# Smugmug, Zenfolio, or other...???



## Majeed Badizadegan

Time to build a website. I'm torn between Smugmug and Zenfolio right now. I'm doing the trials for both. 

First impressions: 
I really don't like the SmugMug site building interface. Everything seems buried deep in menus, and customization feels difficult and clunky. I think Zenfolio is more workable, and also happens to be a bit cheaper. 

I'd like to customize a portfolio, some collections, and allow users to buy directly through the site. I will probably fulfill my own orders, but haven't fully decided on that. 

Your input is appreciated.


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## Brinr

I use Zenfolio. It's cheap and you can do all the things you've requested.


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## 12sndsgood

Im currently using zenfolio and havnt had many issues with it. i like the purchasing setup, its pretty easy to navigate and purchase, the setup was pretty easy to do for a beginner (me for sure) and I liked the layout. I never used smugmug as a site personally. but at times when ive navigated it, I didn't much care for the layout.


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## kathyt

None of the above. ProPhoto Blogs: Blog, site, and portfolio in one More expensive up front, but then no more money after that. I am having mine designed right now. I am sick of monthly fees.


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## runnah

Build a real site then plug smugmug or zenfolio into it. Gives you more flexibility.


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## runnah

runnah said:


> Build a real site then plug smugmug or zenfolio into it. Gives you more flexibility.



And by plugin I mean the ordering functionality.


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## ronlane

I'm just reading for information on this. I can't suggest any of them. (So I choose BACON!!!!!!!!)


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## manicmike

I hate the smugmug interface. Zenfolio is easier to set up and manage, IMO.


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## Forkie

Squarespace have now integrated e-commerce into their system.  I'm just waiting for it to be released in the UK


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## Majeed Badizadegan

Brinr said:


> I use Zenfolio. It's cheap and you can do all the things you've requested.





12sndsgood said:


> Im currently using zenfolio and havnt had many issues with it. i like the purchasing setup, its pretty easy to navigate and purchase, the setup was pretty easy to do for a beginner (me for sure) and I liked the layout. I never used smugmug as a site personally. but at times when ive navigated it, I didn't much care for the layout.





manicmike said:


> I hate the smugmug interface. Zenfolio is easier to set up and manage, IMO.



My first impressions mirror these comments.

To everyone else, thanks. Zenfolio seems like the clear choice for customizing and general usability. 

@kathy ill look at it but never heard of it before 

@runnah not ready to build a site from scratch yet.


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## runnah

Rotanimod said:


> @runnah not ready to build a site from scratch yet.



too bad you don't know anyone who could build it for you at very reasonable rates...


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## Majeed Badizadegan

runnah said:


> too bad you don't know anyone who could build it for you at very reasonable rates...


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## runnah

There is a method to my madness


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## Majeed Badizadegan

kathythorson said:


> None of the above. ProPhoto Blogs: Blog, site, and portfolio in one More expensive up front, but then no more money after that. I am having mine designed right now. I am sick of monthly fees.



No more money except domain and hosting fees, right? What does that cost you a month?


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## painterskip

I've been with SmugMug for the last 15 months or so....or maybe it's been 27 months....I forget. Regardless, after looking at that ProPhoto thing, I may say goodby to SmugMug.
The one thing I hate about SmugMug is, as has been mentioned here, the interface. It's looks cool. And the people are nice. But it's somewhat difficult to use, especially if you have a lot of images and a lot of folders. That part, trying to organize your stuff, is downright infuriating. At least it is to me and has been since the beginning. And it's not like I'm a noob at computer stuff....not by a long shot. I build my own web sites, do my own graphic design. And I host my own sites. What I wanted was the online ordering part. 
And between this thread, after seeing ProPhoto, and just today receiving my first order from the ProDPI lab, I'm not sure I'll order from SmugMug anymore. 

As for ZenFolio...I've heard both positive and negative comments about  them. The galleries I've seen looked very plain to me though. I'm guessing that they have customization features. I just wasn't impressed.


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## The_Traveler

kathythorson said:


> None of the above. ProPhoto Blogs: Blog, site, and portfolio in one More expensive up front, but then no more money after that. I am having mine designed right now. I am sick of monthly fees.



does pro photo have purchase interface?


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## Majeed Badizadegan

I'm finding that zenfolio adds a lot of contrast to thumbnails in galleries, effectively crushing the blacks and making pictures look bad. I've emailed support on the issue and will keep this thread updated with their response. 

They claim that when an image is reduced to thumbnail size adding contrast makes it look better. But it's too much in a lot situations and is misrepresenting the photo.

This is a known customer complaint since may of 2011, and a bit of a deal breaker for me. May be looking elsewhere.


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## Devinhullphoto

It's great being a graphic designer. I can make my website however I want and make it do whatever I want and all I gotta pay for is hosting.


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## Majeed Badizadegan

Devinhullphoto said:


> It's great being a graphic designer. I can make my website however I want and make it do whatever I want and all I gotta pay for is hosting.



Yes, that's awesome. But paying someone else to do that is sometimes a better use of time than trying to learn it from the ground up yourself . (For the normal, non graphic designer)


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## Devinhullphoto

Rotanimod said:


> Yes, that's awesome. But paying someone else to do that is sometimes a better use of time than trying to learn it from the ground up yourself . (For the normal, non graphic designer)



True. Lol


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## Tee

Rotinamod- your work deserves something better than smugmug or zenfolio.


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## roicead

i use zenfolio - Retroreflectography
my only issue with zf is that when you contact customer support (who is incredibly fast with a response) they expect you to do the legwork.  i recently contacted them to say a client sent me a url.  it opened up one photo on the computer, and a different photo on the smart phone.  they acknowledged there was a bug and they duplicated the results.  then they wanted me to check on different browsers and get back to them.  i'm paying them, they should do that sort of thing.

anyway, i've heard good things about Photography Website Designs - Editable Websites for Photographers and Professional Websites for Photographers | PhotoDeck


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## kathyt

Rotanimod said:


> kathythorson said:
> 
> 
> 
> None of the above. ProPhoto Blogs: Blog, site, and portfolio in one More expensive up front, but then no more money after that. I am having mine designed right now. I am sick of monthly fees.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No more money except domain and hosting fees, right? What does that cost you a month?
Click to expand...

You have never heard of ProPhoto Blogs before? Oh my. They are super popular and highly rated. Once my site is done it will cost me only a couple bucks a month from BlueHost.
Also, if I were you, I would *always *fill your own orders, keep that profit margin higher, and use Shootproof for sales. It is super cheap, if not free if you have less then 100 images for sale at a time.


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## Majeed Badizadegan

Tee said:


> Rotinamod- your work deserves something better than smugmug or zenfolio.




That's really nice of you to say. Do you have any recommendations? 



roicead said:


> i use zenfolio - Retroreflectography
> my only issue with zf is that when you contact customer support (who is incredibly fast with a response) they expect you to do the legwork.  i recently contacted them to say a client sent me a url.  it opened up one photo on the computer, and a different photo on the smart phone.  they acknowledged there was a bug and they duplicated the results.  then they wanted me to check on different browsers and get back to them.  i'm paying them, they should do that sort of thing.
> 
> anyway, i've heard good things about Photography Website Designs - Editable Websites for Photographers and Professional Websites for Photographers | PhotoDeck



I will check those links out. 

Funny that you mention it: when I contacted them about the thumbnail issue they asked me to  install Safari to make sure it wasn't a browser color configuration issue. But they could've just easily clicked on the link I provided and seen exactly what I was talking about. 



kathythorson said:


> You have never heard of ProPhoto Blogs before? Oh my. They are super popular and highly rated. Once my site is done it will cost me only a couple bucks a month from BlueHost.
> Also, if I were you, I would always fill your own orders, keep that profit margin higher, and use Shootproof for sales. It is super cheap, if not free if you have less then 100 images for sale at a time.



No I haven't . I hadn't heard of zenfolio either before I started looking at all this. 

Pretty disappointing process so far. Can't believe smugmug has such confusing, crappy menus on the back end. I also can't believe zenfolio calls itself a photo website, but adds a crap ton of contrast to every thumbnail they generate without the option to reverse it.

Your site isn't done yet? 

Ill take a serious look at both PPB and shootproof.


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## kathyt

Rotanimod said:


> Tee said:
> 
> 
> 
> Rotinamod- your work deserves something better than smugmug or zenfolio.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's really nice of you to say. Do you have any recommendations?
> 
> 
> 
> roicead said:
> 
> 
> 
> i use zenfolio - Retroreflectography
> my only issue with zf is that when you contact customer support (who is incredibly fast with a response) they expect you to do the legwork.  i recently contacted them to say a client sent me a url.  it opened up one photo on the computer, and a different photo on the smart phone.  they acknowledged there was a bug and they duplicated the results.  then they wanted me to check on different browsers and get back to them.  i'm paying them, they should do that sort of thing.
> 
> anyway, i've heard good things about Photography Website Designs - Editable Websites for Photographers and Professional Websites for Photographers | PhotoDeck
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I will check those links out.
> 
> Funny that you mention it: when I contacted them about the thumbnail issue they asked me to  install Safari to make sure it wasn't a browser color configuration issue. But they could've just easily clicked on the link I provided and seen exactly what I was talking about.
> 
> 
> 
> kathythorson said:
> 
> 
> 
> You have never heard of ProPhoto Blogs before? Oh my. They are super popular and highly rated. Once my site is done it will cost me only a couple bucks a month from BlueHost.
> Also, if I were you, I would always fill your own orders, keep that profit margin higher, and use Shootproof for sales. It is super cheap, if not free if you have less then 100 images for sale at a time.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> No I haven't . I hadn't heard of zenfolio either before I started looking at all this.
> 
> Pretty disappointing process so far. Can't believe smugmug has such confusing, crappy menus on the back end. I also can't believe zenfolio calls itself a photo website, but adds a crap ton of contrast to every thumbnail they generate without the option to reverse it.
> 
> Your site isn't done yet?
> 
> Ill take a serious look at both PPB and shootproof.
Click to expand...

I am using a Photobiz site right this second.  I will go live with my new ProPhoto site hopefully by August 6 after I get back from Mexico if there are no more revisions needed. You might like Photobiz, but it is more monthly.


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## Light Guru

Check out squarespace it is extremely easy to create a website with. They offer a 30 day free trial so why not try it. If you end up signing up for it you get a custom domain name when you do.


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## roblumba

Light Guru said:


> Check out squarespace it is extremely easy to create a website with. They offer a 30 day free trial so why not try it. If you end up signing up for it you get a custom domain name when you do.



I've built my own website with Expression Engine and hooked in various plug-ins, etc. It's a lot of work to build templates from the ground up. And now I'm faced with the reality that most people like to browse on mobile devices and I don't have the time or energy to build and test mobile versions of my site. I'm seriously looking at something like squarespace because they do testing for various devices. That's very valuable, especially as devices change and technology changes, keeping your website up-to-date is a maintenance choir that takes time away from other things. 

Sure, you can have someone build it for you, but it may become outdated. If you are prepared to pay another design fee in the future to get a revamp of your site, then go ahead. I would certainly caution someone from building it themselves. It may look and function good today, but what about 4 or 5 years from now. You should be prepared to relearn the latest coding standards and how to take advantage of new widgets and such that make he UI more up-to-date. And then you need to think about testing on various mobile devices! 

Perhaps in the future the entire web will be more unified such that there will be no need for desktop vs. mobile templates and testing.


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