Moving from Zenfolio

[John Kemp]

My business is smaller in the last few years and I don't do so much online sales but would still like a platform where I can sell.

Can anyone recommend a site that might be cheaper than Zenfolio that I can use as a good looking gallery, which I can customise myself and can be used for online sales?

I don't need the facility to backup images these days as I have other methods for this. If anyone else has also ditched Zenfolio for another I'd like your experiences.

I never found the back end very good and to be honest the SEO abilities of Zen suck IMHO.

Ta

John

 

[John Kemp]

Nobody?

 

[JJ Casas]

I will say right away that I've been a Zenfolio customer for about 5 years but hated their design when others had better UI and UX. For me, SmugMug was never in the question because I personally thought their design was even worse than Zenfolio.

With that being said, I've moved on to Pixieset and haven't looked elsewhere. It's a bit pricier for sure but I think it's a lot cleaner.

Let me know your thoughts on them.

 

[eFilm]

I will say right away that I've been a Zenfolio customer for about 5 years but hated their design when others had better UI and UX. For me, SmugMug was never in the question because I personally thought their design was even worse than Zenfolio.

Yeah, that kinda is the deal. Neither of those are particularly appealing. Unless you really need those other features and get a decent ROI for them to justify the cost of an otherwise rather 'basic', single function gallery site.

With that being said, I've moved on to Pixieset and haven't looked elsewhere. It's a bit pricier for sure but I think it's a lot cleaner.

Then again, if there is no need for the fanciest features and stuff, one might as well get along with the gallery features provided by some of the regular website template and hosting sites like Squarespace, Wix and such. One could use their existing templates to build a basic online store as well, or embed a service like Shopify. That is, to combine one's regular website and the photo gallery with a shopping card in one main site.

It all boils down to what your specific needs are, and what you're willing to get by with.

Looks like I had never stumbled on Pixieset before. At least I don't recall that I had. It does seem like yet another interesting option, albeit not much different from the other two, based on the featured examples.

The point being, if you already have a regular website and you don't need a fancy gallery site separately, as suggested in the OP, you could consider just adding a basic photo gallery to it. With or without some e-commerce solution. Some of the popular website hosts do offer such options.

 

[RedFox88]

I’m surprised zenfolio is still around honestly.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

I’m surprised zenfolio is still around honestly.

I could gripe about design limitations and the look of the selling pages, but Zenfolio has a lot going for it. Reasonable price (from a pro's perspective), reliable service, unlimited online file hosting (doubling as online backup), good ease of management (once you scale the learning curve), good support, and a mobile app for clients. Been using it for maybe 8 years now.

 

[Yidahoo]

I have been using Pixpa for a couple of years now. Decent price v features and very good customer service. https://www.pixpa.com

This is my current site with them https://www.jasonrowphotography.co.uk

 

[Jacques Cornell]

I have been using Pixpa for a couple of years now. Decent price v features and very good customer service. https://www.pixpa.com

This is my current site with them https://www.jasonrowphotography.co.uk

Nice site and photos, but I think you meant to post your reply to the OP instead of me, as I'm happy with Zenfolio and not looking to switch.

--
"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw
http://jacquescornell.photography
http://happening.photos

 

[Bill Heiser]

I moved from Zenfolio & host my own website running WordPress. For print sales I use the Imagely NextGen Pro gallery which offers automated fulfillment through WHCC. This approach is a bit more "hands on" than with a service like Zenfolio or Smugmug, but you have more flexibility and control. My interactions with the people at Imagely have been excellent and I've been happy with the WHCC product quality.

 

[grcolts]

I am using SmugMug not really for sales but to have a decent website to show my images, etc. You might check them out. Also, I used to use FotoTime which let you customize your site and sell if you wish. They were quite inexpensive. And, then there is Flickr who SmugMug owns.