The photography business is thriving like never before. Everyone is just crazy about visuals. Whether its wedding shoot, portfolio shoot, or advertising shoot; photographers are in demand. But are you doing enough to create your market presence? Do you have a website for your photography business?
81 percent of shoppers perform online research before making a purchase. And if you don’t have an online presence, you are losing potential clients. So without any further delay, you should set up your online portfolio in the form of a website.
To build a website, you can either opt for any of the web development companies available in the market or adopt a DIY approach. Let us guide you through the most important steps of building an impressive website for your photography business.
Buy Domain Name and Hosting
The website development process begins with purchasing a domain name or website name. A domain name is an online identity of your photography business. For example, “facebook.com” is a domain name. You can choose anything that reflects your business in the best possible way. It can be your personal name or business entity’s name or whatever you like.
The next step is to host your website. You can either purchase private web hosting or opt for website designing and hosting platforms such as Squarespace or WIX. When you choose private hosting, you can either use a content management system (CMS) like WordPress or hire developers to customize a website from scratch.
Pick your Niche
Whether you specialize in portrait photography, event photography, or wildlife photography; you have to select your niche. This is important as your website content is based on your niche. For example, if you specialize in food photography, the visuals on the home page should showcase your best work on food photography. Once a client lands on your website, he/she should instantly recognize what the website is all about and what’s the specialization of the photographer.
Select a Template
Whether you opt for website designing platforms or self-hosted CMS, there are predefined templates available. These templates are designed for specific uses. For example, there are templates for photography websites, for travel websites, and so on. The layout of photography templates has more room for visuals that can be arranged in appealing formats.
Upload your best shots and check out what looks best on the screen. The whole idea is to enhance the appeal of the website. Make sure the templates adjust comfortably according to the device screen. They should be responsive enough to work seamlessly on desktops, mobiles, and tablets. You can also opt for a personalized mobile app. For this, you can ask for quotes from mobile app development companies.
Create Awesome Content
Visuals are a core aspect of a photography website. However, you cannot ignore other elements such as title, headings, categories, navigation, and so on. You can have a look at any popular photographer’s website for reference. You will notice a well-defined tiled layout of visuals. There will be tags on each visual that represent an image category. The header section has the logo and web pages. Each of the pages have subpages that contain the necessary information for the visitors. As you would understand, you should create and post content to ensure the highest engagement.
Focus on Pages
While the visuals entice visitors at the first instance, information is what they actually seek. Your photography website is a lot more than just a collection of visuals. For example, let us talk about the “About Us” page. The prospect wants to know about you, specializations, experiences, work procedures, and so on. In a nutshell, this page is your prospectus.
Similarly, you can create pages like Contact Us, Category Pages, Terms of Use, and so on. Pay special attention to the Homepage. This is like a magazine cover that intimates complete information in a summarized form. Moreover, ensure ease of navigation so that the visitor can access every section of the website without any confusion.
Spread the Word
Your portfolio is ready! Now you must promote it on social media, email network, personal network, and so on. Invest time and effort in implementing SEO strategies. This is beneficial in securing first page rankings on the search engines. This will extend your reach and will get you more clients.
When you have an impressive online portfolio, the world is your marketplace. When do you plan to launch your photography website? Tell us about your plans.
