If you’re a budding photographer, one of the most critical tools you need is a gorgeous website to show off your work. More than ever before, people searching for products or services do so online, so the importance of having a solid web presence has never been greater.
Building a high-quality photography website has never been easier, assuming you have the right tools. But even with the right website building software, there are a number of critical steps you need to take to maximize your website’s effectiveness.
Use the Right Platform
If you search “photography website builder” online, you’ll find that there are dozens and dozens of companies that offer a variety of services for photographers. Some provide free templates that you can moderately customize for a website that looks okay, though looks like every other website out there at the same time. Other website building platforms are incredibly complex and require you to have an understanding of writing code. Still other photography website platforms are expensive, at least for most everyday photographers that don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on their website.
That’s why we recommend Photofolio as the go-to photography website platform. Not only was it designed by photographers for photographers, but it was also designed such that you don’t need a degree in website design to build yourself a stunning website. Photofolio makes use of large format photos, so when people view your site their screen is filled with your images regardless of the size of the device on which they view it. You can build a portfolio, create password-protected collections for clients, and customize virtually every aspect of the site from your logo to the fonts to the sizing and positioning of elements on the page.
Even better, Photofolio won’t cost you an arm and a leg. They have several plans, each with different levels of features, and all of which are friendly to your pocketbook. If you’re looking for a place to build yourself a gorgeous website and do so easily and without taking out a second mortgage to pay for it, Photofolio is it!
Keep It Simple
One of the rules of thumb for photography is to keep the composition simple - have a clear subject with supporting elements that help the viewer more deeply engage with that subject. Avoid clutter, lest the viewer get confused about what to look at in the image.
The same guidelines apply to creating a photography website. The subject - your images - should take center stage. Even if you have a ton of images, keep the site simple with excellent organization. Make it easy to navigate around the site. Help viewers get the information they seek by making things like your contact information or your rates easy to find and see on the page. Keep graphics simple and minimal - choose a plain background like pure white or black, such that your images appear to leap off the screen. Remember, the point of your website is to hook potential clients. You can’t do that if your site is messy and cluttered!
Make It Easy to Contact You
Generating leads is a critical aspect of building your business, so naturally you need to give potential clients every opportunity to get in touch with you as they peruse your website.
The easiest way to do this is to have a well-designed and easily accessible contact page. Taking a cue from the tip above, keep your contact page clean and simple so it’s clear exactly what information visitors need to input to contact you. Even more important, make the contact page highly accessible. Include a link to your contact page on every page on the website. You can put it in the navigation bar at the top, in the footer at the bottom, or both. Also think about having your phone number or email address appear next to your logo or in the header or footer of the site as well. Accessibility is the key to drawing in more business.
Show Them (and Tell Them) Who You Are
Your photos will say a lot to potential clients about who you are as a photographer. As noted above, having a gorgeous website from Photofolio that has large format images will help viewers get the visual information they need to help determine if you’re the right person for the job.
But beyond that, potential clients derive clues about you as a photographer from the things you write on your website. This isn’t limited to your about page or blog, either - even the boring details of pricing or photo packages can influence the manner in which customers perceive your work.
As a result, the copy on your website should ooze your personality. There should be no doubt about who you are and the type of work you do once someone reads what you have to say. Keep things conversational and warm - even if the topic doesn’t much lend itself to warmth (like the pricing information). Give viewers an idea of who you are by offering personal touches in your writing, be that an anecdote that describes your photography workflow, a favorite quote, or a story about a past client.
The point is that starting off with an excellent platform like Photofolio, keeping things simple, and making it easy for potential clients to contact you is a great start. What will really help you build an effective website is taking things just one step further and ensuring that the images you put on your site and the words you write give clients the clues they need to understand who you are as a photographer. If you can do these things, you should have a highly effective website that helps you draw in client after client!