Hello,
I was wondering if anyone knows of a free site that will let me design a professional looking website. I use Tumblr right now but it is to much of a blog style look for me. I know there are some places out there as cheap as $10.00 a month, but trying to start with free is always good!
My existing site is below.
http://www.tonybakerphotography.com
Weebly?
Kumar
Not free, but worth a look:
portfoliositez.com
artspan.com
Keith Pitman
How do you mean, "let me design a professional looking website?" If you don't need templates and you can write your own HTML, CSS and Javascript, then a large number of domain hosters will allow free hosting in exchange for advertisements on your site. I use DirectNic.com, and the have a good service.
If you want free and professional why not just use a combination of Facebook, Tumblr, and Flickr, etc. ?
Complain as you will, but they still have better user-interfaces and load times than 98% of the "professional" websites and you'll probably get more traffic and interest. It would cost you $100K to develop the Flickr interface independently and it works better than an expensive pro solution like LiveBooks or most professional photographer's online galleries.
You can always do what this kid did: http://www.zachklein.com and have a home page simply link to your network.
Back in the old days it was more professional to have a independent website, and once you actually make some serious money from your photography I suppose it makes sense, but I think it is an old-school way of thinking. Nowadays you want that social network promoting your work and driving people to see your pictures.
Just saying.... How many really good professional photographer's website have you seen? Have you been able to figure out how to navigate their galleries and do they work on all the platforms and browsers, like phones and tablets? And how many bother to update them frequently enough?
It's a really small number. Look at the poor guys here busting their heads to build their own websites and they still look like doo-doo... I would either dig deep and do things right or opt for my suggestion.
Very interesting suggestion. One benefit of your own website, whether it's an old school website or a portal style (like zachklein.com above) is having a single URL to tell people. Zach can simple say "zachklein.com" instead of "on flickr I'm zachklein, on facebook I'm zach2798, my blog is...".Originally Posted by Frank Petronio
That portal website is so small (in bytes) and very low maintenance, if you have a friend in the web business he/she might host it for free, and the domain registration costs might be $10/year.
...Mike
Yeah and that "kid" could buy and sell most of us here... check his background.
It isn't perfectly clear to me whether you are looking for free hosting, free design, or both. I've become a fan of WordPress of late because of the infinite variation of site design. WP offers free hosting (wordpress.com) or free CMS software (wordpress.org) to run on your own host (at $3.95/month as I have done).
Well I know who he is now because I looked at his website. Had he not had a website, he'd be just another guy with a blog and a flickr account to me.
To further your point, this guy has the $ to put forth any kind of online presence he wants, but the framework for his online presence can be copied for pennies.
...Mike
Well that is just it, more people will network with him (and see his work) by virtual of social networking sites like FLickr and YouTube and even his own businesses -- having a static website isn't worth very much anymore and it is silly to spend too mych time or money on one.
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