I want to make a Website, who to use?

I want to make a Website, who to use? I would have photography, video and music all on this website. I'm a average computer literate with all Apple products. Who do you recommend and why?

MJEXP wrote in post #18764575
I want to make a Website, who to use? I would have photography, video and music all on this website. I'm a average computer literate with all Apple products. Who do you recommend and why?

.
Instead of making a website yourself, have you considered using one of the companies that has pre-made templates for you to use? . These are companies such as SmugMug, SquareSpace, Zenfolio, etc. . I think that using one of those types of companies' pre-made templates might work better for you than trying to make your own website.

With the pre-made templates, all you have to do is drag and drop your content in, and separate it into different sections, and type headings and descriptions, if you want to. . That is so much less involved than actually making the website yourself.


.

I think that's what the OP means. I use Wix.com as it's really good at showcasing your photos. Www.colinanthonyphotog​raphy.co.uk is my Wix site. I don't pay so I have Wix branding on it. Check it out. CC is most welcome.

Just because you are all Apple products, it doesn't mean your clients/visitors do, and what looks good on Apple might not look as good on Windows, and vice versa. Check out your site on various devices and computers and achieve a good balance. Also, compatibility might be an issue, especially on mobile devices. On my Windows phone switching mobile view off works best.

Do a Google search on "website hosts for photographers" (without the quotes). Lots of places, some free. All about your expectations.

How may hundred thousands of dollars would you like to spend? How many staff members can you assign to the project? What is your e-commerce infrastructure?

If those question seem as ridiculous to you as they would to most normal humans you best bet will be the pretty good but not near perfect providers like Wix and Weebly and the bottom line is your choice does not much matter.

That's really good news. The pretty good site providers are not costly and they are easy. Choose one but only after you have done the really hard work.

What images (each one of them the very best you have) will introduce you? What (with each and every word chosen as if you were a poet) will you say for yourself?

Putting it another way, Tom, Colin and John are right, but that, as usual in life, leaves the tough creative work with you.

If I may:

I'm also looking to build a website after a year or so without one. I don't know exactly what OPs needs and intentions for the website are but if we're assuming that the website building platofrms are likely to work for the OP then I thought I'd share my experience testing a few of the different options.

In my case the website is just to have a place to show my work and to direct any interested parties such as potential exhibition venues. I don't need the website to attract clients or sell product at the moment - just something simple to show off a selection of my work. This may be different to the OPs needs so your mileage may vary.

The first place I tried was Squarespace because they sponsor a lot of content related to Photography. I have to say that their platform is great - definitely the most user-friendly and efficient of the ones I have tried - and that their templates are really nice looking with minimal effort. They are, however, the most expensive option of those I've looked at. You get a really nice looking website that is very easy to maintain but not all that cheaply and you will eventually have to pay them. There is a two week free trial but after that, or if you want to take the site live, you'll have to cough up. Go watch some YouTube videos and you can probably find an offer code for 10% off though.

In the middle I suppose is WIX. I didn't find their editor to be as easy to use, or as fast, as Squarespace but it wasn't exactly difficult for the computer literate individual either. I personally found their templates to be less aesthetically pleasing than Squarespace as well but that could be personal preference. In the end I managed to get something I was happy enough with out of it. Their prices are a little cheaper than Squarespace (depending on the option you go for but there are more options and at least three of them are cheaper) and there's also a free option ... with obvious limitations (domain, ads) but there's no such thing as a free lunch ... website.

Finally, I knocked something up with Wordpress last night. Again, not as easy as either Wix or Squarespace and - at least without paying anything yet - with far less control over design but I managed to get something fairly similar to the template I like on Squarespace ... not quite as nice but it could be ad free and with my own domain for about a third of the cost of Squarespace, half the cost of Wix's cheapest option and a third of their middle-of-the-road package.

I've tried the three of them now and got something that works out of the three, as I'm sure OP could too. Now I have to decide how much I want to spend. Squarespace is, for me, the nicest of the platforms but I need to decide if it's worth spending double or triple the cost of Wordpress on something a little nicer ... the website is essentially a vanity thing and I can also put the extra money to alternate uses. Again, this will vary with the OPs needs, intentions and budget but these are my conclusions, for what they are worth.

AZGeorge wrote in post #18765114
How may hundred thousands of dollars would you like to spend? How many staff members can you assign to the project? What is your e-commerce infrastructure?

That's quite an exaggeration. I pay $40/yr for my host, ~$12/yr for my domain name, and my website's design/code is DIY.
And previously, I hosted from *my* PC using XAMPP.

Owain Shaw wrote in post #18767242
Finally, I knocked something up

Knocked up.. Hehe.

Wordpress is a common option.

I pay $9 a month, so just over $100 a year with Photoshelter, got my own domain name for 10 bucks per year with GoDaddy and that's it. Not very intuitive but it's OK and cheap; clients have access to password protected private galleries etc.
renatasharman.com

itsallart wrote in post #18771076
I pay $9 a month, so just over $100 a year with Photoshelter, got my own domain name for 10 bucks per year with GoDaddy and that's it. Not very intuitive but it's OK and cheap; clients have access to password protected private galleries etc.
renatasharman.com

Wouldn't GoDaddy host it for less?

icor1031 wrote in post #18771077
Wouldn't GoDaddy host it for less?

Probably, I haven't looked at my bank statement in detail...don't really care...it's negligible, at least to me
Just actually checked and it seems that I have registered with my email address host 1&1 and it's $1 for the first year and then $10 per year...now they charge more. I think I was grandfathered in years ago Always more luck than brains

Read whole posts before partially quoting. It keeps you from seeming the fool.

AZGeorge wrote in post #18771300
Read whole posts before partially quoting. It keeps you from seeming the fool.

I read all of it.

MJEXP wrote in post #18764575
I want to make a Website, who to use? I would have photography, video and music all on this website. I'm a average computer literate with all Apple products. Who do you recommend and why?

I use Superb however they are a hosting company so if you want a web page versus a gallery for customers you will need to hire a coder which it not all that expensive.

One of the nice things about Superb is they provide website based e-mail service, as such I can have email address's such as myname@mywebsitename.c​om which is a lot more professional than myname@gmail.com.

Does this forum have a moderator reading ?

Wouldn't this thread be handy to move to the business, marketing and presentation section?

It may get more suggestions over in that section.