections is important.
Read articleWith everything related to your photography website, only image pixel dimensions matter. You can ignore DPI/PPI, that's just a piece of metadata, only relevant for printing and scanning.
Read articleSee what website design you can achieve if you use the right WP theme and if you let yourself be creative along the way. When the type of photography you shoot demands something special, it's OK to step outside of the norm and creating something unique to showcase it online.
Read articleImage SEO guidelines for ranking in Google Image search, along with explanations of why you'd want to rank in Google Image search, how it different from regular SEO, how to track your image SEO results and what the future brings.
Read articleAnswering your questions about website caching, good WP hosting providers, paid/affiliate links and how to size images on your site (for good performance).
Read articleGoogle is really making a push towards HTTPS recently, and this is just the next step. You should really take some time to get an SSL certificate and move your site to HTTPS.
Read articleIf you just want an "online business" card (a bio, a short portfolio, some info about your services, and your contact info), then a single-page website might be a great fit for you. But you have to learn their pros and cons first.
Read articleStart thinking like a business owner and let go of the "build it and they will come" mentality. You need to work hard on all aspects of your photography business to differentiate yourself.
Read articleAnswering your questions about SEO-shortcomings of portfolio tools, tips for choosing your domain name, differences between blog & portfolio pages, and how WordPress plugins don't slow down your site.
Read articleAfter you've clarified your site for first-time visitors, make sure that repeat visitors have good reasons to come back to the site. And when they do, that they can find what they're looking for very quickly.
Read articleYou can bring new life into your existing photography website by adding custom CSS code and doing minor template tweaks. An improved online presence will grow your business as a result.
Read articleMost of your website visitors are there for the first time. They're probably a bit confused and they need your guidance. Optimize your website to turn them into repeat visitors (and eventually into clients).
Read articleOne of the most under-utilized ways of improving your photography website, call-to-action buttons can encourage visitors to perform the actions you want them to take on your site (whether that's contacting you, booking a photo shoot, viewing your portfolio, etc.)
Read articleFollow these user-experience guidelines to differentiate your photography website, attract more clients, and show that you truly care about your work.
Read articleThe relaunch of foregroundweb.com comes with many design improvements and, most importantly, with many more web-design articles and resources.
Read articleA comparison of the most common ways to display photo thumbnails (along with examples and recommended plugins).
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