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Jan 28, 2019 10:41:45   #
Mncarpenter
 
rond-photography wrote:
Easy peasy setup - you are not creating a website. You just choose a template and upload photos.
Selling is easy, but no one has ever bought a photo on my site! The setup for sales is straight forward though. My site: www.rond-photography.smugmug.com


I just went to your smugmug site, and took a peek..awesome photos and was nice to see that you were using micro 4/3s for equipment. My question is, I looked for photos for sale and wasn’t able to find any way to purchase, maybe why you haven’t sold any?? Or is your site simply to showcase your work, and you provide potential clients with the link? Sorry if these are dumb questions, but I’m not too familiar with Smugmug or Zenfolio, for that matter

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Jan 28, 2019 11:17:27   #
brianmcnarch
 
not to piggyback onto the original question but: where can I find the least amount of compression. for example a facebook version of my image tends to look a little mushy-500px much better. what is the best outcome possible for web viewing which preserves the original image as close as possible to the native psd(in my case)file? does this differ from one website creation vendor to another?

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Jan 28, 2019 11:40:28   #
cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA
 
I am presently using SmugMug and I am very happy with it. I found it very easy to setup and maintain. As I sell a moderate number of photos, I use the $ 15/month plan. I do plan to (perhaps) upgrade and offer some of the things that the more expensive plan offers. The electronic commerce and order fulfillment works very well. I can recommend this site. Check it out (see signature).

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Jan 28, 2019 11:44:58   #
chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA
 
...I'm a 10 year guy with Smugmug and do enough selling to justify the cost. Their support is excellent, as are the associated services. What you get is *not* a website, per se, but you select a template which can be individualized. I have alot invested in uploaded images (actually use 'em for some storage, another way to justify cost) and, of course, my marketing such as it is, so won't be changing any time soon. I'm happy with the arrangement.

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Jan 28, 2019 12:29:47   #
Joe 88
 
You build a site worth over 1,000, great help if you need it. First thing is a domain name godaddy is the best for $.99 a year. I've had this for 10 years at $50 a year. Money back in the 1,000s. Try it for a year at a cost of less then a cup of coffee a day. You can be found on the web, display your art and sell it. show your customers there photos and make the sell right on line. You also need a paypal account. Keep your domain name short and sweet, mine is billybobnoveltyphotobooth.com or bbnpb.com for short. When you get all set up going to google and put your domain on all the FREE search's you can find. You have to have all this to say you in business. all so business cards form vistaprint.com This works

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Jan 28, 2019 12:41:04   #
CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska
 
I found Smugmug hopelessly difficult and confusing. I spent hours working on it and never got close to understand it. Most of the videos on line are old and assume you know the terminology they use. It was a most frustrating experience.
...Cam
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.

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Jan 28, 2019 13:24:06   #
Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI
 
CamB wrote:
I found Smugmug hopelessly difficult and confusing. I spent hours working on it and never got close to understand it. Most of the videos on line are old and assume you know the terminology they use. It was a most frustrating experience.
...Cam


Was this before or after they changed their templates (this was about 5 years ago).

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Jan 28, 2019 13:28:07   #
CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska
 
This was last month. Spent the money. Bought the program. Spent about 25 hours on it over two weeks. There is nothing intuitive about it. Gave it up. I’m usually good at stuff like this. It could be so much better.
...Cam
Cdouthitt wrote:
Was this before or after they changed their templates (this was about 5 years ago).

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Jan 28, 2019 14:14:04   #
tfblack Loc: Moraga, CA
 
I have been SmugMug subscriber for eight years, and I cannot say enough good things about them, especially customer support, which IMO is the best in ANY industry. I was tempted to switch to another portal when, several years ago, SmugMug changed platform architecture. After tire kicking Zenfolio, I decided to stick with SmugMug, figuring that switching to Zenfolio would have been a hassle. Another thing that impresses me about SmugMug is commitment to making “running” upgrades at no extra cost. Because I am hobbyist, not professional, I cannot speak to pros and cons of selling prints using SmugMug. Zenfolio or any other competing portal would have to promise me the moon (and perhaps a blissful afterlife) to lure me away.

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Jan 28, 2019 14:23:17   #
chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA
 
CamB wrote:
This was last month. Spent the money. Bought the program. Spent about 25 hours on it over two weeks. There is nothing intuitive about it. Gave it up. I’m usually good at stuff like this. It could be so much better.
...Cam


...well, obviously it's not a good fit for you. There're *many* who like it, including myself (does that fact make you wonder?). Yes, there are some difficult, usually small, problems, but I've always been able to get in touch with their great support staff to resolve the issue(s). <Shrug> Here's where YMMV comes into play. ;0)

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Jan 28, 2019 14:29:21   #
PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA
 
I have found Smugmug very simple to create and use. No designing, just choose a style and go. I have not attempted to sell so I can't comment on that.

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Jan 28, 2019 14:33:16   #
chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA
 
Joe 88 wrote:
You build a site worth over 1,000, great help if you need it. First thing is a domain name godaddy is the best for $.99 a year. I've had this for 10 years at $50 a year. Money back in the 1,000s. Try it for a year at a cost of less then a cup of coffee a day. You can be found on the web, display your art and sell it. show your customers there photos and make the sell right on line. You also need a paypal account. Keep your domain name short and sweet, mine is billybobnoveltyphotobooth.com or bbnpb.com for short. When you get all set up going to google and put your domain on all the FREE search's you can find. You have to have all this to say you in business. all so business cards form vistaprint.com This works
You build a site worth over 1,000, great help if y... (show quote)


...I am also planning on an individual site (in fact have the domain and hosting, etc) to augment, and eventually (gulp!) perhaps move on from Smugmug. For my pageantry, however, marketing and selling might get a little too complex...but the *art* side of things, well, that's a different animal!

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Jan 28, 2019 14:46:45   #
JRD3 Loc: Richmond, VA
 
Thanks to all for comments and suggestions. I think I have a good idea about what to do now. Much appreciated

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Jan 28, 2019 15:02:22   #
JW S
 
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

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Jan 28, 2019 15:05:13   #
duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa
 
rond-photography wrote:
Easy peasy setup - you are not creating a website. You just choose a template and upload photos.
Selling is easy, but no one has ever bought a photo on my site! The setup for sales is straight forward though. My site: www.rond-photography.smugmug.com


Selling is not easy. One cannot simply upload and wait for sales to happen. It takes marketing if you want the sales.

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