WordPress is quite user-friendly and very simple to learn and master. However, in the viewpoint of photographers, it may result in issues and hassles in learning WordPress at an initial stage.
Photographers can effortlessly display their portfolio using the best WP themes out there, which are primarily designed to showcase portfolio content.
Here are some tips and tricks to guide you in creating the most profitable and successful photography website via WordPress:
Why Use WordPress for Hosting Photography Websites?
First, you might be wondering why you need to use WordPress for your photography website. Well, there are a lot of reasons why experts and veterans prefer WordPress over other blogging platforms.
First and foremost, WordPress is open source thus the community generates all of the impressive and dynamic plugins and themes. Another reason why people are compelled to use WP is that it is totally free and so are most of the plugins that come with it. Even premium themes are cost-efficient and do not hurt the budget to procure. In terms of usability, WordPress arrives as a simple and easy to use platform, both for beginners and advanced-level users.
Web Hosting for Photography Websites
Next, work on your web hosting. Prior to installing your WordPress software, you will have to purchase a domain name along a hosting package. There are tons of firms that provide both domain names and hosting packages on the Internet. Whichever host you go with, you should familiarize yourself with the lingo used by web host providers.
One common term used in this particular market is shared hosting. This is where your website is stored on a server along with tons of other sites. The most inexpensive hosting plans are always on shared servers. Another term you should know about is bandwidth. Your hosting plan will come with a bandwidth limitation. Every time someone enters and visits your website, bandwidth is used. If you come to the edge of your monthly bandwidth limit, your website may go down until you purchase more bandwidth.
Third, select and use the WordPress plugins and tools you’ll need. As you download and install the program, it gives tons of functionality, yet it doesn’t do everything. Plugins, most of which are developed by independent developers, are able to fill in these inadequacies.
Photography site or not, there are a few basic plugins you’ll need to have on your website to be able to use it much more effectively and conveniently. These include Askimet which filters spam messages and comments left on your site, WordPress.com Stats which enables you to look at the number of page views your blog gets, where the visitors mostly come from and which pages they mostly go to, and finally WordPress Greet Box, which places a welcome note at the beginning of each post and encourages site visitors to enlist on your RSS feed or share the link on social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Must-Have WordPress Plugins for Photographers
For photography-themed websites, there are several plugins you can use to optimize your WP-based platform. Here are three essential plugins you’ll need for your photography site:
- Next Gen Gallery – This plugin is a fully automated image gallery tool for WP with tons of features and capabilities. You can easily store zipped image documents rather than uploading it manually one by one, which tends to be both hassling and time-consuming. Next Gen Gallery also allows insertion of Meta data into your WP theme.
- SEO Friendly Images – SEO Friendly Images automatically add appropriate alt and title functions that can boost traffic from different search engines.
- No Right Click Images – This WP plugin disables the right click context menu on pictures to assist in bypassing leeches from stealing images included on your website. It utilizes JavaScript to alter the right click function on IMG tags to attenuate context menu.
Web Hosting Guide for Professional Photographers
About the author: Juliana Payson is a marketing specialist for Los Angeles company InMotion Hosting. Follow her on Twitter @JulianaPayson for expert tips on web hosting with specialized needs in mind for different businesses. Photographers often require speedy on-screen presentation from their websites and content management systems which fit the knowledge base she often puts out on twitter.