JRD3 wrote:
Interested in specific answers to a couple of questions regarding this service:
Website - is the creation of a website easy to do and does not require technical knowledge?
Commerce - if you are using this site to sell your images, how is the ease of business? What problems have you encountered, if any?
Would very much appreciate specific knowledge of these two points. I am aware that some of its terms and conditions have changed, but I am ok with that.
Thanks.
I've been using SmugMug for years. Here is my take regarding your questions
1. The creation of you "site" starts with a standard template from the choices they provide. You can make changes as you wish to make it customizable to you. That includes allowing you to change your homepage background photo, add in your bio,........ basically there are a lot of options that you can tackle.
....... Note: I got frustrated with it and kept it simple. At one time, I would have paid someone to tweek it for me..... But to be fair, the concept of Zenfolo or Wix, or Squarespace would have been much worse (for me)
2) selling your images is EASY for you. The buyer however, is offered options that can be confusing. If you post the same pic cropped as a 4x6 and 8x10,...... (a reasonable decision if you shoot events, people, portraits, weddings... etc)..... the buyer might unknowingly select the 8x10 to purchase 4x6's... And struggle with the cropping results....
...... Note: It's best to sit with your client & pre-explain the shopping process or just upload everything as a single image in Full Frame and let the buyer crop.
3) SmugMug (at least as I know it) is not like Flickr, where users are notified of new uploads by their favorite artists, or random people just browse around looking ..... Be prepared to market yourself though other Social Media outlets, including Flickr
....... Note: SmugMug recently purchased Flickr and time will tell how these two different sites blend together
4) Pricing - the Different Levels of SmugMug determine your pricing structure. Each higher tier level costs you more in subscription price per year.
....... a. You make zero and price and print company is set by SmugMug
b. You set a price for each print size and item - Site Wide
c. You can set different prices for different Galleries, select from different print companies, etc.
d. I can't remember but somewhere there is a 4th option..... But if you've researched it, it's something you have seen yourself. It's probably related to using a xyz.smugmug.com address or xyz.yourdomainname.com
5. My take on the site:
...... a. You have to market your business to sell prints
b. Creating a customized site takes patience
c. Your avg client, even at the basic cost of $0.19 for a 4x6, is not buying prints these days ... Luckily, you can sell "downloads" too
d. The print order menu can be confusing for some
e. Making whole Folders or Individual Galleries visible only to you or making them password protected is a plus
d. Unlimited Storage is a huge plus.
e. Sharing links with your client is simple simple simple
f. UPLOADS LINK - allowing your client or family to upload images to a Gallery is super cool!...
g. Did I mention, that during this age of Facebook, people don't buy prints??
Hope this helps
J