| Author |
Message |
    
joy
Citizen
Username: Joy
Post Number: 400
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 13, 2006 - 4:04 pm: | 
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I need a website for my yet to be successful photog business. What do I need to know/do? What questions do I need to ask? What can I save on and what do I really need to spend $ on? (Did I mention the yet to be successful part?) At this time the domain name is still available. I'm not totally cluess, but pretty close. Thanks in advance. |
Project 37
Citizen
Username: Project37
Post Number: 9
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Monday, March 13, 2006 - 4:57 pm: |
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Hey there,
The first place to start is:
"What exactly do you want your website to do?"
I'm guessing that you're setting up a site for portrait and/or event photography (e.g., weddings)? Do you want a basic portfolio? Do you want a storefront/ordering setup to sell prints? Do you want a section to provide news updates?
I'd look around at some other photography business sites and make some notes as to what you like and don't like in terms of how the sites operate. Once you figure out exactly what works for you, then it's that much easier to go about building your own space.
Obtaining domains and server space is pretty straightforward - the latter is dependent on how much content your site will hold. Depending on what you need (which I'm not entirely sure about from your post), you may not have to spend that much money.
In my case, I wanted a personal website to host a blog and some personal photos. I was able to use Blogger to render my entries and a great freeware application called JAlbum to render my images. The only things I spent money on were the server space and domain name (a couple hundred bucks total).
Hope that's a helpful start. Happy to answer other questions if I can, and I'm sure others will have their own insight to offer.
-Brian |
Eric
Citizen
Username: Ericactive
Post Number: 86
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Monday, March 13, 2006 - 4:58 pm: |
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I pm'd you. Please let me know if you received it. |
joy
Citizen
Username: Joy
Post Number: 401
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 13, 2006 - 7:43 pm: |
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P37 - I want to have a place to send people to see a sample of my work. An online portfolio. Contact info etc...At sometime in the near-ish future - yes - to be able to order prints. I have been looking at sites - but haven'y decided on a 'look' yet.
What does server space go for? What do I look for to determine a solid host? Do you pay per hit?
Eric - thx - emailed you back.
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Project 37
Citizen
Username: Project37
Post Number: 10
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Monday, March 13, 2006 - 9:03 pm: |
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For an easy-to-use portfolio utility, I have yet to find one as wonderful as JAlbum (www.jalbum.net). It's 100% free, no catch (no spyware, etc.). There are tons of skins that let you customize its look, giving your photos more "pop." Check it out and see what you think. I use the "BananaAlbum" skin, which creates a pretty cool-looking presentation.
You want a host that's good about minimizing downtime and fast at responding to your service issues. I'm reasonably savvy with computers, but there's a lot that I don't know about how servers work. My hosting service was great about getting me set up, patiently answering my questions. I run a low traffic site, but I've never experienced any downtime issues.
They also had a limited time offer of 1GB's worth of server space with a 25GB monthly bandwidth for a one time fee of $300 (what they called a "lifetime plan"). It's way more than I need right now, but it's nice to have the extra space for temporary storage every so often. Not sure offhand about average prices - you'd have to shop around.
You don't really pay "per hit", rather the bandwidth your site requires (i.e., how much data your monthly visitors are viewing). Probably best to find a host that'll let you start with a small limit and allow you to adjust as you build more awareness of your site and generate more traffic.
Again, check out JAlbum as a possible presentation tool. At the very least, it might be a good starting point if you want to get your pictures online quickly and easily.
Hope that helps!
-Brian |
Czele
Citizen
Username: Czele
Post Number: 83
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 4:40 pm: |
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check out http://www.luckybirdsmedia.com
Local guy does good work and will walk you through the whole process. |
Jgberkeley
Citizen
Username: Jgberkeley
Post Number: 4492
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 16, 2006 - 9:07 pm: |
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Joy,
Contace Jamie or Dave about hosting services and space.
They offer a pretty good deal and take care of most of they stuff that I do not want to know.
Later,
George |
joy
Citizen
Username: Joy
Post Number: 405
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 5:53 pm: |
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I will definately check out Dave and Jamie. I like local. But right now - I still need some education - it will make the process easier, and its stuff I need to learn about anyway.
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