Best website builders for photographers - July-16

Story how I choose the new CMS/web-builder for my Psy.in photo-art galleries. Eventually I'm on SmugMug & Pixieset

Time ago it was super talented and experienced web-programmer living next to me for years, together we made lots of exiting web-things and I didn't have any questions related to website building. He created first Psy.in on Wordpress and then upgraded with more features,  updated it with actual innovations, inserting any new idea what comes to our minds. Then  super-webPro left our fund - idea of "non-profit" began to sound scary for my friend, (when he realised that we really intending to keep that direction - as I only can suspect). He went to work on big chemical company, and have very limited time to connect and assist the humanity throw us, using his skills and web-intuition*.

​        Collection of pictures raised from hundreds to thousands, and people who loves it - from few of my friends and family members to small community, which is promise to be much wider. Wordpress without the web-master shows all of its whims, and after weeks of "Error establishing a database connection" I dive into the exiting world of web-builders again. Below are the main points - positive & negative of each in few words - I'm not going to write a book about that*.

     I 'm going to write a book about our passion to chocolate, about idea of tree ownership - how to own the cacao tree with new ideas to make our Tree Owners Clubs globally known concept - Tree Owners Clubs all around the world. Also here are  new  posts on Nakhon Si Thammarat blog page about that, and more coming. And Dozen -  hotels, villas and people - we should work on it, otherwise nothing will save future of tourism from boredom and triviality. 

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All web-builders what I checked and declined

1. Format - limits on images, and no selling options, high price to pay.
2. Shootproof -10$/month with limit on 1500 photos, no commission, but not my platform, without even clear explanation.
3. Photoshelter - 300$/year with 9% commission from sales and 100 GB storage - still Ok for me, but just because now I'm free in that limits. Also its integrates Wordpress, Instagram and Tumblr - what, after my experience with each of that, makes me confused instead of "be happy". 
4. Fotomerchant - 14$/month with unlimited storage and 8%  fee from sales. All that barely Ok, but I didn't find any full-screen template what I like - both in any of examples and testing mode in trial version. 

Website of Morning Star Resort on Baan Kai Beach, Koh Phangan

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5. ZenFolio - in a morning it was a winner - but now on day 9 changes applied - I'm not going to use Zenfolio - my feeling that they made it good time ago, then sold and stop to care about clients so much. Here are the points:

Positive things first to show the best of Zenfolio - why I almost paid for it:
+ easiness in website building,
+  nice look - full-screen templates,
+  and the recent news what I randomly noticed while searching - that Art.com bought Zenfolio** - all together  made my first positive feeling  to try it more during the trial period.  Psy.in was with Zenfolio, now on Smugmug.

Next at same day I more enjoying Redframe and Pixieset, which both are free of commission. So obvious minuses of Zenfolio are:  
- 20$/month with 7% free & unlimited storage - Zenfolio most popular plan. Not the best offer by terms provided.
- Commission - I stopped to understand why I was going to pay commission for my own clients, after all existing commissions. 
- Zenfolio logo - you can't remove it even with 60$/year plan - those owners and developers so amazingly far from us, like its other galaxy - lots of their clients asking to update it for years, without any success.
- no referral or partner discounts (easy to get and more amount of discount on smugmug) - Zenfolio affiliated program offers 10% go me & referral, what is the minimum what I saw in web ever, however they didn't approve me even with that terms, without the explanations  about 1000 visitors/month is nothing for such a hugeMonsta.

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This scary show was made on Smugmug and waiting random visitor

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Finalists winning trio

3. Redframe - all good here with Redframe, however its doesn't looks oftenly updated. 16$/month plan if pay annually. I used it for 2 days during the 2 weeks trial period.
 + unlimited storage.
 + no commission on sales.
 - some features used Joomla-style scripts - I'm afraid of Joomla, its scary stuff - really scary.
- Shopping features made too complicated for me.

Main winner

    SmugMug  benefits and negatives:

+  60$/y for all without selling. Plus 20% off with referrals*. 
+   Unlimited storage. 
+ coolness of design for portfolio, galleries, full-screen...
+ PRO-looking - more than anything else what I see so far. 
- 150$/year with 15% commission - full package quite high comparing to anything else.

You can remove Smugmug footer & header with Power and upper acc.

= original way of web-building - new for me and easy to learn. Still in 14 days trial. Check Psy.in with smugmug - and try to disagree. Current plan -  to save my cash and buy Power plan - to show some of our favorite works to ourselves in boutique style, and upload all the rest hidden.

*I couldn't find anybody who wish to give me his referral link for this discount, so here is mine - simply log-in and get it for 48$/Year - cheaper than nothing for the PRO-looking website for photographer! Smugmug promised to give me same bonus on next payment.

2-nd winner

​Pixieset - after the time of browsing the right solution P was like a cool water from French Alps in a Karakum desert -

+ free plan already allows  -
+ to sell the prints (if Paypal - only business accounts), digital and other stuff with 15% commission,
+ gives 3 GB storage on sub-domain name.
+ Next plan costs just 8$/mo and gives 0% commission, all the features and 10 GB of storage. And easiest thing in use! Simple enough to don't stop just on it and stay with faithful winds - as my Translator advised.

* Its not a post aboutour  preItMasta or any other person, adding just that sometimes he was feeling himself in web-jungles as tiger in a deer forest, who decided to be vegetarian. After the while he notice, that all good vegan food in a forest eaten by bears and deer, roaring on Moon and missing his homeJungles with its hidden chain of little cosy palaces, which only one know. This one knows lots of things, but who knows this one? - we teased him, giving more and more work.

**Was  sounds melodic - art.com bought zenfolio.