Posted by Mike Maples on January 2, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Let me start by saying I'm a techno-moron so please type you answers slowly and use small words
My website at www.maplesphoto.com is a cookie-cutter affair thru GoDaddy/Website Tonight and I think it is OK so far but I want to improve it. I still host some photos thru Photobucket on Val's pages and I toyed with album/gallery creation software with Web Gallery Wizard PRO on my pages with OK results. You can see examples on the website by selecting one of my galleries.
I would like your recommendations for web album/gallery building software. The one I've used creates a standalone gallery folder with all required subfolders which I can simply FTP to another domain I have. I then attach it to the website via a link embedded in the appropriate photo. I need something easy to use that produces nicer results. Specifically, I wish the displayed main photo was larger on the page but that is not adjustable thru the SW I currently have.
You might want to check out Foliolink or Livebooks. Plug and chug template companies with very nice site designs. All you do is size your images to the template and upload them to their management software where you control the fine details there. Very simple and very professional looking.
Posted by Mike Fisher on January 2, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Being a tech type of person I did at first my own web site writing the HTML as a standalone app and then using MS FrontPage. Later I found that purchasing a template already written with CSS. Currently I buy my templates from Allwebco Design which you can find at www.allwebdesign.com.
Their template is a full web site with the directories and flash script. What you need to do is add the copy and photos. Reasonably priced from $15 to $125 with some including a PayPal shopping cart.
Posted by Robert Fisher on January 3, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Mike, do you have Lightroom? If so, it can create decent web galleries in either HTML or Flash. You can choose from a few different size options for the full size images. It's pretty quick and pretty easy.
Posted by Mike Maples on January 3, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Yep...I have Lightroom. I'll check it out. I have barely scratched the surface with Lightroom so far.
Mike, if you are into "roll-your-own" take a look at MS Expression Media. It is a digital assets program that, among other functions, will create web galleries. It is also Mac-compatible.
Posted by Jim Salge on January 4, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Hi Mike...
I'm working on updating my website now, and cost is a huge factor for me so I'm learning how to do it all on freeware. I've found sucess using a free downloadable developer called 'kompozer' ( http://kompozer.net/ ). A fairly easy to use whysiwyg with higher controls available.
For my galleries, I've used incorporated a 'simpleviewer' plugin worked through the automatic galleries capabilities of google's picasa program.
It's taken me some time to figure it all out, but I'm happy with the results, and the price is right...
Worth checking into ... you can see my progress by clicking my web link below...
Posted by Andy Richards on January 4, 2009 at 6:22 PM
Hi Jim: I am running Mozilla Firefox 3.0.5. Your simple viewer does not appear to work in my browser at all
Posted by Andy Richards on January 4, 2009 at 6:26 PM
Mike I am not sure if you are saying you want to keep the same website/host and have software for building galleries to upload, or if you want to change the whole thing.
I looked at all the popular photography sites and couldn't find one that would do everything I wanted to do, which included, in addition to galleries, a section with downloadable PDF photography guides. I paid some $ to have one custom built and was dissappointed at the developer/host's lack of responsiveness. I "stumbled" on the site that currently hosts my website last summer: www.ifp3.com. They are reasonable, responsive, and professional. The only issue is that the site is flash-based. I don't see that as a problem. One of the upsides is that they allow for a larger file size and for the viewer to chose based upon their monitor size. My site is http://richardsphoto.ifp3.com/. Uploads and management are easy and they have pretty good SEO capacity.
Posted by Brent Murphy on January 5, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Jim - I'm with Andy. I use Firefox 3.0.5, and the images in your galleries actually appear smaller than the thumbnails. Strange.
After using simpleviewer for sometime (I still think it's one of the better looking galleries out there- and if configured properly works on both firefox and ie without any problem). I stopped using simpleviewer because it was a pain updating galleries, there was no way to sort the images, unless you did them manually, in all it was a cumbersome process. I have now settled on zenphoto (http://zenphoto.org) which works perfectly. It has beautiful back-end control panel for easy updating and uploading. You can sort albums, images, you can have a hit counter for images and albums, you can include comments, a search engine, keywords and so on...most of all it's FREE.
Forgot to mention, that I use Zenphoto as a Wordpress plugin as my whole website runs on WP.
Discussion
13 repliesMy website at www.maplesphoto.com is a cookie-cutter affair thru GoDaddy/Website Tonight and I think it is OK so far but I want to improve it. I still host some photos thru Photobucket on Val's pages and I toyed with album/gallery creation software with Web Gallery Wizard PRO on my pages with OK results. You can see examples on the website by selecting one of my galleries.
I would like your recommendations for web album/gallery building software. The one I've used creates a standalone gallery folder with all required subfolders which I can simply FTP to another domain I have. I then attach it to the website via a link embedded in the appropriate photo. I need something easy to use that produces nicer results. Specifically, I wish the displayed main photo was larger on the page but that is not adjustable thru the SW I currently have.
Any help appreciated.
Tony
http://glenng.zenfolio.com
Their template is a full web site with the directories and flash script. What you need to do is add the copy and photos. Reasonably priced from $15 to $125 with some including a PayPal shopping cart.
You can learn more Here.
-P
I'm working on updating my website now, and cost is a huge factor for me so I'm learning how to do it all on freeware. I've found sucess using a free downloadable developer called 'kompozer' ( http://kompozer.net/ ). A fairly easy to use whysiwyg with higher controls available.
For my galleries, I've used incorporated a 'simpleviewer' plugin worked through the automatic galleries capabilities of google's picasa program.
It's taken me some time to figure it all out, but I'm happy with the results, and the price is right...
Worth checking into ... you can see my progress by clicking my web link below...
I looked at all the popular photography sites and couldn't find one that would do everything I wanted to do, which included, in addition to galleries, a section with downloadable PDF photography guides. I paid some $ to have one custom built and was dissappointed at the developer/host's lack of responsiveness. I "stumbled" on the site that currently hosts my website last summer: www.ifp3.com. They are reasonable, responsive, and professional. The only issue is that the site is flash-based. I don't see that as a problem. One of the upsides is that they allow for a larger file size and for the viewer to chose based upon their monitor size. My site is http://richardsphoto.ifp3.com/. Uploads and management are easy and they have pretty good SEO capacity.
Forgot to mention, that I use Zenphoto as a Wordpress plugin as my whole website runs on WP.