Hi,
I am thinking about creating my own website and print-store.
I am a photographer and I would not mind selling some of my prints or just the photos.
Certainly it is not going to be my only source of income but …you know :)
Can anyone suggest me how to start?
Maybe create a Wix website with a built-in Etsy store?
I am very noob!
Thanks!
So potentially Squarespace will solve all my issues?
Are you using it?
I have used it in the past, in my opinion it is the best for creative industries, have a look at some demo stores.
Most people will say Shopify as this is widely accepted as the 'best' ecommerce solution however most of their templates are more 'online store' than 'gallery' which is why I recommend Squarespace.
Thanks for the advice..I'm having a look at it right now.
This ^^^ - shopify
Thanks. Are you using it?
Another option If you want to dip your toe in big cartel is free for 5 or less items
There's plenty of options - named above and more. A easyWP WordPress site with WooCommerce would probably be the cheapest option by far.
But the biggest problem you'll probably have is not creating a site but actually finding customers willing to buy your photos. Photos and prints are a commodity and it takes a very special photographer to be able to sell a lot of prints.
Have you done any website work before? Wordpress +
no, total noob here
Ok, go with Shopify/Squarespace
Also was a good thing, is to look at your competition/similar business and see what they use.
You should do WP with WooComm, even if it doesn't work out you'll have learned some stuff! It's not super difficult to get something basic up and it's free….
Are you just planning on selling normal things as a photographer? if so there's a ton of photographer specific e-commerce sites like zenfolio, SmugMug, etc.
All should have linkage through to prints so you can sell prints or digital copies and bundles (like for school/group photos etc) and password protected galleries
Woocommerce, Shopify etc don't really work once you factor in things like password protected galleries, digital downloads, bundle sales, all of those are a lot of work to set up vs the specific photographer type sites
Used to use zenfolio personally but not really doing much photo work anymore so cancelled.
Ah that's probably what I am looking for!
Did you manage to get decent sales with zenfolio? Is that an expensive platform?
you can find discount codes around for zenfolio and the rest if you go looking. In my case I was mainly directly selling sport photos to people that were racing (mountain bike racing) so sales generally depended on me being there, having no other photographers and people willing to pay, which was then all about pricing.
I didn't get any sales from anyone other than themselves or a family member looking for a specific photo.
if you are trying to get the public onto it for more generic/landscape/location etc photos you might be better to look at stock photo channels but IMO that business is starting to dry up thanks to Pexels, Unsplash and the like.
Nowadays my photo work isn't as busy as it used to be and more focused so I tend just to deliver digital photos to clients directly on a google drive or dropbox folder
I am a drone photographer, I'd just like to sell some prints and digital files… More as a side hustle and for for the satisfaction of doing it rather than for the money themselves.
(ig: visualsofstef , if you want to give a feedback :) )
@ets27: Well, in that case you might just be better off with a simpler one like woocommerce, pick a few images to print off and maybe sell them directly or drop-ship them if you're only expecting small volumes. I'd probably only really suggest the ones like zenfolio and smugmug for areas where it's higher volume so you need all the automation help you can, especially digital downloads.
If you're only expecting small volumes you can just email photos to the customer at the resolution they want, also if you end up selling commercial (assuming you have model releases etc) then you can negotiate a price with them for the image.
Squarespace is a good website builder for creative / visual industries, it also has an ecommerce function.
Shopify is the best for purely Ecommerce but if you are just selling prints you don't need many bells and whistles.