It's pretty obvious that photography is a visual art. But there are times that we forget that. Seems rather odd that we would. We look at it constantly, but it slips our minds that it is "visual".
With that said, it only makes sense that your potential customers are going to need to be able to see your work. I've heard photographers say that it is a waste of money and time to operate a website because everyone else has one. Well, it is true that everyone else has one, but isn't that one more reason that you are going to want to have one? If your competitors, the people you are wanting to compete for that all powerful dollar are showing their best work on the internet, aren't you going to want to show your best work? If me, Joe Q Public is looking for a photographer, and I want to know what your work is like before I call you, you can bet that if I can't see what you are capable prior to contacting you, I'm not contacting you.
If you run a business land line, you can usually have your web site listed with your business line in the yellow pages for no additional charge, it just depends on your location. In addition, if someone does a search for a photographer in your area, depending on how you have your website set up, will determine on how you show up.
If you decide that you want to set up a web site, there are a ton of options. There are a lot of "free" web sites out there. I use free in a relative term. The templates are free, but remember that you are going to have to purchase your domain name, and that will cost you. Depending on how you go about it is going to determine on how much it cost you. But here's the thing: Every place you can purchase your domain name through anymore is going to offer you the ability to create your web site through them, so do your research. Some are going to offer more than the other guy. So yes, there are free web development sites out there, but you might pay a couple of hundred dollars for 2 years for your domain name, which is also going to provide you with the extra stuff you will need to really make your web site "pop".
Before you actually decide on what you want your web site to look like, look at as many photography web sites as you can stand. When you see one that you just think is maybe rinkydink in your opinion, maybe write down what you just don't like about it. At the same time, when you see a web site that just blows your mind, write down what you like about that one. Then when you've gotten so tired of looking at web sites, look at your list and see what you like and don't like. Then go in and start looking for web development sites. Not all web development sites are created equal. It is sometimes more of a pain to switch your domain name from one provider to another later on. So try to get the one you want first time around.
Some things that you might not think of:
How fast does the web site load (this is more often caused by the fact that the photographer has put files that are to large on their web site. Customers will not stick around just to watch a picture come up)
Does the web site have a blog, and is it current? Blogs are a fantastic way to keep customers current on what you have going on. But, if you aren't the type to be able to keep it current, it isn't going to do you any good.
Do the images really stand out? You can have the best images in the world, but if they are hidden in all the wording telling the world how great they are, who is going to see them?
Is the web site easy to get through? Think about what will keep you on a web site. If you can't get from page to page easily, how long are you going to stay on that web site?
How professional does it look? There is an advertisement on TV, but honestly I can't remember who it is for, but it is kind of a humerous one that has different people talking about how they decided they were going to build their web site themselves, and they have stacks of books, another one says they hired their nephew... 6 months ago, and so on and so forth. It might be for GoDaddy. I'm not sure. But the point, is does it look professional, or like they followed a bunch of instruction books? When you first open that web site, does it grab your attention for them get go?
So while you are looking at these things, you need to be asking yourself what do i need to be doing.
Once you have your web site built, just like asking people to honestly evaluate your images before you step into the realm of photography, you need to ask people to evaluate you web site. You can make changes anytime. Ask them what they think you should do different, what you might need to add, take away, etc... If everyone says it's perfect, get a different opinion. I'm not saying it may not be perfect, but you can always make changes. My own opinion though, is don't even put one up until you have images that are just going to blow peoples minds. If you just put pictures up to get a web site up, you're going to sink yourself.
FACEBOOK: People either hate it or love it. If you are in business these days, you better start to love it. Especially if you are starting out. You need to get on there and start advertising yourself, and once you get your web site up, start advertising it. Start your business Facebook page. I don't know how populare MySpace is anymore, but maybe go there as well. Remember you don't have to accept anybody who isn't a friend. Don't put remarks on there that will hurt your business. Open your business web site to everyone, not just your friends. It's FREE advertising.
So, in the midst of everything that I have talked about that is going to just suck your wallet dry, there is a freebie for you.
So in a visual business such as ours, you need to let people see your work. Web sites aren't free, but once you have them, use whatever you can to get them out there. Oh, and DON'T copy someone elses website. One, it's a violation of Copyright laws, and two you'll end up hurting yourself in the long run.
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