keep smugmug or use other host? only for portfolio use

I am using smugmug right now, it's 60 bucks a year, and my subscrption is ending in about 1 week.

I started out by customizing the website how I wanted, I added a lot of pitures and so on.

Now I am just using it to display my portfolio, which consists of 30 or so pictures. Since it's just for a portfolio, I'm not sure if it had the best photo display for that category.


what are some good hosts or places that won't be too hard for me to create a website which consists of a basic portfolio page and contact me page?

I use my smugmug for hosting. And I can send my clients directly to the link where the photos are for proofing.

Interested in relplies. Im about to set up a smugmug site and if there is something better I would love to know!

Would I be able to use simpleviewer on smugmug ?

http://simpleviewer.ne​t/simpleviewer/

Anyone using Zenfolio? I'm not sure which website to use for my pictures
Thank you!

mlech wrote in post #11034519
Would I be able to use simpleviewer on smugmug ?

http://simpleviewer.ne​t/simpleviewer/

Why would you use Smugmug (a gallery website) and Simpleviewer (a gallery website) at the same time? They do the same thing, just different buttons a whistles.

I'd use smugmug because they have a good support forum so I can always get help with something I'm not fimilar with. The display isn't just that good when viewing images.

I just want something more plain, but don't know how...

on smugmug what i don't like is the "buttons and whistles", I just didn't see any use or point to them for what I was trying to achieve.

You can probably hide a lot of the "fluff" using CSS.

you can hide or turn off many of the bells and whistles on SmugMug - but if you're simply using it to display 30 photos in one gallery, it probably isn't worth $60 a year to you.

Hikin Mike wrote in post #11034775
Why would you use Smugmug (a gallery website) and Simpleviewer (a gallery website) at the same time? They do the same thing, just different buttons a whistles.

Not strictly true though ... AFAIK Simpleviewer just provides the technology to create galleries in flash which you host on your own website, but has none of the developing hosting etc services provided by SmugMug.

Simpleviewer is a technology, whereas smugmug is a service ...

I think the OP was asking whether he could use Simpleviewer (eg. exported direct from LR or similar) and include this in his SmugMug website (I imagine to save on effort??).

BTW ... I have no clue but would doubt it, as SmugMug probably have their own scripting and tools to show your images, so the process would be export images from whatever editing tool you use, upload to smugmug and manipulate text and how the galleries look there.

One more thing ... I noticed LR 3.2 has a SmugMug plug in now which might help save time and effort and manage galleries ... I have tried the similar ones in LR3.2 for Flickr and Facebook and they do make life a bit easier and the whole integration thing a lot smoother - although watch out, any changes to any images and it wants to republish things, which means you lose settings and comments etc on the flickr/facebook and so I imagine would do the same for SmugMug.

pcj wrote in post #11041466
you can hide or turn off many of the bells and whistles on SmugMug - but if you're simply using it to display 30 photos in one gallery, it probably isn't worth $60 a year to you.

I agree - if you just want to display photos, why not set up a blog - I did that and it's free! You can select from a wide array of templates that might best complement your pics.

Exposuremanager is pretty decent. Worth taking a look at it's what my dad uses for his portfolio. But I would have to agree with some of the posters above 60 dollars a year for only 30 pictures might not be the best option. Check out one of the free website creators like intuit, etc.

Good luck!

Freedom211 wrote in post #11615770
Exposuremanager is pretty decent. Worth taking a look at it's what my dad uses for his portfolio. But I would have to agree with some of the posters above 60 dollars a year for only 30 pictures might not be the best option. Check out one of the free website creators like intuit, etc.

Good luck!

I used EM for a couple of years, and recommend it for commerce, but their templates are woefully out of date / ugly, with little customization options, and I ended up leaving them so I could move to SmugMug and consolidate both my website *and* commerce, and retain the same look across both.

My main site is smugmug. I use CSS codes to make it look exactly how I want. Check it out.

Wallace River wrote in post #11609621
I agree - if you just want to display photos, why not set up a blog - I did that and it's free! You can select from a wide array of templates that might best complement your pics.

Yep, the customization of a blog is virtually unlimited. I have 3 different blogs (2 of which are photo blogs) and a Smugmug account, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have more fun and flexibility with the blogs. You can make them look as polished as your imagination lets you, and they have no ads on them.

...And like Wallace River said: They are free!