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Making the most out of your photography website

Making the most out of your photography website

A website is a valuable digital tool that allows you to show your work to a large audience and to introduce yourself. Whether you’re creating your first photo website or looking to dive back into it to update it, here are some tips for making the most out of it.

Photo by Aleksi Tappura on Unsplash

Keep it simple

A good photo website doesn’t need to be complex to be effective. A simplified tree structure that’s easy to understand and read, with one or two tabs, can be more than enough. If you need more than that to better present your work, stick to a basic theme to start with. Your website should be visual, but it is your images you want to showcase, not the rest. That shouldn’t stop you from customizing it to your liking, but the less frills, the more the user can focus on your photos, and this can make all the difference. A simple interface also makes it easier to update your site anytime you need to.

Be strict in the way you select your photos

It can be hard at times to know which images to showcase on your website. We recommend that you make a fairly strict selection of photos to feature in your gallery, especially if you want to sell your work. Selecting only the best images is essential for showing what you are capable of, and it avoids confusing the user with mediocre or experimental photos. If your photo site is aimed at a professional target audience, you can separate your galleries into two parts, for instance, with one gallery specially devoted to your personal work in progress, which can show off another artistic facet. Either way, choose quality over quantity. You will make a much stronger impact.


Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Introduce yourself

While your images showcase your photographic work and provide concrete insight into your artistic and professional vision, it’s also important to create a page on which to introduce yourself with essential information such as name or pseudonym and your contact information. Don’t hesitate to talk about your past experience, your overall vision of photography, and your way of working, in order to provide additional information to users and make them want to follow you.

Picking a domain name

Whether you opt for a paid or free platform to create your website, we recommend choosing a clear and concise domain name, so that users can easily find you on the Internet. This could be your full name, your pseudonym, a pun, your company name, etc. The main thing is finding the domain name that isn’t already taken and that is easily identifiable for your customers and anyone wishing to check out your work. You’ll have to pay for a domain name, but this will lend more credibility and professionalism to your website. It is therefore an element that should not be overlooked in order to properly promote your work. 


Photo by lalo Hernandez on Unsplash

Linking your website to social media

Social media platforms are also an important component. They allow you to easily show your images for free and keep your followers posted on what you’re doing. So remember to link your website to your social media accounts, so that users can easily switch between them and follow you on a daily basis. You can integrate your Instagram image gallery directly onto your website or simply provide a link via the logos. You are free to choose what suits you best. If you do not have social account, remember to keep your users informed of your current activity and news via a newsletter, for example.

In conclusion

A photo website is an important interactive tool, a gallery that showcases your images and your overall work as a photographer. Opt for simplicity and efficiency, select your images carefully and take the time to introduce yourself so that users can learn more about you, but more importantly so that they can easily contact you. For more credibility and to make it easier to find you online, choose a domain name that immediately identifies you and, last but not least, remember to link your website to your social media accounts so that users can follow you and find your images on a daily basis, especially if you’re active there.

By Céline Nebor

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