Smug or Zen?

Not even a contest.. Smugmug any day.. I use it for my own website, and I tried just about everything else there was before signing on with Smugmug.

Zenfolio has always been behind the times, just look at their main page. It looks like many of their default galleries, like it came out of MS FrontPage circa 2004.

frenchconnector wrote in post #12359832
I tried both and chose Zen. It has a cleaner look that I prefer, which makes it look a bit more professional. I didnt like the fonts Smug uses and how their photo pages look, where the gallery next to the picture takes too much space. Zen's photo page is more about the photo.

Just try both and go with what YOU like.

An easy fix to change the fonts and the user can also change the look of their galleries.

I was in this situation before and could not decide which way to go with.

Anyone have a coupon code for smug?

Zen looks cleaner if you have no coding skills, otherwise smugmug all the way.

Went through the check out process as a test and didnt see anywhere to add a coupon code. anyone?

Bob Hasty wrote in post #12364997
Anyone have a coupon code for smug?

fwFWMhYq88uFA - Get $5 off Smugmug if you use that code.

or use the link https://secure.smugmug​.com …p.mg?Coupon=fwF​WMhYq88uFA

I've been extremely happy with SmugMug. Their customer service is top-notch.

I found a 20% off coupon via google and it worked. I'm all signed up, now to customize.

www.hastyphoto.com

BrandonSi wrote in post #12359919
Not even a contest.. Smugmug any day.. I use it for my own website, and I tried just about everything else there was before signing on with Smugmug.

Zenfolio has always been behind the times, just look at their main page. It looks like many of their default galleries, like it came out of MS FrontPage circa 2004.

always been behind the times? They offered zip bulk downloading before smugmug did.. to your customers. I still can't offer that to my customers free of charge. It was only recently that I could even do it.

When I tried zen for the first time, they pre-cached files much better than smugmug did at the time. It was blazing fast for me.

It also seems I come across a lot more cleaner front pages on zen than smugmug. I think they have a better front page layout system.

However, with that said, I did not like their backend management of stuff. Nor do I really like smugs either, but it's more tolerable. Their default galleries left a lot to be desired in presentation. And I couldn't really customize like I could at smugmug (at the time).

But my point is, zen isn't always behind the times. it really just boils down to which you like better and your purpose of how you want to use the site.

Both are nice solutions, I have used them both and ended up going with Zenfolio. Both have awesome customer service, both offer a good service and both are constantly changing with the times, which is always a good thing.

One thing I disliked about SmugMug was it's admin control pannel, it's very archaic compared to Zenfolio. They both do the exact same thing, Zenfolio just does it easier. Zenfolio is more GUI(esk) which Smugmug is more drop down boxes than I ever want to deal with.

Zen has more vendor partners integrated into the system, which is awesome. Bay Photo is an amazing lab, but they don't offer the same amount of products as Mpix. Not to mention Zenfolio has more than just one lab to choose from.

I also went through and did a test order with both sites and found that the Zenfolio ordering system is a lot easier for the customer then Smugmug. I also get told this by our customers pretty often, one of our competitors uses Smugmug.

Smugmug is the leader when it comes to customization though, but with that, I always come across some horribly designed Smugmug pages that are a pain to use. They are slow and no where near user friendly, but that is not Smugmug's fault at all, it's the owner of the site. But with that, if you have many horribly designed sites that are pulling loads of info from the server, it will slow your site down. Which is why I like Zenfolio's lack of customizable features. A controlled environment, especially when it comes to web servers, is always a good thing.

I like Zenfolio for its easy Admin interface and its larger selection of Vendors. I like Smugmug because of its amazing customizable options. As with any service, each have their strengths and weaknesses, give both of them a trial, they both offer that option. When you do a trial at Smugmug you get the Pro account, I know that much.

randomlinh wrote in post #12367440
It also seems I come across a lot more cleaner front pages on zen than smugmug. I think they have a better front page layout system.

I think thats because there are a lot of people who never customize their site at all and only use it for a basic photo hosting site, but looking at the custom example pages, thats what helped sell me the first time, you can do almost anything:

http://www.smugmug.com …mple-photo-sharing-sites/

GwagDesigns wrote in post #12383477
I think thats because there are a lot of people who never customize their site at all and only use it for a basic photo hosting site, but looking at the custom example pages, thats what helped sell me the first time, you can do almost anything:

http://www.smugmug.com …mple-photo-sharing-sites/

that's cream of the crop though. most people don't have the skill set to really make it shine. the biggest issue I see? mismatching color backgrounds and slideshows.

I also hate smugmug's slideshow theme/options. Mostly because the thumbnail picker seems like it hasn't been upgraded from the 90's. I'm talking about when a viewer wants to see a slideshow of a gallery, not the html5/flash slideshow front page thing. That, I actually really like after it was updated for HTML5.

I have to say this probably sums it up best

randomlinh wrote in post #12367440
always been behind the times? They offered zip bulk downloading before smugmug did.. to your customers. I still can't offer that to my customers free of charge. It was only recently that I could even do it.

You can do this with smugmug, you just have to send your clients the email with the link to the zip file.. They themselves can't choose to bulk DL an entire gallery. Not trying to argue, I agree it's kludgy, I was just pointing it out in case you weren't aware.

Zenfolio all the way! most of my clients purchase digital downloads, so I don't have to pay any Zenfolio fees.