If you are a professional photographer and you need to build your own photography website for free, this post is for you.
We will show you how to set up your free website, create an attractive layout and design for your site, and install all the essential tools so that photographers can manage their own websites with ease.
Why do you need a website as a photographer?
a). Reach more people
Having a website as a photographer allows you to reach out to a larger audience using the Internet.
And consequently, increasing your chances of being discovered and contacted for future projects or collaborations.
b) Gain more clients
Potential clients would love to see samples of your work on display, giving them an idea about what they might get if they hire you for their own photography needs.
c). Create a portfolio
Showcase all your best works in one place so that people (prospective employers/clients) know exactly how talented you are.
You will also be able to add new pictures whenever necessary since everything is online, providing constant updates without having to worry about storing bulky files and folders.
Note: this will require some additional investments like hiring designers who can help you create a stunning layout and website interface.
d). Make money
If you are not charging your clients for all the work that you’ve put in, it’s time to start doing so!
People are starting to realize how valuable photography is as a service and they’ll be willing to pay handsomely if offered quality photos on an ongoing basis.
Note: this requires some additional effort on your part since people will have access to see what kind of prices other photographers charge when planning out their own rates before contacting you.
You can add more value by offering guaranteed satisfaction or higher resolution images than what others offer at similar price ranges.
This way, even though there may be cheaper options available online, yours would still seem like the better deal because of the extras.
What you’ll need to create your own website
A professional or premium domain name
Choose wisely and remember that the .com version is usually considered more desirable than other extensions like .net, so try to get this if possible.
Web hosting service
It is best to find one with unlimited storage space and bandwidth since photographers will be uploading all their files regularly for sharing purposes.
Note: there are free web hosting services available but they are not recommended because of limited features/storage capacity – you will end up struggling in the long run!
If you can’t afford to pay fees right now, start by saving money until you have at least enough for a year worth of site hosting fees.
You should also consider investing in a CDN (Content Delivery Network) service, which will help distribute your website’s content to computers around the world for faster loading times.
Custom design
It will be harder if you are not familiar with web design languages like HTML, CSS, or Javascript but there are plenty of talented graphic designers who can create stunning layouts that would make people want to hire YOU!
You should also consider using custom themes/templates since they offer professional-looking designs without having to put too much effort into creating one yourself.
Note: don’t skip on this part because first impressions really matter when deciding whether someone is going to select you over other photographers.
If you already have some experience designing sites and know what kind of layout works best for photography websites, then you can start by creating a mockup of how it would look like before getting the actual web development done.
Content
This is where photographers really need to show off their skills.
The site must have good-quality images and detailed descriptions of each project so that visitors know what they’re paying for.
You should also include portfolio previews or sample works if possible.
Note: make sure everything is organized well and find ways to keep your content fresh (new pictures/posts) as often as possible because people will lose interest otherwise.
Now, with all these, you should be able to create a photography website without any issues.
The only challenge you will run into is maybe getting the right website you wanted. This is because you have two choices, either design the site yourself or hire someone.
But what if there was a better way to create a photography website for free?
Well, you are in luck because there is a better way.
How to Build Your Own Photography Website for Free
Introducing OLITT!
OLITT is a tool you can use to create any kind of website (including photography) for free.
This tool gives you access to advanced tools such as a drag and drop feature, allowing you to create any kind of design you can imagine.
Before we delve much into it, let me show you how it works.
1. Go to https://www.olitt.com
Head over to https://www.olitt.com to create a photography website for free.
2. Click on Create your free site
When you click on Create your site for free, you will be required to log in.
When that happens, you have three options;
- Use an email and choose a password (use a valid email address because you will be required to verify).
- Use your Google account
- Or the Apple account
Whichever you pick, your information will be safe thanks to advanced OLITT’s security features.
3. Choose a category
OLITT groups its hundreds of free designer-made templates per category.
To get the best template for your photography website, click on the Creative category.
4. Pick a template
Sort through the available templates under the Creative category and click on the one you like.
5. Congrats. Your website is now online!
OLITT publishes your website automatically online.
If you don’t like that, you can unpublish directly on your editor and republish whenever you want.
6. Start editing
You can now start editing your photography website for free.
- Add images and change texts
- Add new elements by dragging and dropping blocks. All you have to do is search on your right, then drag and drop it on the canvas.
- Preview how your new website looks on all devices (mobile, tablet, and desktop).
Once your website is done, you can connect it to a custom domain.
Better part?
OLITT, unlike other website builders like Wix, allows you to connect a custom domain for free.
And if you do not have one already, you can buy one right on OLITT for cheap.
To do that, follow these steps.
And that is how to create a photography website for free.
Essential features to include on a photography website
Now that you know how to build a photography website for free, consider including the following in your site;
Contact info
Make it easy for people to get in touch with you if they have any questions or need additional information.
Note: this doesn’t mean including a contact form on the front page, instead put your email/phone number somewhere discreet and provide links to other pages where clients can send requests while browsing around.
You may also want to include testimonials from past clients who are willing to vouch for your work!
This would be great social proof that helps build trust among potential customers.
Clients gallery
Showcase how happy previous customers were after working together by adding their photos along with some quotes about what made them choose YOU over others!
Note: don’t lie here because it is easy for people to verify facts if they look hard enough.
You can also include reviews from other credible sources like blogs, magazines, or online publications to generate more word-of-mouth buzz about your work!
About section
This is where you can briefly explain who you are and what makes your style of photography different from the rest.
This part should also include information about how long you’ve been in business, awards/recognitions, or anything else relevant to your craft that would make clients more comfortable with hiring YOU because they know it’s not just their hard-earned money going down the drain!
Client advice blog posts
Similar to writing a FAQs page (or Frequently Asked Questions) on websites; these articles will be helpful for people looking for tips when planning photoshoots or future products like albums, canvases, etc.
Note: consider including links to other related blogs as well since there might already be some valuable content out there that could help establish authority.
Some additional features that could help attract people:
SEO
This is currently one of the most popular ways for photographers to get their names out there so it’s best if you take advantage of what others are doing and come up with a strategy on how you can improve search engine rankings even further than your competition.
Note: don’t just go after keywords though because Google tends to penalize sites who do nothing but spam links all over the place (it doesn’t matter which words they use as long as links keep getting posted).
Make sure everything looks natural instead and only include a list of keywords/topics that are relevant to your content.
Social media
Sharing posts on different social platforms can help create awareness about what you have going on so don’t forget to share updates as often as possible!
Note: just because there’s some activity doesn’t mean it will keep making an impact if the same people keep seeing your work over and over again, instead find ways to engage with new viewers by finding out more information from their profiles (where they live, interests, etc.) before deciding how to start a conversation with them.
This way even if only 0.01% of people see and like your page(s), at least one person will be interested enough in hiring you for future projects or referring others who might be interested in what you have to offer.
Design
There are plenty of websites that focus on providing free templates for photographers so check them out!
Note: just because these look nice doesn’t mean it will be easy to customize everything based on your preferences.
Instead, find a theme that offers more flexibility and customization options (responsive design is also great too) which means fewer problems down the road when trying to make changes yourself or hire someone else who knows how to do this type of work properly.
You can then worry about finding ways to optimize each page/post like increasing load speed etc., especially if most visitors come from mobile devices where they really don’t want to wait for pages and images to take forever loading.
Why use OLITT to create a photography website for free?
We have already mentioned that OLITT allows you to add a custom domain without paying anything.
So if you have one, just add it. And if you don’t, purchase it on OLITT at a discounted price.
At the same time, OLITT gives you access to external tools.
This means that you can integrate tools like Google Analytics, Mailchimp, among others into your photography website easily.
For security, OLITT gives you free SSL to secure all of your pages.