How to create a simple photosite?

I want to develop my personal photosite. Could anybody give me an advice or a recommendation?

Now I have most of my photos at Flickr, and I like it. But I want to have something more personal, with my webdesign, a few static pages, blog, etc... I've contacted a few web-programmers and it seems this is expensive and long job. But I'm not a top-class professional to pay thousands of dollars.

On the other hand I found two service providers:
- www.albolio.com
- www.pullfolio.com
Both are very cheap and can create a personal photosite based on my Flickr account.
Have anybody used these services? What are pros and cons?

Is there another alternative?

Hi Denis
I'm no expert in this regard and I haven't heard of the two services you list. There are a number of package sites available for photographers. I'm satisfied with mine. (Smugmug) There are several others out there. I don't care for Flickr.
Drew Fulton has just posted a thread asking for input of what we photographers would like to see in a website design. Why not let him know what you're looking for?

I used my own home grown site for a couple years but recently switched to Smugmug. Custom websites take a lot of time to create and maintain. Smugmug Pro has a lot of features. I recommend you look at them or Zenfolio.

Hi Denis,

I too, have join the ranks of the SmugMug users and have been very pleased. They have excellent customer service, you can try it out free for about 10 days to see how you like it. They have great forums where users and customer service "heroes" help you out with customization and HTML and CSS assistance. And I should know, I've used all of their help. My site is still in progress, but feel free to check it out to see what I've been able to do in a very short time. Just click on the "www" below. Good luck.

I agree with everyone that Flickr and some of the other "consumer" sites leave a lot to be desired if you're really serious about your photography. There was a similar discussion several months back about this very topic and it seems that quite a number of NPN members are using Smugmug. I have a Smugmug account as well, but I have recently switched to Photoshelter which I found at the time to offer more options (I've forgotten what they are now) and much easier to manage images. As has already been stated, unless you are a web master or want to spend your time in HTML coding, custom sites can get very expensive. A great compromise between those two camps is Wide Range Galleries that offers 3 levels of customization. That's my next stop probably before the end of the year

Garry
Toronto

For something easy you could try Jalbum (www.Jalbum.net), it's pretty automated you just drag and drop into their interface and you can customize it a fair amount. For something simple, cheap (it's free) and if you don't plan on selling your prints from your website, it's great.

Widerange Galleries is excellent, but not inexpensive. However, you do get a top of the mark web application with great support.

You could also create your own site using a program such as MS Expression Web, but you'd have to learn HTML and CSS at a minimum. If you want a database or other server-side functionality, you'll have to learn about them, and any scripting/coding that will be needed.

--P

I swear by BetterPhoto.com. They're having a 2 years for the price of 1 sale Sept. 16-20. (No, they don't pay me to plug their services, I just happen to like them a lot because they're idiot proof.)

Many thanks everybody for the advices! Last days I tried different ideas and services, and after all I've stoped at Albolio. This is exactly what I was looking for. Something basic and easy to get me started. It's free to use and it loaded all my Flickr pictures...