time 2 get bludomain site up and running ?

[PixelChick78]

Approximately how much time did it take you to get your bludomain site up and running? I now that is kind of a subjective questions but i have heard that getting the site going is not as easy as it sounds...?

How difficult was you 'template' to get it going, or modify?

Anyone else out there use "Madison"?- How was it, any troubles?

Are there any other companies out there that sell photographer specific templates? Bludomain seems to be the only one I could find that was photographer specific that looked professional. The other templates I found out there were so cheesy!

Thanks!

[Visible Metaphor]

I would be interested in this answer, as well. I am strongly considering a BluDomain site.

[JRKO]

likewise I am considering bludomain - the only reasonably priced, great looking designs where i can get my shots to fill the entire screen....

[Hatch1921]

I sent an emial to a photographer a few days ago who is using one of their templates. I like the look of the sites but like you...wasn't sure about a couple of things.

His reply to the use of the site...

Thanks for the kind words! As for bludomain, they have becoming notoriously known for very slow customer service. You can do a search here at FM to see all the complaints. When I first purchased their site, things got off to a good start, but they just got way too big way too fast that their support couldn't keep up. It once took them two months to reply to a service request of mine! There is no phone number to be found on their site. It's not that they have rude customer service, it's just very slow. Lately, they have done a better job return my service requests.

There's no denying that their prices are cheap, and once you do get your site up, it can run relatively smoothly, and maintaining the site is very easy in terms of making any revisions. If you do find a template of theirs that you like and you know ahead of time what you're getting yourself into as far as customer service goes, then it can be worthwhile. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Tim


Just some FYI of one persons experience.
Hatch

[PixelChick78]

so who's Bludomain's competition? Sounds like they need some competition! I really don't have much choice but to buy from them. I can't afford a custom site design with all the other expenses I have coming up. And they do offer the best looking sites for the best price.

If anyone knows any other templates that are as nice let me know. Most of the templates I found are soooo cheesy!

[Hatch1921]

http://www.photobiz.com/home.cfm

I contacted these guys but they will not be able to take on new business until the 1st of the year... Killer sites/blogs.
http://www.flosites.com/

I'm shopping around as well....

Not a bad price
http://www.professionalphotographertheme.com/

A live site from the template...
http://www.spencerboerup.com/blog/


Good luck with your search... hope some of these links help...

Hatch

[jongobongo]

When bludomain sets up the software and gives you all the password info and access to the admin, you are assigned a person to contact (via email i think?) to provide you with immediate support for around 7 days. Any support after is via their normal support page.

Make sure to plan out what you want to do and where you want things to go... logos, images before they setup your site. 7 days can run out quickly.

I think it took us a week or 2 to set up our website.

I would also recommend you NOT to use their their hosting service, just buy the software and let them set it up on your own host (we use godaddy)
Their hosted servers crashed twice within the past 6 months and it took a decent amount of time to recover.

[PixelChick78]

Thanks for the links. I also checked out livebooks. Not bad. Still Bludomain has the nicest selection imo.

[Visible Metaphor]

Thanks for the links. I also checked out livebooks. Not bad. Still Bludomain has the nicest selection imo.

Are you still going with Madison?

[Mike30D]

Here are the big ones everyone is using...

Big Folio - http://www.bigfolio.com (http://www.bigfolio.com/)
BluDomain - http://www.bludomain.com (http://www.bludomain.com/)
FloSites - http://www.flosites.com (http://www.flosites.com/)
Darkroom - http://www.intothedarkroom.com (http://www.intothedarkroom.com/)
Flash Palette - http://www.flashpalette.com (http://www.flashpalette.com/)
LiveBooks - http://www.livebooks.com (http://www.livebooks.com/)
Photoidentities - http://www.photoidentities.com (http://www.photoidentities.com/)
Tafota - http://tafota.com (http://tafota.com/)
Winklet - http://www.winkletwebdesign.com (http://www.winkletwebdesign.com/)
Creative Motion Design - http://www.creativemotiondesign.com/
Infinet Design - http://www.infinetdesign.com - They are not cheap, starting price is around $2800 (full custom design)

[Hatch1921]

Nice collection of links Mike. Thank you for the post.
Hatch

[PixelChick78]

Are you still going with Madison?
I was planning on it...need to look at a few of the new links here before I lay down the cash. I love that site tho!

Thanks for the links!!!

[cashimages]

I asked this question in a separate post, but I thought I'd try here to. Has anyone used Big Folio for their site? Just wondering if their customer service is up to snuff and how easy it was to operate and get images ready to upload etc...

thanks

[Mike30D]

Personally I have not used them, but I hear that their customer service is a lot better than Bludomain's.

[cashimages]

Thanks.

I read the same thing someplace. I haven't called big folio yet, just trying to get a feel here before I do. Seeing if anyone has any horror stories or good stories first.

[MarcGF]

You might consider something different ... like a web/blogsite. Way better search results and mobile device accessible

Professional Photography Website and Blog Template (http://www.thinklikeabride.com/theagency/kertesz/)

[Mnewco]

You are all crazy for going with Bludomain. They have ripped off so many people including me and the complaints are on every search site you can find. I saw one where someone wished that they were warned ahead of time but I think this person would have bought from them anyway because everyone loves their sites and that is the killer.

[Hatch1921]

I can tell you...after several months with www.photobiz.com I am beyond happy with the customer service and how easy the site is to manage.

SO HAPPY I didn't go with Bludomain.... complaint after complaint is all I have read about....

[Mnewco]

So good to hear Hatch that you did not fall into their trap. I am thinking of sueing them for fraud. I want my website that I paid money for and I will get it back free and clear.

What they did was fraud. They signed into my domain and sent an email to themselves a yr and half ago to have it transferred to them making it look like I sent it. I will prove it. The only reason I found out was I haven't used the site in quite a while so I never looked at it until recently.

[Car2n]

My dealings with Bludomain went silky smooth. (hosted elsewhere)

[Yella Fella]

I have to add, I've had no problems with blu... hosted with hostpapa, and I'm UK based... about to purchase another one... initial contact is obviously fast and I have to admit that customer service side is slow; you just have to chase and they do get back to you :)

[ydube]

+1 for Photobiz. I signed up with them about a month ago and am loving how easy it is to get around their admin page and how quickly they're support replies back.

I had a few problems with my domain and getting my email working with Google apps, but they set it up for me and even gave me a call when they were done to confirm it was all working.