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Sell Your Photos Online - Step 2

Deciding on what software to use...

You've had a look at the different gallery software available to you. You're still not sure yet which one to go with. If you are not comfortable with an Open Source platform for your portfolio you can always start looking at commercial software packages - I won't be recommending any here.

Just remember, commercial software is not necessarily going to be better or more functional than Open Source software. The one point of difference is that you should be able to get some more structured support.

When deciding on what package to use you will probably want to consider a number of aspects including:

  • Is there a nice friendly admin interface?
  • Does the gallery support multiple upload methods including bulk upload?
  • Is it easy to change the theme and are there plenty of different ones freely available?
  • Can you create multiple users with different permissions?
  • Is there Slideshow support?
  • Is there automatic watermarking available?
  • Is there a shopping cart (important if you want to sell online)?

There is almost an endless list of features available from different galleries - the above are just a few of the important ones. Determine what is important to you and draw yourself up a matrix of must haves, and would be nice to have features against the different software packages. This will help you to make an informed decision.

The last thing that you want to do is spend lots of hours getting your site up and running upload and label 1000's of images with software package X only to find out is doesn't support a required feature. It would be a bummer if you had to start again!

There are lots of image portfolios on-line explore them. Don't re-invent the wheel. Combine the best ideas and features from them all and voila there's your new image gallery. Well not quite - you have to build it first. If you are still stuck for ideas take a look at G2-Sites.com for some sample gallery installations.

Consider how much other content you will have on your site. You will most likely want some other static pages about the products and services you can provide. Can the Gallery software support these types of pages or will they need to be built separately?

You can build static pages or you choose to use another CMS (Content Management System) for the rest of your site you will need to pay special attention to ensure a consistent look and feel throughout the site. There is nothing worse than browsing a site that looks different on every page you view!

Important

From time to time security vulnerabilities are highlighted in software packages. You need to ensure that you keep you software up to date to avoid a malicious attack or someone defacing your website.

Also if you enable any form of commenting on your site, be sure to investigate anti-spam mechanisms!

Build Your Own Website?

Should you attempt to build your website yourself or get a professional web developer to do it for you?

I guess it all depends on what you want to do with your site. If you don't have any time constraints, you want to save some money (let's face it who doesn't), you would like to learn about web development - then why not give it a go! This type of project is a good way to get and introduction into HTML, PHP, Databases and CSS.

On the other hand if you need to have you site up and running within a pre-defined time period. Your needs are complex and will require modifications to code and or integrations into other software packages you may want to consider a 3rd party to build your site. Be sure to get links to some example site that they have commissioned so that you can get an idea of the standard of their work.

Whatever, you decide to do be sure to read the next section on Search Engine Optimisation before you start...