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Experience with SmugMug?

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NilsDecker

NilsDecker

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Hi There,

I'm started creating a website with SmugMug. Wanted to see if there are any recommendations for or advise against SmugMug. If there is another sitebuilder that is better suited, I'd love to hear about it.

What I want to accomplish, is for my site visitors to be able to buy prints directly of the website and SM seems to have integration with Bayphoto and a few other legitimate print shops.

I have to say that I'm not overly impressed with the usability of SM. Their interface is clunky and slow... documentation on how to actually set up pages, galleries, content blocks is very limited and feels like I'm in the early 2000s to be honest. I have used Format and Squarespace before who are WORLDS ahead of this... so the alternative would be to creat a beautiful site in Format, for example, and then simply put my "shop" on Smugmug or something else.

Thank you,

Nils
 
I have been using Smugmug for over a year now. I mostly use it for my portfolio and to easily share pictures with clients, friends and family. It's also great as an unlimited cloud backup.

That being said I also wanted to use it to sell prints (I offer optional prints after people have been really happy with their shoot and digital files) but to do that you need at least the "Portfolio" plan which costs $180 a year and doesn't let you change your pricelist for individual galleries (which for me is quite necessary). So if you want to do that you have to get the "Pro" plan which costs a whopping $360 a year and I feel like I would have to sell quite a lot of prints to be able to cover that cost.

Now I usually order prints manually for clients through the printer of my choice (mpix.com currently). It's more work for me but I have control and don't have a 3rd party (like Smugmug) take their cut. That was another point that imho makes the prints quite expensive. I've ordered prints through SM and the prices are hefty, especially for the bigger prints, canvases etc. And that is even without me getting a cut. So if I would go for the Pro plan and add my cut to the prints I'm not sure if my clients would be able to swallow the prices.

That being said I like their templates and you get used to the interface and functions. As an example you can look at my page at www.amos.photography.

So if there is a better (and cheaper) platform to sell prints I'm all ears and might consider switching.
 
Take a look at Zenfolio as a comparison. I had SmugMug and now Zenfolio. No issues with either. I preferred the labs with Zenfolio.

Loading…

zenfolio.com
 
For a website, I would use Wordpress and then link to the SmugMug gallery,
 
goactive said:
For a website, I would use Wordpress and then link to the SmugMug gallery,
Click to expand...
so I contacted the SM support and they seem... a little useless (no offense). I asked them whether or not it was possible to do that and they gave me contracting answers. At some point, a guy responded that yes, it is possible. But when I asked him "how" he said I should contact my website administrator (which is myself).

Do you have any info on how to get that set up nicely? I mean, I have basic Wordpress knowledge but not sure how to integrate a gallery. Do you need a special plugin? Or do you just have to create a page and then link out from that page (which isn't great user experience I guess).

Thank you,

N
 
Thanks, I checked out your site but I couldn't see the option to buy "fine art prints" - just portfolio and client log-in setup.

What I am trying to do is to simply have anyone that comes to the site be able to purchase prints. It looks like that is not your focus.

I'm also not overly concerned about the cost of Smugmug. I mean, you should be able to make that money back in less than one shoot or with a few prints for sale. But I guess it depends on what market you're aiming for.
 
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Nice website, Tom. I love that you digitized your earlier images. They look stunning! I did this for my father's 30-year collection of diapositive's (20,000+ images).
 
NilsDecker said:
goactive said:
For a website, I would use Wordpress and then link to the SmugMug gallery,
Click to expand...
so I contacted the SM support and they seem... a little useless (no offense). I asked them whether or not it was possible to do that and they gave me contracting answers. At some point, a guy responded that yes, it is possible. But when I asked him "how" he said I should contact my website administrator (which is myself).

Do you have any info on how to get that set up nicely? I mean, I have basic Wordpress knowledge but not sure how to integrate a gallery. Do you need a special plugin? Or do you just have to create a page and then link out from that page (which isn't great user experience I guess).

Thank you,

N
Click to expand...
The question is an odd question. Everything is able to be linked to on the WWW.

Wordpress and SmugMug are two different things altogether. It's assumed that anyone running a Wordpress website would know how to link to another site. You can't expect SmugMug to know how Wordpress works.

The answer of, "Contact your website administrator" is the correct answer because it has nothing to do with SmugMug.

By the way, my main website is a Wordpress site. I put a link on it called "Portfolio". That link goes to my SmugMug site. I also have a link on my SmugMug site that goes to my Wordpress site. I can't imagine contacting Wordpress on how to put a link on SmugMug.

One thing that you mentioned is "integrating" a gallery into your Wordpress site. That's a different thing altogether. If that's what you're wanting to do, there are Wordpress plugins to do just that.

But simply linking to an external portfolio page is much easier to do.

--
I feel more like I do now than I did before ...
https://danielmedley.smugmug.com/
 
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NilsDecker said:
Thanks, I checked out your site but I couldn't see the option to buy "fine art prints" - just portfolio and client log-in setup.

What I am trying to do is to simply have anyone that comes to the site be able to purchase prints. It looks like that is not your focus.
Click to expand...
How many people come to your page? That's usually what it comes down to.
NilsDecker said:
I'm also not overly concerned about the cost of Smugmug. I mean, you should be able to make that money back in less than one shoot or with a few prints for sale. But I guess it depends on what market you're aiming for.
Click to expand...
You're right, that's not the kind of business I go for. I shoot portraits and sell prints as an add-on, my main income is the fee for the shoot.

As a side note, my understanding is that it is very hard to make money just selling prints because of the sheer amount of competition and free, good quality pictures available. I mean, just browse through random SM (or flickr, etc.) galleries and you'll find plenty of gorgeous photos you can just buy for the price of the print or download and print yourself. I have also noticed that when I see local photographers putting prints (some good, some not so much) in local cafes or restaurants they tend to stay there for a long time, most not sell at all.

Now that is not based on personal experience, just things I read. Maybe you're already successful selling fine-art prints. I guess it all comes down to your market and target audience. YMMV

If you are having success this way maybe wanna share your secret? ;-)
 
haha, no I'm at the far opposite end of having success with it. I certainly like my photos but am fully aware that there are tons of free great photos out there. I just don't target people that like free, if that makes sense. I have a decent-ish network of people that could in theory pay for fine art prints but I have absolutely no idea if that will work out or not.

I'm about to commit any rookie photographer mistake out there. Getting disillusioned only works if experienced first hand, doesn't it?! :-P

Oh, and my personal opinion on being successful is that you have to make it as absolutely easy and pretty as humanly possible. User experience on your website is a (much) underestimated opponent and I do have a lot of experience with building stuff that's simple and beautiful (albeit in a very different field).
 
Google isn't a fan if you run two separate sites and for website visitors, it's also not a great user experience if you are redirected from SM to WP or vice versa.

I looked at the available smugmug plugins for WP but they are all pretty poorly rated. Is there one specific one you have experience with and can recommend?
 
NilsDecker said:
Google isn't a fan if you run two separate sites and for website visitors, it's also not a great user experience if you are redirected from SM to WP or vice versa.

I looked at the available smugmug plugins for WP but they are all pretty poorly rated. Is there one specific one you have experience with and can recommend?
Click to expand...
I've never had a problem with Google in this regard. Also, isn't this pretty much what you're wanting to do? "...so the alternative would be to creat a beautiful site in Format, for example, and then simply put my "shop" on Smugmug or something else."

I suppose it depends on what you're wanting to do. Many people will simply have a portfolio site. Some will have a complete domain on which there will be a link to various things; including a portfolio, or in your case, a shop. I don't see it as a detriment to user experience. I'd say that the vast majority of websites, including this one, have menu links.

As long as the links clearly indicate what the user is being taken to, it's not a negative. A link saying "portfolio" or "shop" is about as plain as it gets. In fact having all things available from a unified domain is probably the ideal user experience; whether some links take them off site or not.

Also, I wonder if you misunderstand the purpose of SmugMug vs platforms like Wordpress, Squarespace, etc. As far as I understand, SmugMug is, for the most part, strictly a photo storage/sharing site; it's NOT a site builder. Whereas Wordpress, Squarespace and Format, etc. are website creation/ content management platforms; they ARE site builders. It sounds like you're trying to do something with Smugmug that its not designed to do. It's like using socket wrench to cut a pipe and being unhappy with the quality of the socket wrench.

If you're wanting to create a website that is photo-centric out of the box, then, indeed, Squarespace or Format would probably be the way to go.

I'm not certain if either Squarespace or Format have a shop/commerce solution built in, they may well. If they don't then at the end of the day, based on what you say you're after in the OP, then creating a website on a builder platform and providing a link to a shop or site like Smugmug may be the way to go.
 
Krav Maga said:
Geoworker said:
I have ordered prints from this website:

https://www.davidjwest.com/photography

and it's always a easy experience. So I think other patrons would find it so as well.

I believe his website is built from this:

https://www.artstorefronts.com/

But I have no experience what so ever with the vendor. But maybe it's a fit for you. Or not.
Click to expand...
Your approach is similar to mine. I have a domain website on which there is a link to my "portfolio" which is on Smugmug.
Click to expand...
I like your website. Easy to navigate. Good job. BTW, photos are also good. :-)

--
Tom
https://tjimages.smugmug.com/
 
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Geoworker said:
Krav Maga said:
Geoworker said:
I have ordered prints from this website:

https://www.davidjwest.com/photography

and it's always a easy experience. So I think other patrons would find it so as well.

I believe his website is built from this:

https://www.artstorefronts.com/

But I have no experience what so ever with the vendor. But maybe it's a fit for you. Or not.
Click to expand...
Your approach is similar to mine. I have a domain website on which there is a link to my "portfolio" which is on Smugmug.
Click to expand...
I like your website. Easy to navigate. Good job. BTW, photos are also good. :-)
Click to expand...
Thanks. And likewise :)
 
I left Smugmug years ago after they increased their prices. The platform used to be great but seemed like it wasn't being updated. The themes were clunky and optimizing for search engines was something that was not easy with Smugmug. Squarespace is a great alternative for a website with great design aesthetics.

I'm with Pixpa now, and the themes are much more intuitive and the support is unmatched. The only problem is with the order-fulfillment, since they're currently partnered with only WHCC. As per the team, they'll be launching a custom order fulfillment soon, but haven't yet disclosed any dates. Both Pixpa and Squarespace offer free trials, so try them out before committing.
 
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