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What are the best photography website designs?

Female photographer in front of waterfall - Iceland thinking of the best photography website designs

Designing a website for a photography business can be an exciting process; there are so many options in terms of layout, design and types of content that you could include. 

Building the right website for your business can be difficult, and with so many options you may fall into some bad web design habits, such as creating an overcrowded website. However, at Go SiteBuilder our ready made templates are designed to guide you every step of the way to help you create a professional and stylish website.

In a creative industry such as photography, showing creativity and flair in your web design is incredibly important. Without a well-conceived web design visitors may be discouraged from using your services or browsing through your work. Creating a website that displays your photographs beautifully and gives the visitors all the relevant information is vital. 

Key aspects to consider:

Web design can be confusing and overwhelming, especially if this is the first website you have designed. When designing a website, there are some key elements which you must think about before designing your website. The best photography businesses carefully consider these key components when designing their websites:

  • Web design – does your web design really reflect your business and your aesthetic?
  • Layout – is your website easy to use and navigate?
  • Portraying your business model – does your website show what kind of photography you offer?
  • Showing your work – what type of gallery layout do you want? For more inspiration read our blog on how to create a photo gallery.

For more information on what to include in your website check out our blog on what features you should include in your photography website. Below we are going to give some examples of the best examples of photography websites in different styles to help you design the best website for your business. 

Landscape Photography Website: Colin Prior Photography

Source: Colin Prior

This website is a stunning example of how great web design can show your photographs in their best light. The large header photograph is part of a slideshow that changes between equally beautiful landscape pictures. The layout is simple yet effective, with a clean minimalist aesthetic allowing the photographs to shine. 

Portrait Photography: Joe McNally

Source: Joe McNally Photography

This photography website clearly shows the type of photography that the company specialises in. There is a range of photographs on the homepage, immediately exposing visitors to the photographers style. The sidebar menu shows the various styles of photography that they specialise in. Although this layout may not be an option with many website builders, there are more simple ways to achieve the same look. For example using a collection of photographs in a gallery on your homepage will give a similar effect. 

Fashion Photography: The Fashion Camera

Source: The Fashion Camera

This fashion photographer has taken a slightly different approach to her website, by focusing on her personal connection to her work. This creates a connection between the visitor and the website owner. Certainly not a strategy every business may want to use but for this type of photography using your point of view can be useful. The muted colours and font create a stylish website with an effective design and layout. 

Art/Concept Photography: Shaw and Shaw

Source: Shaw and Shaw Photography

Shaw and Shaw’s photography website is a great example of how colours and unique design can elevate a website. This is particularly effective in this photography style of art or concept work, where aesthetic is so important. The multicolored menu draws the eye but doesn’t detract from the photograph above. The website mostly operates on a slideshow with a page of information at the end. Although not the most informative, the unique elements of this website make it memorable and successful. 

Wedding Photography: Holly Rose Weddings

wedding photography site homepage with married couple

Source: Holly Rose Weddings

The design for this wedding photography website is very effective. The colour scheme is muted and the design is minimalist. These soft design decisions create a beautiful wedding website which ties in with the photo shoot chosen as the header. The menu is simple and easy to navigate as a header menu. 

If you’re ready to build an amazing website for your photography business, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder. With a wide range of features, including multiple gallery options our simple website builder design means you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today!

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How to watermark your photos

Young woman using laptop at home to find out how to watermark photos

The internet is a complex place, and it can be extremely difficult to keep track of images once they’ve been uploaded. Although it is true that images you take yourself are automatically protected by copyright, once those images go online it is so easy for someone to copy or save your image and use it on their site – and you might not even realise that they’ve done it! We’ve already written a blog about stamping a copyright logo to your image, but these can be easily cropped off, whereas it’s impossible to use a watermarked photo without making it clear where the image came from.

What is a watermark?

Traditionally, a watermark is a translucent phrase or a logo embossed directly onto an image, meaning that both the watermark and the image are both still visible. Although we are talking about watermarks on digital images today, as a society we have been using watermarks for centuries; you’ll find them on banknotes, passports and reams of branded paper. In fact, the first practice of watermarking dates back to the Fabriano paper mill in Milan in 1282, when papermaking started to become a common practice. 

Nowadays, however, it’s possible to apply “digital watermarks” to your images. This means you don’t have to have something embossed on top of your image. It is invisible, but indelible; some providers like IMATAG change the pixel values themselves to encode a secret message, imperceptible to the human eye. Even if the image is cropped, scaled, colour-edited or compressed, the digital watermark will remain. 

Do you need a watermark?

If you have a photography website or are uploading your own photos on your website builder, then it’s a good idea to watermark them. They are your intellectual property, and especially if you are trying to develop a particular brand image with your photos, the last thing you want is someone else passing these images off as your own. 

Although visible watermarks can seem obtrusive, they are more likely to dissuade photo thieves from taking your image, whereas if you place a copyright logo in the bottom of the picture, it’s easy for someone to crop this out of the image. Creating a subtle but visible watermark can ease your mind and keep your photography safe. Invisible watermarks remove the issue of affecting the image, but you’ll have to manually check to see if people have used your photos on their websites and you normally have to pay a fee to do it. 

Watermark software

Visible watermarking

When creating visible watermarks for your images, you can choose between using paid or free software. Although paid photo editors like Adobe Photoshop have dedicated watermark tools, it’s not worth paying for the software unless you already use it for other purposes. You can even create a basic visible watermark in Microsoft Paint!

Make sure that you don’t use a watermark that is too faint or too small, as photo editors can remove these types of watermarks. However, if it is too obvious, then it will compromise the appearance and composition of the original photo. 

A+ Signature is available through the iTunes store, and allows you to easily add a watermark to your images. Marksta gives you various options to watermark your photos, so you can make sure it’s the right size and opacity for you. If you’re a Windows user, uMark or Watermark are also options that make it simple to add watermarks to your images. 

But what should you choose to add as a watermark? You can add the copyright logo, or your brand’s logo as a watermark, or a string of text; your name, business name or image description could work well here. 

Digital watermarking

Digital watermarking is invisible and adds data to the original file, meaning that the watermark remains on the image regardless of the image type you use or any image editing that takes place. This might be a good idea if you have a photography business and you don’t want your images to be compromised by a visible watermark. 

Unfortunately, most digital watermarking providers charge for this service. IceMark costs around £40 for an application that lets you watermark as many images as you like, or DigiMarc is a good option for large-batch corporate images but costs around £40 annually. 

How can I avoid watermarking and copyright issues?

If this all seems too complicated and you just want pictures to enhance your web design rather than to publicise your own photography, feel free to use copyright-free stock imagery from sites such as Pixabay or Unsplash. If you use our website builder, we have access to thousands of stock images that you can use to make your site look stunning in just a click!

Ready to get started with your website builder? With Go Sitebuilder, we have ready to go templates that will allow you to easily add your images and information in minutes so that your new site is professional, beautiful and most importantly – hassle free! Try our 14-day free trial today and get your business online.

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How can a photographer make money online?

Amazed woman looking at a Go Sitebuilder photography website on a smart phone which is making money online

You’ve taken the perfect shot. The lighting is good, the angles are on point and the image has captured everything you wanted it to. But where do you display such a stunning photograph online? As a professional photographer, there is endless demand for your work online: businesses, bloggers, and social media influencers all rely on professional photographers to advertise their content. 

Considering that 75% of shoppers rely on product photographs when shopping on an e-commerce store, your work can be high in demand amongst those who sell products online. But how do you get yourself out there, and make money online?

Build your portfolio  

Before you start putting together your portfolio, it’s important to ask yourself what your style is. By working out what kind of photography you enjoy, you can build your image in a way that’s individual and unique to you. Perhaps you have a certain way of editing your photos, or enjoy taking pictures of certain things: whatever you decide, it is important to remain consistent so that the person who views your portfolio can get a good idea as to what kind of professional photographer you are. 

When building your portfolio, don’t just throw together a bunch of images and let the viewer decide for themselves which ones are the best. By crafting your portfolio so that you only include your very best pieces of work, you are proving to the viewer that your photographs are worth investing in. 

Even the order you put your images in can be crucial – Brian Dilg, the head of the New York Film Academy, advised that the first image must be the best one out of all your photographs. 

Have a beautiful site design

Just as an artist tries to make their exhibition as aesthetic as possible, you want to display your images in a way that is visually appealing. As your aim as a professional photographer is to make money online and become more visible, people will be more likely to purchase your images for e-commerce purposes if you have a stunning website design. 

Luckily, to create a beautiful site design you don’t need to be an expert in coding: website builders such as Go Sitebuilder offer a huge range of ready to go website designs, enabling you to display your photographs in a way that is attractive to anyone who visits your site. 

According to the Stanford Web Credibility Research, the credibility of a company is 75% based on their website design – by displaying your images in an appealing way, you are not only able to show off your skills as a photographer, but you’re also telling them that you’re a professional who takes their work seriously, meaning they are more likely to want to invest in your work.

Tell a story 

Whilst a picture might be worth a thousand words, actually telling your personal story, or giving the visitor some information behind a certain photograph helps build a relationship between the site visitor and yourself. The best way to do this is by writing blogs: by writing about your inspiration behind a certain image, you can convey your passion for photography, telling the site visitor that you would be completely committed to delivering them the highest quality photos. 

Blogging is also an invaluable tool for SEO – if you want to increase your visibility on the internet, then including relevant keywords within your blog that are highly searched for means that Google is more likely to index your site, ranking you highly on its search engines. This means that you’re much more likely to see a higher traffic flow to your site and, by repeatedly blogging, Google knows to reindex your site, so that you’re much more likely to stay at a high position. 

Utilise social media 

Overlooking the importance of social media is a huge mistake: it is a free way to market your photography, once you’ve built up a good following. Considering that most social media users log into their accounts at least once a day, creating a strong social media platform is a fantastic way to not only draw in existing fans of your work, but to also reach out to new potential customers. 

By having a strong social media following, you’re showing that you are not only a professional photographer, but that your work is also popular, meaning you’re high in demand. This is an attractive prospect, especially for someone who wants to use your photography for e-commerce purposes, meaning that you’re much more likely to make money online. 

As you’ll want to focus on shooting the best photographs you can, you won’t want to spend endless hours building your own website from scratch. This is why Go Sitebuilder is one of the best website builders for those who don’t have endless hours of time on their hands: we offer ready to go sites that can be crafted to suit your own image. Our free 14-day trial means you can try Go Sitebuilder today, so that you can build your own site completely hassle-free! 

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How can I protect my photos from being stolen by strangers?

If you have your own online business or blogging platform, photos are a great way to market your services and add some visual aesthetic into your site. It’s important to make these images individual to you: people are much more likely to remember your name or brand if they have a certain image relating to your website stuck in their mind. 

However, it is incredibly easy for strangers to steal photos that you upload. This type of thievery doesn’t involve a masked fiend with a bag ready to swipe up your images – anyone can do it from anywhere in the world, safely hidden behind a computer screen. 

Protecting your photos prevents other people from taking your photo credit: if you’ve invested time or money into the perfect image for your website, then you don’t want anyone else taking advantage of all your hard work. In the online world, individuality is key, and protecting your photos ensures your pictures remain unique to you. 

Make it difficult to steal your photos 

Unfortunately, it is incredibly easy to steal photos: Stolen image finder Copytrack has reported that over 2.5 billion online images are taken illegally every day. However, if you make life more difficult for a stranger trying to steal your photos, you could deter them and prompt them to look for another image somewhere else. 

One of the ways that you can do this is by disabling the ‘right-click’ option when building your website. Although the image can still be screenshotted, this reduces the overall resolution of the image, leaving the photo thief with a low quality photo. This means it is a lot harder for people to recycle your images for their own commercial use: no one is going to want to buy a product with a low quality image on it. 

Add a copyright notice 

Considering you legally own any image that you’ve created, it isn’t mandatory for you to give a copyright notice to protect your images. Nevertheless, posting a copyright notice might act as a deterrent, especially if the person stealing the photo doesn’t realise they are actually doing anything wrong. Reminding people that you are the owner of the image might just be the thing that prompts someone to reconsider screenshotting your image for their own use. 

Adding a copyright notice is pretty easy: WordPress have suggested posting the following into the sidebar so that it is visible at all times.

“© [Full Name] and [Blog Name], [Current Year or Year Range]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Your Name] and [Your Blog Name] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.”

The trick is to ensure that this warning is big enough to see, but also not so in your face that it might distract visitors to your site, putting them off viewing what content you have to offer. 

Watermark your images 

Watermarking – which is where you print your details onto the image – is probably the safest bet when it comes to protecting your photos. Depending on where you position the watermark, you can keep your image protected even from crafty editors. Be aware that if you decide to insert your name in the bottom of the picture then it could be easily cropped out. 

However, if you put a semi-transparent watermark all over your image then your photo is less likely to be stolen by a stranger: even if the pic is pinched, you still receive the credit that you deserve. And, whilst it might detract from the beauty of the original image, you are giving people the information that they need to discover its original form.

If you opt to use stock images then you don’t have to worry about copyrighting your photos: these ready to go aesthetic pictures are great to use if you don’t have the time to source your own photos, but want to make your site as visually appealing as possible. As they are created by someone else who then allows third parties to use them, you aren’t the owner of the image, and therefore don’t have to worry about someone else stealing your images.

Where to upload your photos 

If you want to upload your own photos then it is important to have a smooth-running, easy to use website to post them onto. Go Sitebuilder is one of the best site builders in the UK, delivering ready to go websites at your fingertips. If you find yourself stretched for time, we offer a huge range of free stock images, allowing you to create the perfect website for you in a few clicks.

Our 14-day free trial means you can discover just how easy it is to build your dream site, completely free of charge!

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How do I know if a photo is copyrighted?

Woman looking at image on tablet. How do I know if a photo is copyrighted?

Using photos copied from the internet can be risky, and you could put yourself in danger of breaching copyright. Since the advent of the internet, it is so simple to right click and save an image, but to keep yourself safe you should never use that photo unless you know the regulations surrounding it! That’s what we’re here for – we’re going to let you know when an image is copyrighted, when it isn’t, and most importantly, when you can use it on your website.

Can you use any image from the web?

Quick answer – no! According to UK Law, when an image is created, it is copyright protected as the intellectual property of the creator. This is a process that happens automatically, so if you upload a picture on your website that you took, other people do not have the right to use it unless you give them permission. Copyright in the UK lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years from their death, but if the copyright has expired then you are free to use it.  

There are exceptions to copyright, which means you can use any image as long as it is used within limited situations. This includes non-commercial research, private study, and teaching. If you are using your website to sell a service, then you will be using photos for commercial use and copyright will apply. 

How can you tell if you can use a photo?

This is the tricky bit – if copyright is automatically applied without having to apply for it, there are no records on what is free to use. 

However, if a photo has a watermark (often the name of the company/creator written on the image), if it has the ⓒ symbol, or a caption that indicates ownership or sourcing, then it’s generally safe to assume this image is protected under copyright and you can’t use it. 

You might have found a picture that is free to use under the Creative Commons Licensing, but you’ll need to look at the wording in detail. Often these types of licenses are limited to non-commercial use. 

One good way to see if a photo is copyrighted is by reverse searching for the image. Right click on the image and select “copy image address”. Then paste this into Google Images or a site dedicated to reverse image search, like TinEye. This will show you where the image is used, and where it has come from. You can also install plugins for Firefox and Chrome to easily reverse search images. If it comes from a paid stock photo website like Adobe, then leave it be! 

A common question is whether you can use photos from social media, but in the UK, these pictures are still considered the intellectual property of the creator. Social media platforms do have terms in their contracts that mean they can reuse your content, but this doesn’t override existing copyright laws. Essentially, this means that the social media provider can re-use your material (for example, when someone shares your photo on their feed within the app) but that doesn’t mean that anybody can download your photo and pass it off as your own. 

How can you find copyright-free images?

If we’ve scared you, we didn’t mean to! It might seem like all photos are copyrighted, but there are loads of stock photos that are available to use. You can choose to pay for a stock photo provider, like Shutterstock or Adobe, but there are also loads of free stock photo websites that offer high quality photos – for nothing! Here is a list of some of our favourites, and you can use these images worry-free.

What happens if I use a copyrighted image on the web?

If you unknowingly use a photo that is copyright-protected, then you might be contacted and asked to purchase a one-off licence for the use of that photo. Or, if you have used more than one photo from the same creator, they may try and come to a commercial arrangement, where you can freely use their photos for an ongoing fee. 

In the worst case scenario, however, the creator could take legal action and take you to court. This usually ends up being very expensive, as the user will have to pay the licence of the photo, court expenses, and often financial compensation for the copyright infringement, as well as removing all photos by that creator from their site. If it is deemed that you deliberately infringed copyright, then there are criminal penalties. 

The best way to stay safe is never to use a photo if you’re not sure where it came from! If you don’t have a budget, you can use free stock images, but if you’re still on the hunt for a website builder to do so, why not try Go Sitebuilder? They have free access to thousands of stock photos so you won’t have to worry about copyright, as well as easy-to-use galleries and photo editors. Try our 14-day trial and see for yourself!

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How do I build a strong photography portfolio?

Female photographer building an image gallery on her website with a laptop

Building a photography portfolio isn’t just building a website to upload all of your favourite pictures and hoping that people will engage with them. There are many different approaches to exhibiting your photos in a way that will highlight the quality of your work, and we have put together a list of top tips so that your photography website will stand out from the crowd and showcase your skill. 

Take more photos

Get out there! The more photos you take, the more experience you get shooting different subjects and in different environments, which will help you develop your skill and creativity – check out these top tips on taking more interesting photos if you’re struggling for inspiration. If you’re just starting out in the photography business, you might need to take cheap or unpaid gigs to start with. Use your friends as models, shoot events for charity or ask to be a second shooter to professional photographers – but make sure you can use the event photos for your own portfolio! One tip – don’t shortchange yourself for too long. You may think you’re inexperienced, but offering free or extremely reduced rates devalues both your work and the profession at large. 

By putting yourself out there and trying new things, it will be easier for you to create your own style, which is a crucial element in designing your portfolio.

Think about your target audience

What are you making a photography portfolio for? Is it to get a job, start your own photography business, or just to exhibit your work in one place? This is key to understanding your audience, as you want to show them images that they want to see. If you are trying to get into wedding photography, for example, you don’t want to upload your pictures of scenery or floral close-ups, no matter how beautiful they are. Upload images that your audience will want to pay you to create. 

Select your featured images

This is never going to be easy, and it might take a long time – that’s ok. In a photography portfolio, you are only as good as your worst image, so this is a crucial step to wow your audience. 

Your website builder should have an image gallery to embed onto the site, but think of your featured image gallery as a sneak peek into your work, so don’t upload hundreds of pictures. Instead, choose a handful of photos that represent you as an artist. Great photography portfolios have varied images, but they are all in one style – this is what will set you apart. Don’t make it look like you are copying loads of different artists! Keeping all your photos within your personal style creates a strong visual identity and will help your clients remember your work and decide if you are the artist they’re looking for. 

Layout

Do some research on other photography portfolio websites. A clean, simple homepage is best as it makes your photos the main attraction. Don’t crowd the page either, make sure you leave some negative space between the images so that they stand out. If you are trying to showcase your versatility, put your photos in different categories – mixing newborn photos with late-night event photography can be jarring for a viewer. 

The order you put your images may seem arbitrary, but it is a critical decision! On a basic level, you want your first and last images to be some of your best, as these are what the viewer will remember most, but ideally you want to think about the order more deeply. You can order them according to mood, composition, colour or movement, but you want them to flow and tell a story. You want your visitors to be moved by your images, as this will make sure they don’t forget your work. 

Keep it simple

This is a delicate balance. You don’t want to fill your photography website with unnecessary elements or crowd your photos with a wall of text. However, you want your viewers to have an emotional connection with your images. Include a short caption describing the photo and where it was taken for each image, but if you have a short sentence-long story behind the photo that adds to the image, post that as well.

You are not alone!

As a photographer, it’s easy to stare at your photos so long you can’t work out if they’re good or if you just have a personal connection with them. Ask for feedback as much as you can, from friends, family, professional photographers or even someone you trust in your target market. Ask them how your photos make them feel, and whether they have questions about them they want to be answered. 

Beautiful images, beautiful website

If you’re still looking for a website builder to showcase your photos, then Go Sitebuilder is a great option! With beautiful themes preloaded onto the website builder and image gallery plugins just a click away, you can have a professional photography portfolio website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today to see how you can make your photos stand out against the competition.

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How to edit the images you use for your website

How to edit the images you use for your website

The visual aspect of website design can attract or turn away visitors, therefore when creating your website it is important to choose images that create an impact and relate to your brand.  Rather than just focusing on the content of the images, however, it’s vital to make sure that you take into account other aspects, such as file type and quality to really highlight your website and make it stand out from your competitors. Here are some considerations we think are really important when ensuring your website leaves a lasting impression.

Think about the quality of your images 

The quality of your images can significantly impact the way customers view your website and your brand. High-quality images imply a professional service and instil more trust in your brand for customers than images of low quality. The best ways to achieve high-quality images is either by taking them yourself (see our article on How to Take Great Product Photos) or by using stock images to ensure the quality is high. 

Know the type of file you need to use

When adding images to your website it is important to know the type of file you need to use. Generally, this is a choice between a PNG file and a JPG/JPEG file. A PNG file is a larger file, which creates higher quality images than a JPG but can slow your site speed down if used too often. A JPG file, however, is used more frequently as the file size is smaller; the only compromise is that its image quality is slightly lessened. 

Think about composition  

A good website will have images which engage the visitor and mean something to the brand or subject matter. Therefore the composition (how the image is ‘staged’ and shown to the viewer) should be taken into account when selecting your final images. A simple crop can change the focus of an image and make it more relevant when building your website. The built-in image editor on Go Sitebuilder is a perfect addition when cropping your images as you can visualise how small changes can impact how the image is shown on your website.

What about colours, filters and stickers?

Depending on your brand image, aspects such as colours, filters and stickers can portray the personality of your brand. For example, a travel website may benefit from brightly coloured images to show locations in the best light. Whereas a beauty website may have more use for filters.

If you are looking to build a website for your company, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder! Our simple design means you can have a professional-looking website up and running in minutes, and we even have an image editor built into our website editor. Try our 14-day free trial today!

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How to make a successful wedding photography website

How to make a successful wedding photography website

If you are a wedding photographer, your most important tool – apart from your camera – is your website. This is where potential clients come to see your previous work, decide if you are right for them and check out your prices. The success of your business could depend on it.

We’ve written this guide to help you make sure your website stands out from the crowd and brings you more clients, more visibility, and more revenue!

Assess the competition 

Before you start anything, have a look at what others in your industry are doing. In fact, while you do your research, make a list of wedding photographers that you think are leading in the market. What are they doing well, and most importantly – what do you think they could improve on? If there is anything you think their website is missing, make sure to make a note of it so you include it in yours. 

Looking at the competition will help you read the market and identify any gaps that you could fill. Develop your niche – if everyone looks like they’re doing the same thing, highlight what you do differently, whether that’s elopements, large ceremonies or destination weddings. 

Build your brand

Once you’ve decided on your niche, then you can work on your branding. This includes your name, logo, colour palette and typography; if you develop them together then they will look more harmonious on the website. You don’t need to hire a graphic designer to make a logo either, as free online tools like Makr and Looka can help you make your own. 

To help you do this, write notes on the service you provide, your target audience and your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). This will help you direct your creativity and make sure that your website accurately reflects you and your brand. 

Showcase your talents

This is one of the most important parts of your website, if not the most important. The gallery of photos that you choose to showcase are going to be the deciding factor as to whether a potential client contacts you. Choose the pictures that best reflect your brand and your USP, making sure that they are both inclusive and diverse. 

Another consideration is the speed your photos load at – a slow-loading site is a sure-fire way to put visitors off, but you also want to avoid having low-quality pictures in your gallery. Make sure the web host you use is fast and efficient to be able to find a happy medium. 

Tell your story

As a photographer, you are the individual, the company and the brand. Clients are looking to work with someone that they would be happy to have at their wedding, so your story is a tool you can use to make you stand out against the competition. 

Be approachable, relatable and engaging, involving elements of your life that might make it more likely for you to forge a connection with your potential clients. At a loss? Ask your friends and family for qualities they think make you unique and incorporate this into your story. 

Gather testimonials

Another intrinsic part of your website that will help you get conversions are testimonials from previous clients. Although they are difficult to obtain when your business is young, they are essential to developing client trust. 

After each wedding, make sure you contact your clients and ask for a testimonial – if they liked your services then they will be happy to write a glowing review! This is the clients’ big day, and a stamp of approval from previous clients will show them that you won’t let them down. 

Create a clear website navigation

This might seem daunting, but you just need to look at your website as if you were a potential customer. The first page needs to show off your photography and your brand, and have the information most relevant for your client – what type of weddings do you specialise in and where are you based?

Other crucial elements to include are a clear navigation menu that in one click can lead them to your previous work, testimonials, pricing, and contact details.

Start a blog

Blogging is a powerful marketing tool for everyone trying to expand their business. By including keywords relevant to your business, Google will rank your website higher in its search engine, making it easier for people to find you. 

You can use the blog in various ways, either sharing client stories, posting industry-related news, or sharing top tips or guides for a seamless wedding experience. This will place you as a leader in your industry, and help potential clients relate to you as an individual.  Be prepared to update your blog regularly though, as this will help with Google rankings and make your website look relevant and up to date. 

Are you ready to make your own wedding photography website? At Go Sitebuilder you can build a website with minimum hassle. Our pre-designed sections help you drag and drop your logos and pictures where you want them, and there are image galleries ready to showcase your wedding photography! Try our 14-day free trial today and see just how amazing your website could look.

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What are some good online photo editing sites?

Close up, side angle view of a laptop on a desk displaying some photo editing software

If you’re looking to edit your photos, but you don’t want to waste precious hard drive space downloading software to do so, then try out these photo editors that you can run directly from your browser! They’re fast and convenient, and perfect if you’re editing images that you will use online – if you’re building a website for example, or posting to social media. However, bear in mind that if you’re printing images in high quality, you might be better off downloading image editor software.

Fotor

Fotor is a simple and fast photo editor that will help your photos stand out from the crowd. It has a huge variety of filters that you can choose that can help fix standard image issues – like low light or overexposure – without having to get into the complex world of saturation, hue and contrast. It also has a “batch” tool, meaning you can apply the same filter or edits to a group of photos – perfect if you want to cover up a recurring issue across multiple images.

One of the negatives of Fotor is that it doesn’t have the tools to work on specific areas that need retouching, which lets it down a little. 

Canva

A basic photo editor, Canva is both streamlined and fast, and has a super-simple editing interface. If you’re brand-new to editing photos and are looking for pre-loaded filters and templates, then this is for you! You can also adjust brightness and colour, and it includes tools to crop, resize, flip and rotate your image. 

Canva also includes backgrounds and other graphics to inspire you, giving you the tools to create original graphics for your company. The free version includes 1GB of free cloud storage, but if you run out of space you can upgrade to the paid option. 

Pixlr X

If you’re looking for a little more than just adding filters and playing with brightness, Pixlr X is one of the more advanced online photo editors you can find. You can combine multiple images, sharpen and blur images, but unlike most online photo editors, Pixlr X also supports layers, giving you a lot of freedom to play around with different edits before choosing the best one.

It runs on HTML 5 rather than Flash, meaning it will be compatible with any modern browser, and has a sleek interface that is slightly more complex than Canva and Fotor, but reflects its capacity for more advanced tasks.

If you’re building a website, you need to make sure your images impress – low-quality graphics are a sure-fire way to put visitors off! Try out Go Sitebuilder’s 14-day free trial to take advantage of our simple interface that helps you create a beautiful website with just a few clicks – there is even an image editor within the builder!

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How to edit the images you use for your website

Caucasian male with a long beard is sat at a desk in front of a laptop editing photos with camera equipment surrounding the laptop

The visual aspect of website design can attract or turn away visitors, therefore when creating your website it is important to choose images that create an impact and relate to your brand.  Rather than just focusing on the content of the images, however, it’s vital to make sure that you take into account other aspects, such as file type and quality to really highlight your website and make it stand out from your competitors. Here are some considerations we think are really important to take into account to make your website leave a lasting impression.

Think about the quality of your images 

The quality of your images can significantly impact the way customers view your website and your brand. High-quality images imply a professional service and instil more trust in your brand for customers than images of low quality. The best ways to achieve high-quality images is either by taking them yourself (see our article on How to Take Great Product Photos) or by using stock images to ensure the quality is high. 

Know the type of file you need to use

When adding images to your website it is important to know the type of file you need to use, generally, this is a choice between a PNG file and a JPG/JPEG file. A PNG file is a larger file, which creates higher quality images than a JPG but can slow your site speed down if used for every image. A JPG file, however, is used more frequently as the file size is smaller; the only compromise is that its image quality is slightly lessened. 

Think about composition  

A good website will have images which engage the visitor and mean something to the brand or subject matter. Therefore the composition (how the image is ‘staged’ and shown to the viewer) should be taken into account when selecting your final images. A simple crop can change the focus of an image and make it more relevant when building your website. The built-in image editor on Go Sitebuilder is a perfect addition when cropping your images as you can visualise how small changes can impact how the image is shown on your website.

Aspects such as colours, filters and stickers

Depending on your brand image, aspects such as colours, filters and stickers can portray the personality of your brand. For example, a travel website may benefit from brightly coloured images to show locations in the best light, whereas a beauty website may have more use for filters.

If you are looking to build a website for your company, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder! Our simple design means you can have a professional-looking website up and running in minutes, and we even have an image editor incorporated in our software. Try our 14-day free trial today!