Keep these four easy points in mind when you start a website.

 

Every photographer reaches a stage when they feel they have mastered their craft, and it's time to get out into the world with a photography website that showcases who they are.

 

Does that sound like you?

 

With a little planning and forethought, you can create a great website and avoid some basic mistakes that would otherwise drag your site down.

 

 

1. Choose Your Images Carefully

 

 

Keep in mind the main reason why prospective customers are visiting your site.

 

Sure, they want to know who you are and what you believe. But mostly they're interested in your style and vision - and they want a sense of how you will execute on their project.

 

Keep your work front and center, spend a lot of time working on your galleries and collections, and make sure that your photographs load correctly and quickly.

 

Now, you may see this simple piece of advice and think the best thing to do is to throw up tons of great stuff and give the viewers a little taste of everything.

 

The website 500px ISO posted a great quote on this topic from their content editor, Alejandro Santiago who says:

 

 

 

“As photographers, we often fall in love with our photos. Ask a trusted peer who can offer a more subjective opinion to help you edit the photos in your portfolio."

 

 

 

Choose your best work carefully, present it properly and have the confidence that those images will speak for you. Overloading your site slows down load-time, and gives the impression that you haven't really defined your style yet.

 

 

2. Plan Your Website

 

Before you start building your site, take a step back and grab a pen and paper.

 

Now imagine your site and write down the various pages that you would like to see, and how they connect to each other.

 

Lay it all out on the page. If you do this before you start building, you'll save a lot of time and energy. It's easy to get confused and sidetracked when you're busy constructing your site, so you need a map to guide you.

 

Every photographer is different, but here are a few must-have sections according to Wix.com, developers who have worked with thousands of websites and photographers over the years:

 

  • Home Page
  • Gallery
  • About Me
  • Clients showcases (Important for clients to see how well you respond to a brief)
  • Contact page


If you can manage it, add in a blog or a testimonial page as well, but make sure that you keep them updated. There's nothing as off-putting as old, stale content.

 

 

3. Reflect Your Style

 

 

The aesthetic choices you make on your site should give a good indication of your work. Make sure you choose a template in your website builder, the color palette and style carefully in order to give the right impression.

 

Brand consistency is key, so try and carry your choices across from your other platforms, both offline and online, into your branding.

 

 

4. Get Social

 

 

The fastest and easiest way to get noticed in 2017 is to have your work shared by people who like what they see using social media. When that happens, you can sit back and let the images do all the work for you.

 

Enable your site for social sharing with a comprehensive social bar that is easy to locate, and works properly. At the same time, include links to your own Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages so prospective customers can keep up to date with your work.

 

These four steps will set your website going in the right direction and ensure your site is effective, user-friendly and reflects who you are.